Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T04:20:42.913Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 5 - The Role of Parental Emotion Regulation in Parental Neglect and Violence

from Part II - Influence of Parents’ Emotion Regulation on Parenting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2024

By
Sarah Miragoli ,
Luca Milani  and
Elena Camisasca
Edited by
Isabelle Roskam ,
James J. Gross  and
Moïra Mikolajczak
Isabelle Roskam
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
James J. Gross
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
Moïra Mikolajczak
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Get access

Summary

This chapter aims to explore the emotional processes associated with parenting stress and competence, as specific risk factors in child maltreatment. We consider two key aspects of the relationship between emotion regulation (ER) and child maltreatment: (1) ER as an important antecedent of child maltreatment and (2) violent parenting behaviors as an ER strategy. The theoretical framework of the social information processing model guides our treatment of the subject. Gender differences and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords

child maltreatmentemotion regulationparentingparenting stressgender differences
Type
Chapter
Information
Emotion Regulation and Parenting , pp. 101 - 115
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abidin, R. (1992). The determinants of parenting behavior. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21, 407–412. https://doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2104_12Google Scholar
Abidin, R. (1995). The Parenting Stress Index. Pediatric Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Asla, N., de Paúl, J., & Perez-Albeniz, A. (2011). Emotion recognition in fathers and mothers at high-risk for child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35, 712–721. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.05.010Google Scholar
Azar, S. (1998). A framework for understanding child maltreatment: An integration of cognitive behavioral and developmental perspectives. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 18, 340–355.Google Scholar
Azar, S. (2002). Parenting and child maltreatment. In Bornstein, M. H. (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Social conditions and applied parenting (pp. 361–388). Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bailey, H. N., Moran, G., & Pederson, D. R. (2007). Childhood maltreatment, complex trauma symptoms, and unresolved attachment in an at-risk sample of adolescent mothers. Attachment & Human Development, 9(2), 139–161. https://doi:10.1080/14616730701349721Google Scholar
Berryhill, M. (2016). Mothers’ parenting stress and engagement: Mediating role of parental competence. Marriage & Family Review, 52(5), 461–480. https://doi:10.1080/01494929.2015.1113600Google Scholar
Bowen, M. (1993). Family therapy in clinical practice. Jason Aronson.Google Scholar
Brockman, R., Ciarrochi, J., Parker, P., & Kashdan, T. (2017). Emotion regulation strategies in daily life: Mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 46(2), 91–113. https://doi:10.1037/1528-3542.7.1.30CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bugental, D. B., Ellerson, P. C., Lin, E. K., Rainey, B., Kokotovic, A., & O’Hara, N. (2002). A cognitive approach to child abuse prevention. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 243–258. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.1.17CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bushman, B., Baumeister, R., & Phillips, C. (2001). Do people aggress to improve their mood? Catharsis beliefs, affect regulation opportunity, and aggressive responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(1), 17–32. https://doi:10.1037//0022-3514.81.1.17CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cain, D., & Combs-Orme, T. (2005). Family structure effects on parenting stress and practices in the African American family. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 32, 19–40.Google Scholar
Camisasca, E., Miragoli, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2014). Is the relationship between marital adjustment and parenting stress mediated or moderated by parenting alliance? Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 10(2), 235–254. https://doi:10.5964/ejop.v10i2.724CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clore, G., Schwarz, N., & Conway, M. (1994). Cognitive causes and consequences of emotion. Handbook of Social Cognition, 1, 323–417.Google Scholar
Coyl, D., Roggman, L., & Newland, L. (2002). Stress, maternal depression, and negative mother-infant interactions in relation to infant attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 23, 145–163. https://doi:10.1002/imhj.10009Google Scholar
Crandall, A., Deater-Deckard, K., & Riley, A. (2015). Maternal emotion and cognitive control capacities and parenting: A conceptual framework. Developmental Review, 36, 105–126. https://doi:10.1016/j.dr.2015.01.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crittenden, P. (1993). An information-processing perspective on the behavior of neglectful parents. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 20, 27–48. https://doi:10.1177/0093854893020001004Google Scholar
Crnic, K., & Low, C. (2002). Everyday stresses and parenting. In Boernstein, M. (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Practical issues in parenting (pp. 243–267). Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Crnic, K., & Ross, E. (2017). Parenting stress and parental efficacy. In Deater-Deckard, K and Panneton, R. (Eds.), Parental stress and early child development (pp. 263–284). Springer.Google Scholar
