Improving Parent Emotion Socialization Practices: Piloting Tuning in to Kids in Iran for Children With Disruptive Behavior Problems

Objective To evaluate Tuning in to Kids (TIK), an emotion-focused parenting program for mothers and preschool children with disruptive behavior problems in Iran. Background Disruptive behaviors occur in approximately 23% of Iranian children and are associated with poorer emotional competence. The TIK parenting program was used to improve children's emotion competence and behavior by focusing on parent emotion socialization practices and emotion-coaching skills. Method Fifty-four children (3-6 years of age) were screened for behavior problems and randomly assigned to intervention or waitlist control conditions. Mothers in the intervention condition attended a six-session version of the TIK program with two booster sessions at 2-month intervals. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing children's behavior and emotional competence as well as parents' emotional socialization and emotion regulation at preintervention, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. Results Compared with those in the control condition, mothers in the intervention condition reported statistically lower emotion dismissive parenting, child behavior problems, and emotion lability, as well as more emotion coaching. Conclusion TIK shows promise as a way of enhancing parent emotion socialization resulting in improved child behavior and emotional competence in children with disruptive behavior problems. Implications The findings suggest the program is a useful addition to existing parenting programs used in Iran.