Poster #92 - Developmental Changes in Emotional Regulation during Adolescence: Influences of Socioeconomic Status and Family Emotional Climate

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

Given research identifying the family environment as an important influence on emotion regulation (ER) development (Morris et al., 2007), this prospective longitudinal study investigates familial environmental factors associated with ER development, from the broadest level of family socioeconomic status (SES) through the most proximal level of family emotional climate. Low SES disrupts parenting (Grant et al., 2013) and is related to the development of ER (Kim et al., 2013). As suggested by the family stress model, financial strain increases parent distress that impairs optimal parenting and emotional climate (Conger & Donnellan, 2007). Maladaptive parenting contributes to poor ER development (Kim-Spoon et al., 2013). To date, however, no empirical study has examined longitudinal pathways linking family context and emotion-related parenting practices as they contribute to ER development. According to the socialization of emotion model (Eisenberg et al., 1998), we examine mediation processes involving multiple levels of distal and proximal risk factors for ER development. We propose that SES and parent stress may contribute to ER development via family emotional climate, which includes parent-adolescent attachment, parenting styles, and emotion-related socialization behaviors (Morris et al., 2007).
Examination of individual differences in ER development is especially warranted during adolescence considering the introduction of new emotions (Morris et al., 2007) and the maturation of brain regions that are thought to be associated with ER (Steinberg, 2005) occurring during this period. We will use latent difference score modeling (Figure 1) to test family emotional climate as a mediator in the link between SES and intraindividual changes in ER development.
The sample includes 167 adolescents (53% males; 80% White) aged 13-14 years old at Time 1 and their parents who were followed up over three years (four annual assessments). Mean annual family income was $25,000 - $34,999.
The SES composite included parental education, household income, income to need ratio, and subjective SES. Family emotional climate factor score was based on parents’ ER difficulties, parental monitoring and negativity, and parent-adolescent attachment. Adolescents’ ER was measured by the Emotion Regulation Checklist.
Our analyses indicated that higher baseline SES predicted a more positive family emotional climate at Time 1 and Time 3. Family emotional climate then in turn predicted differences in ER, such that a more positive family emotional climate predicted annual increases in ER across time. The indirect effects of SES on the difference in ER from Time 1 to Time 2 and from Time 3 to Time 4 through family emotional climate at Time 1 (b = 0.05, SE = 0.02, 95% CI [.007, .097], b* = .22) and Time 3 was (b = 0.02, SE = 0.01, 95% CI [.003, .058], b* = .22) were also significant. Such findings provide critical insight into prevention and intervention efforts to positively alter trajectories of ER development during adolescence.

Authors

• Toria Herd, Virginia Tech
  Presenting Author

• Brooks King-Casas, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jungmeen Kim-Spoon, Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author