Graduate Program

Clinical Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2011

Thesis Director

Wesley Allan

Thesis Committee Member

Anu Sharma

Thesis Committee Member

Jeff Stowell

Abstract

Emotion regulation is necessary for a child to adapt to and function well in the environment. Problems in child emotion regulation have been linked with numerous negative outcomes. This paper reviews the current literature linking child social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and depression to emotion regulation. In addition, the relationship between parent symptomatology and child emotion regulation is discussed. A mediated model that examines the association between maternal social anxiety and the three symptom clusters (i.e., social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and depressive symptoms), with child emotion regulation as a mediator, was tested. Contrary to the hypotheses, child emotion regulation did not serve as a mediator between maternal social anxiety and child internalizing symptoms. However, maternal social anxiety and sex predicted child social anxiety, and !ability/negativity and ethnicity predicted depressive symptoms. Possible explanations for these findings, suggestions for future research, and clinical implications are also discussed.

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