Who benefits from autonomy-supportive parenting? Considering individual difference in adolescent emotional reactivity

Abstract

Dramatic changes occur during adolescence, elevating vulnerability to mental health problems. This study investigated the differential effect of autonomy-supportive parenting on adolescent mental health outcomes and the moderating role of adolescent emotional reactivity. We hypothesized that autonomy-supportive parenting would be beneficial for adolescents’ mental health and that emotional reactivity would moderate this effect, such that low adolescent emotional reactivity plus high autonomy-supportive parenting would produce higher positive affect and flourishing and lower negative affect, depression, and anxiety. This study included 188 adolescents from two-caregiver families who completed surveys on autonomy-supportive parenting and emotional reactivity at baseline survey: positive affect, flourishing, negative affect, anxiety, and depression at baseline and 12-month follow-up assessments. Results indicated that higher levels of autonomy-supportive parenting were associated with increased flourishing and decreased negative affect and anxiety 12 months later. Interaction analysis revealed that for adolescents with low emotional reactivity, higher levels of autonomy-supportive parenting were associated with increases in positive affect and flourishing and decreases in negative affect and depression. For adolescents with high emotional reactivity, higher levels of autonomy-supportive parenting were associated with decreases in positive affect and flourishing. These findings underscore the importance of considering the role of adolescent emotional reactivity in understanding the effects of autonomy-supportive parenting on adolescent well-being, especially when personalizing parenting-focused interventions.