Crouch, J., & Behl, L. (2001). Relationships among parental beliefs in corporal punishment, reported stress, and physical child abuse potential. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 413–419. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(00)00256-8Google Scholar
Crouch, J., Skowronski, J., Milner, J., & Harris, B. (2008). Parental responses to infant crying: The influence of child physical abuse risk and hostile priming. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(7), 702–710. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.11.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crouch, J. L., Risser, H. J., Skowronski, J. J., Milner, J. S., Farc, M. M., & Irwin, L. M. (2010). Does accessibility of positive and negative schema vary by child physical abuse risk? Child Abuse & Neglect, 34, 886–895. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.05.005Google Scholar
Dadds, M., Mullens, M., McAllister, R., & Atkinson, E. (2003). Attributions, affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: A laboratory study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 21–45. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00510-0Google Scholar
de Paúl, J., Asla, N., Pérez-Albéniz, A., & De Cádiz, B. (2006). Impact of stress and mitigating information on evaluations, attributions, affect, disciplinary choices, and expectations of compliance in mothers at high and low risk for child physical abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1018–1045. https://doi:10.1177/0886260506290411CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deater-Deckard, K. (1998). Parenting stress and child adjustment: Some old hypotheses and new questions. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 5, 314–332. https://doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.1998.tb00152.xGoogle Scholar
Deater-Deckard, K. (2004). Parenting stress. Yale University.Google Scholar
Dix, T. (1991). The affective organization of parenting: Adaptive and maladaptative processes. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 3–25. https://doi:10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.3Google Scholar
Duncan, L., Coatsworth, J., & Greenberg, M. (2009). A model of mindful parenting: Implications for parent-child relationships and prevention research. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 12, 255–270. https://doi:10.1007/s10567-009-0046-3Google Scholar
Ethier, L., Lacharite, C., & Couture, G. (1995). Childhood adversity, parental stress, and depression of negligent mothers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(5), 619–632. https://doi:10.1016/0145-2134(95)00020-9Google Scholar
Farc, M., Crouch, J., Skowronski, J., & Milner, J. (2008). Hostility ratings by parents at risk for child abuse: Impact of chronic and temporary schema activation. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 177–193. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.06.001Google Scholar
Francis, K., & Wolfe, D. (2008). Cognitive and emotional differences between abusive and non-abusive fathers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 1127–1137. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.05.007Google Scholar
Gibb, B., Johnson, A., Benas, J., Uhrlass, D., Knopik, V., & McGeary, J. (2011). Children’s 5-HTTLPR genotype moderates the link between maternal criticism and attentional biases specifically for facial displays of anger. Cognition & Emotion, 25(6), 1104–1120. https://doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.508267CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodnow, J., & Collins, W. (1990). Development according to parents: The nature, sources, and consequences of parents’ ideas. Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gratz, K. L., & Gunderson, J. G. (2006). Preliminary data on an acceptance-based emotion regulation group intervention for deliberate self-harm among women with borderline personality disorder. Behavior Therapy, 37(1), 25–35. https://doi:10.1016/j.beth.2005.03.002Google Scholar
Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41–54. https://doi:10.1023/B:JOBA.0000007455.08539.94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gratz, K. L., & Tull, M. T. (2010). Emotion regulation as a mechanism of change in acceptance-and mindfulness-based treatments. In Baer, R. A. (Ed.), Assessing mindfulness and acceptance: Illuminating the processes of change (pp. 107–133). New Harbinger Publications.Google Scholar
Gross, J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271Google Scholar
Gross, J., & John, O. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. https://doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gross, J., & Thompson, R. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In Gross, J. J. (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3–24). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Grusec, J., & Davidov, M. (2014). Socialization in the family: The roles of parents. In Grusec, J. E. & Hastings, P. D. (Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 284–308). Guilford.Google Scholar
Haskett, M., Scott, S., Grant, R., Ward, C., & Robinson, C. (2003). Child-related cognitions and affective functioning of physically abusive and comparison parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 663–686. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(03)00103-0Google Scholar
Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25. https://doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006Google Scholar
