A Study on Parents' Emotion Regulation Skills, Self-Awareness, and Cognitive Flexibility Levels

Year 2022, , 785 - 796, 20.12.2022

Betül Gökçen Doğan Laçin , Hurızat Hande Turp

https://doi.org/10.33200/ijcer.1096498

Abstract

Individuals' cognitive flexibility, their capacity to regulate their emotions, and their ability to be aware of the present moment will positively influence the way they behave toward themselves and their environment. It is considered that parents with these characteristics will exhibit behaviors that influence future generations largely in a positive way. The research aims to test a hypothetical model developed based on the literature to determine the factors affecting the cognitive flexibility of parents. The study group of the research consists of 351 parents with children in various age groups who are attending preschool, primary school, secondary school, or high school. The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale were utilized as data collection tools in this study. The research was carried out with the relational screening model. Structural Equation Modeling was used for the analysis of the data. The emotion regulation skills and mindfulness demonstrated a positive relationship in the model where cognitive flexibility was accepted as a predicted variable. Besides, mindfulness displays a positive relationship with cognitive flexibility.

Keywords

Cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, mindfulness, parents

References

• Al-Jabari, R. M. (2012). Relationships among self-esteem, psychological and cognitive flexibility, and psychological symptomatology. Unpublished master's thesis,University of North Texas, ABD.
• Altunkol, F. (2011). The evaluation of the relationship between cognitive flexibility and the perceieved stress levels of university students. Unpublished master's thesis, Çukurova University Adana.
• Aslan Gördesli, M., Arslan, R., Çekici, F., Aydın Sünbül, Z., Malkoç, A. (2018). The Psychometric Properties of The Mindfulness In Parenting Questionnaire In Turkish Sample. European Journal of Education Studies, 5, 5, pp. 175-188.
• Atayeter, B. (2020). The relationship between parents' cognitive flexibility and perfectionism levels, and temperament characteristics of preschool children. Unpublished master's thesis, İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, İstanbul.
• Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
• Bariola, E., Gullone, E., & Hughes, E. K. (2011). Child and adolescent emotion regulation: The role of parental emotion regulation and expression. Clinical child and family psychology review, 14(2), 198. doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0158-y
• Barros, L., Goes, R., & Pereira, A. I. F. (2015). Parental self-regulation, emotional regulation and temperament: Implications for intervention. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 32(2), 295–306 doi.org/10.1590/0103-166X2015000200013
• Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Clinical, experimental, and theoretical aspects. New York: Harper and Row.
• Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical psychology: Science and practice, 11(3), 230-241. doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
• Cañas, J., Quesada, J., Antolí, A., & Fajardo, I.. (2003). Cognitive flexibility and adaptability to environmental changes in dynamic complex problem-solving tasks. Ergonomics, 46(5), doi.org/482–501. 10.1080/0014013031000061640
• Carmody, J., Baer, R. A., LB Lykins, E., & Olendzki, N. (2009). An empirical study of the mechanisms of mindfulness in a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program. Journal of clinical psychology, 65(6), 613-626.doi.org/ 10.1002/jclp.20579
• Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. (2006).19. (Available from: https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectID=09000016805d6dda
• Çetin, Ç. (2020). Evaluation of the predictive role of cognitive flexibility and foreign language learning motivation for foreign language anxiety in students preparing for a university . Unpublished master's thesis, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir.
• Dağ, İ. ve Gülüm, V. (2014). The mediating role of cognitive features in the relationship between adult attachment patterns and psychopathology symptoms: cognitive flexibility. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry, 25(4), 244-252.
• Delano-Wood, L. M. (2002). The relationship between cognitive flexibility, depression, and anxiety in older adults. Yayınlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi, Michigan State University, ABD.
