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

Individual patterns and synchrony of heart rate variability in adolescent patients with borderline personality psychopathology and their mothers: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

In adolescent Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), interactions with caregivers often provoke dysregulation. Vagally-mediated heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological marker of regulatory capacities, shows alterations in BPD. Studies on individual and dyadic HRV in adolescents with BPD (BPD-A) and their mothers (BPD-M) are lacking. We examined 1) individual resting state -, reactivity- and recovery- HRV, 2) intrapersonal concordance of interactional quality with HRV, 3) mother-adolescent interpersonal HRV-synchrony and 4) the association of interpersonal HRV-synchrony with behavioral synchrony in a case-control design.

METHODS

Thirty-eight (sub)syndromal BPD-A and BPD-M were compared to 35 healthy control adolescents and their mothers (HC-A/-M). HRV was assessed during a positive interaction, a stress task and resting before and after interactions (recovery). Behavior during interactions was observed and coded using the "Coding Interactive Behavior"- Manual. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling.

RESULTS

BPD-A showed a lower resting HRV than HC-A, while no group differences were found for mothers. From resting to positive interaction, BPD-A/BPD-M/HC-M showed a significant increase in HRV; this increase was not significant for HC-A. HRV-reactivity to stress was not significant in either group but influenced by general emotional and behavioral problems within both adolescent samples. Significant intrapersonal concordance of HRV and behavior could only be found for HC-M during the positive interaction (positive association). For BPD-M, a complete disconnect between behavior and HRV was observed. BPD-dyads and dyads lower in behavioral synchrony displayed HRV-synchrony during stress, in HC-dyads and dyads higher in behavioral synchrony during rest after dyadic interactions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study is the first investigating altered HRV-reactivity, behavior-HRV-concordance and HRV-synchrony in adolescents with BPD traits and their mothers, adding new insight to physiological regulation and co-regulation in adolescent BPD pathology. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed.

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).

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.

A context-dependent perspective to understand the relation between parent-child physiological synchrony and child socioemotional adjustment

Physiological synchrony is an important biological process during which parent-child interaction plays a significant role in shaping child socioemotional adjustment. The present study held a context-dependent perspective to examine the conditional association between parent-child physiological synchrony and child socioemotional adjustment (i.e., relationship quality with parents and child emotion regulation) under different (i.e., from highly unsupportive to highly supportive) emotional contexts. One hundred and fifty school-age Chinese children (Mage = 8.64 years, 63 girls) and their primary caregivers participated in this study. After attaching electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes, parent-child dyads were instructed to complete a 4-minute conflict discussion task. Parent-child physiological synchrony was calculated based on the within-dyad association between parents' and children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) levels across eight 30-second epochs. Parental emotional support, child relationship quality with parents, and child emotion regulation during the discussion task were coded by trained research assistants. Supporting our hypotheses, parental emotional support moderated the relations of parent-child RSA synchrony with both child relationship quality with parents and child emotion regulation. Furthermore, the Johnson-Neyman technique of moderation indicated that the associations between parent and child RSA synchrony and child socioemotional adjustment indicators shifted from negative to positive as the parental emotional support became increasingly high. Our findings suggest that parent-child physiological synchrony may not be inherently adaptive or maladaptive, highlighting the importance of understanding the function of parent-child physiological synchrony under specific contexts. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Physiological synchrony may not be inherently adaptive or maladaptive, and the meanings of parent-child physiological synchrony might be contingent on contextual factors. Parental emotional support moderated the relations between parent-child respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony and child socioemotional adjustment indicators (i.e., child relationship quality with parents and child emotion regulation). More positive/less negative parent-child RSA synchrony was associated with better child socioemotional adjustment under a supportive emotional context, whereas with poorer child socioemotional adjustment under an unsupportive emotional context. These findings highlight the significance of considering the emotional context in physiological synchrony studies.

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.

RSA instability in mothers of preschoolers and adolescents is related to observations of supportive parenting behaviors

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; a measure of respiratory modulation of vagal control of heart rate) is a dynamic process. For mothers, RSA functioning has been associated with depressive symptoms and coincides with supportive parenting. However, research has largely focused on RSA suppression (i.e., difference score from rest to stress task). The present study examined depressive symptoms and supportive parenting with RSA instability-a dynamic measure of the magnitude of RSA change across a task. In two samples of mothers (N = 210), one with preschoolers (Study 1: n = 108, Mage = 30.68 years, SD = 6.06, 47.0% Black, 43.0% White) and one with adolescents (Study 2: n = 102, Mage = 35.51, SD = 6.51, 75.2% Black), RSA instability was calculated during an interaction task. In both studies, instrumental supportive parenting behaviors were negatively related to RSA instability. Findings provide preliminary support for RSA instability as an indicator of physiological dysregulation for mothers.

Parent-child coregulation as a dynamic system: a commentary on Wass et al. (2024)

In this commentary, I argue that including and operationalizing allostatic processes will become increasingly important in future research on parent-child biobehavioral coregulation. In particular, the conceptualization and modeling of dyadic oscillatory rhythms that align in expected ways with the child's developmental stage and that distinguish typical and atypical development will be useful in future work. Despite the inherent asymmetry characteristic of parent-child relationships, we should not forget to consider the child's effects on the parent within and across time, the additional environmental demands upon parents that shape parent-child coregulation, and variations in parent-child asymmetry by parental risk factors. Studying risk factors that are dyadic in nature, such as child maltreatment, may be particularly informative in gaining a deeper understanding of how parent-child coregulation interfaces with developmental psychopathology. To best model parent-child coregulation as a dynamic system, it will be critical to employ more nonlinear analytic models and better represent the multiple hierarchical domains of coregulation and their interactions, including affect, cognition, behavior, and biology. Finally, in future research, a deeper application of existing dyadic and dynamic theories, as well as the generation of new dyadic developmental theories, will aid us in obtaining a stronger understanding of the developmental function and intervention implications of parent-child biobehavioral coregulation.

