How can the study of physiological reactivity contribute to our understanding of adversity and resilience processes in development?

Childhood trauma and social anxiety in adolescents: Mediating role of cardiovascular response to social stress

Adolescents exposed to childhood trauma are at an elevated risk for social anxiety. However, the physiological mechanisms linking childhood trauma and adolescents' social anxiety remain poorly understood. This study examined whether cardiovascular reactivity to acute social stress was a mechanism underlying this association. Participants were Chinese adolescents (N = 172; Mage = 12.95). They first reported their childhood trauma and social anxiety using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. They then participated in a social stress task, during which their cardiovascular data [heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP)] were monitored. The results showed that high levels of childhood trauma were associated with blunted HR, SBP, and DBP reactivity, which in turn were associated with high levels of social anxiety. Mediation analysis indicated that childhood trauma was indirectly associated with social anxiety via blunted cardiovascular reactivity. The findings suggest that blunted cardiovascular reactivity may serve as a physiological pathway linking childhood trauma and adolescents' social anxiety.

The interactive roles of narrative processing and emotion negativity/lability in relation to autonomic coordination

Emotion regulation (ER) is a multifaceted construct, involving behavioral, cognitive, and physiological processes. Although autonomic coordination is theorized to play a crucial role in adaptive functioning, few studies have examined how different individual and contextual factors together may contribute to such coordination. This study examined the joint influences of narrative processing and emotional negativity/lability (N/L) traits on the coordination of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in a sample of 112 children, ages 8-12 years (Mage = 10.15 years, SD = 1.33). Children completed a stress-induction task followed by an interview about the task. Children's trait-level N/L was assessed via parent-report on the Emotion Regulation Checklist. Narrative processing was assessed and coded based on children's narrative accounts of the event (i.e., causal coherence, overall emotional tone). Indexes of sympathetic (skin conductance response, SCR) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) functioning were derived from physiological data obtained during the interview. Results revealed that children's trait-level N/L and narrative processing of the stressful event interacted to predict the RSA-SCR correlation. Specifically, children who were high on either N/L or narrative causal coherence, but not both, demonstrated significant RSA-SCR correlation. Similarly, children with high N/L and negative-to-neutral narratives, as well as those with low N/L and neutral-to-positive narratives, exhibited significant RSA-SCR correlation. This work provides empirical evidence that narrative processing and trait N/L, together with RSA-SCR correlation, work in tandem to regulate emotional arousal.

Bridging childhood to adulthood: the impact of early life stress on acute stress responses

Background

Childhood trauma exerts enduring impacts on the physical and psychological well-being of individuals in adulthood, influencing their daily functioning. This study aims to investigate the impact of childhood trauma on stress recovery in adults, concentrating on heart rate variations during acute stress exposure.

Methods

A cohort of 126 participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to elicit acute stress, with continuous heart rate (HR) monitoring for stress recovery assessment.

Results

The results revealed a negative correlation between childhood trauma and stress recovery, prominently observed in instances of emotional neglect and abuse. Individuals with heightened childhood trauma exhibited protracted stress recovery following acute stress exposure.

Conclusion

Childhood traumatic experiences were associated with the recovery from acute stress, as indicated by heart rate indices. These findings contribute to the foundational framework for psychological interventions tailored to individuals with a history of childhood trauma.

Distinct physiological responses to social-evaluative stress in patients with major depressive disorder reporting a history of peer victimization

Peer victimization is a risk factor for the development of major depressive disorders, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined whether peer victimization alters physiological and affective responses to potentially threatening social stimuli. For this purpose, reactions to socially evaluative stimuli of depressive patients and healthy controls with varying histories of peer victimization were compared. In a social conditioning task, we studied heart rate responses to unconditioned socially negative and neutral evaluative video statements, followed by the heart rate reactions to conditioned stimuli, i.e. still images of the faces of the same actors. Diagnosis of depression and peer victimization were both associated with a more pronounced heart rate deceleration in response to unconditioned stimuli, irrespective of valence. The effect of peer victimization was stronger in depressive patients than in healthy controls. However, heart rate responses to the CSs were not related to depression or peer victimization. The results indicate a hypervigilant processing of social stimuli in depressive patients reporting histories of peer victimization. This distinct processing may be associated with inappropriate behavioral and emotional responses to social challenges, putting individuals at risk for depressive symptoms.

Child maltreatment and youth suicide risk: A developmental conceptual model and implications for suicide prevention

Experiences of child abuse and neglect are risk factors for youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Accordingly, suicide risk may emerge as a developmental process that is heavily influenced by the rearing environment. We argue that a developmental, theoretical framework is needed to guide future research on child maltreatment and youth (i.e., adolescent and emerging adult) suicide, and to subsequently inform suicide prevention efforts. We propose a developmental model that integrates principles of developmental psychopathology and current theories of suicide to explain the association between child maltreatment and youth suicide risk. This model bears significant implications for future research on child maltreatment and youth suicide risk, and for suicide prevention efforts that target youth with child maltreatment experiences.

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

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.

Early life adversity and cardiovascular responses to repeated stress among adolescents: Moderating role of COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism

BACKGROUND

Early life adversity (ELA) increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases through dysregulation of cardiovascular stress responses manifested by either exaggerated or blunted reactivity. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene rs4680 polymorphism has been identified in gene-environment interaction (G×E) studies to explain individual differences in the effects of ELA on physiological stress responses. However, little is known about whether ELA interacts with COMT gene rs4680 polymorphism to affect cardiovascular responses to repeated stress exposures.

OBJECTIVE

The current study examined the associations between ELA and cardiovascular responses to repeated stress exposures, and the moderating role of COMT rs4680 polymorphism in these associations.

METHODS

The childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) was administered to 359 junior school students who underwent a two-successive stress exposures protocol with continuous cardiovascular monitoring [heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP)] across four laboratory phases, and their saliva samples for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) genotyping were collected.

RESULTS

ELA was associated with blunted HR reactivity to the first and second stress exposures, blunted SBP reactivity to the first stress exposure, and attenuated SBP habituation to repeated stress exposures. Moreover, COMT rs4680 moderated these associations, such that the associations between ELA and blunted HR, SBP, and DBP reactivity to the first stress and disrupted DBP habituation to repeated stress exposures only existed in GA/AA genotype carriers but not in GG genotype carriers.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the A allele of COMT rs4680 is vulnerable to the negative effects of ELA on the developmental dysregulation of stress physiological systems.

