{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/130403"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/130403","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Parent–Child Neural Similarity in Emotional and Social Development: Differential Roles of Family Relationships and Affective Systems in Youth","abstract":"Family environment plays a crucial role in shaping children's development of social-emotional behaviors. The present dissertation investigated the interplay among parental and family factors, neural similarities between parents and youths, and various aspects of adolescent socioemotional adjustment—including emotional adaptation, aggression, and prosociality—using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Study 1, with 50 participants (25 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.16 ± 2.85 years, 44% female), found that parent–child neural similarity in the amygdala during emotionally uncertain situations was associated with lower youth anxiety and depression, and higher resilience, especially among dyads characterized by low parent–youth conflict. This synchrony appeared to mediate the beneficial effects of supportive parent–youth relationships on youths' emotional health. Additionally, amygdala similarity influenced youths' recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during uncertainty, as revealed by generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses. This amygdala-dlPFC connectivity, in turn, contributed to youths' emotional health. Study 2A, with 66 participants (33 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.61 ± 2.56 years, 45% female), revealed context-specific effects, showing that parent–child amygdala similarity during mild interpersonal provocation was unexpectedly heightened among dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict. Crucially, this similarity predicted lower levels of youth aggressive behavior, suggesting a regulatory function despite challenging family dynamics. However, no significant associations were found in the prosociality task. Study 2B, which shifted focus to the striatum, found that parent–child neural similarity in reward-processing regions during positive, prosocial interactions was associated with greater prosocial behavior in youth. Moreover, this form of neural similarity mediated the association between supportive parent–child relationships and youths' prosocial tendencies. Integrating findings across studies underscores the complexity and contextual specificity of parent–child neural attunement. Distinct neural circuits (amygdala versus striatum) appear to serve distinct roles, buffering against negative outcomes (e.g., emotional distress and aggressive behaviors) and promoting positive social behaviors. Collectively, these results highlight parent–child neural similarity as a critical neurobiological mechanism through which family relationships shape youths' emotional regulation and social functioning, offering new avenues for developmental theory and informing future directions for family-based interventions.","abstract_html":"Family environment plays a crucial role in shaping children's development of social-emotional behaviors. The present dissertation investigated the interplay among parental and family factors, neural similarities between parents and youths, and various aspects of adolescent socioemotional adjustment—including emotional adaptation, aggression, and prosociality—using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Study 1, with 50 participants (25 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.16 ± 2.85 years, 44% female), found that parent–child neural similarity in the amygdala during emotionally uncertain situations was associated with lower youth anxiety and depression, and higher resilience, especially among dyads characterized by low parent–youth conflict. This synchrony appeared to mediate the beneficial effects of supportive parent–youth relationships on youths' emotional health. Additionally, amygdala similarity influenced youths' recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during uncertainty, as revealed by generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses. This amygdala-dlPFC connectivity, in turn, contributed to youths' emotional health. Study 2A, with 66 participants (33 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.61 ± 2.56 years, 45% female), revealed context-specific effects, showing that parent–child amygdala similarity during mild interpersonal provocation was unexpectedly heightened among dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict. Crucially, this similarity predicted lower levels of youth aggressive behavior, suggesting a regulatory function despite challenging family dynamics. However, no significant associations were found in the prosociality task. Study 2B, which shifted focus to the striatum, found that parent–child neural similarity in reward-processing regions during positive, prosocial interactions was associated with greater prosocial behavior in youth. Moreover, this form of neural similarity mediated the association between supportive parent–child relationships and youths' prosocial tendencies. Integrating findings across studies underscores the complexity and contextual specificity of parent–child neural attunement. Distinct neural circuits (amygdala versus striatum) appear to serve distinct roles, buffering against negative outcomes (e.g., emotional distress and aggressive behaviors) and promoting positive social behaviors. Collectively, these results highlight parent–child neural similarity as a critical neurobiological mechanism through which family relationships shape youths' emotional regulation and social functioning, offering new avenues for developmental theory and informing future directions for family-based interventions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chen, Ya-Yun"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":"Psychology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Lee, Tae-Ho"],"committee_members":["Scarpa-Friedman, Bruce H.","Qu, Yang","Breaux, Rosanna","Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-08","date_published":"2025-05-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:42Z","subjects":["parent–child neural similarity","aggression","prosociality","emotional