Intervening to Shape Children’s Emotion Regulation: A Review of Emotion Socialization Parenting Programs for Young Children

Emotion regulation patterns are shaped, in part, by the quality of interpersonal interactions during early development. Given the important contribution of caregiver emotion socialization, parenting programs targeting these socialization practices represent an effective method of preventative intervention for childhood difficulties with emotion regulation. This review examines emotion socialization parenting programs that target the development of emotion regulation in young children aged 0-6. Through a systematic search of multiple databases, 1117 articles were retrieved for title, abstract, and full-text screening. After screening, 12 articles remained and were summarized using a narrative approach. Herein, we provide an overview of 3 main intervention frameworks: Tuning in to Kids (TIK), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy-Emotion Development (PCIT-ED), and Emotion Enhanced Triple P (EETP). Overall, these emotion socialization programs have demonstrated efficacy in their ability to improve parenting behaviors related to the coaching of young children's emotion regulation; however, there has been limited examination of their effectiveness in promoting children's emotion regulation. Future research is required to address this limitation, with rigorous parenting intervention studies incorporating valid assessments of children's emotion regulation in order to promote children's development of adaptive emotion regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).