Interactive effects of parental positive emotional expression and teacher-child relationships on preschoolers’ emotion regulation: a cross-sectional study in Eastern China

Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory and conceptually informed by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, this study examines how family and school emotional processes are jointly associated with children’s emotion regulation (ER). Specifically, the study tested whether parental positive emotional expression (PPEE), as reported by parent respondents, and teacher-child relationship quality, as reported by teachers, were independently and interactively associated with preschool children’s ER in China. Data were collected from 410 children aged 3-6 years attending 12 kindergartens in Eastern China using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling procedure. Children’s ER was assessed by teachers through standardized questionnaires. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and hierarchical regression models. Moderation effects were further examined using sensitivity analyses based on randomly selected subsamples. In this cross-sectional sample, higher levels of PPEE were generally associated with better teacher-rated ER in preschool children, suggesting a consistent link between emotionally supportive family environments and children’s regulatory functioning, rather than evidence of causal influence. The positive PPEE-ER association was stronger at higher levels of teacher-child closeness. A weaker association was observed at higher levels of teacher-child conflict, although bootstrap confidence intervals included zero for both interactions. Overall, these findings highlight the interconnected roles of emotional processes in family and classroom contexts during early childhood. They suggest that coordinated family-school approaches that consider positive parental emotional expression and high-quality teacher-child relationships may be valuable for supporting young children’s ER.