The Hormesis Model for Building Resilience Through Adversity: Attention to Mechanism in Developmental Context

In developmental science, resilience refers to children and youths’ ability to recover and pursue positive development in the face of stress related to adversity. Extant research has documented protective factors and ecological contexts that mitigate the impact of adversity and thereby promote resilience. One intriguing aspect of resilience is that individuals also develop strength in response to early adversity. However, very little theoretical guidance exists on the developmental mechanisms and contexts through which early adversity may lead to strengthening effects that confer the process of resilience. The strengthening mechanism in the context of specific circumscribed environmental stress is a process known in the field of toxicology as hormesis. It is proposed here that the study of resilience in developmental and psychological sciences can benefit from shifting more attention to the hormesis model. The hormesis model is reviewed and discussed as a promising perspective on mechanisms, developmental timing, and context through which adversity strengthens or impedes resilience.

Childhood violence exposure and externalizing behaviors: A systematic review of the role of physiological biomarkers

Childhood exposure to violence has been consistently linked to externalizing behaviors like delinquency and aggression. Growing evidence indicates that physiological biomarkers from the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems (PNS and SNS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may moderate or mediate the relation between childhood violence exposure and externalizing behaviors. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize recent findings on physiological biomarkers as mediators and/or moderators of this association across the life course, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Our search yielded 3878 articles, of which 44 met inclusion criteria (describing a total of 46 independent studies). We found consistent evidence for blunted HPA-axis reactivity as a mediator of the relation between childhood violence exposure and subsequent externalizing behaviors, and for non-reciprocal PNS/SNS activation as moderators exacerbating this relation. However, the results of the majority of included studies that demonstrated significant moderating effects of physiological biomarkers varied by participant sex, type of childhood violence exposure, and type of stimuli used to induce physiological reactivity. The observed mixed findings are consistent with some theories that emphasize that both high and low stress reactivity can be adaptive depending on one's early environment. These findings highlight the need for systematic explorations of heterogeneity, theory-driven research questions, and longitudinal studies that span multiple developmental periods and multiple biological systems. Clinical implications include the need to assess physiological biomarkers in treatment and intervention studies and the potential to target interventions based on both autonomic functioning and environmental contexts.

Biological sensitivity to environmental context fluctuates dynamically within individuals from day to day

This longitudinal, within-subjects study examined whether adolescents' biological sensitivity to socioeconomic status (SES) for emerging social difficulties varied day to day. Diverse adolescents (N = 315; ages 11-18; 57% female; 25% Asian, 18% Latinx, 11% Black) provided daily diaries and saliva samples for 4 days. We measured biological sensitivity as daily fluctuations in diurnal cortisol slope, and SES as a principal component of family income and maternal education. A robust analysis of 1013 daily assessments revealed that youth from lower SES homes reported greater social difficulties only on days that they exhibited flatter diurnal cortisol slopes, and youth from higher SES homes reported fewer social difficulties on these days. SES was not associated with social difficulties on days that adolescents exhibited steeper, declining diurnal cortisol slopes. Findings support recent theory that risk and resilience are dynamic processes that change within individuals over time. For better and for worse, youth may be more biologically sensitive to their family socioeconomic environments on days that their diurnal cortisol rhythms are flattened.

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia as a Physiological Resilience Marker for Children's Health

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to test parasympathetic nervous system activity, indexed through resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a resilience factor that moderates the associations between socioeconomic status (SES), circulating cytokines, and somatic health in children.

METHODS

The sample included 181 parent-child dyads (mean [standard deviation] child age = 9.91 [0.57] years; 50.3% boys). Parents reported on family income, parental education, and subjective social status, to index SES. Children provided serum samples for assaying circulating inflammatory cytokines and had RSA measured during a 5-minute seated resting period. We used a composite measure of inflammation that combined standardized measures of interleukin 6, interleukin 10, and tumor necrosis factor α. Parents reported on their child's global health impairment and number of chronic health conditions.

RESULTS

Lower SES was associated with poorer global health, and higher levels of inflammation were associated with poorer global health, but these associations were not significant among children with high resting RSA. Specifically, resting RSA moderated the association between SES and global health impairment (B = 0.09, standard error [SE] = 0.02, p < .001). Preliminary evidence suggests that resting RSA may also moderate the association between inflammation and global health impairment (B = -0.12, SE = 0.03, p < .001), although this effect was no longer significant after Winsorizing an outlier value of a child with high global health impairment (B = -0.06, SE = 0.03, p = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

High resting RSA may represent a physiological profile of resilience in children, weakening the associations between low SES and poor somatic health, and between greater inflammation and poor somatic health.

Autonomic nervous system correlates of posttraumatic stress symptoms in youth: Meta-analysis and qualitative review

Physiological dysregulation is a key diagnostic criterion for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While PTSD is defined by trauma exposure, symptom presentations are varied. Similarly, findings of autonomic nervous system (ANS), including parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS), function in youth exposed to trauma are mixed (e.g., hyporeactivity and hyperreactivity). The present meta-analysis quantitatively assesses the relation between ANS measures broadly, and PNS- and SNS-specific measures, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in youth (ages 4.98 to 19.55 years) across 38 cross-sectional and longitudinal studies (N = 3488). Findings demonstrate that heightened ANS activity is related to increased PTSS during stress tasks (r = 0.07), while decreased SNS activity at rest corresponded to increased PTSS (r = -0.09). The correlation between PNS measures and PTSS was non-significant. The moderation effect of age on the relation between PNS activity measured during stress tasks and PTSS approached significance, such that younger children showed a stronger negative relation between symptoms and PNS activity compared to older youth. Qualitative review of included studies revealed significant variability across sample and stressor characteristics and study methodology. Findings indicate the importance of autonomic dysregulation in youth with PTSS. Additional considerations for future research are discussed.

