Emotional Reactivity and Parenting in Families Experiencing Homelessness

Parents are key protective systems in the lives of children experiencing homelessness. Evidence suggests that parent emotional reactivity, expression, and regulation play a critical role in promoting adaptive parenting behaviors. Studies of emotional reactivity in parents utilize different methods, including selfreport, observations, and physiological measures. However, these methods are rarely evaluated together, particularly among disadvantaged families. The present study examined how subjective (i.e., self-report), observed, and physiological measures of parent emotional reactivity relate to each other and to observed parenting behaviors in problem-solving and teaching parent–child interaction tasks. Participants included fifty 4 to 7-year-old children and their caregivers staying in an emergency homeless shelter. Observed and subjective emotional reactivity were largely uncorrelated, except for positive emotions during problemsolving tasks. Adaptive parenting behavior was related to lower scores on measures of subjective and observed negative emotions and higher observed scores for positive emotions during problem-solving tasks, as well as higher observed scores of positive emotions during teaching tasks. Physiological reactivity was not related to parenting behaviors.