Objective: This study analyzes the mediation effects of difficulties in emotion regulation and parenting behaviors in the relationship between parent’s family-of-origin attachment and children’s executive function, considering the mutual effect of fathers and mothers.
Methods: Considering the mutual characteristics of parental relationship, data were collected from 435 pairs of fathers and mothers with children aged 3 to 6. For data analysis, the actor and partner effects were analyzed by applying the APIM model, and the mediation model was confirmed. The main research findings are as follows.
Results: First, analysis of the mediation effects showed the following actor effects. Parent’s family-of-origin attachment affected children’s executive function through a sequential double mediation of difficulties in emotion regulation and parenting behaviors. Second, differences between the groups according to child’s gender were found to have a stronger effect on boys than on girls in the path of mothers’ attachment with the origin of the family to children’s executive function, and in the path of mothers’ difficulties in emotion regulation to their positive parenting behaviors.
Conclusion: It is meaningful that through this study, parents who had difficulty raising their children’s execution functions provided data on parental support or policy development in consideration of their children’s current psychological and emotional characteristics.