The Relationships between the Mother's Child-Rearing Attitude, Children's Temperament, Self-Esteem, and Self-Regulation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the child-rearing attitude, childrens temperament, self-esteem and self- regulation. Participants were 146 children aged between 4 and 5 years, and their mothers and teachers. The completed data were analyzed by t-test, correlation analysis and multiple regression. Results of the study are as follows. First, childrens self-esteem and self-regulation were different in terms of child-rearing attitude. In particular, children reared by affectionate-autonomous mothers showed higher self-esteem and self-regulation compared to those who reared by affectionate-controlling mothers. Second, childrens temperament was identified as being related to their self-esteem and self-regulation. The children with higher adaptability, higher physiological regularity and lower activity demonstrated higher self-esteem and self-regulation. Third, childrens cognitive competence, reactivity, and maternal autonomous attitude in self-esteem were found to be significant predictors of their self-regulation. In particular, cognitive competence was the most influential variable on the childrens self-regulation. Effective educational interventions enhancing childrens self-esteem and self-regulation were discussed based on the results and recommendations for future research were also suggested.