Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun 1:36:1-14.
doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2014.12.008.

Emotion Regulation in Parenthood

Helena J V Rutherford  1 , Norah S Wallace  2 , Heidemarie K Laurent  3 , Linda C Mayes  1
Affiliations

Emotion Regulation in Parenthood

Helena J V Rutherford et al. Dev Rev. .

Abstract

Emotion regulation, defined as the capacity to influence one's experience and expression of emotion, is a complex skill now recognized to evolve throughout the lifetime. Here we examine the role of emotion regulation in parenthood, and propose that regulatory function during this period is distinct from the emotion regulation skills acquired and implemented during other periods of life. In this review, we consider the unique demands of caring for a child and recognize that parents have to maintain a regulated state as well as facilitate regulation in their child, especially early in development. We examine neurobiological, hormonal and behavioral shifts during the transition to parenthood that may facilitate parental regulation in response to infant cues. Furthermore, we consider how parents shape emotion regulation in their child, and the clinical implications of regulatory functioning within the parent-child relationship.

Keywords: dyadic regulation; emotion regulation; motherhood; parenting.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ainsworth MS. Infant–mother attachment. American Psychologist. 1979;34(10):932. - PubMed
    1. Aldao A, Nolen-Hoeksema S, Schweizer S. Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clin Psychol Rev. 2010;30(2):217–237. - PubMed
    1. Atzil S, Hendler T, Feldman R. Specifying the neurobiological basis of human attachment: Brain, hormones, and behavior in synchronous and intrusive mothers. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011;36(13):2603–2615. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Atzil S, Hendler T, Zagoory-Sharon O, Winetraub Y, Feldman R. Synchrony and specificity in the maternal and the paternal brain: relations to oxytocin and vasopressin. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2012 - PubMed
    1. Bariola E, Hughes EK, Gullone E. Relationships between parent and child emotion regulation strategy use: A brief report. Journal of Child and Family Studies. :2012. 1–6.

LinkOut - more resources