The role of youths' cardiac autonomic balance and parental responses to youth emotion in vulnerability to borderline personality disorder development

Developmental models of borderline personality disorder (BPD) emphasize the effects of youths' biological vulnerabilities and their experiences of parental responses to emotion, as well as the interaction between these two elements. The current study evaluated the independent and interactive effects of two indices of autonomic nervous system response and parental responses to youth negative emotions on severity and exacerbation of youths' BPD features during the transition to adolescence. The sample consisted of 162 psychiatric youth (10-14 years; 47.2% female) and their parents. At baseline, youth and their parents completed a lab-based conflict discussion during which parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system response were measured and indices of sympathetic-parasympathetic balance and coactivation/coinhibition were calculated. Youth also reported on supportive and non-supportive parental responses. At baseline and after 9 months, youth self-reported on their BPD features. Results demonstrated that shifting toward sympathetic dominance independently predicted exacerbation of BPD across 9 months. Additionally, fewer experiences of supportive parental responses and more non-supportive parental responses were associated with greater severity of BPD features in youth. This study highlights the role of autonomic response to parent-child conflict as well as the significance of parental responses to youth emotion for the development of BPD during this developmental window.

Resting respiratory sinus arrythmia and cognitive reappraisal moderate the link between political climate stress and anxiety symptoms in Latina and Black mothers

Guided by the Family Stress Model for minority families, the present study examined the potential buffering effect of resting respiratory sinus arrythmia (RRSA), cognitive reappraisal, and mindfulness on the association between political climate stress (PCS) and anxiety symptoms in a sample of Latina and Black mothers. Participants were 100 mothers living in the southeastern United States. Mothers reported on PCS, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, and symptoms of anxiety. RRSA were measured during a resting task. Moderation analyses tested the influence of these three factors (RRSA, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness) on the relation between PCS and anxiety. Results showed that the relation between PCS and anxiety symptoms was strongest at low levels of RRSA and cognitive reappraisal. At high levels of these two factors, there was no association between PCS and anxiety symptoms. Mothers with high levels of RRSA and cognitive reappraisal may be able to interact with and evaluate environmental stimuli in such a way that allows for adaptive adjustment, buffering against the negative impact of PCS. RRSA and cognitive reappraisal may be important targets of interventions designed to address the rising rates of anxiety symptoms in Latina and Black mothers.

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.

Parents' Physiological Reactivity to Child Distress and Associations with Parenting Behaviour: A Systematic Review

This systematic review and narrative synthesis characterized parents' physiological stress responses to child distress and how parents' physiological and behavioural responses relate. The review was pre-registered with PROSPERO (#CRD42021252852). In total, 3,607 unique records were identified through Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. Fifty-five studies reported on parents' physiological stress responses during their young child's (0-3 years) distress and were included in the review. Results were synthesized based on the biological outcome and distress context used and risk of bias was evaluated. Most studies examined cortisol or heart rate variability (HRV). Small to moderate decreases in parents' cortisol levels from baseline to post-stressor were reported across studies. Studies of salivary alpha amylase, electrodermal activity, HRV, and other cardiac outcomes reflected weak or inconsistent physiological responses or a paucity of relevant studies. Among the studies that examined associations between parents' physiological and behavioural responses, stronger associations emerged for insensitive parenting behaviours and during dyadic frustration tasks. Risk of bias was a significant limitation across studies and recommendations for future research are discussed.

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.

Dynamics of mother-infant parasympathetic regulation during face-to-face interaction: The role of maternal emotion dysregulation

The dynamics of parent-infant physiology are essential for understanding how biological substrates of emotion regulation are organized during infancy. Although parent-infant physiological processes are dyadic in nature, research is limited in understanding how one person's physiological responses predict one's own and as well as the other person's responses in the subsequent moment. In this study, we examined mother-infant respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) dynamics during the Still-Face Paradigm (SFP) among 106 mothers (M_age  = 29.54) and their 7-month-old infants (55 males). Given mothers' role in shaping dyadic interactions with their infant, we also tested how mothers' self-reported emotion dysregulation (measured via the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) associated with these dynamics. Results showed that both mothers' and infants' RSA tended to return to their respective homeostatic points (i.e., exhibited return strength) during each SFP episode, indicating stability in RSA for mother-infant dyads. Significant shifts in mother and infant RSA return strength were observed across SFP episodes, highlighting the role of contextual demands on each individual's physiological dynamics. Mother-infant RSA dynamics varied as a function of maternal self-reported emotion dysregulation. Specifically, RSA levels of infants with more dysregulated mothers had a weaker tendency to return to homeostasis during the Reunion episode and were less affected by their mothers' RSA during the Still-Face and Reunion episodes of the SFP, suggesting a less effective coregulatory influence. Our findings have implications for the intergenerational transmission of emotion dysregulation via mother-infant physiological dynamics.

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.

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.

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.