1. Adaptive Social Regulation of Emotion and Adolescent Romantic Relationship Power: A Developmental Perspective Erin M. Miga, Joanna Chango, Meredyth Evans, Emily Marston, & Joseph P. Allen University of Virginia This study was made possible by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to Joseph P. Allen, Principal Investigator ( Grant # R01-MH58066)
METHOD
INTRODUCTION
Participants & Procedure
Data were collected from a multi-method, multi-reporter, longitudinal study of adolescent development in the context of peer and family relationships.
Participants: 93 adolescents, 42% male, 58% minority, Median Family Income: $50, 000
Time 1: Target adolescents(mean age 13 years) and their mothers were observed engaging in a supportive behavior task
Time 2: Target adolescents (mean age 18 years) and their romantic partners filled out measures on relationship power dynamics. Target teens also filled out a measure on coping strategies.
Time 3: Target participants (mean age 21 years) filled out a measure on their coping strategies in times of stress.
Time 1: Mother-teen Supportive Behavior Task was coded using observational data in order to capture a) teen call for emotional support b) emotional support given by mother c) maternal valuing. Further, dyadic dominance was obtained; higher scores indicated that the teen was “in charge” of the conversation (based on talking time and agenda setting) more frequently than the mother.
Time 2: Network of Relationships Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985) . Target participants and romantic partners reported on the degree to which their partner makes decisions, takes charge, and is the “boss” in their romantic relationship. Subscale used: relative relationship power.
Time 3: Brief COPE(Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989). Target participants reported on the degree to which they use adaptive and dysfunctional responses to stress.
Subscales used: Humor, Positive Framing, Using Emotional Supports
A host of research has established clear associations between conflict resolution strategies in one’s family of origin and conflict in one’s romantic relationships (Bandura, 1989; Reese-Weber & Bartle-Haring, 1998).
The familial context is a central backdrop by which teens learn to negotiate conflict, and manage stress.
The Intergenerational Transmission perspective often focuses on negative sequelae of parent-child experiences, such as exposure to interparental violence.
It is important to consider how this intergenerational transmission perspective can be extended to positive implications of adaptive parental socialization, such as parental support and attunement, for adolescent adjustment.
Since romantic relationships are increasingly central to successful adolescent development, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of how specific, familial processes may be associated with negotiating romantic relationships.
Further, given the clearly established associations between romantic functioning and mental illness during the transition to adulthood ( Eberhart & Hammen, 2006; Rao, Hammen, & Daley, 1999), research on possible protective aspects of romantic relationships for mental health is clearly warranted.
CONCLUSIONS
Adolescents who are able to adaptively seek out and elicit emotional support from their mothers in early adolescence are more assertive decision-makers in their own intimate relationships in late adolescence.
Further, the data suggests possible continuity between being more assertive in maternal supportive behavior interactions and being “in charge” in one’s romantic relationship five years later.
In contrast to the feminist perspective that construes relationship power as a negative construct linked to aggression, results suggest that possessing more decision-making power in late adolescence may have positive implications for well-being in young adulthood.
Assertive decision-making in one’s intimate relationships(mother-teen and romantic partner) is a positive predictor of the ability to adaptively cope with stressful events in early adulthood.
Further, findings highlight the role of the interpersonal context in facilitating cognitive coping strategies that may help to protect against the development of mental illness in young adulthood.
RESULTS
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The current study uses hierarchical regression analyses & FIML to address the following questions:
1. Does maternal support in early adolescence have implications for teen relationship power in late adolescence?
2. Is there continuity in dominance processes across relationship contexts?
Does romantic relationship decision-making power predict one’s ability to adaptively regulate stress in young adulthood?
Note. *p < .05 ** p < .01. N =93. Final Beta weights are presented above for analyses covarying gender and total income.