Parent–Child Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Emotion Socialization: Associations with Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Chinese Families

Parental emotion socialization is highly associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. However, research on parent–child discrepancies in parental emotion socialization perceptions and their relationship with children’s developmental outcomes remains limited. This study explores the relationship between parent–child discrepancies in their reports of parental emotion socialization and children’s internalizing/externalizing problems in Chinese families. The participants were 390 children (55% girls, M age = 11.70 years, SD age = 1.17) and their primary caregivers (68% mother, M age = 39.52 years, SD age = 5.23). A latent profile analysis identified three profiles of parent–child discrepancies in supportive parental emotion socialization and four profiles in non-supportive parental emotion socialization. Children with more negative perceptions of parental emotion socialization than their parents exhibited the most internalizing and externalizing problems. The parent–child perception difference of the supportive dimension connected to internalizing and externalizing problems, while the perception difference of the non-supportive dimension connected only to internalizing problems. These findings advocate for the conceptualization of perceptions of parent–child discrepancies within family dynamics, which may predict children’s developmental outcomes.