Real‐Time Contingencies of Emotion Socialization During Parent–Adolescent Conflicts

ABSTRACT Parent–adolescent emotion socialization (ES) is theoretically a moment‐to‐moment (i.e., real‐time), bidirectional process in which emotional moments are opportunities for directing youth's longer‐term socioemotional development. However, due to reliance on static and self‐report measurement, we know little about this process during this age period. The objective of this study was to examine this process directly by assessing the real‐time dynamic interplay of ES behaviors and affect during typical parent–adolescent interactions. These dynamics were measured within a 4‐min conflict discussion between mothers and adolescents (12–13‐year‐olds, N = 164) using the Parent ES in Adolescence coding system to capture the full range of mothers’ supportive and unsupportive ES. Real‐time adolescents’ and mothers’ expressed affective valence was also measured. Dynamic structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze how affect predicted ES and how ES predicted affect across 5‐s increments, with dyadic relationship quality (DRQ) and adolescent gender as between‐dyad predictors. Findings revealed that adolescent affect (A‐Affect) positively predicted Supportive‐ES but did not predict Unsupportive‐ES. Supportive‐ES was followed by a decrease in Adolescents’ and Mothers’ Affect, whereas Unsupportive‐ES had the opposite effect. Gender did not predict differences in real‐time effects, but higher DRQ was related to more flexible dyadic affect dynamics and greater increases in A‐Affect following Unsupportive‐ES. Findings are discussed as both the product of ES processes that had transpired prior to our time of measurement, as well as a potential predictor of future socioemotional development.