About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 14. Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

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Introduction
Supportive parent-adolescent relationships are important for developing emotion regulation (ER) skills among adolescents (Ratliff et al., 2023). Adolescence is a time of marked change in development, and adaptive ER skills (e.g., reappraisal, problem-solving, and seeking social support) can promote mental health, social skills, and prosocial behavior. Although the tripartite model of ER (Morris et al., 2007) suggests that one pedestal of ER development is parent guidance and coaching of emotions, there is a lack of research on the impact of parent-adolescent communication in this area. Openness (i.e., warmth, empathy, responsiveness), a facet of parent-adolescent communication, may be one key contributor to parental assistance of adolescent ER. To our knowledge, no literature has examined the relationship between parent-adolescent open communication and parental assistance with adaptive ER strategies. This study aims to examine parent-adolescent open communication within three adaptive ER strategies: Reappraisal, Problem-Solving, and Social Support Search.

Method
Parents (N=107; 31-62 yrs, Mage=42.55, SD=7.12; 51.4% Female, 79.4% White, 87.9% Not Hispanic) of children ages 12-17 participated in a cross-sectional study examining family communication and emotion regulation. Parents completed a demographics form and validated psychosocial measures including the Parent-Adolescent Open Communication Scale (α=0.87), and Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Reappraisal [α=0.95], Problem Solving [α=0.94], and Social Support Search [α=0.95] scales). Three hierarchical linear regressions were planned to examine the effect of Open Communication on dimensions of parental assistance with child ER (i.e., Reappraisal, Problem Solving, Social Support Search). Parent age, child age, parent sex, child sex, parent education, parent depression, and parent anxiety were examined as covariates. Only child age and parent depression were retained within the model examining Open Communication and Reappraisal.

Results
Open Communication was positively correlated with parental assistance of Problem Solving, r=.368, p<.001, Social Support Search, r=.325, p<.001, and Reappraisal, r=.414, p<.001. After controlling for child age and parent depressive symptoms, Open Communication uniquely explained 13.4% of variance in parental assistance with Reappraisal, F(1, 103)=18.096, p<.001. The final model accounted for 23.6% of variance in parental assistance with Reappraisal, F(3, 103)=10.589, p<.001. Open Communication uniquely explained 12.7% of variance in parental assistance with Problem Solving, F(1, 105)=16.44, p<.001. Finally, Open Communication uniquely explained 10.6% of variance in parental assistance with Social Support Search, F(1, 105)=12.403, p<.001.

Conclusion
This study makes a novel contribution by examining the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and parental assistance with specific, adaptive ER strategies. Findings suggest that, among parents of adolescents, a greater degree of open communication is associated with greater parental assistance of adaptive ER strategies such as reappraisal, problem solving, and seeking out social support. Intervention research is needed to examine whether targeting improvement in parent-adolescent communication facilitates the degree to which adolescents can execute adaptive ER strategies. Future multi-informant, multi-method studies should also evaluate moderators, such as parent ER, and longitudinal studies should investigate whether parental assistance with the execution of adaptive ER skills contributes to favorable adolescent developmental outcomes.

Author information

Author	Role
Elise Weber, Kent State University	Presenting author
Megan M. McGrath, Kent State University	Non-presenting author
Amy F. Sato, Kent State University	Non-presenting author

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