Path Analysis of the Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation in Explaining the Relationship Between Parenting Styles and Moral Development in University Students
Akhlāq-i zīstī i.e., Bioethics Journal,
Vol. 15 No. 40 (1404),
14 July 2025
,
Page 1-12
https://doi.org/10.22037/bioeth.v15i40.51289
Abstract
Background and Aim: Moral development, as one of the important outcomes of psychosocial development, is influenced by family factors and internal processes such as cognitive emotion regulation. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship between perceived parenting styles and moral development in university psychology students.
Methods: This descriptive-correlational study examined the relationships between variables using path analysis. The statistical population consisted of all undergraduate students of Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, in the second semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. From among them, 320 individuals were selected by convenience sampling. Participants completed the Baumrind Parenting Styles Questionnaire (1973), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) by Garnefski et al. (2001), and the Lotfabadi Moral Development Questionnaire (2007). Data were analyzed using SPSS26 and AMOS24.
Ethical Considerations: The participants who took part in this research completed the questionnaires with awareness of the research being conducted and its objectives.
Results: The results of the path analysis showed that the authoritative parenting style had a significant positive effect, while authoritarian and permissive styles had a negative effect on moral development. The authoritative style was positively associated with adaptive emotion regulation and negatively associated with maladaptive emotion regulation, whereas authoritarian and permissive styles showed the opposite pattern. Bootstrap analysis confirmed the indirect effect of the authoritative style through both adaptive emotion regulation (β = 0.27, CI95% [0.18, 0.36]) and maladaptive emotion regulation (β = 0.14, CI95% [0.07, 0.23]). The proposed model had a good fit and indicated that cognitive emotion regulation is a key mediating pathway between parenting styles and moral development. (CFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.067).
Conclusion: A significant portion of the impact of parenting styles on students' moral development is explained through the effect of these styles on cognitive emotion regulation strategies. This finding emphasizes on the importance of focusing on strengthening of cognitive emotion regulation skills as an effective intermediate goal in university programs aimed at promoting of moral development and providing counseling.
- Parenting Styles
- Moral Development
- Cognitive Emotion Regulation
- Students
How to Cite
References
1. Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. Am Psychol. 2000; 55(5): 469-480.
2. Rest JR, Narvaez D, Bebeau MJ, Thoma SJ. A neo-Kohlbergian approach: The DIT and schema theory. Educ Psychol Rev. 1999; 11(4): 291-324.
3. Hardy SA, Carlo G. Moral identity: What is it, how does it develop, and is it linked to moral action? Child Dev Perspect. 2011; 5(3): 212-218.
4. Lapsley DK, Hill PL. The development of the moral personality. In: Nucci LP, Narvaez D, editors. Handbook of moral and character education. Routledge; 2008. p. 185-200.
5. Kohlberg L. The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages. Harper & Row; 1984.
6. Bebeau MJ, Monson VE. Professional identity formation and transformation across the life span. In: McKee A, Eraut M, editors. Learning trajectories, innovation and identity for professional development. Springer; 2011. p. 135-162.
7. Darling N, Steinberg L. Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychol Bull. 1993; 113(3):
487-496.
8. Baumrind D. The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. J Early Adolesc. 1991; 11(1): 56-95.
9. Maccoby EE, Martin JA. Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In: Mussen PH, Hetherington EM, editors. Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social development. 4th ed. Wiley; 1983. p. 1-101.
10. Walker LJ, Hennig KH. Differing conceptions of moral exemplarity: Just, brave, and caring. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004; 86(4): 629-647.
11. Pinquart M, Kauser R. Do the associations of parenting styles with behavior problems and academic achievement vary by culture? Results from a meta-analysis. Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2018; 24(1): 75-100.
12. Narvaez D. Moral complexity: The fatal attraction of truthiness and the importance of mature moral functioning. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2010; 5(2): 163-181.
13. Tangney JP, Stuewig J, Mashek DJ. Moral emotions and moral behavior. Annu Rev Psychol. 2007; 58: 345-372.
14. Gross JJ. Emotion regulation: Conceptual and empirical foundations. In: Gross JJ, editor. Handbook of emotion regulation. 2nd ed. Guilford Press; 2014.
p. 3-20.
15. Garnefski N, Kraaij V, Spinhoven P. Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. Pers Individ Dif. 2001; 30(8): 1311-1327.
16. Morris AS, Silk JS, Steinberg L, Myers SS, Robinson LR. The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Soc Dev. 2007; 16(2): 361-88.
17. Eisenberg N, Cumberland A, Spinrad TL. Parental socialization of emotion. Psychol Inq. 1998; 9(4):
241-73.
18. Decety J, Cowell JM. The complex relation between morality and empathy. Trends Cogn Sci. 2014; 18(7): 337-9.
19. Gibbs JC. Moral development and reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press; 2010.
20. Gleichgerrcht E, Young L. Low levels of empathic concern predict utilitarian moral judgment. PLoS One. 2013; 8(4): e60418.
21. Mikulincer M, Shaver PR. Attachment theory and emotions in close relationships: Exploring the attachment-related dynamics of emotional reactions to relational events. Pers Relatsh. 2005; 12(2): 149-168.
22. Mehrafrooz H. The relationship between attitudes toward mother's parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive) with control and academic achievement in fourth-grade elementary school boys [master's thesis]. Tehran: Tarbiat Moallem University; 1999. [Persian]
23. Momeni F, Amiri Sh. The relationship between types of parents' parenting styles and symptoms of anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls aged 14-17 in Isfahan city. J Family Res. 2007; 3(12): 776-789. [Persian]
24. Esfandiari M. Investigating the reliability and validity of Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Questionnaire among Tehrani students. Journal of Psychology. 1995; 19(2): 15-27. [Persian]
25. Garnefski N, Kraaij V. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Eur J Psychol Assess. 2007; 23(3):141-149.
26. Hasani J. The psychometric properties of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ). Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2010; 24: 139-152. [Persian]
27. Lotfabadi H. Development and validation of a moral development scale for Iranian adolescents and youth. Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2007; 3(10): 31-54. [Persian]
- Abstract Viewed: 88 times
- PDF (فارسی) Downloaded: 4 times