• Demirci, O. O., & Güneri, E. (2020). The effect of cognitive flexibility on cognitive emotion regulation. Uludağ University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences, 21(39), 651-684. doi.org/10.21550/sosbilder.624377
• Demirtaş, A. (2019). Cognitive Control and Cognitive Flexibility in Stressful Situations: An Adaptation Study of a scale. Psychology Studies, 39 (2) , 345-368. doi.org/10.26650/SP2019-0028
• Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9276-4
• Deplus, S., Billieux, J., Scharff, C., & Philippot, P. (2016). A mindfulness-based group intervention for enhancing self-regulation of emotion in late childhood and adolescence: A pilot study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 14(5), 775-790. doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9627-1
• Dick, A. M., Niles, B. L., Street, A. E., DiMartino, D. M., & Mitchell, K. S. (2014). Examining mechanisms of change in a yoga intervention for women: The influence of mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and emotion regulation on PTSD symptoms. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(12), 1170-1182. doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22104
• Dix, T. (1991). The affective organization of parenting: Adaptive and maladaptative processes. Psychological Bulletin, 110(1), 3–25. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.3
• Dumas, J. E. (2005). Mindfulness-based parent training: Strategies to lessen the grip of automaticity in families with disruptive children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(4), 779–791. doi.org/ 10.1207/s15374424jccp3404_20
• Eldeleklioğlu, J., & Eroğlu, Y. (2015). A Turkish adaptation of the emotion regulation questionnaire. Journal of Human Sciences, 12(1), 1157-1168.
• Gabrys, R. L., Tabri, N., Anisman, H., & Matheson, K.. (2018). Cognitive Control and Flexibility in the Context of Stress and Depressive Symptoms: The Cognitive Control and Flexibility Questionnaire. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02219
• Germer, C. K. (2009). The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
• Gopnik, A., O’Grady, S., Lucas, C. G., Griffiths, T. L., Wente, A., Bridgers, S., Aboody, R., Fung, H., & Dahl, R. E.. (2017). Changes in cognitive flexibility and hypothesis search across human life history from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(30), 7892–7899.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700811114
• Gross, J. J. & John, O.P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation Processes: Implicationsfor Affect, Relationships, and Well-Being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362 doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
• Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of general psychology, 2(3), 271-299. doi.org/10.1037%2F1089-2680.2.3.271
• Hanh, N.T. (1976). The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation.( Çev. Mobi, H). Boston: Beacon Press.
• Hill, C. L., & Updegraff, J. A. (2012). Mindfulness and its relationship to emotional regulation. Emotion, 12(1), 81.doi.org/10.1037/a0026355
• Johnco, C., Wuthrich, V. M., & Rapee, R. M. (2014). The influence of cognitive flexibility on treatment outcome and cognitive restructuring skill acquisition during cognitive behavioural treatment for anxiety and depression in older adults: Results of a pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 57, 55–64. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2014.04.005
• Kabat-Zinn, J., & Kabat-Zinn, M. (2021). Mindful parenting: perspectives on the heart of the matter. Mindfulness, 1-3.doi.org/ 10.1007/s12671-020-01564-7
• Kabat-Zinn, J.. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future.. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016
• Kabat-Zinn, M., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2014). Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Hachette.
• Kaymaz, E., & Şakiroğlu, M. (2020). The Effect of Mindful Awareness and Cognitive Flexibility on Problematic Smartphone Use: The Mediating Role of Self-Control. Uludağ University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences, 21(38), 79-108. doi.org/10.21550/sosbilder.600325
• Keltner, D., & Gross, J. J. (1999). Functional accounts of emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 13(5), 467-480. doi.org/10.1080/026999399379140
• Kobayashi, J. E. (2017). The longitudinal effects of parenting determinants on preschoolage parenting behaviors (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Michigan State University, United States.
• Koesten, J., Schrodt, P., & Ford, D. J. (2009). Cognitive flexibility as a mediator of family ommunication environments and young adults' well-being. Health Communication, 24(1), 82-94. doi.org/10.1080/10410230802607024