Hesse, E., & Main, M. (2006). Frightened, threatening, and dissociative parental behavior in low-risk samples: Description, discussion, and interpretations. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 309–343. https://doi:10.1017/S0954579406060172Google Scholar
Jackson, A., & Huang, C. (2000). Parenting stress and behavior among single mothers of preschoolers: The mediating role of self-efficacy. Journal of Social Service Research, 26, 29–42. https://doi:10.1080/01488370009511335Google Scholar
Jacobvitz, D., Leon, K., & Hazen, N. (2006). Does expectant mothers’ unresolved trauma predict frightened/frightening maternal behavior? Risk and protective factors. Development and Psychopathology, 18(2), 363–379. https://doi:10.1017/S0954579406060196Google Scholar
Jakupcak, M., Lisak, D., & Roemer, L. (2002). The role of masculine ideology and masculine gender role stress in men’s perpetration of relationship violence. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 3(2), 97–106. https://doi:10.1037/1524-9220.3.2.97Google Scholar
Kabat-Zinn, M., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1997). Everyday blessings. The inner work of mindful parenting. Hachette Books.Google Scholar
Krahé, B., Bondü, R., Höse, A., & Esser, G. (2015). Child aggression as a source and a consequence of parenting stress: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 25, 328–339. https://doi:10.1111/jora.12115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lau, A., Valeri, S., McCarty, C., & Weisz, J. (2006). Abusive parents’ reports of child behavior problems: Relationship to observed parent-child interactions. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 639–655. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.11.009Google Scholar
Lavi, I., Ozer, E., Katz, L., & Gross, J. (2021). The role of parental emotion reactivity and regulation in child maltreatment and maltreatment risk: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 90, 102099. https://doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102099Google Scholar
Leith, K., & Baumeister, R. (1996). Why do bad moods increase self-defeating behavior? Emotion, risk tasking, and self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(6), 1250–1267. https://doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.6.1250Google Scholar
Lorber, M. (2012). The role of maternal emotion regulation in overreactive and lax discipline. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 642–647. https://doi:10.1037/a0029109CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyons-Ruth, K., & Block, D. (1996). The disturbed caregiving system: Relations among childhood trauma, maternal caregiving, and infant affect and attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17, 257–275. https://doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0355(199623)17:3<257::AID-IMHJ5>3.0.CO;2-LGoogle Scholar
Lyons-Ruth, K., Connell, D., Zoll, D., & Stahl, J. (1987). Infants at social risk: Relations among infant maltreatment, maternal behavior, and infant attachment behavior. Developmental Psychology, 23(2), 223–232. https://doi:10.1037/0012-1649.23.2.223Google Scholar
Mammen, O., Kolko, D., & Pilkonis, P. (2002). Negative affect and parental aggression in child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26, 407–424. https://doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(02)00316-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marziali, E., Damianakis, T., & Trocmé, N. (2003). Nature and consequences of personality problems in maltreating caregivers. Families in Society, 84(4), 530–538. https://doi:10.1606/1044-3894.141CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McElroy, E., & Rodriguez, C. (2008). Mothers of children with externalizing behavior problems: Cognitive risk factors for abuse potential and discipline style and practices. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 774–784. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.01.002Google Scholar
McPherson, A., Lewis, K., Lynn, A., Haskett, M., & Behrend, T. (2009). Predictors of parenting stress for abusive and non-abusive mothers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 61–69. https://doi:10.1007/s10826-008-9207-0Google Scholar
Mence, M., Hawes, D., Wedgwood, L., Morgan, S., Barnett, B., Kohlhoff, J., & Hunt, C. (2014). Emotional flooding and hostile discipline in the families of toddlers with disruptive behavior problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 28, 12–21. https://doi:10.1037/a0035352.Google Scholar
Milner, J. (1993). Social information processing and physical child abuse. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 275–294. https://doi:10.1016/0272-7358(93)90024-GCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milner, J. (2000). Social information processing and physical child abuse. Theory and research. In Hansen, D. (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Motivation and child maltreatment (pp. 39–84). University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Milner, J. (2003). Social information processing in high-risk and physically abusive parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 7–20. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00506-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miragoli, S., Balzarotti, S., Camisasca, E., & Di Blasio, P. (2018). Parents’ perception of child behavior, parenting stress, and child abuse potential: Individual and partner influences. Child Abuse & Neglect, 84C, 146–156. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.07.034Google Scholar
