Poster #18 - Association Between Emotion Regulation and Externalizing Problems: The Moderating Role of RSA Reactivity and Gender

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Integrative Statement

Heart rate variability changes as a function of breathing (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) is thought to reflect the parasympathetic influence on heart rate variability. RSA suppression reflects an individual’s ability to orient and respond to threatening stimuli, and RSA augmentation suggests active regulation to support calm engagement and form social bonds (Porges, 2011). Although RSA suppression has been related to adaptive outcomes (e.g. Calkins & Keane, 2004), extreme RSA withdrawal could be detrimental (Beauchaine, 2001). There may be a “trade-off” between automatic inflexibility indicated by low RSA suppression and effortful regulation indicated by RSA augmentation, and whether RSA suppression versus augmentation implies vulnerability or resilience may depend on gender (Diamond, Fagundes, &, Cribbet, 2012).
The study includes 225 6-year-old children (112 boys, 113 girls). ECG was measured from two disposable electrodes using modified lead II alignment, grounded at the scalp near electrode site Fz. The cardiac electrical activity was acquired using Snapshot-Snapstream (HEM Data Corp.; Southfield, MI), amplified using a James Long Bioamps, and analyzed using IBI Analysis System software developed by James Long Company. The cardiac electrical activity was bandpassed from 0.1 to 100 HZ. The QRS complex was digitized at 512 samples per second. R waves were detected offline with a four-pass peak detection algorithm. The artifact free R-wave was converted to heart period in which spectral analysis was used to calculate high frequency variability appropriate for children (i.e., RSA; .12–.40 Hz) using a discrete Fourier transform with a 16-s Hanning window and 50% overlap. The RSA data were transformed using natural log to normalize the distribution. Resting RSA was collected during a 1-min baseline while children were asked to close eyes and sit quietly. Task RSA was recorded when a child was left with the wrong gift for 1 minute during the Wrong Gift task, which is used to measure the ability of regulating negative emotion when frustrated. RSA reactivity was calculated by subtracting task RSA from baseline, and thus positive values indicate RSA withdrawal and negative values indicate RSA augmentation. Child emotion regulation was measured by the Emotion Regulation Checklist (Shields & Cicchetti, 1997). Externalizing problems were measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000).
Results showed a three-way interaction among child emotion regulation, RSA reactivity, and gender in predicting externalizing problems. For boys, low emotion regulation predicted high externalizing problems when they showed RSA augmentation. For girls, low emotion regulation predicted high externalizing problems when they showed RSA suppression. The findings are consistent with previous research indicating that greater RSA suppression predicted more externalizing behaviors when exuberance was high for girls but not boys during early childhood (Morales, Beekman, Blandon, Stifter, & Buss, 2013). Similarly, consistent high externalizing problems were predicted by weak RSA withdrawal for boys and strong RSA withdrawal for girls across childhood (Hinnant & El-sheikh, 2013). It would be interesting for future research to explore the cause for the gender differences in the association between RSA reactivity and socioemotional development across development.

Authors

• Ran Liu, Virginia Tech
  Presenting Author

• Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author