My lab investigates the development of emotional competencies that are fundamental to mental health and adaptive functioning across the lifespan: the ability to respond emotionally in contextually appropriate ways and to regulate emotions when their intensity becomes maladaptive. We focus primarily on adolescence, a critical period for emotional development, examining both typical and atypical developmental trajectories. Recognizing that emotional development is inherently interpersonal, we study these processes within key relationship contexts - including interactions with parents, siblings, and peers. Recognizing that emotional development has a strong neurobiological basis, our research employs a multi-method approach to capture the complex nature of emotional processes, combining ecological momentary assessment for real-time emotional experiences with objective measures of neurobiological functioning through fMRI and hormonal analyses (cortisol and oxytocin)