Associations between Parenting, Temperament-Related Self-Regulation and the Moral Self in Middle Childhood

Abstract

The moral self is increasingly being debated in research, i.e., what causes children to internalise and evaluate the importance of certain moral values. The aim of the present study is to analyse associations between parental warmth and harsh parenting, temperamental self-regulation (inhibitory control and impulsivity), and the moral self in middle childhood. A total of 194 (n = 52 children with special educational needs in emotional–social development) six- to eleven-year-old children (Mage = 8.53, SDage = 1.40) and their primary caregivers (Mage = 40.41, SDage = 5.94) participated in this cross-sectional questionnaire study. Parental warmth and impulsivity were associated with the moral self. Impulsivity mediated the relationship between harsh parenting as well as parental warmth and the moral self. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to social information processing theory. The importance of parenting and temperamental self-regulation is discussed as implications that may in turn strengthen children’s moral selves.