Using Virtual Reality to Examine the Association Between Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Adolescent Substance Use

Early substance use is associated with long-term negative health outcomes. Emotion regulation (ER) plays an important role in reducing risk, but detecting those vulnerable because of ER deficits is challenging. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a biomarker of ER, may be useful for early identification of substance use risk. To examine this, we enrolled 23 adolescents (M_age = 14.0; 56% minority) with and without a history of substance use and collected RSA during a neutral baseline, virtual reality challenge scene, and neutral recovery. ANOVAs indicated that adolescents who reported having used a substance were not different from non-using peers on baseline or challenge RSA but demonstrated lower RSA during recovery. This suggests that adolescents with a history of substance use exhibit slower return to baseline RSA after experiencing a challenging situation compared to non-using peers. RSA, an index of ER, may be useful in identifying adolescents at risk for early substance use.

Effect of childhood maltreatment on cardiovascular response habitation to repeated psychosocial stress

Childhood maltreatment as an early-life stress leads to cardiovascular stress response dysregulation manifested by either exaggerated or blunted stress responses. However, little is known how childhood maltreatment affects cardiovascular response habituation to recurrent stress, which implicated in the long-term health effects of chronic stress. The scale of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was administered to 192 healthy undergraduates who underwent continuous cardiovascular monitoring [heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR)] while facing two consecutive psychosocial stress exposures (public speaking tasks). Results showed that childhood maltreatment was negatively associated with HR and CO reactivity to the first stress exposure and HR reactivity to the second stress exposure. Even after controlling for depression symptoms, both high and low childhood maltreatment groups (upper and lower 27% of total CTQ scores) exhibited HR and CO response habituation to repeated stress exposures, but high childhood maltreatment group showed blunted HR and CO reactivity to the first stress exposure compared with low childhood maltreatment group. These findings suggest that the observed cardiovascular response habituation to repeated stress following initial blunted (i.e., inadequate) reactivity among individuals with high childhood maltreated experiences might be maladaptive, which would lead to cardiovascular disease risk.

The Transdiagnostic Origins of Anxiety and Depression During the Pediatric Period: Linking NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Constructs to Ecological Systems

In the last decade, an abundance of research has utilized the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to examine mechanisms underlying anxiety and depression in youth. However, relatively little work has examined how these mechanistic intrapersonal processes intersect with context during childhood and adolescence. The current paper covers reviews and meta-analyses that have linked RDoC-relevant constructs to ecological systems in internalizing problems in youth. Specifically, cognitive, biological, and affective factors within the RDoC framework were examined. Based on these reviews and some of the original empirical research they cover, we highlight the integral role of ecological factors to the RDoC framework in predicting onset and maintenance of internalizing problems in youth. Specific recommendations are provided for researchers using the RDoC framework to inform future research integrating ecological systems and development. We advocate for future research and research funding to focus on better integration of the environment and development into the RDoC framework.

Taking a few deep breaths significantly reduces children's physiological arousal in everyday settings: Results of a preregistered video intervention

This preregistered, randomized field experiment tested the effectiveness of a brief deep breathing intervention on children's concurrent physiological arousal in naturalistic settings (N  = 342; M_age  = 7.48 years; 46% female; 53% Asian, 26% White; 21% other race/ethnicity). The treatment consisted of an animated video that introduced deep breathing as a self-regulation strategy and scaffolded the child in taking a few slow-paced breaths, while the control group watched an informational video featuring similar animated images. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate (HR) were measured while children were sitting still (baseline) and subsequently while watching 1-min videos. Relative to baseline arousal, RSA increased and HR decreased only in response to the deep-breathing treatment video. Effects were larger in the second 30-s epoch of the video, which included most of the deep breathing practice. RSA fully mediated the intervention's effects on HR. By analyzing all children exposed to intervention video regardless of their engagement in the deep breathing practice (intention-to-treat design) and by using easily scalable treatment videos, the study identifies an effective and pragmatic approach to reducing children's physiological arousal in everyday, group settings. Implications for advancing applied developmental psychophysiological research are discussed.

Reading Skills, Social Competence, and Physiological Stress in the First Grade

An awareness of school-related antecedents of children’s physiological stress at the beginning of school helps educators to prevent and mitigate children’s stress, the one of the major obstacles to their well-being and academic progress. We aimed to study the effect of reading skills and social competence on first-grade students’ salivary cortisol levels in natural settings. Based on previous results of the effects of everyday situations on children’s stress according to gender, we expected that both academic and social skills would affect girls’ physiological stress more, compared to boys. Our sample consisted of 277 students (7–8 years old, 50.2% girls). We used the highest salivary cortisol level of three morning samples and a cortisol level from the middle of the school day as physiological stress indicators. Reading skills were assessed by group-administered tests and social competence by teacher ratings. We found that lower reading comprehension skills and lower disruptiveness were related to higher cortisol levels for girls but not for boys. Higher empathy and lower disruptiveness moderated the effect of better reading comprehension on higher psychological stress in the middle of the school day only for girls. By recognizing the antecedents of children’s stress and supporting their academic and social skills, children’s, especially girls’, physiological self-regulation and coping skills in the primary grades will benefit.

Physiological Stress Response Reactivity Mediates the Link Between Emotional Abuse and Youth Internalizing Problems

Youth who are raised in emotionally abusive families are more likely to have poor mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. However, the mechanisms of this association are unclear. The present study utilized a longitudinal sample of low-SES youth (N = 101, M_ageT1 = 10.24) to examine stress response reactivity (i.e. vagal withdrawal, sympathetic activation, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis activation) as mediators between emotional abuse and prospective youth internalizing symptoms. Results indicated that blunted HPA reactivity to a laboratory social stress task mediated the association between emotional abuse and youth internalizing symptoms. Emotional abuse was also associated with blunted parasympathetic nervous system activity (i.e. less vagal withdrawal than average). In sum, emotional abuse is a potent risk factor for youth internalizing symptoms, and this link may be mediated via dysregulation in physiological stress response systems. Primary prevention of childhood emotional abuse and secondary prevention programs that target self-regulation skills may reduce rates of youth internalizing symptoms and disorders.

