Parents’ and friends’ responses to discrete negative emotions: Associations with adolescent emotional experiences

Abstract

AbstractEmotion socialization (ES) impacts a range of youth socioemotional outcomes. However, research often examines parent socialization of negative emotions more broadly. Research examining multiple socializers demonstrates that variety in ES messages may promote flexibility in youth socio‐emotional adjustment. The current study examined how parents’ and friends’ supportive socialization of discrete negative emotions (anger, sadness, worry) related to adolescents’ emotional experiences. Eighty‐seven adolescents (50 girls; 13–15 years old, M age = 14.23 years) reported on parent and friend supportive ES in 8th grade. Sixty‐four of these adolescents reported their own emotional experiences in 9th and/or 10th grade. Parents’ supportive ES was higher than friends’ for sadness and worry. Divergence between parent and friend ES of sadness related to lower increases in anger over time. There were effects of convergence in ES of anger, as matches between parent and friend ES were related to less experience of all three negative emotions. There were unique effects of parent and friend ES of worry. Parent ES of worry related to adolescents’ balance of anger and sadness, whereas friend ES of worry related to decreased sadness over time. These findings suggest that ES and its relations with adolescent emotional experience varied by discrete emotions, as each carries a different meaning and function. Future research should examine processes connecting discrete emotional experiences within interactions and across time.