Unraveling the Ties that Bind: Affective Expression and Perceived Conflict in Parent adolescent Interactions

Abstract

The purpose of this observational study was (1) to examine the process of parent-adolescent relationship change across puberty, and (2) to examine the relationship between affective expression in interactions and perceived relationship conflict. Data were collected on 85 intact families with adolescents in grades 5 to 9 (n = 44 males, 41 females). Each parent and adolescent took part in two 8-minute conversations one about an activity they reported enjoying together and one about a disagreement or area of conflict. Conversations were coded by speaker turn for positive, negative, neutral, mixed, and altered affect (kappa = .76). Regression analyses indicated that parents and adolescents expressed more negative and less positive affect in interactions as adolescents physically matured. In addition, adolescents' perceptions of relationship conflict were consistently related to parents' expressed emotions in interactions and paralleled trends for positive and negative affect across puberty. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding of the process of transforming parent-adolescent relations and family communication patterns across puberty.

Leaving Home Transition in Israel: Changes in Parent-Adolescent Relationships and Adolescents’ Adaptation to Military Service

“…Nevertheless, it has been shown that the speci c issues measured in the present study (adolescents' relationships with parents) may be measured validly by self-report measures. For example, adolescents' self-report measures of relationships with parents were consistently associated with similar behavioural measures recorded by observers (Flannery, Montemayor, Eberly, & Torquati, 1993). Similarly, self-report hardiness scores were found to correlate with objective measures of health (e.g.…”

Using an Emotion Regulation Framework to Understand the Role of Temperament and Family Processes in Risk for Adolescent Depressive Disorders

“…In an effort to discover the mechanisms accounting for this increased incidence, researchers have examined the myriad of developmental changes that accompany the transition into adolescence. One notable change is an increase in the frequency and intensity of negative affect (Flannery et al, 1993;Larson and LampmanPetraitis, 1989;Larson and Richards, 1991), which can act as a precursor to depression (Klein et al, 2002). This increase correlates with pubertal status (Flannery et al, 1993) and age (Larson and Richards, 1991) and appears to vary according to the social context.…”

“…One notable change is an increase in the frequency and intensity of negative affect (Flannery et al, 1993;Larson and LampmanPetraitis, 1989;Larson and Richards, 1991), which can act as a precursor to depression (Klein et al, 2002). This increase correlates with pubertal status (Flannery et al, 1993) and age (Larson and Richards, 1991) and appears to vary according to the social context. In particular, Larson and Richards (1991) reported that the increase was observed in the context of interactions with parents, but did not characterize the time spent with friends.…”

Dyadic Affective Flexibility and Emotional Inertia in Relation to Youth Psychopathology: An Integrated Model at Two Timescales

“…Examining macrotimescale flexibility and inertia would also elucidate whether low flexibility or high inertia predicts psychopathology during certain developmental periods. For example, because dyadic affective flexibility peaks in early adolescence (e.g., , inertia might be at its lowest, but, given the increase in intensity of negative affect in parent-adolescent relationships (Flannery et al 1993;Laursen et al 1998), both inertia and rigidity may heighten and yield problematic symptomatology for youth.…”