Adolescent Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Strategy Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Daily Diary Study

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

Background:
Adolescents continually refine their emotion regulation skills as they undergo cognitive-regulatory changes (Crone & Dahl, 2012) and seek both peer and parental support in response to negative emotion (Klimes-Dougan, 2018). Maladaptive responses to negative emotion (rumination, cognitive/behavioral avoidance) are associated with adolescents’ heightened anxiety and depressive symptoms (Schäfer et al., 2017). However, adaptive strategies (acceptance, problem-solving, cognitive reappraisal, support-seeking) are associated with fewer internalizing symptoms (Schäfer et al., 2017). The pandemic’s precautions have both shifted adolescents’ social environments and potentially exacerbated adolescents’ negative emotions and internalizing symptoms. Thus, we have a unique opportunity to examine the implications of parental and peer involvement in at-risk adolescents’ responses to negative emotion within the context of the pandemic.

We will examine how adolescents’ interpersonal emotion regulation strategy use with parents and peers during an acute social distancing phase (Wave 1, stay-at-home restrictions intact) predicts: (1) daily diary reports of negative affect, anxiety, and depressive symptoms during Wave 1; as well as (2) anxiety and depressive symptoms during a maintenance phase of social distancing (Wave 2, stay-at-home restrictions lifted; school resumed through varying mediums).

Hypotheses:
We hypothesize that, at Wave 1, adolescents’ (1a) increased use of maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies (rumination, cognitive/behavioral avoidance), and (1b) decreased use of adaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies (acceptance, problem-solving, cognitive reappraisal, support-seeking) with both parents and peers will be associated with heightened daily negative affect, anxiety, and depressive symptoms at Wave 1.

We also hypothesize that adolescents’ (2a) increased use of maladaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies and (2b) decreased use of adaptive interpersonal emotion regulation strategies with both parents and peers at Wave 1 will be associated with heightened anxiety and depressive symptoms at Wave 2.

We will conduct exploratory analyses examining how parental versus peer involvement in emotion regulation strategy use at Wave 1 may differentially predict adolescents’: (3a) daily negative affect, anxiety, and depressive symptoms at Wave 1, and (3b) anxiety and depressive symptoms at Wave 2.

Methods:
Ninety-three adolescent girls (Mage=15.1) from the community were oversampled for shy/fearful temperament. At Wave 1 (completed in April/May), participants completed a 10-day daily diary assessment of adolescents’ daily: negative emotions (0-100 sliding scale: anger, sadness, worry, and stress), anxiety, and depressive symptoms. At Wave 2 (to be completed by October), participants will complete the Screen for Childhood Anxiety Disorders (Bodden, Bögels, & Muris, 2009) and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (Angold et al., 1987).

Analyses:
We will test Hypotheses 1a-1b using multilevel models in R (lme4 package), with daily diary observations nested within persons. To allow for individual variability, models will include a random intercept and slope. For Hypotheses 2a-2b, we will conduct linear regressions to predict anxiety and depressive symptoms at Wave 2 from the Wave 1 person-level means of interpersonal emotion strategy use, as reported via daily diary. For Hypotheses 3a-3b, we will conduct t-test comparisons and linear regressions of parental versus peer emotion regulation involvement predicting negative affect and internalizing symptoms.

We will conduct analyses in November and prepare for presentation in December/January.

Authors

• Quyen B. Do, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Kirsten M.P. McKone, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cecile D Ladouceur, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer S. Silk, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author