Cognitive reactivity and emotional dysregulation mediate the relation of paternal and maternal harsh parenting to adolescent social anxiety.

BACKGROUND

Extant models of the association between harsh parenting and social anxiety among adolescents are mostly partial mediation models, leaving much of the relationship unaccounted for.

OBJECTIVE

The current study intends to test a two-mediator model in which adolescents' cognitive reactivity and emotional dysregulation were assumed to mediate the potential impact of harsh parenting on their social anxiety.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: A sample of 726 adolescent students with their parents was recruited from two middle schools located in a provincial city of Northern China.

METHODS

Both fathers and mothers were required to report on their spouse's harsh parenting practices. The "Behind your back" task was used to assess cognitive reactivity of adolescents who also reported on their emotional dysregulation and social anxiety. Moderated mediation model and simple slope analyses were used to examine the meditational relations and the moderating role of child sex.

RESULTS

For the current model, cognitive reactivity and emotional dysregulation could completely mediate the potential influence of harsh fathering and harsh mothering on adolescents' social anxiety. Moreover, harsh fathering has a greater effect on adolescents' social anxiety than harsh mothering, especially for girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Cognitive reactivity in conjunction with emotional dysfunction can better account for the relationship from harsh fathering and harsh mothering to adolescents' social anxiety.