Stephen A. Erath

Cortisol and Children’s Adjustment: The Moderating Role of Sympathetic Nervous System Activity

We examined relations among cortisol, markers of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity (including salivary alpha-amylase and skin conductance level), and children’s adjustment. We also tested the Bauer et al. (Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 23(2), 102–113, 2002) hypothesis that interactions between the SNS and cortisol would be associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. Saliva samples were obtained from 8- to 9-year-olds before and after a laboratory assessment battery, and were assayed for cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA). Basal skin conductance level (SCL) was measured during resting conditions. Parents reported on child adjustment. Interactions between basal SNS and cortisol levels explained moderate amounts of unique variance in children’s externalizing and internalizing problems. More specifically, higher basal cortisol levels were positively associated with higher internalizing and externalizing problems among children with higher SNS activity, as compared to children with lower SNS activity. Findings underscore the utility of including information about the coordination between hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) and SNS activity in biosocial models of atypical child development.

Family conflict, autonomic nervous system functioning, and child adaptation: state of the science and future directions.

The family is one of the primary contexts of child development. Marital and parent-child conflict (family conflict) are common and predict a wide range of negative behavioral and emotional outcomes in children. Thus, an important task for developmental researchers is to identify the processes through which family conflict contributes to childrens psychological maladjustment, as well as vulnerability and protective factors in the context of family conflict. In the current paper, we aim to advance a conceptual model that focuses on indices of childrens autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning that increase vulnerability or provide protection against psychological maladjustment in the context of family conflict. In doing so, we provide a selective review that reflects the state of the science linking family conflict, childrens ANS activity, and child psychological adjustment, and offer directions and guidance for future research. Our hope is to accelerate research at the intersection of family conflict and ANS functioning to advance understanding of risk and resilience among children.

Harsh Parenting and Child Externalizing Behavior: Skin Conductance Level Reactivity as a Moderator

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a moderator of the association between harsh parenting and child externalizing behavior. Participants were 251 boys and girls (8-9 years). Mothers and fathers provided reports of harsh parenting and their childrens externalizing behavior; children also provided reports of harsh parenting. SCLR was assessed in response to a socioemotional stress task and a problem-solving challenge task. Regression analyses revealed that the association between harsh parenting and externalizing behavior was stronger among children with lower SCLR, as compared to children with higher SCLR. SCLR may be a more robust moderator among boys compared to girls. Results are discussed with regard to theories on antisocial behavior and multiple-domain models of child development.

Developmental Trajectories of Delinquency Symptoms in Childhood: The Role of Marital Conflict and Autonomic Nervous System Activity

Trajectories of delinquency symptoms across middle and late childhood were examined through latent growth modeling, with a focus on the role of interactions among parental marital conflict, child sex, and multiple indices (baseline, reactivity) of either parasympathetic nervous system activity, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), or sympathetic nervous system activity, indexed by skin conductance level (SCL), as predictors of growth. At Time 1, 128 girls and 123 boys (mean age = 8.23 yrs ± 0.73) and their parents participated. The sample comprised 64% European American and 36% African American children. Families participated in second and third waves of data collection with a 1-year lag between each wave. Interactions among marital conflict, sex, baseline RSA, and RSA reactivity from baseline to a frustrating lab task were significant predictors of growth in delinquent behavior from age 8 to age 10, with overall patterns indicating increasing symptoms for boys who lived in high-conflict homes and had an RSA response profile comprising lower RSA during the baseline and RSA augmentation (increase from baseline to the frustrating task). Furthermore, increases in delinquency symptoms over time were observed for children from high-conflict homes and with an SCL profile characterized by higher baseline levels and lower reactivity (less pronounced SCL increases from baseline) to the frustrating task. Findings highlight the importance of contemporaneous assessments of resting and reactivity levels when examining relations among the environment, physiological functioning, and psychopathology. Results are discussed in the context of interactions between biology and environment as relevant to the development of psychopathology.

The developmental course of illicit substance use from age 12 to 22: links with depressive, anxiety, and behavior disorders at age 18

BACKGROUND Previous theory and research suggest links between substance use and externalizing behavior problems, but links between substance use and internalizing problems are less clear. The present study sought to understand concurrent links among diagnoses of substance use disorders, internalizing disorders, and behavior disorders at age 18 as well as developmental trajectories of illicit substance use prior to and after this point. METHODS Using data from 585 participants in the Child Development Project, this study examined comorbidity among substance use, behavior, and internalizing disorders at age 18 and trajectories of growth in illicit substance use from age 12 to age 22. RESULTS In this community sample, meeting diagnostic criteria for comorbid internalizing disorders, a behavioral disorder (conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder) alone, or both internalizing and behavioral disorders predicted higher concurrent substance use disorders (abuse, dependence, or withdrawal). Meeting diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder alone or depression alone did not predict higher concurrent substance use diagnoses. Over time, youths with behavioral disorders at age 18 showed a pattern of increasing substance use across early adolescence and higher levels of substance use than those with no diagnosis at age 18. Substance use declines from late adolescence to early adulthood were observed for all groups. CONCLUSIONS Substance use disorders were more highly comorbid with behavior disorders than with internalizing disorders at age 18, and behavior disorder and comorbid behavior-internalizing disorders at age 18 were related to trajectories characterized by steep increases in illicit substance use during adolescence and high rates of illicit substance use over time.

