Parent and Friend Emotion Socialization in Adolescence: Associations with Psychological Adjustment

Abstract

Emotion socialization influences how adolescents learn how to express and regulate their affect, and has ramifications for adolescent psychological adjustment. The majority of emotion socialization research pertains to the influence of parents in childhood; however, close friends gain influence in adolescence. The present narrative review compares parent and friend emotion socialization during adolescence, a developmental period with marked social and emotional challenges in relation to emotion regulation and psychological adjustment. This review suggests that parents and friends are largely similar in their influence on adolescent adjustment, though some socialization strategies and outcomes have yet to be fully examined in friend emotion socialization. Fruitful directions for future research are discussed.