Activation parenting strategies and relations with child self-regulation and engagement

Activation parenting (AP) emphasizes encouraging children to face challenging and potentially novel situations in ways that may promote self-regulation (SR) and engagement (i.e., curiosity and persistence). Although AP was initially theorized to be unique to fathers, new research and updated conceptualizations include mothers. Conscious use of AP in response to child distress also remains untested. This study adapted the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale to assess maternal and paternal AP and their concurrent relations with child SR and engagement. The sample included 678 caregivers of 2- to 5-year-old children (n = 66 fathers and n = 612 mothers). Four items from the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale were selected a priori based on alignment with AP to create a composite score. Path analysis was used to assess concurrent relations between AP strategies and caregiver-reported child SR and engagement. Supportive parenting strategies that encourage coping through external support (e.g., soothing) or in situations that do not include parental challenges to the child (e.g., an accident) were included as covariates. Additional covariates included child sex, child age, and caregiver employment. AP strategies were positively associated with child SR and engagement. Strengths of relations between parenting strategies and child behavior did not significantly differ for AP and other supportive parenting responses. Caregiver gender did not moderate relations. Though limited by a reliance on cross-sectional, parent-report data, this study adds to a growing body of literature on the importance of AP as a general parenting construct that may be leveraged to support SR development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).