Emotion-related Processes Between Parents and Adolescents: Evidence for Bidirectional Effects over Time

Parent emotion socialization has long been studied in relation to children's socioemotional adjustment. Little attention has been paid to how parents' socialization responses are shaped by youth characteristics over time, such as emotional lability. The present study explored the mutual influence between parent emotion socialization and adolescent emotional lability. Participants were 87 adolescents (M = 14.23 years old, SD = .50; 50 girls) and their parents, who completed questionnaires at three time points from 8th grade through 10th grade. Hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated mutual influences between parent emotion socialization and adolescent emotional lability, with relations moderated by adolescent gender. Increases in parents' reward of negative emotion predicted decreased emotional lability in girls. Parents' increased magnification of negative emotions corresponded to decreased emotional lability in boys. Boys' increases in emotional lability predicted decreased parental magnification of negative emotions over time. Increases in parents' magnification of negative emotions predicted increased emotional lability in girls. Girls' increases in emotional lability corresponded to increased parental magnification over time. There were no longitudinal effects of adolescent emotional lability on parents' reward, override, and punishment of negative emotions. Future directions and clinical applications are discussed.