PROJECT SUMMARY
Parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs)—including parents’ reactions to their children’s
emotions, parents’ emotional expressiveness, and parents’ conversations with their children about emotions
(reminiscing)—shape and maintain children’s emotion regulation (ER), a multifaceted construct comprising
cognitive, behavioral, and physiological processes for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotions to
accomplish one’s goals. As emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology, the
elucidation of specific pathways by which children develop adaptive ER, or conversely, emotion dysregulation,
is critical. Parents’ own ER may lead to their engagement in ERSBs and their children’s ER development, but
longitudinal research examining these associations is limited. Even more, minimal research has delineated the
specific aspects of parental ER that are most relevant for ERSBs, and the specific aspects of children’s ER that
are most affected by ERSBs. Indeed, multimethod ER assessment is critical because ER is a multifaceted
construct. Still, research has yet to comprehensively examine how each aspect of parental ER (resting
respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA], RSA reactivity, self-reported emotion dysregulation, cognitive reappraisal,
expressive suppression, and ER strategy repertoire) may relate to ERSBs (reactions to children’s emotions,
expressiveness, and sensitive reminiscing) and children’s ER (resting RSA, RSA reactivity, mother-reported
adaptive ER and lability/negativity, behavior during a frustration task, and self-reported coping and ER strategy
repertoire) over time. Thus, longitudinal, multimethod research is necessary. A low-income sample of 6- to 8-
year-old children and their mothers will complete questionnaires and tasks assessing ER and ERSBs. RSA will
be assessed among dyads before and during reminiscing and emotion-induction tasks. Dyads will be assessed
longitudinally with a repeated measures design 6 months and 1 year after their initial visit. The study is guided
by two aims: (1) Evaluate which aspects of maternal ER are most relevant for maternal ERSBs over time; (2)
Evaluate the influence of maternal ER on child ER over time, and the extent to which maternal ERSBs mediate
that association. This research will enhance theoretical accounts of the psychobiological processes of
caregivers that shape ERSBs and children’s emerging ER. In addition, this research will inform public health
efforts to improve children’s ER and psychological functioning by identifying processes (i.e., maternal ER,
ERSBs) that may be targets for translational programs aimed to improve children’s ER and reduce risk for
psychopathology. Goals of the fellowship training plan, which will take place at the University of Notre Dame,
include: (1) develop a comprehensive understanding of the emergence and manifestation of parental ERSBs;
(2) increase knowledge of ER development and assessment from childhood through adulthood; (3) expand
quantitative expertise in longitudinal analysis methodology; and (4) engage in professional development
activities and training in research ethics related to working with at-risk families.