A Developmental Hierarchical-Integrative Perspective on the Emergence of Self-Regulation: A Replication and Extension

This study replicated and extended the Feldman (2009) study by applying the developmental hierarchical-integrative model to understand the emergence of self-regulation. Participants included 360 children (48.6% boys; 62.8% identified as Caucasian and 36.9% African American) and their families, predominantly from a low-income, rural background. Families completed assessments on child physiological, attention, emotion, and self-regulation when children were 6-, 15-, 24-, and 36-month-old, when caregiver sensitivity was observationally assessed. A path model revealed that child attention regulation at 6 months predicted physiological regulation at 15 months, and child attention regulation at 15 months predicted emotion regulation at 24 months. Attention regulation at 24 months predicted better self-regulation at 36 months. Notably, caregiver sensitivity moderated several developmental pathways. Findings support a continuous model of early self-regulation development and the ongoing individual-environment interplay in early childhood.

Cross-Sectional Study of Resilience, Positivity and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Engagement-Burnout in Undergraduate Students: Implications for Prevention and Treatment in Mental Well-Being

In a population of young adults, this study analyzes possible linear relations of resilience and positivity to coping strategies and engagement-burnout. The aim was to establish a model with linear, associative, and predictive relations, to identify needs and make proposals for therapeutic intervention in different student profiles. A population of 1,126 undergraduate students with different student profiles gave their informed, written consent, and completed validated questionnaires (CD-RISC Scale; Positivity; Coping Strategies of Stress; Engagement, and Burnout). An ex post-facto design involved bivariate association analyses, multiple regression and structural predictions. The results offered evidence of associations and predictive relationships between resilience factors, positivity, coping strategies and engagement-burnout. The factors of resilience and positivity had significant differential associations (positive and negative) with factors of coping strategies. Their negative relationship to burnout factors, and positive relation to engagement factors, is especially important. Results of structural analysis showed an acceptable model of relationships between variables. We conclude with practical implications for therapeutic intervention: (1) the proactive factors of resilience reflect a perception of self-efficacy and the ability to change adaptively; (2) the reactive factors of resilience are usually associated with withstanding experiences of change, uncertainty or trauma.

Addressing educational inequalities and promoting learning through studies of stress physiology in elementary school students

To be ready to learn, children need to be focused, engaged, and able to bounce back from setbacks. However, many children come to school with heightened or diminished physiological arousal due to exposure to poverty-related risks. While stress physiology plays a role in explaining how adversity relates to processes that support students' cognitive development, there is a lack of studies of physiological stress response in educational settings. This review integrates relevant studies and offers future directions for research on the role of stress physiology in the school adaptation of elementary school students, focusing on these important questions: (a) What are the links between physiological stress response and learning-related skills and behaviors, and do they vary as a function of proximal and distal experiences outside of school? (b) How are school experiences associated with students' physiological stress response and related cognitive and behavioral adaptations? (c) How can we leverage measures of students' physiological stress response in evaluations of school-based interventions to better support the school success of every student? We hope to stimulate a new wave of research that will advance the science of developmental stress physiology, as well as improve the application of these findings in educational policy and practice.

Associations between developmental trajectories of peer victimization, hair cortisol, and depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Peer victimization has been associated with long-lasting risks for mental health. Prior research suggests that stress-related systems underlying adaptation to changing environments may be at play. To date, inconsistent findings have been reported for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and its end product cortisol. This study tested whether peer victimization was associated with hair cortisol concentrations (HCC), and whether this association varied according to sex, timing, and changes in exposure. We also examined whether peer victimization differentially predicted depressive symptoms according to HCC.

METHODS

The sample comprised 556 adolescents (42.0%; 231 males) who provided hair for cortisol measurement at 17 years of age. Peer victimization was reported at seven occasions between the ages of 6 and 15 years.

RESULTS

Peer victimization was nonlinearly associated with HCC for boys only, whereas changes in peer victimization were related to HCC for boys and girls. Peer victimization predicted more depressive symptoms for all participants, except those with lower HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide further support for persistent dysregulation of the HPA axis following exposure to chronic adversity, of which the expression may change according to sex and the severity of victimization.

Paternal antisociality and growth in child delinquent behaviors: Moderating effects of child sex and respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Children of fathers with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are at risk for developing delinquency, and both biological and environmental mechanisms contribute. In this study, we test parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) function as a vulnerability/sensitivity attribute in predicting intergenerational associations between fathers' antisociality and children's delinquency scores. We followed 207 children (ages 8-12 years at intake; 139 boys) across three annual assessments. Fathers' antisociality was measured via maternal reports on the Family Interview for Genetic Studies (FIGS). At Year 1, children's resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured. At Years 1, 2, and 3, child delinquent behaviors were assessed using the delinquency subscale of the Youth Self-Report. At age 8, boys' delinquency scores were associated weakly with paternal antisocial behaviors. However, boys' delinquency scores increased steeply thereafter specifically for those who had fathers with higher antisocial symptoms. In addition, associations between delinquency and paternal antisociality were largest for boys with higher resting RSA. For girls, growth in delinquency was unrelated to both father antisociality and resting RSA. These findings (a) suggest moderating effects of children's age, sex, and PNS function on associations between father antisocial behavior and offspring delinquency; and (b) provide insights into differential vulnerability among children of fathers with ASPD.

Child Abuse and Neglect, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Substance Use Problems: the Moderating Role of Stress Response Reactivity

Young adults who experienced child abuse and neglect (CAN) are at significant risk for callous-unemotional traits and substance use problems. Research shows that compromised self-regulation may increase risk for these maladaptive outcomes. In the present cross-sectional study, we examined the moderating role of self-regulation, indexed by heart rate variability reactivity, in the indirect link between CAN and alcohol and other drug use problems via callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a sample of mostly female undergraduate students (N = 130, 81% Female; M _age  = 20.72). We hypothesized that (a) CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems would be associated indirectly via elevations in callous-unemotional traits, and (b) that this indirect association would be exacerbated by elevated heart rate variability reactivity. Results indicated that increased callous-unemotional traits underlain in the link between CAN and alcohol or other drug use problems. Further, this indirect link was exacerbated among youth with elevated heart rate variability reactivity. These findings have significant implications for prevention by demonstrating that physiological self-regulation is important to target in substance use prevention among collegiate samples.

