Role of Cross-Brain Connectivity in Emotion Regulation Within the Parent-Adolescent Dyad

Abstract

Emotion regulation is influential in adolescent mental health outcomes. Specifically, poor emotion regulation skills and strategies have been shown to be related to increased rates of depression and anxiety. Parenting plays a large role in children's development of effective emotion regulation skills and strategies. Daily interactions between parents and adolescents influence the development of emotion regulation; however, little is known regarding the neural mechanisms that underlie these interactions. Using fMRI hyperscanning, the current study examined the role of cross-brain connectivity in emotion processing regions of parents' and adolescents' brains. Results indicate increased cross-brain connectivity in emotion processing regions is associated with more positive parent-adolescent interactions, greater adolescent-perceived supportive parenting, and fewer adolescent emotion regulation difficulties and depressive symptoms.