Miragoli, S., Milani, L., Di Blasio, P., & Camisasca, E. (2020). Difficulties in emotion regulation in child abuse potential: Gender differences in parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, 104529. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104529CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montes, P., de Paul, J., & Milner, J. (2001). Evaluations, attributions, affect, and disciplinary choices in mothers at high and low risk for child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 1015–1036. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(01)00254-XGoogle Scholar
Perez-Albeniz, A., & de Paúl, J. (2003). Dispositional empathy in high- and low-risk parents for child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 769–780. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(03)00111-XGoogle Scholar
Perez-Albeniz, A., & de Paul, J. (2004). Gender differences in empathy in parents at high and low risk of child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 289–300. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.11.01Google Scholar
Pearlin, L., Menaghan, E., Lieberman, M., & Mullan, J. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 337–356.Google Scholar
Pittman, J., & Buckley, R. R. (2006). Comparing maltreating fathers and mothers in terms of personal distress, interpersonal functioning, and perceptions of family climate. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30, 481–496. https://doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2004.10.017Google Scholar
Purnamaningsih, E. (2017). Personality and emotion regulation strategies. International Journal of Psychological Research, 10(1), 53–60. https://doi:10.21500/20112084.2040.Google Scholar
Reynolds, M., & Wells, A. (1999). The Thought Control Questionnaire – psychometric properties in a clinical sample, and relationships with PTSD and depression. Psychological Medicine, 29(5), 1089–1099. https://doi:10.1017/S003329179900104XGoogle Scholar
Richards, J., & Gross, J. (1999). Composure at any cost? The cognitive consequences of emotion suppression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(8), 1033–1044. https://doi:10.1177/01461672992511010Google Scholar
Rodriguez, C. (2010). Parent–child aggression: Association with child abuse potential and parenting styles. Violence and Victims, 25, 728–741. https://doi:10.1891/0886-6708.25.6.728CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodriguez, C. (2018). Predicting parent–child aggression risk: Cognitive factors and their interaction with anger. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33, 359–378. https://doi:10.1177/0886260516629386Google Scholar
Rodriguez, C., & Green, A. (1997). Parenting stress and anger expression as predictors of child abuse potential. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21(4), 367–377. https://doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(96)00177-9Google Scholar
Rodriguez, C., & Richardson, M. (2007). Stress and anger as contextual factors and preexisting cognitive schemas: Predicting parental child maltreatment risk. Child Maltreatment, 12(4), 325–337. https://doi:10.1177/1077559507305993Google Scholar
Rueger, S., Katz, R., Risser, H., & Lovejoy, M. (2011). Relations between parental affect and parenting behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Parenting: Science and Practice, 11, 1–33. https://doi:10.1080/15295192.2011.539503.Google Scholar
Savage, L., Tarabulsy, G., Pearson, J., Collin-Vézina, D., & Gagné, L. (2019). Maternal history of childhood maltreatmen and later parenting behavior: A meta-analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 31(1), 9–21. https://doi:10.1017/S0954579418001542Google Scholar
Schaeffer, C., Alexander, P., Bethke, K., & Kretz, L. (2005). Predictors of child abuse potential among military parents: Comparing mothers and fathers. Journal of Family Violence, 20, 123–129. https://doi:10.1007/s10896-005-3175-6Google Scholar
Scheel, M., & Rieckmann, T. (1998). An empirically derived description of self-efficacy and empowerment for parents of children identified as psychologically disordered. American Journal of Family Therapy, 26, 15–27. https://doi:10.1080/01926189808251083Google Scholar
Sigel, I., McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A., & Goodnow, J. (1992). Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children. Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Smith, W. (2003). Emotional cutoff and family stability: Child abuse in family emotional process. In Titelman, P. (Ed.), Emotional cutoff: Bowen family systems theory perspectives (pp. 351–378). Haworth.Google Scholar
Smith Slep, A., & O’Leary, S. (2007). Multivariate models of mothers’ and fathers’ aggression toward their children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 739–751. https://doi:10.1037/0022-006X.75.5.739Google Scholar
Titelman, P. (2014). Emotional cutoff: Bowen family systems theory perspectives. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timmer, S., Borrego, J., & Urquiza, A. (2002). Antecedents of coercive interactions in physically abusive mother-child dyads. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, 836–853. https://doi:10.1177/0886260502017008003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turpyn, C., & Chaplin, T. (2016). Mindful parenting and parents’ emotion expression: Effects on adolescent risk behaviors. Mindfulness, 7, 246–254. https://doi:10.1007/s12671-015-0440-5Google Scholar
Whipple, E., & Webster-Stratton, C. (1991). The role of parental stress in physically abusive families. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 279–291. https://doi:10.1016/0145-2134(91)90072-LGoogle Scholar
Wood, W., & Eagly, A. (2002). A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 699–727. https://doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.699Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×