Linear and curvilinear associations between emotional reactivity and the development of adolescent psychopathology

Adolescence is marked by significant emotional fluctuations, with heightened emotional reactivity to stressors leading to the development of psychopathology. This study examined the linear and curvilinear associations between emotional reactivity to parent-adolescent conflicts, defined as greater increases in negative emotions (NE reactivity) and greater decreases in positive emotions (PE reactivity), and adolescent psychopathology in a sample of 147 Taiwanese adolescents who completed 10-day daily diary protocols and three-month follow-up assessments. The results showed that heightened NE reactivity was linearly associated with increased internalizing problems. PE reactivity showed linear associations with internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and suicidal ideation. Curvilinear analyses indicated that extreme levels of NE reactivity (both heightened and blunted) predicted greater internalizing problems, while extreme PE reactivity was associated with increased suicidal ideation. These results suggest that both hyperreactivity and hyporeactivity in emotional responses to parent-adolescent conflicts elevate the risk for multiple psychopathological outcomes. This study underscores the need to consider the nonlinear dynamics of emotional reactivity in understanding adolescent psychopathology and highlights the day-to-day emotional responses and their impacts on psychopathology.