A Multisystem Perspective for Understanding the Role of Physiological Regulation in Child Development

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Physiological regulation is typically studied in terms of single stress response systems. Limited empirical studies have explored coordinated, multisystem physiological responding, especially in relation to children’s development. This symposium will illustrate and redress these concerns across four paper presentations that demonstrate the importance and utility of more comprehensive physiological examinations spanning multiple developmental contexts.
The first paper examines how maternal pre- and post-natal emotion dysregulation influences infants’ developing biological systems across both respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and electrodermal reactivity at 18-months old. The second paper evaluates the long-term consequences of a coactivated autonomic response (measured by RSA and skin conductance reactivity) for 6-year-old children’s behavior problems. The third paper extends these relations by deriving profiles of heart rate, RSA, pre-ejection period and cortisol across rest and reactivity among 18- and 36-month old children and examines relations between these profiles and early maternal stress and children’s behavior. Finally, the fourth paper demonstrates how physiological arousal (measured as cortisol and salivary alpha amylase reactivity) during a stressful speaking challenge relates to the positive and negative emotional language 10-year-old children use to describe themselves.
The four papers in this symposium are tethered by a focus on utilizing multisystem stress physiology to advance a more holistic approach to psychophysiological research. These papers will encourage scientists to reflect on methodological choices and, when possible, adopt a multisystem perspective to enhance the depth of developmental research. In doing so, we will inform further study design, advance community knowledge, and inform future intervention efforts.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Chairs

• Kristen L Rudd, University of California - San Francisco

• Nicole R Bush, University of California - San Francisco

Individual Presentations

• Testing Competing Models of the Intergenerational Transmission of Emotion Dysregulation - Presenting Author: Nila Shakiba, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Sheila E Crowell, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Lee Raby, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Brendan Dale Ostlund, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Terrell, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Mindy A. Brown, Brigham Young University; Non-Presenting Author: Parisa R. Kaliush, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Robert Vlisides-Henry, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Bailey Speck, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Dylan Neff, University of Utah; Non-Presenting Author: Liz Conradt, Duke University

• Autonomic Burnout: Early Coactivation of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems Predicts Autonomic Downregulation and the Accumulation of Internalizing Symptoms Over Time - Presenting Author: Cassidy M. Fry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• Profiles of Multisystem Physiological Activity Across Early Childhood: Replicating Patterns and Exploring Associations - Presenting Author: Kristen L Rudd, University of California - San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Nicole R Bush, University of California - San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Abbey Alkon, University of California - San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Danielle Roubinov, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Stress, Physiological Arousal, and Emotion Language Use in Childhood and Adolescence - Presenting Author: Shreya Mukhopadhyay, University of California - Irvine; Non-Presenting Author: Jodi A Quas, University of California, Irvine