Adversity is Differentially Related to Anger and Sadness Regulation in Newcomer Refugee Children

Abstract

This study employed developmental niche frameworks to examine how adversity at the child- and parent-levels, as well as at the relational level through parental discipline strategies, was associated with refugee newcomer children's emotion regulation. Participants were 128 Syrian newcomer children (52% girls; ages 5–15 years) and their mothers who have been resettling in Canada. Mothers and children reported adverse life experiences in an interview, and mothers reported parental discipline strategies and their children's emotion regulation via a questionnaire. Simultaneous path analyses revealed that mothers' adverse life events predicted better sadness regulation in children, while children's own adverse life events predicted poorer anger regulation. Mothers' power assertion was negatively associated with anger regulation, while love withdrawal was associated with better sadness and anger regulation. Universality and cultural specificity of the functions of maternal discipline strategies are discussed. These findings may inform the development of practices to support newcomer children and families' social–emotional wellbeing.