Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Psychology
First Advisor
Sarah Bilsky
Second Advisor
John Young
Third Advisor
Hannah Allen
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Social anxiety (SA) contributes to significant distress and impairment in daily life, including how affect is regulated during interpersonal interactions. For example, individuals with SA are more likely to display deficits in positive affect (PA) levels. Additionally, parents with SA may be more likely to engage in maladaptive parenting strategies in response to their adolescent. In non-clinical populations, PA is associated with more adaptive behavioral correlates and responses. Existing work suggests that mothers with depression and decreased PA levels respond more negatively to their adolescent’s PA expressions; however, no research has assessed how mothers with SA and PA deficits respond to adolescent PA in social situations. The current study assessed whether maternal SA influences unique responses to adolescent PA in social situations. Results indicated a main effect of maternal SA on baseline levels of maternal dampening and enhancing of adolescent PA. Additionally, maternal SA interacted with experimental condition. The nature of the interaction is such that, for mothers in the experimental group, there was no effect of maternal SA on maternal dampening of adolescent PA in social situations. For mothers in the control group, there was a significant effect, such that maternal SA levels were significantly and positively associated with maternal dampening of adolescent PA. Several potential influencing factors are reviewed in relation to this finding. Findings are discussed in terms of steps needed to improve our understanding of the association among maternal SA and PA and socialization of PA in adolescents.
Recommended Citation
Friedman, Hannah, "The Impact of Maternal Social Anxiety on Maternal Responses to Adolescent Positive Affect" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3279.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3279