The Effects of Maternal Autonomy-Support and Guilt-ThInduction on Young Adults’ Emotion Regulation and the Moderating Role of Maternal Warmth.

Abstract

Based on Self-Determination Theory, the present experimental study examined the effects of maternal autonomy-support and guilt-induction on young adults’ emotion regulation (i.e., integrative emotion regulation, emotion suppression and dysregulation). In addition, this study examined the moderating role of maternal warmth in the relation between guilt-induction and emotion regulation. The sample consisted of 530 young adults from Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria (Mage = 21.35; SDage = 2.07; 72.2% female) who were randomly assigned to one of three vignettes (i.e., autonomy-support, guilt-induction/low warmth, guilt-induction/high warmth). After reading the vignette, participants indicated the perceived parenting with respect to the vignette and their emotion regulation strategies in response to the vignette. Results showed that participants in the autonomy-supportive condition reported higher levels of perceived autonomy-support and warmth and lower levels of guilt-induction and emotion dysregulation than participants in both guilt-inducing conditions, with these two latter conditions not differing significantly with respect to both perceived parenting and emotion regulation. Current findings add to the growing literature on guilt-induction by showing that regardless of displayed parental warmth, guilt-induction has detrimental effects on individuals’ emotion regulation. Furthermore, given the key role of emotion dysregulation in ill-being, mental health services and counselling programs could even further try to consider the importance of maternal parenting practices for young adults’ emotion regulation capabilities