Examining Feasibility and Acceptability of an Emotion-focused Program Targeting Students’ Skills in Peer Emotion Socialization

• In Event: Friend Socialization of Emotion in Adolescence: A Multicultural Perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is a key period for the continued development of emotional competence. According to emotion socialization theory, adolescents learn about emotions and how to regulate them through emotion socialization, namely role modelling of healthy emotion expression and supportive responses to emotions by socialization agents such as parents, teachers, and peers. Parenting programs targeting parents of adolescents have been found less effective in reducing adolescent emotional and behavioral difficulties, when compared with parenting programs targeting parents of pre-adolescents or younger children, where larger effect sizes are found. During adolescence, teens increasingly shift away from their parents and start spending more time at school and with their peers. Hence, peer emotion socialization becomes important and may be important to target in prevention and intervention efforts.

Objectives: This pilot study explores the feasibility and acceptability of a universal emotion socialization intervention that is targeted at secondary students. The Tuning in to Teens (TINT) Student Sessions were designed to complement the TINT parent and teacher sessions to enable delivery of a Whole School Approach version of the TINT program. Specifically, the five 75-minute student sessions aim to foster understanding of developmental changes during early to mid-adolescence, and build skills in emotion understanding, acceptance and regulation. The program also includes one session which targets peer emotion socialization specifically. The current study aimed to ascertain if the student sessions were engaging, liked by students, and useful in promoting skills in emotion regulation and peer emotion socialization. Additionally, the study examined student baseline characteristics as determinants of program engagement and acceptability.

Methods: The study was a mixed-methods evaluation measuring the experiences of adolescents who took part in the sessions and included feedback reports from teachers who delivered the sessions. Year nine students (N = 233; 48.1% male; Mage = 14.8 years) took part in the sessions. Of these, 144 students completed self-report measures assessing peer emotion socialization, school belonging, and internalizing and externalizing problems. Qualitative responses were sought to ascertain if students found the five TINT student sessions helpful. Teachers (N = 7) provided feedback on training and implementation of the student sessions, including commenting on content, student engagement and feasibility of the sessions.

Results: Results showed the delivery and evaluation of this intervention was perceived as feasible and acceptable. Overall, students reported that they enjoyed learning about adolescent development and learning of skills in understanding and managing emotions and how to respond to peers’ negative emotions in supportive ways. Teachers reported that the session content was applicable, engaging, and easy to understand and deliver, but expressed that an additional session would be beneficial to allow for more time for activities.

Conclusions: Findings are discussed in relation to increasing the feasibility of implementing school-based emotion-focused programs. The results of the study will be discussed in terms of how this intervention with adolescent emotion socialization can impact peer emotion socialization thereby offering an important avenue via which to support the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents.

Authors

• Christiane Evelyne Kehoe, University of Melbourne
  Presenting Author

• Anne E Harley, University of Melbourne

• Sophie Seychelle Havighurst, University of Melbourne