September 13, 2024 — Parents who have difficulty regulating their emotions, displaying frustration or discouragement, create stressful homework sessions and reduce their K-6 child’s engagement, according to a new study by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The study, published in The Journal of Educational Psychology, explored why so many parents struggle to help children do their homework and pinpoint parenting traits by examining parental emotion dysregulation and low mentalization, the ability to understand the mental state of others or oneself.
The study was led by Dr. Naama Gershy and Ph.D. student Racheli Cohen from the Hebrew University School of Education, in collaboration with Prof. Maayan Davidov from the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. It included 101 Israeli parents and their elementary school-aged children, and the parent-child interactions during homework that were analyzed for control and negativity. Parental emotion dysregulation was measured via a questionnaire, and mentalization ability was assessed through interviews.
The researchers found that the role of parental mentalization, as hypothesized, was critical. Parents who are good at mentalization are more supportive and less controlling, creating a better homework environment that can boost children’s independent learning and motivation. Conversely, parents who struggle with managing their emotions tend to express negative behaviors and reduce children’s engagement.
“Our research sheds light on how parents’ emotional and mental processes impact their involvement in their children’s education,” explained Dr. Gershy. “Understanding these factors can help develop strategies that improve parent-child interactions during homework, and hence increase parental ability to support and encourage their children’s learning.”
Practical applications of these findings could include parent training programs and educational strategies to improve parents’ awareness of their emotional states and mentalization skills, aiming to enhance parental support and foster better academic outcomes and relationships.
The research paper titled “Why Things Can Go Wrong When Parents Try to Help Children With Their Homework: The Role of Parental Emotion Regulation and Mentalization” is now available in the Journal of Educational Psychology and can be accessed here.
Researchers:
Racheli Cohen1, Naama Gershy1, Maayan Davidov2
Institution:
- The Seymour Fox School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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