Vagal flexibility to negative emotions moderates the relations between environmental risk and adjustment problems in childhood

Abstract Neurobiological and social-contextual influences shape children’s adjustment, yet limited biopsychosocial studies have integrated temporal features when modeling physiological regulation of emotion. This study explored whether a common underlying pattern of non-linear change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) across emotional scenarios characterized 4–6 year-old children’s parasympathetic reactivity (N = 180). Additionally, we tested whether dynamic RSA reactivity was an index of neurobiological susceptibility or a diathesis in the association between socioeconomic status, authoritarian parenting, and the development of externalizing problems (EP) and internalizing problems over two years. There was a shared RSA pattern across all emotions, characterized by more initial RSA suppression and a subsequent return toward baseline, which we call vagal flexibility (VF). VF interacted with parenting to predict EP. More authoritarian parenting predicted increased EP two years later only when VF was low; conversely, when VF was very high, authoritarian mothers reported that their children had fewer EP. Altogether, children’s patterns of dynamic RSA change to negative emotions can be characterized by a higher order factor, and the nature by which VF contributes to EP depends on maternal socialization practices, with low VF augmenting and high VF buffering children against the effects of authoritarian parenting.

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Parasympathetic Activity, Emotion Socialization and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Children: Longitudinal Associations Between and Within Families

10.31234/osf.io/2bdnt ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elisa Ugarte ◽

Siwei Liu ◽

Paul Hastings

Keyword(s):

Externalizing Problems ◽

Parenting Practices ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Emotion Socialization ◽

Adjustment Problems ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Physiological Regulation ◽

Nonlinear Associations ◽

Middle Socioeconomic Status

Biopsychosocial models of children’s socioemotional development highlight the joint influences of physiological regulation and parenting practices. Both high and low levels of children’s baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) have been associated with children’s maladjustment, indicative of nonlinear associations. Negative or unsupportive parental responses to children’s emotions are consistently linked with internalizing (IP) and externalizing problems (EP), although few studies have examined how associations vary within families. This study examined within- and between-person associations of children’s quadratic baseline RSA, negative maternal emotion socialization, and children’s problems over six years. RSA was measured in 133 3.5-year-old children (72 female) in predominantly middle- to upper-middle socioeconomic status, Caucasian families. Mothers reported on their emotion socialization practices and their children’s adjustment concurrently and 1, 5, and 7 years later. Multilevel structural equation models revealed quadratic associations between baseline RSA and both IP and EP at the between-person level, suggesting that children with moderate RSA had fewer adjustment problems, on average, than children with lower or higher RSA. Across time and between families, children displayed more problems if their mothers reported more negative responses to their children’s emotions. Within families, IP were elevated on years when mothers reported higher than usual negative responses, and children with either high or low baseline RSA had more problems on years when mothers reported greater than usual negative responses to their children’s emotions. Altogether, these findings suggest that high and low baseline RSA may increase the risk for maladjustment, particularly in the time-varying context of aversive emotion socialization practices.

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The Physiological Regulation of Emotion During Social Interactions: Vagal Flexibility Moderates the Effects of a Military Parenting Intervention on Father Involvement in a Randomized Trial

Prevention Science ◽

10.1007/s11121-020-01122-6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 691-701

Author(s):

Na Zhang ◽

John Hoch ◽

Abigail H. Gewirtz

Keyword(s):

Randomized Trial ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Father Involvement ◽

Parenting Intervention ◽

Physiological Regulation ◽

Regulation Of Emotion

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The Good Tastes Study: Associations Between Infants’ Physiological Regulation and Responses to Bitter Green Vegetables (P11-083-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz048.p11-083-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Kameron Moding ◽

Kathryn Davis ◽

Abigail Flesher ◽

Mairin Augustine ◽

Joseph Campain ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regression Models ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Toxic Substances ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Physiological Regulation ◽

Novel Food ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Environmental Threat ◽

Fight Or Flight Response ◽

The Individual

Abstract Objectives Infants are predisposed to reject bitter tastes in order to prevent the ingestion of toxic substances. Thus, some infants may respond to bitter flavors with a physiological response consistent with how they respond to environmental threat, with implications for their behavior. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of parasympathetic regulation of the heart, which decreases in response to challenging or threatening stimuli (i.e., RSA withdrawal), allowing the individual to engage in a fight or flight response (Porges, 2007). Here, we examined whether RSA withdrawal (RSAW) was associated with infants’ behavioral reactions to bitter green vegetable purées. Methods Infants/toddlers (n = 106; 57 males) tasted a familiar food (rice cereal) and a novel food (kale purees) offered by their caregivers (94% mothers) during a laboratory visit. Trained coders watched video recordings to tally infants’ rejections (e.g., head turns, spoon swatting) and rate their degree of acceptance (4-point scale; 0 = refusal to 3 = anticipation). Three disposable electrodes were placed on the infants’ chest areas prior to feeding to measure heart rate (R-waves). Data were edited and used to calculate RSA values in 15-s epochs using CardioBatch Plus (Brain-Body Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). RSAW scores were calculated by subtracting average RSA during the kale tasting from average RSA during the familiar food baseline task; higher scores indicated greater RSAW. Multiple regression models were used to examine associations between RSAW and infants’ reactions to the kale (rejections, acceptance) after controlling for child age (months) and the amount of time since they last ate (minutes). Results Regression models predicting novel food rejection (F(3,82) = 8.78, R2 = .49) and acceptance (F(3,83) = 9.81, R2 = .51) were significant. After controlling for covariates, greater RSAW was associated with more rejection behaviors (β = .21, P = .03) and less acceptance (β = -.24, P = .01). Conclusions Infants who demonstrated greater RSAW during the kale feeding also responded to the kale with a behavioral “fight” response—greater rejection of the food. This study provides preliminary evidence that when infants reject bitter green vegetables, their physiological responses reflect a reaction to environmental threat. Funding Sources The Sugar Association.

