Differences in mother-child and father-child RSA synchrony: Moderation by child self-regulation and dyadic affect

Dynamic respiratory sinus arrhythmia self-regulation and coregulation in response to caregiving challenges in at-risk mother-child and father-child dyads

We examined how mother-preschooler and father-preschooler dyads differed in dynamic self-regulation and time-lagged coregulation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) when having to transition from play into a challenging disciplinary context, and how individual and dyadic regulatory responses to this challenge varied by parenting risk. Participants included 78 mother-preschooler and 51 father-preschooler dyads (53% female, 63.3% non-Hispanic White) oversampled for familial risk. At 2½ years, parents self-reported harsh parenting. At 3 years, parent-child RSA was collected during free play and cleanup tasks. Multilevel models of time-lagged RSA (i.e., parent RSA predicting child RSA in the next time unit and vice versa) were conducted. In response to a task with increased challenge and parenting demands, mothers and children showed expected individual RSA decreases (indicating active regulation), whereas fathers showed increases in RSA (suggesting decreasing arousal or disengagement). Mother-driven negative time-lagged RSA coregulation and father-driven positive time-lagged RSA coregulation were observed during play, but not during cleanup. Harsh parenting was associated with altered RSA responses to challenge: During cleanup, harsher mothers showed no active regulation, suggesting disengagement, harsher fathers showed more stability in RSA self-regulation, and child-driven negative RSA coregulation with harsher fathers was observed. Findings suggest that during preschool, (a) parents are the typical drivers of RSA coregulation, (b) challenging contexts and parenting risk alter dynamic RSA self-regulation and time-lagged RSA coregulation, and (c) typical and atypical RSA self-regulation and time-lagged coregulation patterns differ between mother-child and father-child dyads. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Individual Differences in Infants' Speech Segmentation Performance: The Role of Mother-Infant Cardiac Synchrony

Caregiver-infant coregulation is an early form of communication. This study investigated whether mother-infant biological coregulation is associated with 9-month-olds' word segmentation performance, a crucial milestone predicting language development. We hypothesized that coregulation would relate with infants' word segmentation performance. Additionally, we examined whether this relationship is influenced by the caregiving environment (i.e., parental reflective functioning) and the infant's emotional state (i.e., positive affect). Coregulation was investigated via cardiac synchrony in 28 nine-month-old infants (16 females) during a 5-min free-play with their German-speaking mothers. Cardiac synchrony was measured through Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA), employing Recurrence Quantification Analysis to evaluate dyadic coupling (i.e., Recurrence Rate) and dyadic predictability (i.e., Entropy). Infants' word segmentation was measured with an eye-tracking central-fixation procedure. A stepwise regression revealed that higher dyadic coupling, but not predictability, of the dyads' RSA was associated with infants looking longer toward the screen when listening to novel as compared to familiar test words, indicating advanced word segmentation performance (Cohen's d = 0.25). Moreover, cardiac synchrony correlated positively with maternal sensitivity to their infant's mental states, but not with the infant's positive affect. These results suggest that caregiver-infant biological coregulation may play a foundational role in language acquisition.

Parent emotional support alters the association between parent-child interbrain synchrony and interaction quality

Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning methodology, this study investigated whether parent emotional support moderated the relation between parent-child interbrain synchrony and interaction quality (via behavioral observation and child-report), controlling for individual emotional distress. Eighty-eight parent-child dyads (96.6% Han ethnicity), including a school-age child between the ages of 6 and 11 (Mage = 8.07 years, SD = 1.16 years; 58.0% boys) and their parent (Mage = 39.03 years, SD = 3.54 years; 69.3% mothers), participated in a cooperative task during which brain activity was assessed. Cluster-based permutations indicated parent-child interbrain synchrony in the left and right temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Interbrain synchrony in the left TPJ positively related to parent-child interaction quality in the context of high parent emotional support, whereas the association was weaker and negative when parents demonstrated low emotional support. Findings suggest the emotional context of an interaction is critical when assessing interbrain synchrony.