Latent profiles of children's autonomic nervous system reactivity early in life predict later externalizing problems

Prior researchers have observed relations between children's autonomic nervous system reactivity and externalizing behavior problems, but rarely considers the role of developmentally regulated changes in children's stress response systems. Using growth mixture modeling, the present study derived profiles of parasympathetic nervous system reactivity (as indicated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)) and sympathetic nervous system reactivity (as indicated by pre-ejection period (PEP)) from low income, primarily Mexican American children measured repeatedly from infancy through age 5 (N = 383) and investigated whether profiles were associated with externalizing problems at age 7. Analyses identified two profiles of RSA reactivity (reactive decreasing and U-shaped reactivity) and three profiles of PEP reactivity (blunted/anticipatory reactivity, reactive decreasing, non-reactive increasing). Compared to children with an RSA profile of reactive decreasing, those with an RSA profile of U-shaped reactivity had marginally higher externalizing problems, however, this difference was not statistically significant. Children who demonstrated a profile of blunted/anticipatory PEP reactivity had significantly higher externalizing problems compared to those with a profile of non-reactive increasing, likely related to the predominantly male composition of the former profile and predominantly female composition of the latter profile. Findings contribute to our understanding of developmental trajectories of ANS reactivity and highlight the utility of a longitudinal framework for understanding the effects of physiological risk factors on later behavior problems.

A latent change score approach to understanding dynamic autonomic coordination

Children's self-regulation is a core adaptive system in child development. Physiological indices of regulation, particularly the autonomic nervous system (ANS), have garnered increased attention as an informative level of analysis in regulation research. Cardiography supports the simultaneous examination of both ANS branches via measures of pre-ejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as indicators of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, respectively. However, despite their heavily intertwined functions, research examining autonomic coordination across sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is scarce. Moreover, extant efforts have favored static, mean level reactivity analyses, despite the dynamic nature of ANS regulation and the availability of analytic tools that can model these processes across time. This study drew on a sample of 198 six-year-old children from a diverse community sample (49.5% female, 43.9% Latinx) to examine dynamic autonomic coordination using bivariate latent change score modeling to evaluate bidirectional influences of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity over the course of a challenging puzzle completion task. Results indicated that children evidenced reciprocal sympathetic activation (i.e., PEP attenuation and RSA withdrawal) across the challenge task, and these regulatory responses were characterized by a temporally leading influence of PEP on lagging changes in RSA. The current findings contribute to our understanding of children's autonomic coordination while illustrating a novel analytic technique to advance ongoing efforts to understand the etiology and developmental significance of children's physiological self-regulation.

Sustained Attention and Individual Differences in Adolescents' Mood and Physiological Reactivity to Stress

Biased attention to sad faces is associated with depression in adults and is hypothesized to increase depression risk specifically in the presence, but not absence, of stress by modulating stress reactivity. However, few studies have tested this hypothesis, and no studies have examined the relation between attentional biases and stress reactivity during adolescence, despite evidence that this developmental window is marked by changes in depression risk, stress, and the function of attention. Seeking to address these limitations, the current study examined the impact of adolescents' sustained attention to facial displays of emotion on individual differences in both mood reactivity to real-world stress and physiological (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) reactivity to a laboratory-based stressor. Consistent with vulnerability-stress models of attention, greater sustained attention to sad faces was associated with greater depressive reactions to real-world stress. In addition, there was preliminary evidence from exploratory analyses that the impact of sustained attention on mood and/or physiological reactivity may be moderated by adolescents' age and sex such that relations are stronger for older adolescents and girls. The results of this study contribute to the current body of research on the role of attention in stress reactivity and depression risk and highlight the importance of considering age differences when examining these relations.

A network analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder and dissociation in trauma-exposed adolescents

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation have long been recognized to co-occur, leading the DSM-5 to introduce a dissociative subtype of PTSD into its nomenclature. Most research to date on the dissociative subtype has focused on adults. The current study aimed to extend this research to an adolescent sample and to examine symptom-level associations between PTSD and dissociation using network analysis. The analysis was conducted with 448 trauma-exposed detained US adolescents (24.55% female; mean age 15.98 ± 1.25 years). A network consisting of 20 DSM-5 PTSD symptoms was constructed, followed by a network consisting of 20 PTSD symptoms and five dissociative items. Expected influence bridge centrality was estimated to examine items with the most/strongest cross-construct connections (i.e. between PTSD and dissociation). The PTSD symptoms concentration problems, amnesia and recurrent memories and the dissociative items depersonalization, derealisation and can't remember things that happened had the highest bridge centrality values. These symptom-level associations extend our understanding of the PTSD-dissociation relationship by pointing to specific symptoms of PTSD and dissociation that may drive the co-morbidity between the two constructs. These findings may inform future intervention efforts.

Daily Mood Reactivity to Stress during Childhood Predicts Internalizing Problems Three Years Later

The mental health toll of common school problems that many children encounter every day is not well understood. This study examined individual differences in mood reactivity to naturally occurring school problems using daily diaries, and assessed their prospective associations with youth mental health, three years later. At baseline, 47 children ages 8 to 13 years described common problems at school and mood on a daily basis, for 8 weeks. Thirty-three youth returned for follow-up three years later at ages 11 to 17 years. Children and parents also completed one-time questionnaires about youth mental health at baseline and follow-up. There were individual differences in the within-person associations between school problems and same-day and next-day mood. A greater tendency to react to school problems with more negative mood or less positive mood on the same day predicted more parent-rated internalizing and externalizing problems and child ratings of depression symptoms three years later, relative to baseline levels of symptoms. Daily diaries can help to identify specific targets of psychosocial interventions in real world settings.

Autonomy-restrictive socialization of anger: Associations with school-aged children's physiology, trait anxiety, state distress, and relationship closeness

Parental socialization that infringes on children's autonomy may have consequences for physiological regulation, trait anxiety, and state distress. One such practice is the use of positive conditional regard (CR)-the provision of extra attention/affection when children meet parents' expectations. Self-determination theory proposes that CR thwarts satisfaction of children's basic needs for relatedness and autonomy by placing these needs in conflict. We evaluate associations among children's (N = 106, 51% male, M_age  = 10.27 years, SD = 1.09) reports of their mothers' use of positive CR to suppress anger expression (PCR-anger), their physiological regulation (resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA), and their trait anxiety and state distress, in light of perceived relationship closeness. After controlling demographics, mothers' reports of positive and negative CR-anger, children's reports of mothers' negative CR-anger and depressive symptoms, greater child-reported positive CR-anger was significantly associated with greater child anxiety and with lower resting RSA. Resting RSA mediated associations of child-reported positive CR-anger with greater child anxiety and post-failure distress. These indirect effects were significant for children low or moderate in closeness to mother. We conclude that autonomy-restrictive socialization is a concurrent correlate of children's physiological regulation, anxiety, and state distress, with these associations dependent on relational distance.