adaptation","social behaviors"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43239"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:43239","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/130403","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Lee, Tae-Ho"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Scarpa-Friedman, Bruce H.","Qu, Yang","Breaux, Rosanna","Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chen, Ya-Yun"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-05-09T08:02:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-09T08:02:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["parent–child neural similarity","aggression","prosociality","emotional adaptation","social behaviors"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:43239"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/130403"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Family environment plays a crucial role in shaping children's development of social-emotional behaviors. The present dissertation investigated the interplay among parental and family factors, neural similarities between parents and youths, and various aspects of adolescent socioemotional adjustment—including emotional adaptation, aggression, and prosociality—using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Study 1, with 50 participants (25 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.16 ± 2.85 years, 44% female), found that parent–child neural similarity in the amygdala during emotionally uncertain situations was associated with lower youth anxiety and depression, and higher resilience, especially among dyads characterized by low parent–youth conflict. This synchrony appeared to mediate the beneficial effects of supportive parent–youth relationships on youths' emotional health. Additionally, amygdala similarity influenced youths' recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during uncertainty, as revealed by generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses. This amygdala-dlPFC connectivity, in turn, contributed to youths' emotional health. Study 2A, with 66 participants (33 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.61 ± 2.56 years, 45% female), revealed context-specific effects, showing that parent–child amygdala similarity during mild interpersonal provocation was unexpectedly heightened among dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict. Crucially, this similarity predicted lower levels of youth aggressive behavior, suggesting a regulatory function despite challenging family dynamics. However, no significant associations were found in the prosociality task. Study 2B, which shifted focus to the striatum, found that parent–child neural similarity in reward-processing regions during positive, prosocial interactions was associated with greater prosocial behavior in youth. Moreover, this form of neural similarity mediated the association between supportive parent–child relationships and youths' prosocial tendencies. Integrating findings across studies underscores the complexity and contextual specificity of parent–child neural attunement. Distinct neural circuits (amygdala versus striatum) appear to serve distinct roles, buffering against negative outcomes (e.g., emotional distress and aggressive behaviors) and promoting positive social behaviors. Collectively, these results highlight parent–child neural similarity as a critical neurobiological mechanism through which family relationships shape youths' emotional regulation and social functioning, offering new avenues for developmental theory and informing future directions for family-based interventions."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Family relationships play an essential role in shaping how children grow and manage their emotions and social interactions. This dissertation explored how brain similarities between parents and their adolescent children relate specifically to adolescents' emotional health, aggression and prosocial behaviors. In the first study, we used brain imaging technology (functional MRI) with 50 people (25 parent–child pairs; children around 11 years old, 44% girls). We found that when parents and children showed similar brain responses in an emotion-sensitive region (the amygdala) during uncertain and stressful situations, children experienced less anxiety and depression and showed greater emotional strength—especially in dyads characterized by lower levels of parent–child conflict. Additionally, this brain similarity influenced how other brain areas involved in controlling emotions functioned (the prefrontal cortex). In the second study with 66 participants (33 parent–child pairs; children around 12 years old, 45% girls), we examined their brain responses while they played aggression and prosociality games. Here, we noticed an unexpected result: in dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict, parents and children showed even stronger similarities in their amygdala responses when facing mild confict with strangers. Importantly, this brain similarity predicted lower levels of aggressive behavior in the children, suggesting it helped them manage their emotions better despite family challenges. Next, we shifted focus to a different brain region involved in experiencing reward and pleasure (the striatum). We discovered that when parents and children had similar brain responses in this area during tasks involving helping strangers, adolescent children showed greater kindness and helpfulness toward others. Furthermore, a positive neural connection from the reward-related region to the \"social brain\" during prosocial games helped explain why children from warm, supportive parent–child relationships tended to display greater prosocial behavior. Taken together, these studies highlight how important it is for parents and children to \"tune in\" to each other emotionally, reflected even in their brain activity. This connection helps children manage negative emotions and aggression, and promotes positive social behaviors, suggesting new approaches to support families and parents in fostering children and adolescents' emotional and social development."