The Influences Of Paternal Parenting And Self-regulation On Toddlers’ Self-regulation

As an important part of the individual’s socialization,self-regulation has a profound impact on one’s life while less attention is paid to the development of it.Toddler years are a critical period for children’s self-regulation development.During this time,parenting is undoubtedly a key influencing factor,and fathers’ contributions also need the same attention paid as mothers.Besides the external influence of parenting,will the parents’ self-regulation have an impact on children’s self-regulation? Based on these,this longitudinal study examined the influences of parenting styles and self-regulation from both mothers and fathers on the development of toddlers’ self-regulation.To clarify the father’s contribution in child’s development,this study also examined the father’s influences under the control of mother-related variables.The study was carried out in 38 families in Shenzhen,with both toddlers and parents participated by two waves of home visits,one was performed at 14-months-old and another at 28-months-old.Combined with the two frameworks of self-regulation,executive function,and effortful control,children’s self-regulation was measured by inhibition control,behavior control,working memory,and cognitive flexibility;parents’ self-regulation was measured by problem-solving,biased attention and cognitive flexibility.Parenting styles were coded and analyzed by videotaped parent-child interactions,which referred to sensitivity,autonomy support,disciplines,mind-mindedness,and the attributions of children’s behavior.In addition,questionnaires assessing multiple dimensions of their mental states,the couple relationship,parental tasks division,and their concepts about parenting were used to supplement the influencing factors.Results showed that the mother spent more time and effort on daily care for the child,however,there wasn’t much significant difference between father and mother in parenting styles.About the influence of parenting,only paternal discipline,sensitivity,and mind-mindedness played the predicting roles in the development of toddler’s self-regulation in the longitudinal study.Among discipline subscales,paternal physical interference,laxness,harsh physical interference,and scare tactics were negative predictors of toddlers’ self-regulation,while paternal supportive presence was a positive predictor.Besides,paternal sensitivity,non-interference,and mind-mindedness also positively predicted the child’s self-regulation,while negative attributions of a child’s behavior were negative ones.As for parents’ self-regulation,the father’s cognitive flexibility measured at 14 months has a significant positive predictive effect on the behavior control of 28-month-old children.Mothers’ corresponding variables were not significant predictors of toddlers’ self-regulation.It reveals fathers’ unique and irreplaceable contributions to children’s self-regulation development.This study explores the role of parents in the development of children’s self-regulation and reveals fathers’ important influence on children’s self-regulation in parenting and hereditary perspective,further enriching the studies on children’s self-regulation and the impact of family functions on children.