Developmental Aspects of Self-Regulation in Germany and Chile: Links among Maternal Warmth, Children’s Self-Regulation, and Social Competence

The present study investigated relations among maternal warmth, children’s self-regulation (i.e., behavior and emotion regulation), and prosocial behavior. The assumed relations were studied in Germany and Chile, two socialization contexts differing in socio-economic and cultural factors. The sample consisted of 76 German and 167 Chilean fourth graders, their mothers, and teachers. Maternal warmth was rated by mothers with the Parenting Practice Questionnaire (PPQ). Children reported the use of emotion regulation strategies on the Questionnaire for the Measurement of Stress and Coping in Children and Adolescents (SSKJ 3-8). Mothers’ and teachers’ ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to measure children’s behavior regulation and prosocial behavior. Regression analyses revealed positive relations of maternal warmth to children’s problem-oriented emotion regulation and of behavior regulation to prosocial behavior in Germany and in Chile. Moreover, mediation analyses revealed indirect positive effects of self-regulation on the relations between maternal warmth and prosocial behavior. These indirect effects occurred for different aspects of self-regulation in Germany (i.e., behavior regulation) and in Chile (i.e., problem-oriented emotion regulation). Results are discussed from a cultural informed developmental perspective.