Abstract
Numerous studies have reported substantive correlations between anger socialization, children’s anger regulation, and internalizing/externalizing problems. However, substantially less is known about the interplay among these constructs during the developmental stage of adolescence, and longitudinal studies on causal relations (i.e., parent-directed, adolescent-directed, or reciprocal effects) are rare. It is also unclear whether the development of internalizing and externalizing problems have similar causal relations. We collected three waves of longitudinal data (Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 9) from multiple informants. A sample of N = 634 adolescents (mostly 11–12 years at Time 1; 50.6% male) and their parents (predominantly Caucasian with German nationality) completed questionnaires assessing parents’ responses to anger, adolescents’ anger regulation, and adolescents’ internalizing/externalizing problems at each wave. Comparisons of different cross-lagged models revealed reciprocal rather than unidirectional effects. However, we found more parent-directed effects with respect to the development of internalizing problems, whereas relations regarding externalizing problems were more adolescent-directed, i.e., adolescents’ externalizing problems and their anger regulation predicted changes in their parents’ responses to anger across time. Adolescent anger regulation was an important maintaining factor of parents’ responses to anger in later adolescence. Our findings suggest that assumptions regarding bidirectional relations should be emphasized much more in emotion socialization frameworks, particularly for the period of adolescence. Moreover, our study emphasizes the transdiagnostic importance of parents’ responses to anger for both externalizing and internalizing problems and also suggests different underlying mechanisms.
Highlights
Emotional competence is central for healthy development in childhood and adolescence
Many skills in emotional competence are in place by middle childhood, research indicates that parents continue to play an important role in influencing an adolescent’s emotional understanding and regulation, which if poorly developed, are regarded as potential risk factors for both internalizing and externalizing problems (Eisenberg, 2020; Morris et al, 2007)
Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology greater knowledge about the importance of parental anger socialization as a key underlying risk/protective factor that may contribute to the improvement of the prevention and treatment of internalizing or externalizing problems
Summary
Emotional competence is central for healthy development in childhood and adolescence. Many skills in emotional competence are in place by middle childhood, research indicates that parents continue to play an important role in influencing an adolescent’s emotional understanding and regulation, which if poorly developed, are regarded as potential risk factors for both internalizing and externalizing problems (Eisenberg, 2020; Morris et al, 2007). Anger was selected because children and adolescents usually experience anger when their goal conflicts with external requests, blocking its attainment (Campos et al, 1994). Such situations are often accompanied by conflicts and aggressive behavior. The discrepancy in the understanding of the desirability and functionality of anger makes the study of parental responses to this emotion important
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