Parenting style and peer attachment as predictors of emotional instability in children

We analyzed the roles of parenting style and peer attachment in predicting emotional instability in late childhood and early adolescence. Effects were analyzed separately by gender. Children’s personal variables analyzed were empathy, anger, and the mechanisms used to cope with anger (externalization and self-control). Participants were 316 girls and 294 boys (N = 610) aged from 9 to 12 years who were students at schools in Valencia, Spain. Main gender differences for each variable were examined using one-way ANOVAs. Results of 2 multiple linear regression analyses (1 for boys and 1 for girls) explained 50.9% and 35.5%, respectively, of variance in the students’ emotional instability. Considering emotional and cognitive variables, the results for our participant group show that parenting styles and peer attachment were equally significant as predictors of emotional instability.