Adolescence has long been purported to be a period of emotional upheaval, yet relatively little is known regarding normative patterns of change in youth positive and negative affect across the adolescent transition. This study addressed this gap by examining normative patterns of mean-level change in youth positive and negative affect from middle childhood through late adolescence, encompassing the full span of adolescent development. Participants included 665 youth recruited in 3rd, 6th, and 9th grade cohorts (55.0% female; age 9–16 at baseline) who provided self-report ratings of positive and negative affect every 18 months for a period of three years in an accelerated longitudinal cohort design. Multi-level growth curve models revealed that adolescence is characterized by declines in positive affect and non-linear patterns of alternating decreases and increases in negative affect. Patterns of change differed across boys and girls. The findings from this study indicate that adolescence is characterized by normative reductions in positive affect in the context of labile negative affect, with implications for understanding processes of risk and resilience across the adolescent transition.

青春期一直被认为是一个情绪动荡的时期，但对于整个青春期过渡期间青少年积极和消极影响的规范变化模式知之甚少。本研究通过检查从童年中期到青春期后期的青年积极和消极影响的平均水平变化的规范模式来解决这一差距，包括整个青少年发展。参与者包括在 3 年级、6 年级和 9 年级队列中招募的 665 名青年（55.0% 为女性；基线年龄为 9-16 岁），他们每 18 个月提供一次积极和消极影响的自我报告评级，为期 3 年。队列设计。多层次生长曲线模型显示，青春期的特征是积极情绪下降和消极情绪交替减少和增加的非线性模式。男孩和女孩的变化模式不同。这项研究的结果表明，青春期的特点是在不稳定的负面情绪的背景下规范性地减少了积极情绪，这对理解整个青少年过渡时期的风险和复原力过程具有重要意义。