Varying Cognitive Scars - Differential Associations Between Types of Childhood Maltreatment and Facial Emotion Processing

Background

Distorted cognitive processing has been found among survivors of child maltreatment. However, different types of abuse and neglect may bring about differences in emotion and attention processing. The present study aimed to detect differential associations between various types of childhood maltreatment and attentional biases in facial emotion processing.

Methods

A non-clinical sample was recruited on University campus and consisted of 67 individuals with varying degrees of maltreatment. In an evaluative conditioning task, images of faces with neutral emotional expressions were either associated with short videos of intense negative statements, or associated with neutral videos. Subsequently, these faces were used as stimuli in a face in the crowd recognition task in which the familiar faces had to be recognized within a crowd of unfamiliar neutral faces.

Results

In multiple linear regression analyses controlling for the intercorrelatedness of types of maltreatment, differential relationships between types of maltreatment and attentional bias were found. While emotional abuse was associated with faster detection of negatively associated faces, emotional neglect was associated with an impaired recognition of familiar stimuli regardless of the emotional content.

Conclusion

Results indicated that interindividual differences in cognitive biases may be due to the activation of diverse cognitive schemas based on differential experiences of maltreatment.

The interactive association of proximal life stress and cumulative HPA axis functioning with depressive symptoms

BACKGROUND

Stress is consistently implicated in depression. Using a vulnerability-stress framework, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be one factor affecting the stress-depression association. However, the interactive influence of recent life stress and HPA axis functioning on depressive symptoms remains unclear. It is particularly important to understand the synergistic association during adolescence, as this is a developmental period associated with a high risk for depression.

METHODS

A community sample of 58 adolescents (67% female, 59% Caucasian; mean age, 15.07 years) participated. Adolescents completed a well-validated measure of depressive symptoms and a structured life events interview to assess recent life stress. Hair cortisol concentration was obtained to measure cumulative exposure to HPA axis functioning.

RESULTS

Recent life stress and cumulative HPA axis exposure measured through hair cortisol were directly associated with higher depressive symptoms. Further, cumulative HPA axis exposure moderated the relationship between recent life stress and depressive symptoms. The recent life stress-depression association occurred for adolescents who experienced average and high, but not low, levels of cumulative HPA axis exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study builds on prior work and finds both a direct and interactive association of recent life stress and cumulative HPA axis functioning with depressive symptoms during adolescence. Identifying youth who experience high levels of HPA axis exposure is important to prevent the onset of depression.

Associations between Effortful Control, Cortisol Awakening Response, and Depressive Problems in Latino Preadolescents

The present study examined associations between effortful control, a trait marker of self-regulation, adaptive HPA system functioning (as reflected by the CAR), and concurrent and longitudinal depressive problems, in a sample of preadolescent Latino youth (N = 119, mean age = 11.53 years, 59% female). We hypothesized that trait readiness for self-regulation (e.g., effortful control) could be related to physiological state readiness for self-regulation (e.g., CAR), and that both may counter depressive problems. We found that youth's CAR was positively associated with effortful control, and negatively with youth depressive problems. Effortful control and youth depressive problems were also negatively associated. Longitudinal relations of CAR and effortful control on depressive problems at T2 were not significant in the structural equation model after controlling for T1 depressive problems, although these variables were significant in the bivariate correlations. Results suggest that both trait-regulation and physiological regulation may counter depressive problems in Latino youth.

Coping and Stress Reactivity as Moderators of Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Youth's Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Youth's responses to stress are a central feature of risk and resilience across development. The current study examined whether youth coping and stress reactivity moderate the association of current maternal depressive symptoms with youth's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Mothers (M_age = 41.58, SD = 6.18) with a wide range of depressive symptoms and their children ages 9-15 (M_age = 12.25, SD = 1.89, 45.3% girls) completed measures of youth symptoms and coping and automatic responses to stress. Mothers also completed a self-report measure of depressive symptoms. Youth's primary and secondary control coping, stress reactivity, and involuntary disengagement moderated the association between current maternal depressive symptoms and youth symptoms. Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with youth's internalizing and externalizing symptoms when youth used low as opposed to high levels of primary and secondary control coping. Conversely, maternal depressive symptoms were associated with youth symptoms for youth with high levels of stress reactivity and involuntary disengagement. The findings suggest interventions focused on improving the use of primary and secondary control coping skills and reducing reactivity and involuntary disengagement to stress may benefit youth with mothers who are experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms.

Blunted Physiological Stress Reactivity among Youth with a History of Bullying and Victimization: Links to Depressive Symptoms

Bullying and peer victimization are stressful experiences for youth, and are associated with increased risk for psychopathology. Physiological differences in the body's stress response system may help us to understand vulnerability for depressive symptoms among youth involved with bullying. The current study examined both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity using skin conductance (SCL) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at a neutral baseline and during Cyberball, a stressful social exclusion paradigm. Participants consisted of 175 youth in grades 6-11 (mean age 13.6 years, 51% girls). Multilevel modeling was used to examine changes in both positive and negative affect, and physiological stress reactivity over time. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between bullying, victimization, and RSA on depressive symptoms. Peer victimization was negatively associated with resting RSA. Bullying others was negatively associated with SCL during Cyberball. Additionally, RSA reactivity during acute stress moderated the link between victimization and depressive symptoms. Victimization was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms when youth also demonstrated blunted RSA reactivity. These results suggest that both victimized youth and those who bully others have differences in their autonomic responses to acute stress. Individual differences in stress physiology may help us to understand vulnerability and resilience to depressive symptoms in the context of bullying and victimization.

