Roots of regulation: A parent-based intervention integrating parental self-regulation and co-regulation in low-SES families in Türkiye

Abstract Self-regulation develops rapidly in early childhood and predicts school readiness, school adjustment, and academic achievement. However, children from low-SES families struggle with self-regulation, putting them at risk for school success. While research indicates that parental behaviors significantly influence children’s self-regulation, most interventions are classroom-based. The study aims to examine the effects of the parent-focused intervention on parental self-regulation, parents’ co-regulation, parental stimulation, and children’s self-regulation in Turkish low-SES families. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control-group design, 66 mothers and their 4- to 6-year-old children from low-SES families were assigned to two groups: an intervention and a control group. The intervention developed by the researchers includes six sessions organized into three modules. The assessment instruments included the “Me as a Parent Scale,” “Home Learning Index,” and “Emotion Regulation Checklist,” all of which were completed by the mothers. The researchers also administered the “The Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulder Revised (HTKS-R)” to the children and the “Parent-Child Challenge Task” to the mother-child dyads. Following the intervention, mothers demonstrated significant improvements in parental self-regulation, parental stimulation, and co-regulation. Children’s behavioral regulation also improved, and those outcomes were observed at the six-month follow-up within the intervention group, while there were no significant differences in children’s emotion regulation between the groups. Overall, the findings demonstrated that a parent-based intervention can enhance behavioral regulation in children from low-SES families. The study highlights the importance of early childhood self-regulation for future development and suggests promoting parent-focused programs, particularly in non-Western settings, to enhance children’s self-regulation.