Dynamic self-regulation and coregulation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia in mother-child and father-child interactions: Moderating effects of proximal and distal stressors

This study examined how proximal and distal familial stressors influenced the real-time, dynamic individual and dyadic regulation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in mother-preschooler and father-preschooler interactions in at-risk families (N = 94, Mage = 3.03 years, 47% males, 77% White, 20% Latinx, data collected 2013-2017). Proximal stressors were operationalized as changing task demands (baseline, challenge, recovery) across a dyadic puzzle task. Distal stressors were measured as parent-reported stressful life events. Multilevel models revealed that greater proximal and distal stressors were related to weaker dynamic self-regulation of RSA in mothers, fathers, and children, and more discordant mother-child and father-child coregulation of RSA. Findings affirm that stress is transmitted across levels and persons to compromise real-time regulatory functioning in early, developmentally formative caregiver-child interactions.

Maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems: The moderating role of mother-infant RSA synchrony

Maternal depressive symptoms are a crucial risk factor for children's internalizing problems, though positive mother-child relationships may buffer this risk transmission. Mother-child physiological coregulation (e.g., synchrony) has emerged as a potentially important mechanism of developmental psychopathology and may play a role in the transmission of internalizing symptoms. In this two-wave longitudinal study, we examined whether and how mother-infant physiological synchrony (of respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) moderated the association between maternal postnatal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems in a rural, low-SES community sample (N = 166 dyads). At 6 months, mother-infant RSA synchrony and infant negative affect were assessed during free play. Mother reported their depressive symptoms at 6 months and children's internalizing problems at 24 months. Multilevel structural equation models indicated that mother-infant dyads demonstrated significant and positive RSA synchrony on average and RSA synchrony significantly moderated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and children's internalizing problems even after controlling for infant negative affect. Greater maternal depressive symptoms were associated with higher child internalizing problems when RSA synchrony was lower but not when it was higher. This finding suggests that mother-infant RSA synchrony may operate as a resilience factor for the intergenerational transmission of internalizing symptoms in community samples.

Maternal heart rate variability at 3-months postpartum is associated with maternal mental health and infant neurophysiology

Previous research has demonstrated a critical link between maternal mental health and infant development. However, there is limited understanding of the role of autonomic regulation in postpartum maternal mental health and infant outcomes. In the current study, we tested 76 mother-infant dyads from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds when infants were 3-months of age. We recorded simultaneous ECG from dyads while baseline EEG was collected from the infant; ECG heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG theta-beta ratio and alpha asymmetry were calculated. Dyadic physiological synchrony was also analyzed to better understand the role of autonomic co-regulation. Results demonstrated that lower maternal HRV was associated with higher self-reported maternal depression and anxiety. Additionally, mothers with lower HRV had infants with lower HRV. Maternal HRV was also associated with higher infant theta-beta ratios, but not alpha asymmetry. Exploratory analyses suggested that for mother-infant dyads with greater physiological synchrony, higher maternal HRV predicted increased infant theta-beta ratio via infant HRV. These findings support a model in which maternal mental health may influence infant neurophysiology via alterations in autonomic stress regulation and dyadic physiological co-regulation.

Grandmother-grandchild physiological synchrony in Chinese three-generation families: Links with child emotion regulation

The current study examined the characteristics of physiological synchrony between grandmothers and grandchildren in Chinese three-generation families, and the associations between physiological synchrony and child emotion regulation. The participants included 92 children (age 8-10-year old) and their grandmothers. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was collected from both grandmothers and their grandchildren throughout a collaborative drawing task and a conflict discussion task. Child emotion regulation was measured using the Children's Emotional Management Scale. We found no evidence for an overall pattern of concordant or discordant synchrony within dyads. Instead, there was great variability in patterns of synchrony across dyads. During the collaborative drawing task, concordance in grandmother's RSA and grandchildren's subsequent RSA was linked with better emotion regulation. During the conflict discussion, concordance in grandmother's RSA and grandchildren's simultaneous RSA was linked with poorer emotion regulation. These results suggest that grandmother-grandchild synchrony in different directions, time lags, and contexts has different influences on children's emotion regulation. The findings of this study highlight the importance of contextual physiological co-regulation between Chinese children and their grandmothers for children's social-emotional development.

