Applying new RDoC dimensions to the development of emotion regulation: Examining the influence of maternal emotion regulation on within-individual change in child emotion regulation

Abstract

While the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) acknowledges that environmental and developmental influences represent important elements of the RDoC framework, there is little specificity regarding how and when to systematically examine the impact of these dimensions on domains of function. The primary aims of this paper are to demonstrate the ways in which the RDoC can be expanded to include an explicit emphasis on (a) assessing within-individual change in developmental processes over time and (b) evaluating the extent to which selective and measurable environmental influences drive meaningful change during key developmental periods. We provide data from an ongoing randomized control trial as a proof of concept to highlight how repeated assessments within an experimental intervention design affords the unique opportunity to test the impact of environmental influences on within-individual change. Using preliminary data from 77 mother–child dyads repeatedly assessed across 12 months during the sensitive preschool period, we demonstrate the impact of change in maternal emotion regulation (ER) on within-individual growth in child ER and link that growth to fewer teacher-reported externalizing problems. In line with this Special Issue, findings are discussed within the context of expanding and clarifying the existing RDoC framework to explicitly incorporate environmental and developmental dimensions.

Clarifying the relation between mother and adolescent borderline personality disorder symptoms: The roles of maternal and adolescent emotion regulation and maladaptive maternal emotion socialization.

“…These findings also provide further support for theories proposing both direct and indirect relations between parent and child ER difficulties (see Byrd et al, 2021; Morris et al, 2007). Specifically, findings revealed a direct relation between mother and adolescent ER difficulties and an indirect relation through maladaptive maternal responses to children’s emotional distress (i.e., maladaptive emotion socialization).…”

“…GRATZ, MYNTTI, KIEL, KURTZ, AND TULL 6 emphasizing both the relevance of parental modeling of maladaptive ER to children's ER difficulties (Byrd et al, 2021;Morris et al, 2007) and the key role of maternal responses to children's emotional distress in children's development of ER (Eisenberg et al, 1998(Eisenberg et al, , 2010Morris et al, 2007). In particular, findings of an indirect relation of maternal ER difficulties to adolescent ER difficulties through maladaptive maternal emotion socialization are consistent with the premise that mothers who struggle with their own ER may have difficulties accepting or tolerating their children's negative emotional expressions, leading to attempts to quickly downregulate such emotional expressions through punishment or minimization (Byrd et al, 2021;Kiel et al, 2017).…”

“…Specifically, the heightened ER difficulties of mothers with BPD pathology are theorized to interfere with their ability to model and teach adaptive ER to their children (Gratz, Kiel, et al, 2014; Kiel et al, 2017; Stepp et al, 2012), thereby increasing the risk for both ER difficulties and related BPD pathology in their offspring (Stepp et al, 2012). In particular, in addition to the theorized direct relation between mother and child ER difficulties (Bariola et al, 2011; Eisenberg et al, 2010; Goldsmith et al, 2008; Morris et al, 2007; Thompson & Meyer, 2007), maternal ER difficulties are theorized to contribute to maladaptive responses to children’s emotional distress (i.e., maladaptive emotion socialization; Eisenberg et al, 1998; Kiel et al, 2017; Morris et al, 2007), which, in turn, are posited to play a central role in the development of ER difficulties in children (Bariola et al, 2011; Byrd et al, 2021; Eisenberg et al, 1998; Perry et al, 2020).…”

“…Although no studies have tested the proposed model wherein maternal BPD symptoms relate to offspring BPD symptoms through their association with maternal ER difficulties and, subsequently, offspring ER difficulties (either directly or indirectly via maladaptive maternal emotion socialization strategies), research does provide support for some of the paths within the proposed model. For example, research indicates significant positive associations between (a) parent and offspring ER difficulties (Bariola et al, 2011; Buckholdt et al, 2014; Byrd et al, 2021; Kim et al, 2009; Li et al, 2019; Rogers et al, 2016; Seddon et al, 2020), (b) parental ER difficulties and maladaptive emotion socialization strategies (Jones et al, 2014; Li et al, 2019; Seddon et al, 2020), and (c) parental maladaptive emotion socialization strategies and children’s ER difficulties (Li et al, 2019; Perry et al, 2020; Suveg et al, 2011). Likewise, research provides support for a significant association between maternal BPD pathology and maladaptive maternal emotion socialization strategies (Mahan et al, 2018), as well as indirect relations of maternal BPD symptoms to both (a) the increased use of maladaptive emotion socialization strategies through maternal ER difficulties (Kiel et al, 2017) and (b) offspring ER difficulties through maternal ER difficulties (Gratz, Kiel, et al, 2014).…”

Maternal invalidation and child RSA reactivity to frustration interact to predict teacher-reported aggression among at-risk preschoolers

“…Findings highlight the significance of integrating these factors into etiological models of aggression and underscore potential treatment implications. For example, research demonstrates that targeting maternal ER improves parenting behaviors (Martin, Roos, Zalewski, & Cummins, 2017;Zalewski, Lewis, & Martin, 2018), and our own preliminary work in this sample has demonstrated that treatment-driven improvements in maternal ER difficulties has indirect effects on child externalizing symptoms 1 year later (Byrd, Lee, Frigoletto, Zalewski, & Stepp, 2021). Moreover, emerging work suggests that targeting maternal ER in combination with maternal validation training may further enhance child outcomes (Havighurst & Kehoe, 2017;Highlander et al, 2022), and our data suggest that maternal validation training for mothers with ER difficulties may be especially indicated when their children show heightened physiological reactivity to frustration.…”