Article
The Mediating Effect of Maternal Overprotective Parenting on the Relationship Between Young Children’s Shyness and Emotion Regulation
| e-ISSN | 2982-6845 |
| p-ISSN | 1226-4474 |
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Abstract
This study examines how shyness in young children influences emotion regulation and explores whether maternal overprotective parenting mediates this association. Shyness was classified into conflicted shyness and social disinterest, while overprotective parenting consisted of intrusiveness, indulgence/permissiveness, and worry/protection. Participants were 350 mothers of 4- and 5-year-old young children, and data were collected through an online survey. Structural equation modeling using SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 21.0 was conducted, and indirect effects were verified using phantom variable analysis. The results indicated that higher levels of conflicted shyness and social disinterest were associated with greater maternal intrusiveness, indulgence/permissiveness, and worry/protection. Among these dimensions, intrusiveness and indulgence/permissiveness negatively predicted young children’s emotion regulation, confirming their mediating roles. Additionally, conflicted shyness directly reduced young children’s emotion regulation, whereas social disinterest did not show a significant direct effect. These findings elucidate the structural pathways linking young children’s shyness and maternal parenting and provide practical implications for parent education aimed at fostering emotional development.