Trait and state emotion regulation and parental wellbeing during war

Abstract

The Israel-Hamas war and the events of October 7th caused psychological distress among the entire population in Israel, including parents. This study explores the role of emotion regulation in buffering war-related stress and its impact on parental burnout and negative mood. One month after October 7th, 577 parents (79 % females, mean age = 37.9) were assessed for their emotion regulation tendencies (traits) and the effectiveness of two strategies—reappraisal and rumination—in mitigating negative emotions (state emotion regulation). Participants completed an emotion regulation task involving writing about a personal adverse event related to the war's aftermath and subsequently wrote a self-directed letter to promote emotional relief. Findings revealed that while trait reappraisal correlated with lower parental burnout, rumination significantly moderated the relationship between war-related stress and burnout, exacerbating stress effects. Additionally, state reappraisal reduced negative emotions, while rumination heightened them. These results highlight the importance of emotion regulation, particularly the protective role of reappraisal and the detrimental effects of rumination, in managing the psychological impact of acute war-related stress. This study provides valuable insights into parental mental health during crises and emphasizes the need to promote adaptive emotion regulation strategies to support parental well-being in high-stress environments.