Scarzello Donatella
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2023 Sep 1;10(9):1498. doi: 10.3390/children10091498.
The literature has long recognized that parental emotional competence, that is, the ability to express, understand, and regulate emotions, plays a key role in children's development from early childhood. Nevertheless, the effect of parental alexithymia, which can be understood as a deficit in emotional competence, has not been thoroughly studied. In particular, the association between paternal alexithymia and behavioral problems in young children is still a neglected area of research. This study aims to investigate the association between paternal alexithymia and children's internalizing and externalizing problems during the first three years of life, including whether overreactive parenting practices mediate the effect of alexithymia on children's behavioral problems. A sample of 203 fathers of children aged 18-36 months were administered the TAS-20, the Overreactivity subscale of the Parenting Scale, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)/1½-5. The data indicate that paternal alexithymia is a predictor of children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems and that paternal overreactivity mediates the effect of alexithymia. These results highlight the importance of preventing parental alexithymia and involving fathers in parenting support programs aimed at ensuring children's mental health and adjustment.
长期以来，文献一直认为父母的情绪能力，即表达、理解和调节情绪的能力，在儿童从幼儿期开始的发展中起着关键作用。然而，父母述情障碍（可理解为情绪能力的缺陷）的影响尚未得到充分研究。特别是，父亲的述情障碍与幼儿行为问题之间的关联仍是一个被忽视的研究领域。本研究旨在调查父亲述情障碍与儿童在生命最初三年中的内化和外化问题之间的关联，包括过度反应的养育方式是否介导述情障碍对儿童行为问题的影响。对203名18至36个月大儿童的父亲进行了多伦多述情障碍量表（TAS-20）、养育方式量表的过度反应分量表以及儿童行为检查表（CBCL）/1½ - 5的测试。数据表明，父亲的述情障碍是儿童内化和外化行为问题的一个预测因素，并且父亲的过度反应介导了述情障碍的影响。这些结果凸显了预防父母述情障碍以及让父亲参与旨在确保儿童心理健康和适应的养育支持项目的重要性。
