Unpacking Maternal Minimization Responses to Children’s Negative Emotions: “Person-Oriented” Versus “Emotion-Oriented”

This research aimed to distinguish person minimization from emotion minimization in Chinese families with adolescent children. In Study 1, a scale was developed to assess two types of minimization through expert evaluations (M_age = 35.05 years, 89.47% females) and factor analyses of mothers’ reported minimization (n = 417, Mage = 42.73 years). Study 2 showed that person minimization related to adolescents’ (n = 412, M_age = 13.91 years, 44.11% females) and mothers’socioemotional dysfunction and mothers’ (n = 412, M_age = 41.17 years) nonsupportive responses; emotion minimization correlated with adolescents’ and mothers’ cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, and mothers’ supportive responses. In Study 3, an experimental design was used, dividing adolescents into two groups: one group (n = 137, M_age = 12.64 years, 55.33% females) evaluating emotion minimization and the other group (n = 123, M_age = 12.74 years, 52.26% females) evaluating person minimization. The results showed that adolescents rated emotion minimization more positively than person minimization. Study 4 (n = 200, M_age = 13.85, 34.50% females) showed reciprocal relations between problematic communication patterns of adolescents’ emotional distress and person minimization over time.