Investigation of the relationship between mothers' gatekeeping behaviors and their children's social competence, problematic behavior and emotion regulation skills

In the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between mothers' parenting behaviors and their children's social competence, problematic behaviors and emotion regulation skills of children. The sample of the study consisted of 305 children (181 girls, 124 boys) and their mothers, who were attending preschool education in kindergarten, primary school, and secondary school classes in Altıeylül and Karesi districts of Balıkesir province during the 2022-2023 academic year. The data collection instruments used in the study were "Maternal Gatekeeping Scale-Mother Form," "Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation-30 Scale," "Emotion Regulation Scale," and "Demographic Information Form." Descriptive analyses, Pearson correlation test, independent groups t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to analyze the obtained data. Some of the findings from the study are as follows: There is no significant relationship between mothers' parenting behaviors and their children's social competence and behavior problems. There is a positive relationship between mothers' supportive behaviors and children's emotion regulation. However, it was found that as mothers' restrictive behaviors increase, children's emotional variability also increases. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between children's social competence and emotion regulation. Mothers' parenting behaviors vary according to their education status, marital status, and receiving support from the other parent/spouse, while the quality time spent with the child, the number of siblings, and the duration of preschool education attendance do not differ. Children's social competence, problematic behavior and emotion regulation skills vary according to their mother's education status, while they do not differ based on the number of siblings. Keywords: Maternal Gatekeeping, Social Competence, Problematic Behavior, Emotion Regulation