2-173 - Dynamic Approaches to Parent-Child Interactions from Infancy to Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The moment-to-moment dynamics of parent-child interactions are the building blocks of socioemotional development (Granic, 2005). For example, caregivers’ responses to children’s emotions are one process by which children learn the appropriate expression and control of emotions in accordance with situational demands (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). However, current challenges for research on parent-child interactions include: (1) examining the temporal dynamics of interpersonal interactions, and (2) considering the role of emotional context. This symposium consists of four presentations using innovative approaches to examine parent-child dynamics in different contexts.

In Presentation 1, mother-infant physiological dynamics were examined during the Still Face paradigm using a dynamic systems approach. Results suggest that maternal physiological dysregulation is likely one mechanism underlying child risk for psychopathology. Presentation 2 is a longitudinal examination of parent-child behavioral flexibility in early childhood and maternal depressive symptoms. The associations between dyadic flexibility and child emotion regulation depended on maternal depressive symptoms. In Presentation 3, emotion socialization dynamics were examined in parent-child dyads in early-to-mid adolescence. Dyadic patterns associated with enhancing positive emotions were associated with internalizing symptoms, depending on emotional context. In Presentation 4, the role of maternal emotion-related behaviors in the timing of mid-to-late adolescents’ disclosures was examined. Maternal interest and validation were associated with adolescents being quicker to disclose personal information during conflicts. Together, these presentations showcase parent-child dynamics across a broad range of ages, illustrate the advantages of incorporating temporal dynamics in the analysis observational data, and highlight the importance of considering emotional context in study designs.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Jessica P. Lougheed, Purdue University

Individual Presentations

• Emotion Dysregulation Across Generations: Mother-Infant Dynamics and Risk Transmission - Presenting Author: Sheila Crowell, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Jonathan Butner, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Dylan Neff, University of Utah Department of Psychology; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Terrell, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Parisa Kaliush, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Robert Dennis Vlisides-Henry, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Mindy Brown, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Elisabeth Conradt, University of Utah

• Flexible or Inconsistent? Effects of Parent-Child Dyadic Flexibility on Emotion Regulation Vary by Depressive Symptoms - Presenting Author: Amanda M Skoranski, The Pennsylvania State University; Non-Presenting Author: Erika Lunkenheimer, Pennsylvania State University

• An Examination of Emotion Socialization Dynamics in Mother-Daughter Dyads using Grid-Sequence Analysis - Presenting Author: Jessica P. Lougheed, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Miriam Brinberg, The Pennsylvania State University; Non-Presenting Author: Nilam Ram, Penn State University; Non-Presenting Author: Tom Hollenstein, Queen’s University

• The Timing of Adolescent Disclosures: The Effects of Maternal Emotional Reponses and Adolescent Perspective Taking - Presenting Author: Janice Disla, UC Merced; Non-Presenting Author: Alexandra Main, University of California, Merced; Non-Presenting Author: Smitha Kashi, University of California Merced; Non-Presenting Author: Jonathan Boyajian, University of California Merced