Negative emotional reactivity moderates the relations between family cohesion and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence^☆

Abstract

Lower family cohesion is associated with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. However, there are likely individual differences in youth's responses to family processes. For example, adolescents higher in negative emotional reactivity, who often exhibit elevated physiological responsivity to context, may be differentially affected by family cohesion. We explored whether youth's negative emotional reactivity moderated the relation between family cohesion and youth's symptoms and tested whether findings were consistent with the diathesis-stress model or differential susceptibility hypothesis. Participants were 651 adolescents (M = 12.99 ± .95 years old; 72% male) assessed at two time points (Time 1, ages 12–14; Time 2, age 16) in Pittsburgh, PA. At Time 1, mothers reported on family cohesion and youth reported on their negative emotional reactivity. At Time 2, youth reported on their symptoms. Among youth higher in negative emotional reactivity, lower family cohesion predicted higher symptoms than higher family cohesion, consistent with the diathesis-stress model.

Polygenic risk, family cohesion, and adolescent aggression in Mexican American and European American families: Developmental pathways to alcohol use

“…In partial support of this hypothesis aggression at T1 was associated with family cohesion at T2 in which greater levels of child aggression contributed to poorer family cohesion over time. This outcome is in-line with previous literature showing that adolescent aggression contributes to decreases in family cohesion (Conger et al, 1994; Henderson et al, 2006; Rabinowitz, 2016). Conversely, family cohesion at T1 was not associated with aggression at T2.…”

“…During adolescence, family cohesion and adolescent behavior are particularly intertwined. Adolescence is a period of heightened conflict in the family, in which adolescent aggression and hostility contribute to increases in family conflict and decreases in family cohesion (Conger, Ge, Elder, Lorenz, & Simons, 1994; Henderson, Dakof, Schwartz, & Liddle, 2006; Rabinowitz, Osigwe, Drabick, & Reynolds, 2016). Poor family functioning during adolescence, including low family cohesion and greater disorganization, is associated with greater adolescent drinking and substance use (Bray, Adams, Getz, & Baer, 2001; Foxcroft & Lowe, 1991; Gutman et al, 2011; Lloyd-Richardson, Papandonatos, Kazura, Stanton, & Niaura, 2002; Smart et al, 1990; Wagner et al, 2010).…”

Longitudinal Relationships Among Marital Conflict, Maternal and Paternal Warmth and Control, and Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Outcomes in South Korea

“…In this study, eight items assessing depression/anxiety and nine items assessing emotionally reactive problems were used, and the average scores of each subscale were analyzed. While the term “emotionally reactive problems” has been used as a label for emotional regulation processes that play a role in predicting other outcomes, such as internalizing and externalizing behaviors (e.g., Kalvin, Bierman, & Gatzke-Kopp, 2016; Rabinowitz, Osigwe, Drabick, & Reynolds, 2016), the CBCL Emotionally Reactive Problems subscale assesses a behavioral outcome: child internalizing problems that are emotional in nature (Ivanova et al, 2011). Coefficient alphas for depression/anxiety and emotionally reactive problems, respectively, were .72 and .74.…”

Patterns of Sensitivity to Parenting and Peer Environments: Early Temperament and Adolescent Externalizing Behavior

“…Studies exploring patterns of plasticity in adolescence are mixed. While some found that differential susceptibility to positive and negative parenting extended to influence EB in adolescence and even young adulthood (Chhangur et al., ; Nikitopoulos et al., ), others found diathesis‐stress to best characterize EB development in adolescence (Belsky & Pluess, ; Rabinowitz, Osigwe, Drabick, & Reynolds, ). Interestingly, a recent review found that differential susceptibility predicted adolescent EB and substance use depending on the timing of temperament and family environment assessed (Rioux et al., ).…”