Parenting stress, emotion regulation, and social skills in adolescents

Parenting is recognized as a significant factor influencing adolescents' development, yet limited research has explored its impact on adolescents' social skills and the potential role of adolescent emotion regulation (ER) on this association. This cross-sectional study focused on triads: 102 adolescents (60.8% girls), aged 15-17 years, along with their 93 mothers and 90 fathers. Our findings revealed no significant differences in parenting stress levels between fathers and mothers. However, only fathers' parenting stress was negatively associated with adolescents' cognitive reappraisal, which in turn contributed to adolescents' poor social skills. No significant associations were found with expressive suppression. These results emphasize the significance of considering parenting stress, particularly from fathers' perspectives, when addressing adolescents' ER and social skills. This study underscores the potential role of fathers in the well-being and social competence of adolescent children, shedding light on the importance of comprehensive family-focused interventions.