Maternal negative affect moderates behavioral and physiological synchrony in Latinx and Black mother-child dyads

Positive behavioral synchrony (PBS) between mothers and children involves the bidirectional exchange of verbal and nonverbal communication. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony reflects the concordance between mother-child physiological states. Both PBS and RSA synchrony can be undermined by psychopathology symptoms. Latinx and Black families may experience contextual stressors that contribute to heightened symptoms of psychopathology, yet minimal research has examined relations between psychopathology symptoms with PBS and RSA synchrony in these families. The present study assessed associations between maternal depressive and child internalizing symptoms, mother and child negative affect (NA), and PBS and RSA synchrony in a sample of 100 Latina and Black mothers (M_age  = 34.48 years, SD = 6.39 years) and their children (M_age  = 6.83 years, SD = 1.50 years). Dyads engaged in a video-recorded stress task where RSA was collected continuously. Videos were later coded for PBS and mother and child NA. Mothers reported on their depressive and child's internalizing symptoms. Maternal NA was associated with weak PBS and negative RSA synchrony. Neither depressive and internalizing symptoms nor child NA were associated with PBS or RSA synchrony. Results highlight the potency of maternal NA on behavioral and physiological synchrony in Latinx and Black families.

Developmental links between executive function and emotion regulation in early toddlerhood

Developmental associations between poor executive function (EF) and problem behaviors in toddlerhood indicate that the interplay between cognition and affect begins very early in life (Hughes, Devine, Mesman, & Blair, 2020). However, very few longitudinal studies of toddlers have included direct measures of both EF and emotion regulation (ER). In addition, while models of ER highlight the importance of situational contexts (e.g., Miller, McDonough, Rosenblum, Sameroff, 2005), existing work is limited by a heavy reliance on lab-based observations of mother-child dyads. Addressing these twin gaps, the current study of 197 families included video-based ratings of ER in toddlers' dyadic play with both mothers and fathers at each of two time-points (14- and 24-months), with parallel measures of EF being gathered in each home visit. Our cross-lagged analyses showed that EF at 14 months predicted ER at 24 months, but this association was limited to observations of toddlers with mothers. It was also asymmetric: ER at 14 months did not predict EF at 24 months. These findings support co-regulation models of early ER and highlight the predictive utility of very early individual differences in EF.

Adolescent borderline personality traits and dyadic behavior shape mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony

BACKGROUND

Associations between parent and child cortisol levels ("cortisol synchrony") are often reported and positive synchrony may mark dyadic regulation on a physiological level. Although dyadic behavior during interaction and adolescent borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits are linked with individual and dyadic regulatory capacities, little is known about how both factors influence parent-adolescent cortisol synchrony. We hypothesized that cortisol synchrony would differ depending on behavioral synchrony, i.e., smooth reciprocal dyadic interaction patterns, adolescent BPD traits, and their interactions.

METHODS

Multilevel state-trait modeling was implemented to investigate associations between concurrent mother-adolescent state cortisol and mother-adolescent average cortisol levels in a community sample of 76 mother-adolescent dyads. Three saliva samples were collected across interaction paradigms. Behavioral synchrony was observed, and adolescent BPD traits were evaluated using clinical interviews.

RESULTS

First, behavioral synchrony and absence of BPD traits were linked with positive associations between adolescent and maternal state cortisol (positive synchrony), BPD traits with negative associations (negative synchrony). When interaction effects were examined, results were more nuanced. In low-risk dyads (higher behavioral synchrony, no BPD traits) asynchrony was found. When risk (BPD traits) and resource (higher behavioral synchrony) were combined, synchrony was positive. Lastly, in high-risk dyads (lower behavioral synchrony, adolescent BPD traits), negative synchrony was observed. Average adolescent and maternal cortisol levels were consistently positively associated in dyads with higher risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive dyadic interaction patterns are associated with positive state cortisol synchrony in mother-adolescent dyads and could buffer the effect of BPD traits, possibly supporting the process of physiological regulation.

