title: Negative emotional reactivity moderates the relations between family cohesion and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in adolescence.
abstract: Lower family cohesion is associated with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. However, there are likely individual differences in youth's responses to family processes. For example, adolescents higher in negative emotional reactivity, who often exhibit elevated physiological responsivity to context, may be differentially affected by family cohesion. We explored whether youth's negative emotional reactivity moderated the relation between family cohesion and youth's symptoms and tested whether findings were consistent with the diathesis-stress model or differential susceptibility hypothesis. Participants were 651 adolescents (M = 12.99 ± .95 years old; 72% male) assessed at two time points (Time 1, ages 12-14; Time 2, age 16) in Pittsburgh, PA. At Time 1, mothers reported on family cohesion and youth reported on their negative emotional reactivity. At Time 2, youth reported on their symptoms. Among youth higher in negative emotional reactivity, lower family cohesion predicted higher symptoms than higher family cohesion, consistent with the diathesis-stress model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States. Electronic address: jill.alexandra.rabinowitz@temple.edu.
authors.forename: Jill A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rabinowitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States.
authors.forename: Ijeoma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Osigwe
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States.
authors.forename: Deborah A G
authors.initials: DAG
authors.lastname: Drabick
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, United States.
authors.forename: Maureen D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Reynolds
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005195:Family Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009341:Negativism; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Differential susceptibility; Externalizing symptoms; Family cohesion; Internalizing symptoms; Negative emotional reactivity