Longitudinal associations between maternal and child emotion regulation: Examining the role of maternal emotion-related socialization behaviors

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PROJECT SUMMARY Parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs)—including parents’ reactions to their children’s emotions, parents’ emotional expressiveness, and parents’ conversations with their children about emotions (reminiscing)—shape and maintain children’s emotion regulation (ER), a multifaceted construct comprising cognitive, behavioral, and physiological processes for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotions to accomplish one’s goals. As emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology, the elucidation of specific pathways by which children develop adaptive ER, or conversely, emotion dysregulation, is critical. Parents’ own ER may lead to their engagement in ERSBs and their children’s ER development, but longitudinal research examining these associations is limited. Even more, minimal research has delineated the specific aspects of parental ER that are most relevant for ERSBs, and the specific aspects of children’s ER that are most affected by ERSBs. Indeed, multimethod ER assessment is critical because ER is a multifaceted construct. Still, research has yet to comprehensively examine how each aspect of parental ER (resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA], RSA reactivity, self-reported emotion dysregulation, cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and ER strategy repertoire) may relate to ERSBs (reactions to children’s emotions, expressiveness, and sensitive reminiscing) and children’s ER (resting RSA, RSA reactivity, mother-reported adaptive ER and lability/negativity, behavior during a frustration task, and self-reported coping and ER strategy repertoire) over time. Thus, longitudinal, multimethod research is necessary. A low-income sample of 6- to 8- year-old children and their mothers will complete questionnaires and tasks assessing ER and ERSBs. RSA will be assessed among dyads before and during reminiscing and emotion-induction tasks. Dyads will be assessed longitudinally with a repeated measures design 6 months and 1 year after their initial visit. The study is guided by two aims: (1) Evaluate which aspects of maternal ER are most relevant for maternal ERSBs over time; (2) Evaluate the influence of maternal ER on child ER over time, and the extent to which maternal ERSBs mediate that association. This research will enhance theoretical accounts of the psychobiological processes of caregivers that shape ERSBs and children’s emerging ER. In addition, this research will inform public health efforts to improve children’s ER and psychological functioning by identifying processes (i.e., maternal ER, ERSBs) that may be targets for translational programs aimed to improve children’s ER and reduce risk for psychopathology. Goals of the fellowship training plan, which will take place at the University of Notre Dame, include: (1) develop a comprehensive understanding of the emergence and manifestation of parental ERSBs; (2) increase knowledge of ER development and assessment from childhood through adulthood; (3) expand quantitative expertise in longitudinal analysis methodology; and (4) engage in professional development activities and training in research ethics related to working with at-risk families.