3-219 - The Role of Biology in Parent-Child Coregulation

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Recent research on autonomic and HPA reactivity indicates that biology plays a crucial role in parent-child coregulation (Bornstein & Suess, 2000; Laurent, Ablow, & Measelle, 2012; Moore et al., 2009). Theory (Feldman, 2012) suggests that behavioral synchrony allows parental biology to be coordinated with physiological organization in the developing infant. We further this line of research and present exciting new findings on parent-child biological and biobehavioral coregulation during infancy, early childhood, and adolescence. Using advanced modeling, we illustrate specific patterns of coregulation and link these to individual differences in familial risk, self-regulation, and neural activation.

Paper 1 compares respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) across the Still-Face in breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding dyads, finding that breastfed infants show greater RSA withdrawal during still-face and reunion and breastfeeding mothers show higher RSA across all episodes compared to non-breastfeeding dyads.

Paper 2 discovers three mother-toddler coregulation profiles by sympathovagal balance and emotional state during the Strange Situation: synchronous, asynchronous mother-reactive, and asynchronous child-reactive. Asynchronous group membership is associated with higher risk (maternal depression, challenging child behavior).

Paper 3 finds there is positive real-time coupling of RSA across parent-preschooler interactions. However, when child externalizing problems are higher, coupling becomes negative such that changes in RSA diverge in both parent-to-child and child-to-parent influence.

Paper 4 finds that when adolescents’ cortisol coregulation is stronger with a parent during family conflict, there is greater later neural activation to images of that parent in the posteromedial cortices, a brain region linked to perspective-taking and mentalizing about the self and others.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes

Chairs

• Erika S. Lunkenheimer, Colorado State University

• Ginger Moore, Penn State Univeristy

Individual Presentations

• Breastfeeding Mother-Infant Dyads Show Differential Vagal Regulation across the Still-Face Paradigm - Presenting Author: Kelsey Quigley, Pennsylvania State University; Ginger Moore, Penn State Univeristy; Cathi B Propper, Center for Developmental Science- UNC-Chapel Hill; Susan D Calkins, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Martha J Cox, Univ of North Carolina

• A Pattern-Based Approach to Co-Regulation: Profiles of Infant Emotional Distress and Maternal Physiological Reactivity - Presenting Author: Melissa L Sturge-Apple, University of Rochester; Michael A Skibo, University of Rochester; Jennifer H Suor, University of Rochester; Fred A Rogosch, University of Rochester

• Parasympathetic Coregulation between Parents and Preschoolers: Differences by Child Externalizing Problems - Presenting Author: Erika S. Lunkenheimer, Colorado State University; Stacey S. Tiberio, Oregon Social Learning Center; Steven Boker, University of Virginia; Kristin A Buss, Pennsylvania State University; Zachary Timpe, Colorado State University

• Neural Correlates of Parent-Child Coregulation - Presenting Author: Darby E. Saxbe, University of Southern California; Larissa B Del Piero, University of Southern California; Jonas Kaplan, University of Southern California; Gayla Margolin, University of Southern California