A meta-analysis of mother-child synchrony in respiratory sinus arrhythmia and contextual risk

Biobehavioral frameworks of attachment posit that mother-child dyads engage in physiological synchrony that is uniquely formative for children's neurobiological, social, and emotional development. Much of the work on mother-child physiological synchrony has focused on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). However, the strength of the existing evidence for mother-child RSA synchrony during interaction is unclear. Using meta-analysis, we summarized results from 12 eligible studies comprising 14 samples and 1201 children ranging from infancy to adolescence (M_age  = 5.68 years, SD = 4.13, range = 0.4-17 years) and their mothers. We found that there was a statistically significant, albeit modest, positive within-dyad association between mother and child fluctuations in RSA. There also was evidence for significant heterogeneity across studies. Less mother-child RSA synchrony was observed in high-risk samples characterized by clinical difficulties, history of maltreatment, or socioeconomic disadvantage. We did not find that mother-child RSA synchrony significantly differed by task context, mean child age, or by epoch length for computing RSA. Collectively, these findings suggest that mother-child dyads show correspondence in their fluctuations in RSA, and that RSA synchrony is disrupted in high-risk contexts. Future directions and implications for the study of parent-child physiological synchrony are discussed.

Understanding How Child Temperament, Negative Parenting, and Dyadic Parent-Child Behavioral Variability Interact to Influence Externalizing Problems

To better understand the development of externalizing behavior, the current study examines how multiple levels of influence (child temperament, negative parenting, and dyadic interactions) work together to increase externalizing behaviors over time. Negative parenting (NP) and observed dynamic dyadic behavioral variability (DBV) in parent-child interactions (e.g., in discipline and compliance) are characteristic of coercive family processes. The present study first examined latent profiles of temperament in 3-year-olds (N = 150). Four temperament profiles emerged: high reactive, exuberant, low reactive, and inhibited. Temperament profiles were then examined as moderators of the effects of age 3 NP and DBV on child externalizing problems at age 4. Exuberant temperament exacerbated the association between higher levels of NP and DBV and higher levels of child externalizing. Additionally, temperament moderated the combined effects of NP and DBV such that at low and mean levels of NP, children with exuberant temperaments who experienced higher DBV had higher externalizing behaviors, whereas at higher levels of NP, the influence of DBV was no longer significant. Results suggest pathways by which children's experiences of NP and DBV with parents contribute to their greater externalizing problems over time, in the context of the child's unique temperament profile.

The influence of children's effortful control on parent-child behavioral synchrony

Child temperament appears to evoke specific parenting behaviors that contribute to child development. However, questions remain about whether individual differences in children's temperamental self-regulation, namely, effortful control (EC), shape moment-to-moment parent-child interaction dynamics. Accordingly, we examined whether differences in children's EC were related to dynamic synchrony of parent and child behaviors during a challenging problem-solving task. We also tested whether these relations varied by parents' expressions of positive and negative behaviors that might differentially support or undermine children's regulatory efforts. State-trait multilevel models demonstrated that parent-child dyads engaged in dynamic, real-time behavioral concordance while parents engaged in positive but not negative behaviors. Further, dynamic concordance during parents' expressions of both positive and negative behaviors was moderated such that dyads with children higher in EC showed greater concordance. Additionally, when child behavior was more negative on average, parent behavior was also more negative on average. Results suggest parents' positive (compared to negative) behaviors are more likely to facilitate real-time synchrony and that children with higher EC may experience or foster greater behavioral synchrony with parents. Discussion centers on the importance of children's individual differences in shaping parent-child synchrony and potential implications for children's developing self-regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Parent-child physiological synchrony: Concurrent and lagged effects during dyadic laboratory interaction

This study investigated whether parents and kindergarten children show concurrent and time-lagged physiological synchrony during dyadic interaction. Further, we tested whether parent-child behavioral co-regulation was associated with concurrent and time-lagged synchrony, and whether synchrony varied by the type of interaction task. Participants were 94 children (M_age  = 5.6 years, 56% female) and their parents. We simultaneously measured parent and child respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during four dyadic interaction tasks: free play, clean up, problem-solving, and puzzle teaching. We found that synchrony varied by task. Concurrent synchrony occurred only during the puzzle teaching task, such that parent and child RSA were significantly and positively associated with each other simultaneously. Time-lagged synchrony occurred only during the problem-solving task, such that parent RSA was positively associated with child RSA 30 seconds later, and child RSA was negatively associated with parent RSA 30 seconds later. Although behavioral co-regulation and physiological synchrony have been conceptualized as markers of responsive parent-child interactions, our study finds no evidence that physiological synchrony is associated with between-dyad differences in behavioral co-regulation.

