The Impact of Parental Communication and Monitoring on Emotion Regulation Among Emerging Adults

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Emotion regulation has been established as a key component of adaptive coping in individuals who experience trauma. Emotion regulation skills develop throughout early childhood and have been closely linked with parent-child communication. Prior studies indicate that open parental communication significantly improves children’s emotion regulation abilities. Further, research has found increased parental monitoring can lessen internalizing problems and aggression during adolescence. Although research suggests that parental communication and monitoring are associated with emotion regulation skills in youth, less is known about how these variables relate to emotion regulation in emerging adulthood. Further, even less empirical evidence exists on the differential role of maternal compared to paternal communication and monitoring during emerging adulthood. Given that emerging adulthood is an influential time both for adaptive growth and risk for mental health difficulties, it is essential to explore factors that may relate to emotion regulation during this developmental period. This study aims to address this research gap while accounting for demographic and trauma-related variables. Participants include 569 emerging adults (Mage=20.83; SD=4.11; 81% Female) recruited from two universities in the Midsouth and Midwest, United States. Hierarchical regression modeling was used to examine difficulties in emotion regulation in relation to age, gender, maternal communication, paternal communication, parental monitoring, and trauma exposure. Model 1 age, sex, and trauma exposure predicting emotion regulation were significant (F(3, 435)=12.2; p<.001); Adj. R2=.08) with more trauma exposure (β =.28, p<.001) associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. The final model was significant (F(6, 432)=16.52; p<.001); Adj. R2=.18) with lower levels of maternal communication (β =-.26, p<.001), lower levels of paternal communication (β =-.14, p<.01), and more trauma exposure (β =.20, p<.001) associated with more difficulties in emotion regulation. Thus, less communication with both parents and experiencing more traumatic events was linked with increased emotion dysregulation. This study’s findings extend the literature by showing that open parent-child communication bolsters emotion regulation capacity even into emerging adulthood. Further, results highlight that lower levels of communication between a child and both of their parents is associated with more emotion dysregulation, suggesting that both mother and father figures play a central role in the development on their child’s emotion regulation abilities. Thus, interventions aimed at increasing emotion regulation skills in emerging adults should include opportunities for frequent and open lines of communication with both parents. Finally, study findings lend support to increased risk of maladaptive outcomes among individuals who have experienced childhood trauma; therefore, implementing interventions using a trauma-informed approach could help lessen the negative effects of adversity.

Authors

• Candice Blair Crossnine, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author

• Kathryn H Howell, University of Memphis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Taylor Napier, University of Memphis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rachel Wamser-Nanney, University of Missouri St. Louis
  Non-Presenting Author