Emotion-Related Parenting Styles (ERPS): A Short Form for Measuring Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy

Abstract

Research Findings: Parents’ meta-emotion philosophy guides their approach to teaching their children about emotions (J. M. Gottman, L. F. Katz, & C. Hooven, 1997) and is measured with the Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Self-Test–Likert (Gottman et al., 1997, modified by J. Hakim-Larson, A. Parker, C. Lee, J. Goodwin, & S. Voelker, 2006). The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying structure of this measure, develop a short form, and assess its psychometric properties. In a sample of 107 parents of typically developing children, principal factor extraction with a direct oblimin rotation (delta = 0) identified 3 factors: emotion coaching, parental acceptance of negative emotion, and parental rejection of negative emotion. In a sample of 107 parents of children with developmental disabilities, a 4th factor was identified: feelings of uncertainty/ineffectiveness in emotion socialization. The 4-factor, 20-item short form showed good validity and reliability, with Cronbach's alphas ranging from .70 to .80. Practice or Policy: This short form is a practical means of assessment and may be used to identify parents of typically developing children who perceive similar challenges with their children's emotions as do parents who have children with developmental disabilities. The discussion centers on potential emotion-related parenting practices and the identification of children at risk for emotion regulation difficulties.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Part of this research was supported by a grant from the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

Notes

Note. ASD = autism spectrum disorder; DD = developmental disability.

Note. Because of missing cases, n for the DD sample is 103 and n for the non-DD sample is 101. All items were adapted from Gottman (1997). DD = developmental disabilities; Com = communalities; EC = emotion coaching parenting style; PA = parental acceptance of negative emotion; PR = parental rejection of negative emotion; UI = feelings of uncertainty/ineffectiveness in emotion socialization; DA = disapproving parenting style; DS = dismissing parenting style; LF = laissez-faire parenting style.

Note. The range of n varies from 99 to 105 because of missing cases. ERPSST-L = Emotion-Related Parenting Styles Self-Test–Likert; ERPS = Emotion Related Parenting Styles; DD = developmental disabilities; EC = emotion coaching parenting style; LF = laissez-faire parenting style; DS = dismissing parenting style; DA = disapproving parenting style; PR = parental rejection of negative emotion; PA = parental acceptance of negative emotion; UI = feelings of uncertainty/ineffectiveness in emotion socialization.

Scoring: Emotion coaching parenting style (EC): 3, 6, 8, 15, 19; parental rejection of negative emotion (PR): 1, 4, 10, 11, 14; parental acceptance of negative emotion (PA): 2, 5, 9, 12, 16; feelings of uncertainty/ineffectiveness in emotion socialization (UI): 7, 13, 17, 18, 20.