| Abstract: | Parental affect and coping strategies have been identified as being important for the understanding of the processes involved in the socialization of children. In the present study, 24 fathers (mean age 35.21 yrs old) and 62 mothers (mean age 35.05 yrs) (unrelated) described a stressful incident with one of their children and completed questionnaires addressing their appraisal of the event, their affect, and consequent coping strategy. Both child characteristics (age, birth order, and gender) and parent characteristics (gender, affect intensity, and ego level) were examined in relation to parents' appraisal of the cause of the event, their affect, and their coping strategy. Feelings of being angry, afraid, sad, and guilty, and use of coping strategies are discussed in light of the need for further research on emotion in parenting situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
