From Friction to Flow: Dyadic Affective Flexibility during and after Conflicts Predicts Trajectories of Mother-Adolescent Relationships
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| Title: | From Friction to Flow: Dyadic Affective Flexibility during and after Conflicts Predicts Trajectories of Mother-Adolescent Relationships |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Xiaomei Li (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Psychology. 2026 62(5):915-931. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Mothers, Adolescents, Parent Child Relationship, Conflict, Emotional Response, COVID-19, Pandemics, Foreign Countries, Resilience (Psychology) |
| Geographic Terms: | Canada |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001939 |
| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| Abstract: | Real-time affective dynamics surrounding everyday conflicts are central to the quality of relationships between mothers and their socioemotionally maturing adolescents. In this longitudinal study, we examined whether dyadic affective flexibility in early adolescence predicted trajectories of mother-adolescent relationship closeness and conflicts over time. We focused on flexibility not only in dyads' emotional fluctuations "during" conflict interactions (i.e., "dynamic" flexibility) but also in the repair of their affective patterns "after" conflict interactions (i.e., "reactive" flexibility). At Wave 1, 201 adolescents (11-12 years old, 46.3% girls) and mothers (87.5% Caucasian) completed two consecutive discussions about everyday conflicts and happy memories, respectively. Dynamic flexibility was derived from second-by-second affect coding via state space grids, and reactive flexibility was assessed as the latent change in dynamic flexibility across discussions. Annually for 5 years, including periods during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., Waves 3-5), mothers reported feelings of closeness with the adolescents, and both dyad members identified and rated the intensity of conflicts with each other. Results revealed that greater dynamic and reactive flexibility predicted greater and increasing closeness particularly from early to mid-adolescence. Greater dynamic and reactive flexibility were also associated with less intense and less diverse conflicts overall but not developmental changes in conflicts. These findings have implications beyond the immediate dyadic interactions around conflicts, suggesting that real-time flexibility within the mother-adolescent emotional system may serve as a resilience factor that buffers against the strains of relationship adjustment during adolescence at a longer timescale. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1503647 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Real-time affective dynamics surrounding everyday conflicts are central to the quality of relationships between mothers and their socioemotionally maturing adolescents. In this longitudinal study, we examined whether dyadic affective flexibility in early adolescence predicted trajectories of mother-adolescent relationship closeness and conflicts over time. We focused on flexibility not only in dyads' emotional fluctuations "during" conflict interactions (i.e., "dynamic" flexibility) but also in the repair of their affective patterns "after" conflict interactions (i.e., "reactive" flexibility). At Wave 1, 201 adolescents (11-12 years old, 46.3% girls) and mothers (87.5% Caucasian) completed two consecutive discussions about everyday conflicts and happy memories, respectively. Dynamic flexibility was derived from second-by-second affect coding via state space grids, and reactive flexibility was assessed as the latent change in dynamic flexibility across discussions. Annually for 5 years, including periods during the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., Waves 3-5), mothers reported feelings of closeness with the adolescents, and both dyad members identified and rated the intensity of conflicts with each other. Results revealed that greater dynamic and reactive flexibility predicted greater and increasing closeness particularly from early to mid-adolescence. Greater dynamic and reactive flexibility were also associated with less intense and less diverse conflicts overall but not developmental changes in conflicts. These findings have implications beyond the immediate dyadic interactions around conflicts, suggesting that real-time flexibility within the mother-adolescent emotional system may serve as a resilience factor that buffers against the strains of relationship adjustment during adolescence at a longer timescale. |
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| ISSN: | 0012-1649 1939-0599 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/dev0001939 |
