Longitudinal coupling of emotional wellbeing in parent-adolescent dyads: evaluating the role of daily life positive affect socialization processes

Parental responses to youth positive affect are believed to affect youth emotional experience, as well as risk for psychopathology. Further, parent and adolescent emotional functioning are hypothesized to exhibit bidirectional associations over time. These bidirectional patterns in parent and adolescent emotions may contribute to the longitudinal coupling of emotional wellbeing as well as depressive symptoms in parent-adolescent dyads. Thus, the present dissertation aimed to evaluate the role that bidirectional micro- and macro- level positive affect-related processes may exert in contributing to the longitudinal coupling of depressive symptoms in parent-adolescent dyads. Study 1 examined associations between parental depressive symptoms and anhedonia and parental daily-life enhancing and dampening responses to youth positive affect. Study 2 examined associations between parental enhancing and dampening and trajectories of youth positive affect, negative affect, and depressive symptom development across one year. Study 3 evaluated associations between youth developmental trajectories and parental daily-life responses to positive affect, as well as parental depressive symptoms and anhedonia at one-year follow up. Participants included 146 youth (52.1% girls, 47.9% boys; ages 10-14; M[SD]=12.71[.86]) and 139 parents (78.7% mothers; ages 33-58; M[SD]=44.11[5.08]). Daily life parental socialization behaviors were measured via a 9-day dyadic ESM procedure (31 surveys) administered at baseline and 12-month follow up. Youth depressive symptoms and trait positive and negative affect were assessed via self-report questionnaire monthly across 12 months. Parental depressive symptoms and trait anhedonia were assessed via self-report questionnaire at baseline and 12-month follow up. Together, results of the present series of studies showed that parents’ emotional wellbeing is related to the way in which they respond to youth positive affect in daily life, and youths’ perceptions of their parents’ responses to their commonplace, daily-life positive emotional experiences are reciprocally related to their emotional development across a one-year period, with downstream effects on parents’ own symptoms of depression. This work suggests that interrupting parental dampening of youth positive emotions may interrupt the longitudinal coupling of parent and adolescent depression over time.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Griffith, Julianne M

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rudolph, Karen D
• Morris, Amanda S
• Kwapil, Thomas R
• Hankin, Benjamin L
• Cohen, Joseph R

• adolescence
• longitudinal coupling
• depression
• positive affect
• emotion socialization

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Julianne Griffith

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127420

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127420