Closer, but less accurate: Relationship closeness and empathic accuracy in parent-adolescent dyads

Empathic accuracy (EA), the ability to correctly perceive another's emotional state, is crucial for emotional communication in parent-adolescent relationships. A total of 112 dyads (adolescent Mage = 14.13; 54.5% girls) participated in a 28-day daily diary study conducted between July 2022 and May 2023. We used the multilevel Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to assess how baseline and daily perceived closeness-reported by both parents and adolescents-predicted parent and adolescent EA in daily life. Results showed that greater perceived closeness predicted lower EA for both the perceiver and their partner, particularly for negative emotions. This is consistent with the motivated inaccuracy perspective: closeness may dampen attention to negative emotions to avoid relational discomfort. Conversely, on days when closeness was low, dyads exhibited greater EA, suggesting compensatory efforts to reconnect.