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Adverse experiences (e.g., child maltreatment, peer victimization) have long-term consequences for emotion regulation (ER) development. Adolescents may be particularly susceptible to these effects due to heightened sensitivity to environmental influences as well as the protracted development of the prefrontal cortex, which includes regions responsible for regulatory efforts. Previous research has indicated that difficulties with ER can be both a precursor to and consequence of adverse experiences, such as child maltreatment and peer victimization. As such, the present study evaluated reciprocal relations between dynamic longitudinal changes within repeated measures of peer victimization and ER across adolescence and into young adulthood and to determine how child maltreatment may predispose youths to these issues. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% male, Mage = 14.07 years at Time 1) who participated in a longitudinal study across five time points, with approximately one year between each assessment. First, we used confirmatory factor analyses to test latent factors of child maltreatment (abuse and neglect), peer victimization, and ER. Then, we used latent change score modeling to examine reciprocal relations between peer victimization and ER. Finally, we added child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) as a preceding predictor of reciprocal relations between peer victimization and ER. Our results offer insights toward developmentally informed longitudinal, transactional models linking child maltreatment and developmental changes in peer victimization and ER in adolescence. Findings of associations between peer victimization and ER support social information processing theory (Dodge and Crick, 1990) by suggesting that adolescent difficulties with ER may confer risk for experiences of peer victimization. Finally, child neglect effects on relational peer victimization in adolescence underscore how early contextual environments may impact later social development, with child neglect predicting developmental change in relational peer victimization during adolescence. / Doctor of Philosophy / Adverse experiences (e.g., child maltreatment, peer victimization) have long-term consequences for emotion regulation (ER) development. Adolescents may be particularly at risk to experiencing negative consequences on ER development given their continued brain development. Previous research has indicated that difficulties with ER can be both a precursor to and consequence of adverse experiences, such as child maltreatment and peer victimization. As such, the purpose of the proposed study was to evaluate how peer victimization and ER are associated across adolescence and into young adulthood and to determine how earlier child maltreatment may predict these associations. The sample included 167 adolescents (53% male, Mage = 14.07 years at Time 1) who participated in a longitudinal study across five time points, with approximately one year between each assessment. Results suggest that both child neglect (maltreatment) and adolescent difficulties with ER may confer risk for experiences of peer victimization during adolescence.

This study informs research on how private speech, which is typically seen as a cognitive ability, is utilized during an emotion-eliciting task. This research helps to bridge the divide between cognitive and emotional aspects of children's self-regulation by integrating how cognitive private speech strategies may be used to regulate emotion. Preschool-aged children (n = 116) completed a frustration task. Emotional expressions (anger and sadness), emotion regulation strategies (distraction and self-comforting behaviors), persistence (latency to quit and duration of on-task behavior), and children's private speech were coded. Whereas higher levels of nonfacilitative task-relevant private speech were associated with higher levels of both sadness and anger, social speech was positively associated with sadness, and inaudible muttering was positively associated with anger. Private speech, specifically vocalizations and task-irrelevant private speech, was also positively associated with the regulation strategies of self-comforting and distraction. Facilitative task-relevant private speech, however, was negatively associated with distraction. Finally, higher levels of social speech were associated with less persistence, while higher levels of facilitative task-relevant private speech was associated with more persistence. Findings from this study support the idea that private speech can have a regulatory effect during frustrating situations that children experience. Private speech occurred alongside emotions and regulation strategies in meaningful ways. Including measures of private speech in future studies on emotion regulation will add more detail and depth to researchers' understanding of children's regulatory abilities. In the future, interventions could be created to encourage children's use of private speech to enhance their emotion regulatory abilities. / Master of Science

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), characterized by irritability and defiant behavior, is associated with several negative outcomes in childhood and adulthood (APA, 2000; Webster- Stratton, 1996). There are a variety of approaches to treating ODD that differ in their focus on parents, children, or both parent and child (Greene & Ablon, 2005; Kazdin, 2005). These treatments also target different underlying processes of oppositional behaviors, such as parenting behaviors and children's emotion regulation. Research suggests that parent emotion socialization practices may indirectly influence externalizing behaviors, such as those present in ODD, through children's emotion regulation abilities (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). The present study examines this mediation model in children diagnosed with ODD (n = 100; 58 boys) who received either Parent Management Training or Creative & Proactive Solutions. Findings indicate that families receiving CPS exhibited higher decreases in ODD symptoms than those receiving PMT. There was no evidence for an indirect effect of emotion socialization on symptoms of ODD through emotion regulation. Regarding direct effects, increases in emotion encouraging, emotion discouraging, and emotion regulation were associated with decreases in ODD symptoms, whereas increases in problem solving were associated with increases in ODD symptoms. There were also pre-treatment indicators of children's treatment response, such as parent's problem solving, children's emotional lability, and ADHD symptoms. These results indicate the importance of both emotion socialization and emotion regulation in treatment improvement, as well as factors that may contribute to treatment response. Treatment implications and future research directions are discussed. / Master of Science

Little is known about the complex processes leading to prosocial behavior. However, theories suggests that empathy, empathic responding, and emotion regulation abilities, may all contribute to the presence or absence of prosocial behavior. While theoretical papers demonstrate relationships between these constructs, researchers to date have only focused on small aspects of this complex relationship (e.g., the relationship between sympathy and emotion regulation, the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior). This study proposed a complex model whereby empathy was both directly related to prosocial behavior and indirectly related to prosocial behavior via sympathy or personal distress. Furthermore, this study proposed an emotion regulation framework for understanding the relation between empathy and prosocial behavior, suggesting that one's emotion regulation abilities would cause a differential presentation of empathic responses, leading to a potential increase or decrease in prosocial behavior. An adult sample was recruited. Analyses were completed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results indicate that hypothesized model adequately fit the data. All hypothesized associations between variables were significant. However, contrary to the hypothesis, emotion regulation ability did not alter the associations between study constructs. Strengths, limitations, and implications will be discussed. / Master of Science