Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Moderates the Relatio

Authors: Jolien Van der Graaff Wim Meeus Minet de Wied Anton van Boxtel Pol van Lier Susan Branje

Publish Date: 2015/02/26

Volume: 44, Issue: 2, Pages: 269-281

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Abstract

This 2wave longitudinal study aimed 1 to investigate whether high resting RSA predicted adolescents’ lower externalizing behavior and higher empathic concern and 2 to address the potential moderating role of resting RSA in the association between parentadolescent relationship quality and adolescents’ externalizing behavior and empathic concern In a sample of 379 adolescents 212 boys 167 girls resting RSA was assessed during a laboratory session and adolescents reported on parental support negative interaction with parents empathic concern and externalizing behavior during a home visit We found no support for high resting RSA predicting low externalizing behavior or high empathic concern However in line with our hypotheses we did find several instances of RSA functioning as a moderator although the interaction patterns varied First negative interaction with parents was a negative predictor of externalizing behavior for girls low in resting RSA whereas the association was nonsignificant for girls with high RSA Second higher negative interaction with parents predicted lower empathic concern for boys high in resting RSA whereas the association was reversed for boys with low resting RSA Third parental support was a positive predictor of empathic concern for girls high in resting RSA whereas the association was nonsignificant for girls low in resting RSA The findings suggest that adolescents with different levels of resting RSA respond differentially to relationship quality with parentsSelfregulation is assumed to play an important role in adolescents’ social functioning High selfregulation has been related to lower levels of externalizing behavior and to higher levels of empathic concern eg Fabes et al 1994 Oldehinkel et al 2007 Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia RSA is generally seen as a physiological marker of dispositional selfregulation Porges 1991 Thayer and Lane 2000 Individuals low in resting RSA indicating reduced parasympathetic activation of the heart are thought to have more difficulties in physiological and behavioral selfregulation and are therefore less capable of displaying situationappropriate reactions than individuals high in resting RSA Porges 1991 Low resting RSA indeed has been related to higher externalizing behavior in clinical or at risk samples see Kibler et al 2004 and to lower empathic concern eg Fabes et al 1993 Besides potential direct effects there are conceptual reasons to expect resting RSA to moderate the association between environmental influences and adolescents’ adjustment although theories regarding the nature of this interaction are diverging see Eisenberg et al 2012 Therefore we examined in a community sample of adolescent boys and girls 1 whether low resting RSA predicted higher externalizing behavior 2 whether low resting RSA predicted lower empathic concern and 3 whether and how resting RSA moderated the link between parentadolescent relationship quality and adolescents’ social functioningRSA is the high frequency component of heart rate variability and is a measure of the magnitude of the rhythmic fluctuations in heart rate across the respiratory cycle which are characterized by increasing heart rate during inhalation and decreasing heart rate during exhalation RSA is mainly determined by vagal influences on the heart and therefore provides an index of parasympathetic activity Berntson et al 1997 Theorists suggest that resting RSA reflects the degree to which an individual is able to respond flexibly to changes in the internal and external environment Porges 1995 Thayer and Lane 2000 They postulate that the ability of the parasympathetic nervous system to inhibit autonomic arousal during fight or flight responses to environmental challenges is essential in the regulation and expression of emotions and they propose resting RSA as an index of these selfregulatory capacities see also Appelhans and Luecken 2006 When confronted with a social stimulus individuals either attend to and engage with it or perceive it as threatening and initiate fight or flight responding Whereas social engagement requires sustained attention characterized by increased vagal activity producing heart rate deceleration fight or flight responses require large sympathetically mediated heart rate accelerations and decreased vagal activity In situations of rest RSA reflects the tonic activity of the vagal nerve Hence a low basal RSA indicating reduced vagal tone may mark a predisposition to show fight and flight responding and thus a low threshold to show aggression Beauchaine et al 2001 Porges 1995 Low resting RSA has also been related to a wide range of psychiatric disorders that are characterized by affect dysregulation such as depression anxiety and aggression