Alysia Y. Blandon

Individual differences in trajectories of emotion regulation processes: the effects of maternal depressive symptomatology and children's physiological regulation.

Trajectories of emotion regulation processes were examined in a community sample of 269 children across the ages of 4 to 7 using hierarchical linear modeling. Maternal depressive symptomatology (Symptom Checklist-90) and childrens physiological reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and vagal regulation (Delta RSA) were explored as predictors of individual differences in trajectories of emotion regulation and negativity (mother-reported Emotion Regulation Checklist; A. M. Shields & D. Cicchetti, 1997). In addition, the authors explored whether childrens physiological regulation would moderate the effect of maternal depressive symptomatology on childrens emotion regulation trajectories. Results indicated that over time, emotion regulation increased whereas negativity decreased, though considerable individual variability in the pattern of change was observed. Greater maternal depressive symptomatology was associated with less steep emotion regulation trajectories. There was a significant Maternal Depressive Symptomatology x Baseline RSA x Age interaction predicting emotion regulation trajectories. Overall, it appears that the development of emotion regulation over time is compromised when mothers report greater depressive symptomatology. There is also evidence that childrens capacity for physiological regulation can buffer some of the adverse consequences associated with maternal depressive symptomatology.

Biological, behavioral, and relational levels of resilience in the context of risk for early childhood behavior problems.

Longitudinal growth patterns of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were examined in a community sample of 441 children across the ages of 2 to 5 using hierarchical linear modeling. Contextual risk was measured using five indicators (socioeconomic status, marital status, number of siblings, parent stress, parent psychopathology), and three levels of child resilience (biological, behavioral, and relational) were also assessed. Results indicate that a general pattern of decline in both types of behavior problems was observed for the entire sample across time, although considerable individual variability in this pattern was observed. Childrens externalizing and internalizing behavior at age 5 was predicted by the level of risk at age 2. All three child resilience factors were also predictive of externalizing and internalizing behaviors at age 5. In the prediction of the slope of problem behavior over time, risk status interacted with both temperamental fearlessness and a mutually responsive orientation with the mother to predict the decline in externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. Results underscore the complex interactions of risk and multiple levels of resilience that are implicated in the maintenance of problem behavior over time. They highlight the importance of considering whether expected resilience factors operate similarly across different levels of risk.

Testing a developmental cascade model of emotional and social competence and early peer acceptance.

A developmental cascade model of early emotional and social competence predicting later peer acceptance was examined in a community sample of 440 children across the ages of 2 to 7. Childrens externalizing behavior, emotion regulation, social skills within the classroom and peer acceptance were examined utilizing a multitrait-multimethod approach. A series of longitudinal cross-lag models that controlled for shared rater variance were fit using structural equation modeling. Results indicated there was considerable stability in childrens externalizing behavior problems and classroom social skills over time. Contrary to expectations, there were no reciprocal influences between externalizing behavior problems and emotion regulation, although higher levels of emotion regulation were associated with decreases in subsequent levels of externalizing behaviors. Finally, childrens early social skills also predicted later peer acceptance. Results underscore the complex associations among emotional and social functioning across early childhood.

Contributions of Child's Physiology and Maternal Behavior to Children's Trajectories of Temperamental Reactivity

Trajectories of childrens temperamental reactivity (negative affectivity and surgency) were examined in a community sample of 370 children across the ages of 4 to 7 with hierarchical linear modeling. Childrens physiological reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]), physiological regulation (Delta RSA), and maternal parenting behavior were included as predictors of childrens trajectories of temperamental reactivity. Results indicated that negative affectivity and surgency decreased from 4 to 7 years of age; however, within-person changes in negative affectivity were dependent on levels of baseline RSA and not age. Increases in negative affectivity were also predicted by higher levels of earlier maternal controlling behavior. Decreases in surgency were predicted by higher levels of Delta RSA during mother-child interaction tasks and positive parenting behavior. Baseline RSA and maternal controlling parenting also accounted for interindividual differences in childrens negative affectivity at age 7, and gender and childrens baseline RSA accounted for interindividual differences in childrens surgency at age 7. Overall, these results provide further evidence that parenting behavior and childrens RSA influence the changes that occur in childrens temperamental reactivity.

