The Moderated Mediation Effect of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Adaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship Between Maternal Overprotective Parenting and Early Adolescents’ Social Anxiety

Objective: This study aimed to examine the moderated mediation effect in the relationship between maternal overprotective parenting and adolescents’ social anxiety, with basic psychological need satisfaction as a mediator and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies as a moderator. Methods: The participants were 210 early adolescents in the 5th and 6th grades of elementary schools residing in Busan and Gimhae, South Korea. Maternal overprotective parenting, adolescents’ social anxiety, basic psychological need satisfaction, and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies were measured using adolescents’ self-report questionnaires. Data wereanalyzed using SPSS 30.0 and PROCESS macro (Models 4, 1, and 7), including Pearson correlation, mediation analysis, moderation analysis, and moderated mediation analysis. Results: Basic psychological need satisfaction significantly mediated the relationship between maternal overprotective parenting and adolescents’ social anxiety. Adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies moderated the relationship between maternal overprotective parenting and basic psychological need satisfaction. The indirect effect of maternal overprotective parenting on adolescents’ social anxiety, mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction differed based on the level of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Conclusions: The mediating effect of basic psychological need satisfaction in the relationship between maternal overprotective parenting and adolescents’ social anxiety varied according to the level of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. For adolescents with a high level of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, providing interventions that help mothers reduce and refrain from overprotective parenting is important to alleviate their children’s social anxiety. By contrast, for adolescents with average or low levels of such strategies, not only should mothers be supported in reducing overprotective parenting behaviors, but interventions should also aim to promote adolescents’ basic psychological need satisfaction as a pathway to reducing social anxiety.