Bullying and Temperament in Preschool Children: The Role of Parents’ Emotional Socialization Practices
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study examined the effects of parents’ emotional socialization attitudes on children’s bullying and victim behaviors as well as temperament traits within the context of demographic variables. The findings revealed that parents’ distress, punitive, minimizing, and emotion-focused responses play a decisive role in children’s social and emotional development. In particular, punitive and minimizing parental reactions were associated with negative temperament traits and bullying behaviors, while emotion-focused responses were found to increase victimization tendencies. Moreover, factors such as children’s gender, age, parents’ education level, and socio-economic status significantly influenced parental attitudes and children’s temperament characteristics. Accordingly, the study demonstrates that the quality of emotional communication within the family directly affects children’s social behaviors. The way parents respond to emotions shapes how children build relationships with themselves and with others. The results emphasize the necessity of comprehensive parental education programs and school-based interventions aimed at supporting children’s emotional regulation skills and preventing bullying. In this regard, it is recommended that parents adopt an accepting and supportive approach toward their children’s emotions. At the same time, educators are encouraged to implement strategies that foster emotional learning in classroom environments. The findings also highlight the need for the development of policies that enhance child well-being not only at the individual but also at the societal level. Strengthening empathy within parent–child relationships positively affect children’s adaptation in both individual and social domains. The results underline the importance of raising parental awareness from early childhood onwards to promote children’s ability to establish healthy social relationships. In this context, supporting emotional socialization processes both within families and in educational settings will contribute to raising healthier individuals in the long term.
Author: Ece Nur Dönbak
Institution: Istanbul Kent University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7159765108
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