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Tuning into Friendships: Promoting Supportive Emotion Socialization and Friendship Quality in Early Adolescence Through a Modified TINT Program
O'Brien, Maryclaire Ceili
O'Brien, Maryclaire Ceili
Abstract
Adolescence constitutes a critical developmental window for the refinement of emotion regulation skills and the learning of adaptive emotion socialization (ES) practices. Despite extensive evidence underscoring the importance of peer relationships in adolescent socioemotional development, few interventions have directly targeted adolescents’ ES practices to foster adolescent friendships. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a modified Tuning in to Teens (TINT) program, adapted for direct adolescent delivery, in promoting supportive ES practices and enhancing friendship quality among a community sample of 52 early adolescents (Mage = 11.76; 60% girls; 78.8% White). Youth participated in a 6-week in-person group intervention that aimed to improve emotion competencies and friend ES practices. Adolescents completed the You and Your Friends Questionnaire (Klimes-Dougan et al., 2014) and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (Parker & Asher, 1989) at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and at the one-month follow-up (T3). Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed significant increases in adolescents’ validation of their friends’ emotions, particularly sadness and worry. Although there were no reported reductions in neglect of friends’ emotions, a significant decrease in the punishment of sadness displays was found. Additionally, adolescents reported significant improvements in overall friendship quality, particularly in companionship and intimate exchange domains. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the modified TINT intervention may be a promising approach for fostering supportive friend ES practices and strengthening friendship quality during early adolescence, with broader implications for socioemotional adjustment.
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2025-05-01
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5/7/2030
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Psychology