Parenting and Emotions: An Understanding of Parental Emotion Regulation

Emotion regulation (ER) consists of deploying various extrinsic and intrinsic processes that monitor, evaluate, and modify the different features of emotional reactions while pursuing the chosen goals. This chapter tries to present a cultural perspective on parent emotion regulation, respecting similarities and differences in content, expression of emotional experiences, and strategies. The current strategies in emotion regulation include cognitive reappraisal and response-focused expressive suppression. In this chapter, the use of emotion regulation strategies as a culturally embedded process and its role in curating interventions is explored. In collectivistic cultures like India, parents seem to indulge in dampening of the positive affect for the self and others and upregulation is attempted via sharing narratives. Some other relevant strategies of emotion regulation include reflective disconnection from situations and positive problem-solving. More recently, the use of music, emotion coaching, and mentalization has been recommended for emotion regulation.