A Multilevel Investigation of Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents: The Relationships Between Self-Perceived Emotion Regulation, Vagally Mediated Heart Rate Variability, and Personal Factors Associated With Resilience

Personal resiliency refers to individual attributes that are related to the process of successfully adapting to the environment in the face of adverse conditions, also known as resilience. Emotion regulation is increasingly found as a core component in mental health and found to modulate individual differences in the management of emotional responses. The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (RSCA; Prince-Embury, 2006, 2007) were designed to systematically identify and quantify core personal qualities of resiliency in youth, and includes Sense of Mastery scale (MAS), Sense of Relatedness scale (REL), and Emotional Reactivity (REA) scale. The following study was first conducted to confirm the Three-Factor model of Personal Resiliency in a Norwegian student sample using factor analytic procedures. Secondly and the main purpose of the study, was to investigate if personal resiliency is associated with self-reported measures related to emotion regulation, and with resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) as a psychophysiological index of emotion regulation capacity. A revised scale adapted to the Norwegian sample was developed. Results indicate that protective indices related to personal resiliency are associated with both self-reported adaptive emotion regulation and outcome, and partly related to high capacity for emotion regulation indicated by vmHRV. Risk related to personal vulnerability was associated with maladaptive emotion regulation and outcome, but was not associated with emotion regulation capacity. Together the findings provide supporting evidence of both self-reported and psychophysiological correlates between emotion regulatory processes and personal resiliency indicated by RSCA.

Attentional avoidance in peer victimized individuals with and without psychiatric disorders

Background

Attentional biases are a relatively robust phenomenon among clinical populations but less pronounced in healthy participants. However, regarding the components of attentional biases and the directions of attention allocation, there are several inconsistencies in the literature. The present study examined whether these inconsistencies can be traced back to previous experiences of relational peer victimization in clinical populations.

Methods

Participants were subjects with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 31). Additionally, the sample was divided into two subgroups according to the participants’ reports of previous relational peer victimization (high peer victimization: n = 28; low peer victimization: n = 33). Attentional biases were measured by the Emotional Stroop task and a dot-probe task.

Results

In both samples, peer victimized participants showed delayed response times when color-naming negative and positive compared to neutral adjectives in the Emotional Stroop task. Likewise, the dot-probe task indicated attentional avoidance of both negative and positive words in peer victimized participants with and without a psychiatric disorder. Interestingly, presence of a psychiatric disorder did not have a significant effect on attentional biases.

Conclusion

Both tasks could detect that attentional processes were linked to the experience of peer victimization rather than to the current diagnostic status of the participants. Attentional avoidance of emotional stimuli may prevent victimized individuals from responding adequately to environmental stimuli, which may increase the risk for the development of psychopathology.

Developmental Adaptation to Stress: An Evolutionary Perspective

The assumption that early stress leads to dysregulation and impairment is widespread in developmental science and informs prevailing models (e.g., toxic stress). An alternative evolutionary–developmental approach, which complements the standard emphasis on dysregulation, proposes that early stress may prompt the development of costly but adaptive strategies that promote survival and reproduction under adverse conditions. In this review, we survey this growing theoretical and empirical literature, highlighting recent developments and outstanding questions. We review concepts of adaptive plasticity and conditional adaptation, introduce the life history framework and the adaptive calibration model, and consider how physiological stress response systems and related neuroendocrine processes may function as plasticity mechanisms. We then address the evolution of individual differences in susceptibility to the environment, which engenders systematic person–environment interactions in the effects of stress on development. Finally, we discuss stress-mediated regulation of pubertal development as a case study of how an evolutionary–developmental approach can foster theoretical integration.

Recollections of positive early caregiving relate to sympathetic nervous system activation and chronic inflammation in subsequent generations

To understand links between early experience and biomarkers of peripheral physiology in adulthood, this study examined associations between quality of early caregiving and markers of sympathetic activation and chronic inflammation in a sample of 52 low-income mothers and their preschool-aged children. Mothers reported on levels of positive caregiving experienced during childhood using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior-Intrex. Mother and child sympathetic activation was indexed via pre-ejection period (PEP) at rest, during a dyadic social engagement task, and for children, while interacting with an unfamiliar adult. C-reactive protein (CRP) was collected using whole blood spots to assess levels of low-grade chronic inflammation. Results showed that mothers who reported experiencing more warm guidance and support for autonomy in early childhood displayed lower resting sympathetic nervous system activation (i.e., longer PEP) and lower chronic inflammation (i.e., CRP levels). Further, lower maternal chronic inflammation levels were associated with lower sympathetic activation (i.e., longer PEP) in their children at rest, and during social interactions with mother and a female stranger.

Neutral is negative enough-Peer victimization influences cardiac, facial-muscular and experiential reactions to both negative evaluative and neutral social stimuli

Physiological stress responses vary as a function of adverse childhood experiences. However, previous studies concentrate on familial sources of childhood adversity. Potential long-term effects of peer victimization on physiology and affective responses are less known. This study examined cardiac, facial-muscular, and experiential responses to social evaluative stimuli in ninety-four healthy subjects with various degrees of experienced peer victimization. In a social conditioning task, peer victimization was associated with similarly attenuated cardiac and facial-muscular responses to negative and neutral stimuli, while differentiated physiological responses to negative and neutral stimuli were found in subjects without peer victimization. Overall, increased ratings of arousal, valence and disapproval for negative compared to neutral stimuli were found. Contrary to the physiological response, peer victimization was associated with more negative ratings of negative stimuli one month after acquisition. The results suggest that the physiological and experiential reactivity towards both negative and neutral social stimuli is affected by the experience of peer victimization. Peer victimization causes generalized autonomic dysregulation and memory recall biases during social learning impeding adequate response preparation to social stressors.

A Model-Based Cluster Analysis of Maternal Emotion Regulation and Relations to Parenting Behavior

In a diverse community sample of mothers (N = 108) and their preschool-aged children (M_age  = 3.50 years), this study conducted person-oriented analyses of maternal emotion regulation (ER) based on a multimethod assessment incorporating physiological, observational, and self-report indicators. A model-based cluster analysis was applied to five indicators of maternal ER: maternal self-report, observed negative affect in a parent-child interaction, baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and RSA suppression across two laboratory tasks. Model-based cluster analyses revealed four maternal ER profiles, including a group of mothers with average ER functioning, characterized by socioeconomic advantage and more positive parenting behavior. A dysregulated cluster demonstrated the greatest challenges with parenting and dyadic interactions. Two clusters of intermediate dysregulation were also identified. Implications for assessment and applications to parenting interventions are discussed.

Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Postpartum Depressive Symptoms on Children's Behavior Problems

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may confer infant susceptibility to the postpartum environment. Among infants with higher RSA, there may be a positive relation between depressive symptoms across the first 6 months postpartum (PPD) and later behavior problems, and toddlers' dysregulation during mother-child interactions may partially explain the effects. Among a sample of low-income Mexican-American families, infant RSA (N = 322; 46% male) was assessed at 6 weeks of age; mothers (M_age  = 27.8, SD = 6.5) reported PPD symptoms every 3 weeks from 6 to 24 weeks and infant behavior problems at 36 months. Dysregulation was observed at 24 months. PPD was positively associated with behavior problems only among infants with lower RSA; however, this relation was not mediated by dysregulation.

Cumulative risk exposure moderates the association between parasympathetic reactivity and inhibitory control in preschool-age children

A child's cumulative risk for early exposure to stress has been linked to alterations of self-regulation outcomes, including neurobiological correlates of inhibitory control (IC). We examined whether children's ability to engage the parasympathetic nervous system impacts how risk affects IC. Children ages 3-5 years completed two laboratory measures of IC while respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured, indexing parasympathetic activity. Children with greater risk demonstrated lower IC; risk also moderated associations between RSA reactivity and IC. For children with less risk, greater RSA withdrawal during IC tasks was associated with better IC. In contrast, greater risk was associated with poor IC, regardless of RSA withdrawal. Effects of risk were more pronounced for cumulative than individual measures. Results suggest that cumulative risk exposure disrupts connectivity between physiological and behavioral components of self-regulation in early childhood. Parasympathetic withdrawal to cognitive tasks may be less relevant for performance in developmental samples experiencing greater life stress.

Contributions of Observed Parent Socialization of Coping and Skin Conductance Level Reactivity to Childhood Adjustment

This research examined the longitudinal association between parent socialization of coping and child adjustment, as well as the moderating role of children's skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR). Participants were a community sample of children (n = 64, M age = 9.02, 54.5% females, 93.2% Caucasian) and their parent(s). Parent coping suggestions were observed while their child engaged in a stressful challenge task, during which the child's SCLR, a measure of children's physiological reactivity to stress, was also measured. Parent(s) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) at baseline and a 6-month follow-up to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. Results revealed that secondary control engagement suggestions predicted fewer internalizing problems over time. In addition, disengagement suggestions predicted fewer externalizing problems over time among children with high SCLR. This study provides evidence that parent coping suggestions serve as a resource that protects youth from developing adjustment problems.

Gene × Environment contributions to autonomic stress reactivity in youth

Dysregulated physiological stress reactivity has been suggested to impact the development of children and adolescents with important health consequences throughout the life span. Both environmental adversity and genetic predispositions can lead to physiological imbalances in stress systems, which in turn lead to developmental differences. We investigated genetic and environmental contributions to autonomic nervous system reactivity to a psychosocial stressor. Furthermore, we tested whether these effects were consistent with the differential susceptibility framework. Composite measures of adverse life events combined with socioeconomic status were constructed. Effects of these adversity scores in interaction with a polygenic score summarizing six genetic variants, which were hypothesized to work as susceptibility factors, were tested on autonomic nervous system measures as indexed by heart rate and heart rate variability. Results showed that carriers of more genetic variants and exposed to high adversity manifested enhanced heart rate variability reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to carriers of fewer genetic variants. Conversely, the stress procedure elicited a more moderate response in these individuals compared to carriers of fewer variants when adversity was low.

Sex differences in the associations between vagal reactivity and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms

BACKGROUND

Vagal reactivity to stress in children has been associated with future psychiatric outcomes. However, results have been mixed possibly because these effects are in opposite direction in boys and girls. These sex differences are relevant in the context of development of psychopathology, whereby the rates of psychiatric disorders differ by sex. In this study, we aimed to examine the association between vagal reactivity, assessed as a reduction in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in response to a challenge, and the development of future oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms in boys and girls. In addition, we examine the specific associations with ODD symptom dimensions, named irritability and headstrong. We hypothesized that increased vagal reactivity was associated with increased ODD symptoms in girls and a reduction in ODD symptoms in boys.

METHODS

Participants were members of the Wirral Child Health and Development Study, a prospective epidemiological longitudinal study of 1,233 first-time mothers recruited at 20 weeks' gestation. RSA during four nonstressful and one stressful (still-face) procedures was assessed when children were aged 29 weeks in a sample stratified by adversity (n = 270). Maternal reports of ODD symptoms were collected when children were 2.5 years old (n = 253), 3.5 years old (n = 826), and 5 years old (n = 770). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test our hypotheses.

RESULTS

There was a significant sex difference in the prediction of ODD symptoms due to the opposite directionality in which increasing vagal reactivity was associated with an increase in ODD symptoms in girls and a reduction of ODD symptoms in boys. This Sex by Vagal reactivity interaction was common for both ODD dimensions, with no sex by dimension-specific associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Physiological reactivity to a stressful situation predicts differently ODD symptoms in boys and girls very early in life, with no difference across irritability and headstrong components. Findings are discussed in the context of the several mechanisms involved on the later development of distinct psychiatric disorders in boys and girls.

Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Childhood Family Adversity on Psychological Well-Being in Young Adulthood

The theory of biological sensitivity to context may inform our understanding of why some children exposed to family adversity develop mental health problems in emerging adulthood whereas others demonstrate resilience. This study investigated the interactive effects of heart rate (HR) reactivity and childhood family adversity (maltreatment and changes in family structure) on depressive symptoms and positive affect among 150 undergraduate students (18-28 years old; 77% White, non-Hispanic; 61% female). Participants reported on childhood parental divorce or death, and child maltreatment, and current depressive symptoms and positive affect. HR reactivity was assessed in response to a laboratory interpersonal stressor. HR reactivity moderated the effects of child maltreatment on depressive symptoms and positive affect; higher maltreatment was associated with more depressive symptoms and less positive affect, but only among those with average and higher levels of HR reactivity. Results suggest that higher physiological reactivity may confer greater susceptibility to environmental contexts.