The Structural Relationship Between Mothers' Parenting Behaviors and Gender-Specific Differences in Young Children's Self-Regulation

Abstract

This study investigated whether the effects of mothers’ warm/supportive and hostile/aggressive parenting behaviors on young children’s self-regulation differ by gender. Participants were 170 mothers of children aged 3 to 5 years (82 boys, 88 girls). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis with SPSS 21.0 and Amos 18.0. The results revealed distinct gender differences: for girls, warm/supportive parenting had a significant positive association with self-regulation development, whereas for boys, hostile/aggressive parenting had a significant negative association. These findings highlight the importance of considering gender-specific sensitivities in parenting practices and provide empirical evidence for designing targeted parent education and early childhood intervention programs.