Emotional Expectancies and Hostile Attributions as Predictors of Adolescents’ Expressions of Emotion with Parents

Abstract

The present study examined associations between adolescents’ Emotional Expectancies (EE), Hostile Attributions of Intent (HAI), and emotions expressed during interactions with their mother and father. Data were collected from 96 14- to 16-year-olds (27 African Americans, 38 European Americans, and 31 Latinos; a total of 51 girls and 45 boys) and their parents over a period of 2 years. Questionnaires completed by adolescents were used to assess emotional expectancies and hostile attributions of parents’ behavior. In both year one and year two, adolescent emotional expressiveness with parents was observed in a laboratory interaction session. Data revealed that both adolescents’ EE and HAI in reaction to ambiguous situations predicted their expression of positive emotion with their mother and father 1 year later. EE of happiness were positively related and EE of anger were negatively related to the expression of positive emotion with their mother and father. HAI were negatively related to the expression of positive emotion. Only HAI were related to a higher expression of anger with their mother and father. The findings indicate that HAI and EE represent distinct cognitive-emotional processes that contribute to individual differences in adolescents’ expressions of emotion with parents.