Families at the Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Psychological Services and Development or Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development

Regulating Emotions Like An eXpert (RELAX) consists of 8 weekly, 90-minute sessions delivered (60 minutes of parents and adolescents meeting separately, 30 minutes of a combined meeting) in a group format. RELAX equips adolescents with emotion regulation and conflict management skills. This program includes a parent involvement component designed to help parents support adolescents' use of these skills. Each week skills will be discussed and practiced in group, and a skills rehearsal homework activity will be assigned. Following the program, an 8-week follow-up review session will be offered. Additionally, a single 60 minute focus group will be held following the review session to solicit parent and adolescent feedback on the intervention.

Parent and adolescent-reported emotion regulation on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Bunford et al., 2018; Kaufman et al., 2016). Total score is out of 180 (5 point Likert for each of 36 items). Higher scores indicate more difficulties with emotion regulation. RSA will be assessed with an EKG: three electrodes will be placed in a bipolar configuration on the left and right rib cage and the sternum. RSA is a measure of heart rate variability based on the respiratory cycle and is an indicator of vagal regulation (Berntson, Cacioppo, & Quigley, 1997). Decreases in RSA, or RSA withdrawal, correspond to increased heart-rate and arousal; whereas, increases in RSA, or RSA augmentation, correspond to decreased arousal.

Parent and adolescent-reported family conflict as measured by the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). The CBQ consists of 20 true-false questions, with higher scores indicating more conflict between parents and their children.

Baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and RSA-Reactivity Predicting Change in Emotion Regulation and Family Conflict.