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Does Physiological Regulation of Emotion Moderate the Effects of an Intervention on Parenting?

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e581082013-001 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Laurel Davis ◽

Abigail Gewirtz ◽

Sheila K. Hanson

Keyword(s):

Physiological Regulation ◽

Regulation Of Emotion

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Emotion and Psychophysiological Responses During Emotion–Eliciting Film Clips in an Eating Disorders Sample

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.630426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Melanie N. French ◽

Eunice Y. Chen

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Binge Eating ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Specific Content ◽

Psychophysiological Responses ◽

Psychophysiological Response ◽

Skin Conductance Responses ◽

Film Clips

Background: Greater vulnerability to negative emotions appears associated with the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). A systematic review of psychophysiological studies using emotion-eliciting film clips reveals that there are no studies examining the effect of standardized validated film clips on psychophysiological response across a range of EDs.Methods: Using standardized validated film clips without ED-specific content, the present study examined self-reported emotions and psychophysiological responses of women with Binge-Eating Disorder (BED; n = 57), Anorexia Nervosa (AN; n = 16), Bulimia Nervosa (BN; n = 34), and Healthy Controls (HCs; n = 26) at Baseline, during Neutral, Sad, Happy, and Fear-inducing film clips, and at Recovery.Results: Throughout the protocol, the ED groups reported significantly greater sadness and anxiety than HCs. Additionally, the AN group reported more fear, the BED group more frustration, and the BED and BN groups more tension than HCs. Compared to HCs, the BED group reported stronger urges to binge throughout the protocol, whereas BN group reported stronger urges to binge relative to the HC group only at Baseline and Recovery. The BN and BED groups experienced decreased urges to binge during all film clips compared to Baseline. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia levels were significantly lower in the BED group compared to HCs and the BN group throughout the protocol.Discussion: Standardized validated film clips can be used to elicit expected self-reported emotion and skin conductance responses in ED groups, although individuals with EDs compared HCs report greater negative emotions. Interestingly, film clips appeared to reduce urges to binge in binge-eating groups.

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Parent conflict predicts infants' vagal regulation in social interaction

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s095457940999023x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 23-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Ginger A. Moore

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Vagal Tone ◽

Future Research ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Male And Female ◽

Physiological Regulation ◽

Parent Conflict ◽

Still Face Paradigm

AbstractParent conflict during infancy may affect rapidly developing physiological regulation. To examine the association between parent conflict and infants' vagal tone functioning, mothers (N = 48) reported levels of parent conflict and their 6-month-old male and female infants' respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured in the still-face paradigm. Higher parent conflict was related to lower RSA at baseline and each episode of the still-face paradigm. Infants in relatively higher conflict families showed attenuated RSA withdrawal in response to mothers' disengagement and attenuated RSA activation when interacting with mothers. Findings suggest atypical RSA regulation and reliance on self-regulation for infants in families with moderate levels of parent conflict. Implications for later development and future research are discussed.

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Interpersonal physiological regulation during couple support interactions: Examining the role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and emotional support

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/psyp.13443 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 56 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jessica L. Borelli ◽

Dana Shai ◽

Shlomit Fogel Yaakobi ◽

Nava Levit‐Binnun ◽

Yulia Golland

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Emotional Support ◽

Sinus Arrhythmia ◽

Physiological Regulation

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Perceived Efficiency and Use of Strategies for Emotion Regulation

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.104.2.455-467 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 104 (2) ◽

pp. 455-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Arne Vikan ◽

Maria Dias ◽

Hilmar Nordvik

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Negative Emotions ◽

Cultural Variation ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Diagnostic Characteristics ◽

Individualism And Collectivism ◽

Regulation Of Emotion ◽

Age Range

A total of 819 students, 208 women and 210 men from Norway and 201 women and 200 men from Brazil, of whom 76.9% were in the 20- to 29-yr. age range, rated the use and efficiency of 14 strategies in regulation of emotion aimed at stopping anger, anxiety, and sadness. The same strategies were rated as most frequently used in both cultures for all three negative emotions. The most used strategies were “talking to somebody” and “saying something to oneself.” Used strategies were rated as more efficient than nonused strategies; cultural variation in use of strategy was consistent with the distinction between individualism and collectivism and women's ratings supported prior research on confidence in emotions by showing use of more strategies for anxiety and sadness than men's. Ratings from an outpatient sample of 80 women ( M age = 25.5 yr., SD = 4.4) and 80 men ( M age = 25.4 yr., SD = 4.1) supported expectations that there would be differences between nonpatients and patients based on diagnostic characteristics of depression and anxiety.

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