Mother-child mutually responsive orientation and real-time physiological coordination

From a biobehavioral framework, mother-child physiological and behavioral coordination are interdependent processes that contribute to children's socioemotional development. Little is known, however, about the temporal pattern of real-time physiological coordination or its associations with global levels of mother-child behavioral coordination. We addressed these gaps using data from 110 mothers and their preschool-aged children (56 girls, M_age  = 53.63 months, SD = 7.74) across two play tasks (i.e., puzzle, pretend play). Using indices of maternal and child parasympathetic response (i.e., changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) across 15-s epochs, we tested the extent to which within-dyad physiological coordination was contingent on mutually responsive orientation (MRO; a global composite of behavioral coordination and shared positive affect assessed via observer ratings across each play task). Results from a series of two-level coupled autoregressive models indicated that MRO moderated mother-lead RSA coordination, and this pattern emerged across both play tasks. Controlling for stability of within-person RSA changes, increases in maternal RSA at time t - 1 predicted increases in children's RSA at time t, but only for dyads averaging higher MRO during play. No interactions of MRO emerged for child-lead RSA coordination. Findings highlight the importance of dyadic behavioral processes for mother-child physiological coordination.

Parental history of childhood maltreatment and child average RSA shape parent-child RSA synchrony

We examined whether dynamic parent-child RSA synchrony varied by individual differences in child average RSA and parental history of childhood maltreatment (CM), which has been linked to parental behavioral and physiological dysregulation. We also examined whether RSA synchrony was curvilinear, reflecting homeostatic regulation. Synchrony was defined as the dynamic association between parent and child RSA reactivity (change relative to their own mean) within epoch across a challenging task. Eighty-three mother-preschooler and 61 father-preschooler dyads participated. State-trait modeling showed that RSA synchrony was curvilinear such that significant relations were only found at lower and higher child reactivity. Children's higher task average RSA predicted maternal RSA augmentation and lower task average RSA predicted maternal RSA withdrawal, regardless of whether child reactivity in the moment was low or high, suggesting individual differences in child regulatory capacity were associated with dynamic maternal reactivity. When maternal CM history and child average RSA were both higher, mothers showed RSA augmentation. Father-child synchrony was not moderated by child average RSA but greater paternal CM history predicted fathers' greater RSA withdrawal regardless of whether child RSA reactivity was low or high. Findings offer novel insights into the nature and meaning of RSA synchrony with parents at risk.

Advancing models and methods of emotional concordance

Emotional concordance refers to dynamic coordination of two or more components of the emotion system in response to environmental demands. Concordance can occur within a person (e.g., sympathetic arousal with a fearful expression) and between persons (e.g., similar emotional expressions in couples). This introduction to the 2021 special issue examines current models and methods of concordance. First, we highlight how emotion researchers have begun to focus on concordance across a range of populations and contexts. Second, we note concordance research benefits from examination of multiple emotion systems simultaneously (within- and/or between-persons), resulting in a multivariate time series. Finally, we describe recent efforts to understand the functional (e.g., health-related) consequences of concordance. The articles in this special issue collectively point toward exciting new directions in examining whether and when concordance occurs, and how it varies by individual differences, context, and measures.

Individual differences in parent and child average RSA and parent psychological distress influence parent-child RSA synchrony

Parent-child synchrony of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) varies by risk, but novel approaches are needed to capture individual contributions to synchrony. Multilevel state-trait modeling was applied to examine how parental psychological distress and parent and child average RSA during challenge (reflecting individual regulatory capacities) shaped RSA synchrony in mother-child (n = 71) and father-child (n = 47) interactions. RSA synchrony was curvilinear such that greater in-the-moment RSA reactivity in one partner prompted greater reactivity in the other. Higher risk (lower average RSA; higher distress) predicted in-the-moment RSA withdrawal to partner RSA changes, whereas lower risk (higher average RSA; lower distress) predicted in-the-moment RSA augmentation. In some models, one's higher average RSA prompted the partner's greater reactivity and thus synchrony when parental distress was higher. However, the presence and direction of synchrony was not consistently adaptive nor maladaptive across models, suggesting its meaning relies on theory and the parent and risk factors in question.