Parenting children with behavioral and emotional difficulties often involves significant stress and emotional challenges, requiring targeted interventions to support parental well-being. This study examines how attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) influence emotion regulation (ER) difficulties in parents, focusing on the mediating roles of self-compassion and parental feelings. Data were collected from 662 parents of children receiving care in a psychiatric center. Path analysis revealed that insecure attachment styles are directly linked to increased ER difficulties. Self-compassion emerged as a protective mediator, while parental anger uniquely mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and ER challenges. These findings underscore the need for social work interventions that enhance self-compassion and address parental emotions, particularly in high-stress caregiving contexts. This study highlights actionable pathways for improving parental ER capacities, which can strengthen family resilience and enhance outcomes for children receiving mental health care.
Shenaar‐Golan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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