Patterns in emotion-related discourse with parents and friends in adolescence: A person-centered approach

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

Youth learn how to express and regulate their emotions through interacting with others (Morris et al., 2007). As youth enter the complex socioemotional landscape of adolescence, they continue to engage in emotion-related discourse with parents and close friends to make sense of their experiences (Booker & Dunsmore, 2017; Zeman et al., 2012). Parents and friends offer unique contributions as socializers, as these relationships differ in power structure and expectations for emotional support (Miller-Slough & Dunsmore, 2016). Extant literature has largely employed variable-centered approaches to studying emotion-related discourse, such as the degree to which socializers coach or dismiss adolescents’ emotions, elaborate on emotional experiences, or bring up related but different topics, referred to as associative talk (Eisenberg et al., 1998; Fivush & Fromhoff, 1988). Person-centered analytic approaches are an under-utilized and important way to achieve a holistic picture of individuals’ engagement in emotion-related discourse (Hernandez et al., 2018; Miller et al., 2015, 2017). The present study explored multiple dimensions of emotion-related discourse (emotion coaching, emotion dismissing, elaboration, associative talk) with parents and friends in adolescence, using a person-centered approach. Thirty adolescents (60% female, M = 14.40 years) participated in a study visit with a parent and same-sex close friend. Adolescents completed an emotion reminiscing task individually with their parent and friend for 10 minutes each. The reminiscing task was coded by 3 independent coders for emotion coaching and emotion dismissing (ICCs= .88-.89), and for elaboration and associative talk (Ks = 84). These variables were standardized and entered into two-step cluster analyses, which indicated independent 3-cluster solutions for emotion-related discourse with parents (Figure 1) and friends (Figure 2). These cluster solutions demonstrated an adequate cluster quality index (>.5) and ratio of the largest cluster to the smallest cluster (<3; Henry et al., 2005; Wendler & Gröttrup, 2016). Cluster membership for discourse with parents and friends were unrelated (p =.600), indicating distinct dyadic patterns. The patterns within each cluster solution demonstrate some consistency with extant literature. For parents, Cluster 1 was characterized by low emotional involvement, consistent with prior person-centered analyses of parent emotion socialization (Miller et al., 2015). In Cluster 2, parents actively avoided emotions and focused on event details, representing a more cognitive approach to emotional events. Lastly, parents in Cluster 3 coached emotions and discussed adjacent topics, which may scaffold adolescent emotion talk in a developmentally-appropriate manner given the greater autonomy sought by adolescents. Regarding friends, dyads in Cluster 1 showed active use of a variety of emotion-oriented socialization strategies, consistent with extant research documenting diverse emotion socialization repertoires (Miller-Slough et al., 2017). Friend dyads in Cluster 2 demonstrated overall low engagement with emotion and with event details, similar to the low emotional engagement profile seen with parents (Miller-Slough et al., 2015). Lastly, friends in Cluster 3 showed high emotion coaching and elaborated on details of events. Overall, these patterns represent heterogeneity regarding how meta-emotion philosophies co-occurred with narrative style, demonstrating the utility of person-centered analyses in understanding the nuances of emotion-related discourse across relationship contexts.

Authors

• Rachel Miller-Slough, East Tennessee State University
  Presenting Author

• Erika Hernandez, BInghamton University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Julie C Dunsmore, University of Houston
  Non-Presenting Author