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Parent–Child Neural Similarity in Emotional and Social Development: Differential Roles of Family Relationships and Affective Systems in Youth"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Lee, Tae-Ho"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Scarpa-Friedman, Bruce H.","Qu, Yang","Breaux, Rosanna","Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen"],"dc:contributor.department":["Psychology"],"dc:creator":["Chen, Ya-Yun"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-05-09T08:02:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-09T08:02:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Family environment plays a crucial role in shaping children's development of social-emotional behaviors. The present dissertation investigated the interplay among parental and family factors, neural similarities between parents and youths, and various aspects of adolescent socioemotional adjustment—including emotional adaptation, aggression, and prosociality—using task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique. Study 1, with 50 participants (25 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.16 ± 2.85 years, 44% female), found that parent–child neural similarity in the amygdala during emotionally uncertain situations was associated with lower youth anxiety and depression, and higher resilience, especially among dyads characterized by low parent–youth conflict. This synchrony appeared to mediate the beneficial effects of supportive parent–youth relationships on youths' emotional health. Additionally, amygdala similarity influenced youths' recruitment of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during uncertainty, as revealed by generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses. This amygdala-dlPFC connectivity, in turn, contributed to youths' emotional health. Study 2A, with 66 participants (33 parent–youth dyads; youths: Mage = 11.61 ± 2.56 years, 45% female), revealed context-specific effects, showing that parent–child amygdala similarity during mild interpersonal provocation was unexpectedly heightened among dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict. Crucially, this similarity predicted lower levels of youth aggressive behavior, suggesting a regulatory function despite challenging family dynamics. However, no significant associations were found in the prosociality task. Study 2B, which shifted focus to the striatum, found that parent–child neural similarity in reward-processing regions during positive, prosocial interactions was associated with greater prosocial behavior in youth. Moreover, this form of neural similarity mediated the association between supportive parent–child relationships and youths' prosocial tendencies. Integrating findings across studies underscores the complexity and contextual specificity of parent–child neural attunement. Distinct neural circuits (amygdala versus striatum) appear to serve distinct roles, buffering against negative outcomes (e.g., emotional distress and aggressive behaviors) and promoting positive social behaviors. Collectively, these results highlight parent–child neural similarity as a critical neurobiological mechanism through which family relationships shape youths' emotional regulation and social functioning, offering new avenues for developmental theory and informing future directions for family-based interventions."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Family relationships play an essential role in shaping how children grow and manage their emotions and social interactions. This dissertation explored how brain similarities between parents and their adolescent children relate specifically to adolescents' emotional health, aggression and prosocial behaviors. In the first study, we used brain imaging technology (functional MRI) with 50 people (25 parent–child pairs; children around 11 years old, 44% girls). We found that when parents and children showed similar brain responses in an emotion-sensitive region (the amygdala) during uncertain and stressful situations, children experienced less anxiety and depression and showed greater emotional strength—especially in dyads characterized by lower levels of parent–child conflict. Additionally, this brain similarity influenced how other brain areas involved in controlling emotions functioned (the prefrontal cortex). In the second study with 66 participants (33 parent–child pairs; children around 12 years old, 45% girls), we examined their brain responses while they played aggression and prosociality games. Here, we noticed an unexpected result: in dyads with higher levels of parent–child conflict, parents and children showed even stronger similarities in their amygdala responses when facing mild confict with strangers. Importantly, this brain similarity predicted lower levels of aggressive behavior in the children, suggesting it helped them manage their emotions better despite family challenges. Next, we shifted focus to a different brain region involved in experiencing reward and pleasure (the striatum). We discovered that when parents and children had similar brain responses in this area during tasks involving helping strangers, adolescent children showed greater kindness and helpfulness toward others. Furthermore, a positive neural connection from the reward-related region to the \"social brain\" during prosocial games helped explain why children from warm, supportive parent–child relationships tended to display greater prosocial behavior. Taken together, these studies highlight how important it is for parents and children to \"tune in\" to each other emotionally, reflected even in their brain activity. This connection helps children manage negative emotions and aggression, and promotes positive social behaviors, suggesting new approaches to support families and parents in fostering children and adolescents' emotional and social development."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:43239"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/130403"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["parent–child neural similarity","aggression","prosociality","emotional adaptation","social behaviors"],"dc:title":["Parent–Child Neural Similarity in Emotional and Social Development: Differential Roles of Family Relationships and Affective Systems in Youth"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:42Z"}