Beauchaine 2001 Thayer and Lane 2000Because low resting RSA may be related to a low threshold to show aggression it may also be related to externalizing behavior Research on the association between resting RSA and externalizing behavior in adolescence has mainly been conducted in clinical or high risk samples and has often only involved boys Negative associations were quite consistently found in clinical studies eg Beauchaine et al 2007 De Wied et al 2009 as well as in samples consisting of boys at risk for externalizing behavior eg Mezzacappa et al 1997 Pine et al 1998 However results of studies that investigated this link in community samples have been inconsistent In samples ranging from school age to young adulthood the association between resting RSA and externalizing behavior has been found to be negative eg Xu et al 2014 negative only for boys ElSheikh and Hinnant 2011 nonsignificant eg ElSheikh and Whitson 2006 and even positive Scarpa and Ollendick 2003 Inconsistencies in results may be due to differences in the assessment of RSA eg under standardized laboratory conditions vs assessment at schools or sample characteristics eg school age children vs young adultsTo be able to show empathic concern selfregulation is thought to be essential Empathic concern also labeled sympathy is an emotional response stemming from the apprehension of another’s emotional state that consists of feelings of compassion for the other When lacking adequate selfregulation the confrontation with others’ emotions may instead of resulting in empathic concern bring about a selffocused aversive emotional reaction to the vicarious experiencing of another’s emotion Eisenberg and Eggum 2009 Hence as a physiological index of selfregulation low resting RSA may be related to lower empathic concernYet results of the few studies that investigated the association between resting RSA and empathic concern are inconsistent Positive associations have been reported among toddlers although marginally significant Liew et al 2011 and among schoolaged children but in 1 study only in girls Fabes et al 1993 and in another study only in boys Eisenberg et al 1996 Further resting RSA has been found positively related to concordance between adolescents’ own and their mothers’ affect Diamond et al 2012 but Oveis and colleagues 2009 found no association between young adults’ resting RSA and their responses to compassioninducing stimuli Thus despite the conceptual reasons to expect higher resting RSA to predict higher empathic concern empirical evidence is equivocal as was the case for the association between RSA and externalizing behavior and studies on this link in adolescence are lackingBesides the potential direct associations between resting RSA and social functioning recent research suggests that RSA may also play a moderating role in the relation between environmental influences and children’s social adjustment eg Eisenberg et al 2012 El‐Sheikh 2005 although theories regarding the nature of this interaction are diverging On the one hand high resting RSA may function as a protective factor Individuals with high levels of resting RSA are expected to have better selfregulatory capacities Beauchaine 2001 Thayer and Lane 2000 and may because of this be better able to cope with environmental stressors If high RSA indeed functions as a protective factor negative environmental influences are expected to have impact on individuals low in RSA but not or to a lesser extent on individuals high in RSA On the other hand high resting RSA may function as a susceptibility factor According to differential susceptibility theory and the notion of biological sensitivitytocontext certain characteristics that make individuals more vulnerable to environmental adversity also make them more likely to benefit from positive environmental influences Belsky 1997 Boyce and Ellis 2005 Ellis et al 2011 Individuals high in resting RSA may because of their more active engagement with their environment Beauchaine 2001 Thayer and Lane 2000 be more sensitive to environmental influences than adolescents low in resting RSA This would imply stronger effects of both positive and negative environmental factors on individuals high in resting RSA than on individuals low in resting RSAIn line with the perspective of high resting RSA as a protective factor some studies indeed found high resting RSA to buffer the impact of adverse environmental influences on children’s social adjustment For instance in a sample of school aged children the relation between parental problem drinking and children’s adjustment was stronger for children low in resting RSA than for children high in resting RSA El‐Sheikh 2005 Also among 9 to 16 year boys maltreatment was positively related to aggression but only for boys with low levels of RSA Gordis et al 2010 In addition the relation between marital conflict and behavior problems was stronger for children low in resting RSA than for children high in resting RSA Katz and Gottman 1997 ElSheikh et al 2011

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