Parental socialization of children's dysregulated expression of emotion and externalizing problems

The relations of parents' warmth, emotional expressivity, and discussion of emotion to 2nd-5th graders' regulation of emotional expressivity, external izing problem behaviors, and expressivity were examined. Parents' and child ren's facial expressions to evocative slides were observed, as was parents' discussion of the slides, and parents and teachers provided information on children's regulation of expressivity and problem behavior. Analyses suppo rted the hypothesis that the effect of parental variables on children's pro blem behavior was at least partly indirect through their children's regulat ion of emotion. Children's low negative (versus positive) facial expressivi ty to negative slides was associated with problem behavior for boys. A reve rsed model did not support the possibility that children's functioning had causal effects on parenting. The findings suggest that parents' emotion-rel ated behaviors are linked to children's regulation of expressivity and exte rnalizing behaviors.