Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli
Abstract In infancy and in the early years of life, emotion regulation and attachment relationships with parents are tightly intertwined. However, whether this link persists into adolescence has not yet been established and requires exploration. This pilot study utilizes an experimental design to as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00821-9 |
| _version_ | 1818250700195364864 |
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| author | Marie Schneider Ingrid Obsuth Monika Szymanska Julie Mathieu Sylvie Nezelof Karlen Lyons-Ruth Lauriane Vulliez-Coady |
| author_facet | Marie Schneider Ingrid Obsuth Monika Szymanska Julie Mathieu Sylvie Nezelof Karlen Lyons-Ruth Lauriane Vulliez-Coady |
| author_sort | Marie Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In infancy and in the early years of life, emotion regulation and attachment relationships with parents are tightly intertwined. However, whether this link persists into adolescence has not yet been established and requires exploration. This pilot study utilizes an experimental design to assess the patterns of parent–adolescent interactions that are hypothesised to be related to two specific aspects of adolescents’ emotion regulation, namely: visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli. Two innovative and ecologically valid methodologies were utilized to assess (a) patterns of attachment-based parent–adolescent interactions among 39 adolescent–parent dyads from the general population, using the Goal-corrected Partnership in Adolescence Coding System (Lyons-Ruth et al. Goal corrected partnership in adolescence coding system (GPACS), 2005) applied to a conflict discussion task; (b) the two aspects of adolescent emotion regulation were assessed with the Visual/Autonomic Regulation of Emotions Assessment (VAREA) (Vulliez-Coady et al. Visual/Autonomic Regulation of Emotions Assessment, VAREA) paradigm, an attachment-related, emotionally arousing experimental procedure, using a distress-then-comfort paradigm, in conjunction to an eye-tracker synchronized with a physiological device that measured gaze and skin conductance response, (SCR), or emotional reactivity. In line with research in infancy, as predicted, markers of secure parent–adolescent interaction were linked to higher amplitude of SCR for distress and comfort pictures, and with longer attention to comfort pictures. On the other hand, parental role-confusion was associated with less time spent on comfort pictures by the adolescent. Overall, this pilot study suggests that interventions supporting collaborative communication between adolescents and their parents, as well as working to reduce parental role-confusion, may improve adaptive adolescent emotion regulation as assessed via physiological measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:56:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eac6eef8327348dcb65b7241a1d704fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:56:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-eac6eef8327348dcb65b7241a1d704fd2022-12-22T00:19:29ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832022-05-0110111410.1186/s40359-022-00821-9Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuliMarie Schneider0Ingrid Obsuth1Monika Szymanska2Julie Mathieu3Sylvie Nezelof4Karlen Lyons-Ruth5Lauriane Vulliez-Coady6Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Franche Comté UniversityDepartment of Clinical Psychology, University of EdinburghScience and Technology Department, Laboratory of Integrative and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Burgundy Franche‐ComtéChild and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Franche Comté UniversityChild and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Franche Comté UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical SchoolChild and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Franche Comté UniversityAbstract In infancy and in the early years of life, emotion regulation and attachment relationships with parents are tightly intertwined. However, whether this link persists into adolescence has not yet been established and requires exploration. This pilot study utilizes an experimental design to assess the patterns of parent–adolescent interactions that are hypothesised to be related to two specific aspects of adolescents’ emotion regulation, namely: visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli. Two innovative and ecologically valid methodologies were utilized to assess (a) patterns of attachment-based parent–adolescent interactions among 39 adolescent–parent dyads from the general population, using the Goal-corrected Partnership in Adolescence Coding System (Lyons-Ruth et al. Goal corrected partnership in adolescence coding system (GPACS), 2005) applied to a conflict discussion task; (b) the two aspects of adolescent emotion regulation were assessed with the Visual/Autonomic Regulation of Emotions Assessment (VAREA) (Vulliez-Coady et al. Visual/Autonomic Regulation of Emotions Assessment, VAREA) paradigm, an attachment-related, emotionally arousing experimental procedure, using a distress-then-comfort paradigm, in conjunction to an eye-tracker synchronized with a physiological device that measured gaze and skin conductance response, (SCR), or emotional reactivity. In line with research in infancy, as predicted, markers of secure parent–adolescent interaction were linked to higher amplitude of SCR for distress and comfort pictures, and with longer attention to comfort pictures. On the other hand, parental role-confusion was associated with less time spent on comfort pictures by the adolescent. Overall, this pilot study suggests that interventions supporting collaborative communication between adolescents and their parents, as well as working to reduce parental role-confusion, may improve adaptive adolescent emotion regulation as assessed via physiological measures.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00821-9AdolescentsAttachmentParent–child relationshipEmotion regulationEye-tracking |
| spellingShingle | Marie Schneider Ingrid Obsuth Monika Szymanska Julie Mathieu Sylvie Nezelof Karlen Lyons-Ruth Lauriane Vulliez-Coady Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli BMC Psychology Adolescents Attachment Parent–child relationship Emotion regulation Eye-tracking |
| title | Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| title_full | Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| title_fullStr | Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| title_short | Attachment-based parent–adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| title_sort | attachment based parent adolescent interaction linked to visual attention and autonomic arousal to distress and comfort stimuli |
| topic | Adolescents Attachment Parent–child relationship Emotion regulation Eye-tracking |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00821-9 |
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