Emotional Regulation in Parental Optimism—The Influence of Parenting Style

Abstract

This study contributes to determining the relationship between parental emotional regulation, optimism, and parenting style. The responses collected from respondents with parental status were used in the research. The majority of respondents were female; in terms of the age of participants, they were predominantly in the category of 31–40 years, followed by those in the category 41–50 years. The data were analyzed statistically through operations such as correlations, regression, and analysis of variance. The results indicate that the authoritative parenting style is associated with the emotional regulation of parents (r = 0.25, p < 0.001), but also with their level of optimism (r = 0.29, p < 0.001). It has been demonstrated both through correlations and through confirmatory factor analysis that optimism and emotional regulation are two factors that contribute to the adoption of the authoritative parenting style. The analysis of variance indicated that the emotional regulation of the parents does not vary according to their age. Based on multiple linear regression, it was established that 5% of parents’ level of optimism is predicted by their level of emotional regulation. These new results reveal the contribution of emotional regulation and parental optimism in the process of raising and educating a child.