Emotion Regulation and Empathy in Child Abuse Potential: Gender Differences in Parents

The Social Information Processing model suggests that impairments in parental characteristics (cognitive and affective) can lead to important dysfunctions in parenting. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among risk of maltreatment (Child Abuse Potential, CAP), emotional regulation, and empathy, exploring gender differences for the possible moderating role of empathy in the relationship between emotion regulation and CAP. A community sample of 110 fathers and 149 mothers of Italian children, aged 6 to 14 years ( M = 9.6; standard deviation [ SD ] = 2.3), was recruited. Correlational analyses showed that risk of child maltreatment was related to various difficulties in emotion regulation and empathy, with gender difference that played a different role in the moderation models. Specifically, in fathers, the lack of perspective-taking moderated the effects of difficulties in controlling impulsive behaviours and CAP. In mothers, empathic concern moderated the effects of difficulties in recognizing emotions and lack of emotional awareness on CAP. Clinical implications were discussed.