Tuning in to Teens in Appalachia
We are excited to implement the Tuning in to Teens® program in Central Appalachia.
This parent education program focuses on helping parents understand how to tune into
and support their teens' emotions. We examine how this program affects parent-child
relationship quality and teen socioemotional comptencies. We also evaluate the best
ways to disseminate and implement this educational program for families in our region,
including virtual sessions and single-session programs.
Risk and protective factors for adolescent well-being
The purpose of this study is to better understand risk and protective factors for
adolescent well-being (anxiety, depression, behavior problems, social competence).
We examine individual and relational factors, including parent emotion socialization,
co-rumination with friends, emotion dysregulation, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility.
Selected publications
Hernandez Acton, E., Lozada, F.T., Talley, K.E., Halgunseth, L.C., Miller-Slough, R.L. & Dunsmore, J.C. (2025). Grandparents as overlooked agents for emotion socialization: A two-study investigation of adult grandchildren and grandmothers with young grandchildren. Current Psychology, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08040-2
Miller-Slough, R.L., Zhu, D., & Dunsmore, J.C. (2025) Emotion socialization, peer relations, and school belonging during the high school transition. Journal of Early Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316251343103
Miller-Slough, R.L., *West, C., & *Parigger, J. (2024). Parent self-compassion: Direct effects on parent emotion socialization and indirect effects on adolescent emotion dysregulation. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-07087-x
Ahuja, M., *Cimilluca, J., *Sathiyaseelan, T., *Fernandopoulle, P., Miller-Slough, R.L., *Bansal, M., *Anazor, S., *Adebayo Abikoye, E., *Al Ksir, K., *Williams, C., *Pons, A., *Magacha, H., *Haubner, A., *Tremblay, J., (2024). Loneliness and alcohol use among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Appalachia. Chronic Stress, 8, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470241264909
Miller-Slough, R.L., *Parungao, D., *West, C., & Dunsmore, J.C. (2024). Emotion-related processes between parents and adolescents: Evidence for bidirectional effects over time. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2024.2384383
Zhu, D., Miller-Slough, R.L, Garner, P. & Dunsmore, J.C. (2024). Adolescent peer relationship difficulties, prosociality, and parental emotion socialization: Moderating roles of adolescent gender. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2024.2386012
Miller-Slough, R. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2023). Parents' and friends' socialization of positive emotions: Associations with adolescent emotion regulation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 88, 101579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2023.101579
Miller-Slough, R.L., *West, C., & *Parungao, D. (2023). Maternal and paternal emotion socialization relates to adolescent self-compassion. Mental Health & Prevention, 31, 200290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200290
Miller-Slough, R.L., Zhu, D., Garner, P. & Dunsmore, J.C. (2022). Parents’ and friends’ responses to discrete negative emotions: Associations with adolescent emotional experiences. Social Development, 32(1), 283-298. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12639
Miller-Slough, R. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2021). Co-rumination as a microsocial process: Gender-specific links with adolescent internalizing symptoms. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 77, 101342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101342
Miller-Slough, R. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2020). Emotion socialization by parents and friends: Links with adolescent emotional adjustment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71, 101197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101197
Miller-Slough, R. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2019). Longitudinal patterns of parent and friend emotion socialization: Associations with adolescent emotion regulation. Journal of Research in Adolescence, 29, 953-966. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12434
Miller-Slough, R. L., Dunsmore, J. C., Zeman, J., Sanders, W., & Poon, J. (2017). Maternal and paternal reactions to child sadness predict child internalizing and externalizing symptoms: An interactive approach. Social Development, 27, 495-509. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12244
Poon, J., Zeman, J., Miller-Slough, R. L., Sanders, W., & Crespo, L. (2017). “Good enough” maternal and paternal support of children's sadness: Links to psychological and social functioning. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 48, 287-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2016.11.005
Miller-Slough, R. L., Zeman, J., Poon, J., & Sanders, W. (2016). Children’s maternal support-seeking: Relations to maternal emotion socialization responses and children’s emotion management. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 3009-3021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0465-y
Miller-Slough, R. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2016). Parent and friend emotion socialization in adolescence: Associations with psychological adjustment. Adolescent Research Review, 1, 287-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-016-0026-z
Miller-Slough, R. L., Dunsmore, J. C., Ollendick, T. H., & Greene, R. W. (2016). Parent-child synchrony and treatment outcomes in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 1880-1888. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0356-7
Miller, R. L., Dunsmore, J. C., & Smith, C. L. (2015). Effortful control and parents' emotion socialization patterns predict children's positive social behavior: A person-centered approach. Early Education and Development, 26, 167-188. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.975034
Sanders, W., Zeman, J., Poon, J., & Miller, R. L. (2015). Child regulation of negative emotions and depressive symptoms: The moderating role of parental emotion socialization. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 402-415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9850-y
*Student co-author