Work

Longitudinal associations between parental trauma-related symptoms and adolescent emotion regulation: a three-wave dyadic analysis

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Introduction: Intergenerational trauma research has often treated transmission as unidirectional and static, overlooking dyadic and reciprocal processes. This study applied a three-wave longitudinal Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to examine bidirectional associations between parental trauma-related symptoms and adolescent emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. Methods: A total of 247 parent-adolescent dyads from Syrian refugee and Jordanian host-community families in Jordan completed three waves over six months. Parents reported lifetime trauma at T1; both parents and adolescents reported ER difficulties at T1, T2, and T3. Distinguishable-dyad APIMs estimated autoregressive, actor, and partner effects with FIML and covariates. Results: Parental trauma at T1 significantly predicted offspring ER difficulties at T2 (β = 0.23), mediated longitudinally by parent ER at T2. Offspring ER at T1 also predicted parent ER at T2 (β = 0.12), but this child-driven effect did not persist to T3. Refugee status did not moderate the transmission paths. Discussion: Intergenerational trauma appears to operate as a dynamically co-constructed dyadic process. Findings support process-focused, dyadic interventions rather than treating adolescents in isolation.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1882113

Authors: Shooroq Maberah, Mohammed Abu Al-Rub

Institution: Jadara University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801