This study investigated whether Korean mothers' emotion socialization beliefs are related to emotional functioning in children differing across gender. We interviewed Korean mothers (N = 100) of first graders (55 boys; 45 girls) about their sensitivity, their reactions to children's distress, and children's emotion regulation. Two components of emotion regulation were distinguished: regulation and negativity. Results revealed that mothers' proactive sensitivity and their supportive reactions were related to their children's regulation, whereas unsupportive reactions were related to children`s negativity. Child gender moderated the associations between mothers' socialization beliefs and children's emotion regulation: mothers' proactive sensitivity was more strongly associated with competent regulation in girls than in boys. Mothers' unsupportive reactions were related to increased negativity only in girls. Results are discussed from a cultural perspective, focusing on gender differences in the links between maternal socialization and children's emotional outcomes in Korea.
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