Physiology of parenting and adolescent adjustment in peer context

Cai, Tianying

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117678 Copy

Description

Title

Physiology of parenting and adolescent adjustment in peer context

Author(s)

Cai, Tianying

Issue Date

2022-12-01

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Tu, Kelly M.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Tu, Kelly M.

Committee Member(s)

• McElwain, Nancy L.
• Larson, Reed W.
• Rudolph, Karen D.

Department of Study

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Discipline

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Parenting, Autonomic Nervous System, Peer Relationship, Physiological Synchrony

Abstract

During adolescence, the peer context becomes increasingly important. With adolescents spending more time with and gaining social support from peers (Brown & Larson, 2009; Lewis & Lamb, 2013), they may also encounter various challenges in the peer context. Parents remain important socializing agents in adolescents’ lives, and parent-adolescent conversations about peer problems specifically can provide an excellent opportunity for adolescents to gain skills and insights that can support their socioemotional development. Beyond behavioral exchanges and emotional climate of parent-adolescent interactions and implications for adolescent well-being (X. Li et al., 2022; Stocker et al., 2007), a gap in the parent-adolescent interaction literature is a deeper look “beneath the surface”, namely parent and adolescent physiological activity during these interactions. Looking “beneath the surface” could provide new understanding of parent behaviors and adolescent adjustment. The current study focused the function of autonomic nervous system (ANS) in mother-adolescent interactions, which consists of two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS; fight or flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS; rest or digest). Part 1 of my dissertation investigated the concurrent link between mothers’ ANS functioning (indicated by the joint contribution of SNS and PNS) and their observed and reported autonomy-relevant parenting behaviors with a community sample of 100 mothers (Mage = 41.25 years, SD = 6.22; 96.0% biological). Part 2 of my dissertation, utilizing the same sample of mothers and included adolescents (53% boys; Mage = 11.05 years, SD = .33) and their teachers (n = 78), investigated mother-adolescent PNS synchrony, or the reciprocal, coordinated physiological activity between mothers and adolescents during a peer problem-solving conversation, and the prospective association between mother-adolescent physiological synchrony and adolescent- and teacher-reported socioemotional adjustment. Adolescent-reported stress about the topic of conversation and perceived misunderstanding with mothers were examined as moderators of the synchrony-adjustment link. Mothers’ and adolescents’ physiological activity was assessed during a 5-minute conversation about a recent peer problem the adolescent had experienced. Results from Part 1 of my study revealed that different patterns of ANS activity were differentially associated with maternal autonomy support and control. Whereas higher levels of PNS activity and co-inhibition of PNS and SNS functioning were associated with higher and lower observed autonomy support, respectively, SNS dominance and co-inhibition were associated with higher and lower observed and self-reported control, respectively. Thus, the consideration of multiple systems can provide more comprehensive insights about observed and reported parenting behaviors. Additionally, Part 2 of my study found that the coordination between mothers’ and adolescents’ PNS functioning during a peer problem-solving conversation was varied, such that no overall pattern of coordination emerged. However, associations between mother-adolescent PNS synchrony and adolescents’ socioemotional adjustment was moderated by youths’ perceived stress and their feelings of misunderstanding during the conversation. Specifically, when youth reported greater stress about the conversation topic and higher levels of misunderstanding during the conversation with mothers, higher PNS synchrony was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of social competence, respectively. Thus, the link between mother-adolescent synchrony and adolescent socioemotional adjustment may depend on certain aspects of the mother-adolescent conversation. Collectively, these findings provide new insight about the role of physiology in understanding mothers’ parenting behaviors as well as the combination of mother-adolescent physiology and the interaction context in understanding adolescent socioemotional adjustment.

Graduation Semester

2022-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Tianying Cai

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