Mindful parenting is associated with greater adjustment and fewer behavior problems in children and adolescents. However, the mechanisms by which mindful parenting functions to mitigate risk in adolescence is not well understood. This study investigated parent emotional expression as a potential mechanism in the relationship between low mindful parenting and adolescent risk behaviors. A sample of 157 12-14 year old adolescents (49% female) and their primary caregivers (99% female) participated in an emotionally-arousing conflict interaction. Parents reported on their mindful parenting practices, and parents’ emotion expressions during the conflict interaction were coded including negative emotion, positive emotion, and shared parent-youth positive emotion. Adolescent substance use and sex behaviors were assessed through self-report, interview, and physical toxicology screens. Results indicated that mindful parenting was associated with less parental negative emotion and greater shared positive emotion during the parent-adolescent conflict. Further, results revealed a significant indirect effect of mindful parenting on youth's substance use through shared parent-adolescent positive emotion. Findings highlight the relevance of emotional functioning in the context of stressful parenting situations in mindful parenting.

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Adolescence is a unique period of heightened emotional arousal and still-developing regulatory abilities. Adolescent emotion regulation patterns may be critically involved in adolescents’ psychosocial development, but patterns of emotion regulation in youth are not well-understood. The present study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to elucidate patterns of emotion expression, experience, and emotion-related physiological arousal in adolescents. One-hundred ninety-eight adolescents and their primary caregivers participated in an emotionally-arousing parent-adolescent conflict interaction. Adolescent’s observed emotion expressions, emotion experiences, and heart rate (HR) and caregiver parenting behaviors were assessed during and/or after the interaction. Parents reported on adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and youth reported on depressive symptoms. The LPA revealed 4 emotion regulation profiles: a moderate HR-and-high expression profile, a suppression profile (with low negative emotion expression, high emotion experience), a low reactive profile, and a high reactive profile. The moderate HR-and-high expression profile was associated with lower conduct disorder symptoms; the suppression profile was related to lower anxiety symptoms; and the high reactive profile was associated with higher adolescent depressive symptoms. The high reactive and moderate HR-and-high expression profiles were associated with more negative/critical parenting behaviors. Findings suggest that profiles of adolescent emotion regulation can be empirically identified and may be significant risk factors for psychopathology.

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How are emotional processes associated with the increased rates of substance use and psychological disorders commonly observed during adolescence? An index of emotion-related physiological arousal—cortisol reactivity—and subjective emotion regulation have both been independently linked to substance use and psychological difficulties among youth. The current study (N = 134 adolescents) sought to elucidate the interactive effects of cortisol reactivity following a stressful parent–child interaction task and self-reported emotion regulation ability on adolescents’ substance use and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Results revealed that adolescents with low levels of cortisol reactivity and high emotion regulation difficulties were more likely to use substances, and also had the highest parent-reported symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder. With respect to internalizing symptoms, high emotion-related physiological reactivity coupled with high emotion regulation difficulties were associated with higher self-reported major depression symptoms among youth. Findings reveal that different profiles of HPA axis arousal and emotion regulation are associated with substance use and symptoms of psychopathology among adolescents.