(PS8-A9) Exploring the Relationship Between Maternal Anxiety Sensitivity and Emotion Regulation Strategies During Conflict with Adolescents

Background: Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to fear of anxiety-related symptoms, due to beliefs that such sensations have negative consequences (Reiss et. al., 1986). AS has been linked to alterations in parenting. For example, parental AS is indirectly associated with offspring anxiety through increased family conflict (Drake & Kearney, 2008). In contrast, parental AS has been less strongly associated with offspring AS when moderated by positive parenting behavior (Graham & Weems, 2015). Limited work has examined associations between parental AS and parental emotion regulation (ER) during conflict with offspring. However, parental ER within parenting is a strong predictor of parenting behavior (Dix, 1991; Lorber, 2012). The current study aims to address this literature gap by examining how maternal AS may be associated with parental ER during a standardized conflict task with their adolescent. It was hypothesized that maternal AS would be positively associated with anxiety during a conflict task, as well as more maladaptive ER strategies (i.e., expressive suppression, avoidance). It was also hypothesized that AS would be negatively associated with parental adaptive ER use (e.g., cognitive reappraisal).

Methods: Seventy-five mothers (M_age = 42.18, SD = 6.50) and their adolescents (M_age = 13.83; SD = 1.38, 54.7% boys) participated in a standardized laboratory-based conflict task. Mothers completed the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3; Taylor et al., 2007). Following a standardized conflict task with their adolescents, mothers completed the Emotion Regulation Interview (Werner et al., 2011). Parents answered how frequently they used ER strategies during the task, including cognitive change and suppression, and how successful they were at using each strategy. All analyses controlled for adolescent diagnostic status (i.e., presence of an anxiety disorder).

Results: Findings suggested maternal AS was related to maternal anxiety during the conflict task [B= 0.55, p= .002]. Maternal AS was also positively associated with maternal avoidance of conflict with their adolescent [B= 0.60, p= .012]. Maternal AS was not significantly associated with the frequency with which mothers used cognitive reappraisal during conflict [B=- 0.01, p= .971], but was associated with how successful mothers felt at using cognitive reappraisal during conflict [B= -0.75, p= .006]. Maternal AS was positively associated with the frequency with which mothers used expressive suppression [B= 0.90, p= .008], but unrelated to maternal perceptions of success at expressive suppression [B= -0.34, p= .223].

Conclusions: These results suggest that mothers with higher AS report feeling less successful at using cognitive reappraisal than mothers with relatively lower AS. While AS was positively associated with suppression use frequency during conflict, it is not associated with how successful mothers feel at using this strategy. Maternal AS was positively related to maternal anxiety during conflict and maternal avoidance of conflict with their child. Therefore, intervention efforts aimed at helping parents with elevated AS regulate emotions more effectively may be useful for helping parents navigate conflict with their children.