International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

International Journal of Behavioral Sciences

The Relationship between Maternal Emotional Responses to Children's Negative Emotions and Somatization Problems in First and Second Grade Elementary School Children in Malayer City

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Sajad Batouei
Mahdi Abdollahzadeh Rafi
Department of Psychology, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran
10.30491/ijbs.2026.576219.2309
Abstract
Introduction: Somatization in childhood refers to the expression of psychological distress through physical symptoms without an identifiable medical cause. Parental emotion socialization, particularly maternal responses to children's negative emotions, may be associated with these symptoms. This study used a cross-sectional correlational design to examine the association between maternal emotional reactions and somatic complaints in early elementary school children.
Method: In this cross-sectional correlational study, 454 mother–child dyads were recruited using multistage cluster sampling from elementary schools in Malayer, Iran. After excluding cases with incomplete data, 429 mother–child dyads were included in the final analyses. Mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Somatic Complaints subscale and the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES), which assesses supportive and non-supportive maternal reactions. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression.
Results: Non-supportive maternal reactions were positively associated with children's somatic complaints (r = 0.20, p < 0.001). In the regression analysis, only non-supportive reactions were significantly associated with somatic complaints (β = 0.20, p < 0.001), whereas supportive reactions were not (β = −0.01, p = 0.835). The overall model explained 4.1% of the variance in children's somatic complaints (R² = 0.041).
Conclusion: Non-supportive maternal reactions showed a modest but statistically significant association with children's somatic complaints, whereas supportive reactions were not significantly associated with somatic complaints. Given the small effect size and the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction and mechanisms of these associations.
Keywords
Somatization
Maternal Emotional Responses
Emotion Regulation
Parenting
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International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume 20, Issue 1
Spring 2026
Pages 44-50