• Kohn, A., (2015). Unconditional Parenting. (translated by Y. Ataman.) Ankara: Görünmez Adam Publishing
• Koole, S. L.. (2009). The psychology of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Cognition and Emotion, 23(1), 4–41.
• Küçüker, D. (2016). Evalulation of the relationships between forgiveness, unforgiveness, cognitive flexibility, emotion regulation, and life satisfaction. Unpublished master's thesis, Pamukkale University, Denizli.
• Lazarus, R. S. (1993). From psychological stress to the emotions: A history of changing outlooks. Annual review of psychology, 44(1), 1-22.
• Leahy, R.L., Tirch, D., Napolitano L. A. (2011). Emotion regulation in psychotherapy. Guilford Press.
• Lebares, C. C., Guvva, E. V., Olaru, M., Sugrue, L. P., Staffaroni, A. M., Delucchi, K. L., Kramer, J. H., Ascher, N. L., & Harris, H. W.. (2019). Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Training in Surgery. JAMA Network Open, 2(5), e194108. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4108
• Lin, Y. (2013). The effects of cognitive flexibility and openness to change on college students' academic performance. Unpublished master's thesis, La Sierra University, USA.
• Mark, B. A. & Wan, T.T.H. (2005). Testing measurement equivalence in a patient satisfaction instrument. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 27 (6), 772-787. doi: 10.1177/0193945905276336
• Martin, D. J., Oren, Z., & Boone, K. (1991). Major depressives' and dysthymics' performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Journal of clinical psychology, 47(5), 684-690. doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(199109)47:5%3C684::AID-JCLP2270470509%3E3.0.CO;2-G
• Martin, M. M., & Anderson C. M. (1998). The cognitive flexibility scale: Three validity studies. Communication Reports, 11(1), 1-9. doi:10.1080/08934219809367680
• Martin, M. M., & Rubin, R. B. (1995). A New Measure of Cognitive Flexibility. Psychological Reports, 76(2), 623–626. doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1995.76.2.623
• McCaffrey, S., Reitman, D., & Black, R. (2017). Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ): Development and validation of a measure of mindful parenting. Mindfulness, 8(1), 232-246.doi.org/ 10.1007/s12671-016-0596-7
• Moreira, H., & Cristina Canavarro, M.. (2020). Mindful Parenting is Associated with Adolescents’ Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Through Adolescents’ Psychological Inflexibility and Self-Compassion. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49(1), 192–211. doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01133-9
• Murphy, J. W. (2015). Factors associated with emotion regulation flexibility. Unpublished master's thesis, Illinois Institute of Technology, USA.
• Ren, Y., Han, Z. R., Ahemaitijiang, N., & Zhang, G. (2021). Maternal mindfulness and school-age children’s emotion regulation: Mediation by positive parenting practices and moderation by maternal perceived life stress. Mindfulness, 12(2), 306–318. doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01300-w
• Rousseau, S., Grietens, H., Vanderfaeillie, J., Hoppenbrouwers, K., Wiersema, J. R., & Van Leeuwen, K. (2013). Parenting stress and dimensions of parenting behavior: cross-sectional and longitudinal links with adolescents' somatization. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 46(3), 243-270. doi.org/10.2190/PM.46.3.b
• Sawyer Cohen, J. A., & Semple, R. J.. (2010). Mindful Parenting: A Call for Research. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), doi.org/145–151. 10.1007/s10826-009-9285-7
• Seçer, Z . (2017). The Relationships Between Emotion Regulations of Socially Competent Preschool Children and their Mothers' Emotion Socialization Behaviors. Kastamonu Journal of Education, 25 (4) , 1435-1452.
• Siegel, D. J. (2007). Mindfulness training and neural integration: Differentiation of distinct streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2(4), 259-263. doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsm034
• Soltani, E., Shareh, H., Bahrainian, S. A., & Farmani, A. (2013). The mediating role of cognitive flexibility in correlation of coping styles and resilience with depression. Pajoohandeh Journal, 18(2), 88-96.
• Teper, R., Segal, Z. V., & Inzlicht, M. (2013). Inside the mindful mind: How mindfulness enhances emotion regulation through improvements in executive control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(6), 449-454.doi.org/10.1177/0963721413495869
• Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. Monographs of the society for research in child development, 59(2-3), 25-52. doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5834.1994.tb01276.x