Longitudinal associations between temperament and socioemotional outcomes in young children: The moderating role of RSA and gender

Temperament is an important predictor of socioemotional adjustment, such as externalizing and internalizing symptoms. However, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between temperamental predispositions and these outcomes, implying that other factors also contribute to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems. Self-regulation is believed to interact with temperament, and has been studied as a predictor for later socioemotional outcomes. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a psychophysiological measure of self-regulation that has been studied as a moderator of risk. The primary aim of the present study was to test if RSA baseline and RSA reactivity would moderate the link between temperament and socioemotional outcomes. Mothers reported the temperament of their infants (20 months; N = 154), RSA was collected at 24- and 42-months, and mothers reported externalizing and internalizing behaviors at kindergarten entry. RSA baseline and RSA reactivity moderated the relation between exuberant temperament and externalizing behaviors. However, these results were only significant for girls, such that high RSA baseline and greater RSA suppression predicted more externalizing behaviors when exuberance was high. Fearful temperament predicted later internalizing behaviors, but no moderation was present. These results are discussed in light of recent evidence regarding gender differences in the role of RSA as a protective factor for risk.

Estimating time-varying RSA to examine psychophysiological linkage of marital dyads

One of the primary tenets of polyvagal theory dictates that parasympathetic influence on heart rate, often estimated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), shifts rapidly in response to changing environmental demands. The current standard analytic approach of aggregating RSA estimates across time to arrive at one value fails to capture this dynamic property within individuals. By utilizing recent methodological developments that enable precise RSA estimates at smaller time intervals, we demonstrate the utility of computing time-varying RSA for assessing psychophysiological linkage (or synchrony) in husband-wife dyads using time-locked data collected in a naturalistic setting.

Within- and between-family differences in cooperative and competitive coparenting.

Coparenting, the coordination between adults in their parental roles, contributes to the functioning of multiple family subsystems. The ecological context model of coparenting posits that multiple factors, including contextual, marital, and child characteristics, influence coparenting behavior (Feinberg, 2003). To date, coparenting has primarily been considered a between-family construct, and the focus has been on examining the factors that account for differences in coparenting across families. There is very limited research exploring variations in coparenting within-families across contexts. To address this gap, the current study explores whether there is significant within- and between-family variation in coparenting. In addition, family, marital, and child correlates of both within- and between-family variation in coparenting are examined. Fifty-eight 2-parent families, drawn from a larger ongoing longitudinal study on childrens emotional development, participated in this study. Parents and their children participated in a laboratory visit when children were 42-months-old that included 3 triadic family interaction tasks that were coded to assess cooperative and competitive coparenting, as well as child-centered behavior. In addition, children completed a computerized go/no-go task to assess their inhibitory control and parents completed questionnaires about their marital relationship quality. Results indicated that a substantial portion of the variance in coparenting occurred within families. In addition, the correlates of coparenting cooperation and competition differed.

Directly assessing interpersonal RSA influences in the frequency domain: An illustration with generalized partial directed coherence

Despite recent research indicating that interpersonal linkage in physiology is a common phenomenon during social interactions, and the well-established role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in socially facilitative physiological regulation, little research has directly examined interpersonal influences in RSA, perhaps due to methodological challenges in analyzing multivariate RSA data. In this article, we aim to bridge this methodological gap by introducing a new method for quantifying interpersonal RSA influences. Specifically, we show that a frequency-domain statistic, generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC), can be used to capture lagged relations in RSA between social partners without first estimating RSA for each person. We illustrate its utility by examining the relation between gPDC and marital conflict in a sample of married couples. Finally, we discuss how gPDC complements existing methods in the time domain and provide guidelines for choosing among these different statistical techniques.