Several studies have revealed that parents play a crucial role in shaping their children’s early emotional development and regulation. However, research on emotion regulation in adolescents and how...Show moreSeveral studies have revealed that parents play a crucial role in shaping their children’s early emotional development and regulation. However, research on emotion regulation in adolescents and how peer victimization experiences affect it have been scarce on that field. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate if the effect of parent-child relationship quality on emotion regulation strategies was different in different levels of peer victimization exposure. A total of 87 students from two secondary Dutch schools, aged between 13-16 years old, participated in the study. Data about their peer victimization history, tendencies to regulate their emotions and the way they assessed their relationship with their primary caregivers were collected through self-report measures. The findings revealed that peer victimization effectively moderated the relationship between negative parent-child relationship quality and expressive suppression. Specifically, the effect of negative parent-child relationship quality on expressive suppression use was stronger for adolescents who experienced lower levels of peer victimization. A main effect of positive relationship quality on habitual use of cognitive reappraisal was also recognized. These results suggest that in general parent child relationship quality plays a significant role in the regulation of emotions in middle adolescence, whether peer victimization is involved or not. The limitations of the current study highlighted the need for further investigation with a longitudinal study design and heterogenous sample to examine how emotion regulation strategies and parent-child relationship are affected across the developmental period of adolescence and across different ethnicities.Show less