Children’s sleep and adjustment: the moderating role of vagal regulation

Children’s vagal tone and vagal suppression were examined as moderators of associations between children’s sleep disruptions and adjustment problems. A relatively large sample (n = 167) of boys and girls who ranged in age between 8 and 9 years participated with their parents. Sleep was examined via actigraphy in the child’s home for seven consecutive days. Children’s vagal tone was examined during baseline conditions, and their vagal suppression was assessed in response to an inter‐adult argument. In comparison with children exhibiting higher levels of vagal tone, those with lower vagal tone were at increased risk of externalizing problems, depression symptoms and higher body mass index associated with increased sleep disruptions (i.e. lower Sleep Efficiency, increased Wake Minutes and fewer Sleep Minutes). Thus, lower vagal tone functioned as a vulnerability factor for adjustment problems in the context of sleep problems. A higher level of vagal suppression to the inter‐adult argument functioned as a protective factor against externalizing behaviors otherwise associated with increased Wake Minutes and reduced Sleep Efficiency. Findings demonstrating the moderating role of vagal functioning in the context of sleep disruptions are novel, and highlight the importance of individual differences in children’s physiological regulation for sleep and adjustment.

Maternal Psychological Control and Child Internalizing Symptoms: Vulnerability and Protective Factors across Bioregulatory and Ecological Domains.

BACKGROUND We examined ecological (family socioeconomic status (SES)) and bioregulatory (sleep duration, sleep efficiency) moderators of the link between maternal psychological control and childrens vulnerability to internalizing symptoms. METHOD A large socioeconomically diverse sample of third graders (N = 141) and their mothers participated. Sleep was examined via actigraphy for one week. Psychological control and internalizing symptoms (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, pre-sleep arousal) were examined through childrens reports. RESULTS For children with poorer sleep, lower SES, or a combination of the two, maternal psychological control was positively related to depressive symptoms; this association was not evident for children with both better sleep and higher SES. Further, maternal psychological control, sleep efficiency, and SES interacted to predict both anxiety symptoms and pre-sleep arousal. Children were protected from the negative effects of psychological control when they were from higher SES families and had higher sleep efficiency; for all other groups of children, psychological control was associated with anxiety symptoms. A similar but less robust pattern of results was found for pre-sleep arousal. CONCLUSIONS Findings highlight the importance of childrens bioregulatory processes within the socioeconomic context for an enhanced understanding of childrens vulnerability to internalizing problems in the context of maternal psychological control.

Marital Conflict and Growth in Children's Internalizing Symptoms: The Role of Autonomic Nervous System Activity.

We assessed trajectories of childrens internalizing symptoms, indexed through anxiety and depression, with a focus on the role of interactions between interparental marital conflict, childrens sympathetic nervous system activity indexed by skin conductance level (SCL), and parasympathetic nervous system activity indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as predictors of growth. Children participated in 3 waves of data collection with a 1-year lag between each wave. At T1, 128 girls and 123 boys participated (M age = 8.23 years; SD = 0.73). The most important findings reveal that girls with either low RSA in conjunction with low SCL (i.e., coinhibition) at baseline or with increasing RSA and decreasing SCL in response to a challenging task (i.e., reciprocal parasympathetic activation) are susceptible to high or escalating anxiety and depression symptoms, particularly in the context of marital conflict. Findings support the importance of concurrent examinations of environmental risk factors and physiological activity for better prediction of the development of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Skin Conductance Level Reactivity Moderates the Association between Harsh Parenting and Growth in Child Externalizing Behavior.

Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) was examined as a moderator of the association between harsh parenting at age 8 years and growth in child externalizing behavior from age 8 to age 10 (N = 251). Mothers and fathers provided reports of harsh parenting and their childrens externalizing behavior; children also provided reports of harsh parenting. SCLR was assessed in response to a socioemotional stress task and a problem-solving challenge task. Latent growth modeling revealed that boys with higher harsh parenting in conjunction with lower SCLR exhibited relatively high and stable levels of externalizing behavior during late childhood. Boys with higher harsh parenting and higher SCLR exhibited relatively low to moderate levels of externalizing behavior at age 8, but some results suggested that their externalizing behavior increased over time, approaching the same levels as boys with higher harsh parenting and lower SCLR by age 10. For the most part, girls and boys with lower harsh parenting were given relatively low and stable ratings of externalizing behavior throughout late childhood. Results are discussed from a developmental psychopathology perspective with reference to models of antisocial behavior in childhood.

Harsh parenting, parasympathetic activity, and development of delinquency and substance use

Stress response systems are thought to play an important role in the development of psychopathology. In addition, family stress may have a significant influence on the development of stress response systems. One potential avenue of change is through alterations to thresholds for the activation of stress responses: Decreased threshold for responding may mark increased stress sensitivity. Our first aim was to evaluate the interaction between thresholds for parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) responding, operationalized as resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and harsh parenting in the prediction of development of delinquency and adolescent substance use (resting RSA as a biomarker of risk). The second aim was to evaluate if resting RSA changes over time as a function of harsh parenting and stress reactivity indexed by RSA withdrawal (altered threshold for stress responding). Our third aim was to evaluate the moderating role of sex in these relations. We used longitudinal data from 251 children ages 8-16 years. Mother-reports of child delinquency and RSA were acquired at all ages. Adolescents self-reported substance use at age 16 years. Family stress was assessed with child-reported harsh parenting. Controlling for marital conflict and change over time in harsh parenting, lower resting RSA predicted increases in delinquency and increased likelihood of drug use in contexts of harsh parenting, especially for boys. Harsh parenting was associated with declining resting RSA for children who exhibited greater RSA withdrawal to stress. Findings support resting PNS activity as a moderator of developmental risk that can be altered over time.