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Regulation of Negative Affect During Mother–Child Problem-Solving Interactions: Adolescent Depressive Status and Family Processes

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Abstract

Despite recent suggestions that depression can be conceptualized as a disorder of affect regulation, relatively little research has focused on affect regulation skills in depressed individuals. This paper investigated whether depressed adolescents (N = 25) differ from nondepressed adolescents (N 25) on two indices of affect regulation (i.e., duration of negative affective states and reciprocity of maternal negative affect) as well as whether these indices are related to microsocial family interactional processes. Analyses revealed that depressed teens differed from their nondepressed peers with regard to duration of negative affective states but not in their likelihood of reciprocating negative affect. Additionally, indices of adolescent affect regulation were related to family interactional processes. Duration of depressive affect was positively associated with maternal display of facilitative behavior contingent on adolescent depressive behavior. Duration of aggressive behavior was inversely related to maternal problem-solving responses to aggressive behavior. Finally, adolescent reciprocity of maternal depressive and aggressive behaviors was strongly associated with mothers' reciprocity of adolescents' negative affective behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Research Institute, 1715 Franklin Boulevard, Eugene, Oregon, 97403-1983

    Lisa Sheeber

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Nicholas Allen

  3. Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, Oregon

    Betsy Davis

  4. Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, Oregon

    Erik Sorensen

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  1. Lisa Sheeber
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  2. Nicholas Allen
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  4. Erik Sorensen
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Sheeber, L., Allen, N., Davis, B. et al. Regulation of Negative Affect During Mother–Child Problem-Solving Interactions: Adolescent Depressive Status and Family Processes. J Abnorm Child Psychol 28, 467–479 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005135706799

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