Poster #218 - Children’s Anger and Sadness Regulation: Evidence for Distinct Developmental Pathways and Differential Biological Susceptibility

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Children with emotion regulation challenges are at risk for lifelong psychosocial and mental health problems. Parenting, effortful control (EC), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) are potent antecedents of emotion regulation (Bridgett et al., 2015). However, questions remain regarding the nature of associations between these child level characteristics and parenting processes. Furthermore, some work has suggested that different socialization experiences and biobehavioral mechanisms govern the development of anger versus sadness regulation (Gottman et al., 1997). From a risk perspective, we examined whether the detrimental effect of maternal insensitivity on children’s anger and sadness regulation occurs via its earlier negative impact on children’s developing EC, a cognitive mechanism that supports emotion regulation. Infant resting RSA, an index of parasympathetic regulation, lays the foundation for later emotion regulation (Beauchaine, 2001). However, differential susceptibility frameworks (Belsky & Pluess, 2013; Ellis & Boyce, 2005) propose that tonic RSA might represent a biomarker of susceptibility to parenting, which predicts “for better” or “for worse” developmental sequelae depending on the quality of social inputs. To further elucidate individual differences, we tested the direct and moderating effects of infant RSA on developmental pathways.

Sample. Participants included 220 mother-child dyads. Laboratory visits occurred when children were 1.5, 3.5, and 5 years old (48.4% female). The sample was moderately diverse (Median Income = $40,000, Range = $1,200 - $287,000; 35% were ethnic minorities).

Method. At age 1.5 heart monitors recorded infants' ECG signals during free-play, and interbeat intervals were used to index resting RSA. Mother-child dyads engaged in a free-play/compliance task. Maternal insensitivity was assessed with observer ratings on the Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales. At age 3.5 EC was measured by maternal report on the Child Behavior Questionnaire and children’s behavior during Snack Delay. At age 5 mothers completed the Children’s Emotion Management Scale.

Results. SEM was used to analyze models. Demographic covariates were included. Higher maternal insensitivity at 1.5 predicted lower EC at 3.5, and lower anger regulation at age 5. EC fully mediated the effect of maternal insensitivity on anger regulation. The indirect effect was significant (z = -.47, SE = .31, 95% CI [-1.18, -.01]). Paths including sadness regulation were not significant. Next RSA effects were examined. Higher infant RSA predicted better sadness regulation at age 5, but did not predict anger regulation or EC. There was a significant interaction between infant RSA and maternal insensitivity on children’s EC, but not emotion regulation (moderated mediation). For low RSA infants, higher maternal insensitivity at 1.5 predicted worse EC at 3.5. Maternal insensitivity was not predictive of EC for high RSA infants. Results were statistically consistent with differential susceptibility/biological sensitivity. Low RSA infants developed superior EC in comparison to high RSA infants following less insensitive parenting, but worse EC under high maternal insensitivity.

Discussion. We will discuss how findings suggest differences in developmental pathways underlying children’s anger and sadness regulation. Infants with low RSA could be more susceptible to variations in parenting quality, which has an indirect impact on their anger regulation via earlier influences on effortful control.

Authors

• Jennifer Suor, University of Rochester
  Presenting Author

• Michael Skibo, State University of New York, Westchester
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa Sturge-Apple, University of Rochester
  Non-Presenting Author