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Caregiver Perceptions and Expectations and Child Emotion Regulation: A Test of Two Mediation Models Predicting Child Psychopathology among Trauma-Exposed Children

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Abstract

The current investigation compared the reciprocal mediating effects of child emotion regulation and caregiver perceptions and expectations of the child on psychopathology in maltreated children. A clinical sample of 38 children (ages 7 to 12 years old with trauma histories) and their caregivers were assessed prior to treatment. Subtypes of child emotion regulation included emotion dysregulation and poor emotion understanding. Domains of child functioning included post-traumatic stress symptomatology, internalizing behavior problems, and externalizing behavior problems. Findings supported mediation by child emotion regulation as an indirect pathway in the relationship between caregiver perceptions and expectations and psychopathology. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

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  1. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Robert T. Muller, N. Angela Vascotto & Sheila Konanur

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  1. Robert T. Muller
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  2. N. Angela Vascotto
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  3. Sheila Konanur
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Correspondence to Robert T. Muller.

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Muller, R.T., Vascotto, N.A. & Konanur, S. Caregiver Perceptions and Expectations and Child Emotion Regulation: A Test of Two Mediation Models Predicting Child Psychopathology among Trauma-Exposed Children. Journ Child Adol Trauma 6, 126–141 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1080/19361521.2013.781089

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