Poster #16 - Physiological Profiles Predict Anxiety and PTSD-Related Symptomatology Among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Youth: Evidence for Differential Susceptibility

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

The physiological stress system has been linked to psychological outcomes across the lifespan. These analyses utilized a person-centered approach to examine whether profiles of physiological functioning relate to anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms during the school-age period, using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate data. Research suggests high baseline RSA, which is associated with low heart rate (Porges, Doussard-Roosevelt, Portales, & Greenspan, 1996), and RSA withdrawal during a stressful task are related to increased control over arousal and lower rates of psychopathology and emotion dysregulation (Beauchaine and Bell, 2020). Data consisted of Age 9 physiological functioning and Age 11 self-reported symptomatology on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) collected from 234 socioeconomically disadvantaged urban children (51.7% female; 86.8% racial/ethnic minority). Latent profile analyses identified three profiles of physiological functioning using baseline data and changes in RSA during and after a stressor period consisting of a parent-child interaction task and family-related self-report measures. Class One (41%) had the lowest baseline heart rate, highest baseline RSA, and showed RSA withdrawal during the stressor followed by a return to baseline. Class Two (48%) was characterized by significantly higher baseline heart rate and lower baseline RSA than Class One. Class Three (11%) had the highest baseline heart rate, lowest baseline RSA, and did not show significant reactivity to the stressor. ANOVA tests indicated that class membership predicted the SCARED total score and scores on the TSCC anxiety and posttraumatic stress subscales. Marginal means indicated that Class One had the highest level of symptom endorsement across all three scales, followed by Class Two, and then Class Three. Post-hoc analyses revealed that Class One reported significantly higher scores on the SCARED than both Class Two and Class Three. On the TSCC subscales, significant differences only emerged between Class One and Two, potentially influenced by Class Three’s small class size and higher standard error. Gender and maltreatment did not significantly moderate these associations. Because research has shown that low heart rate, high RSA, and RSA withdrawal during a stressor are associated with more positive outcomes, findings regarding Class One were contrary to initial hypotheses. However, within the context of the chronic socioeconomic and interpersonal stress faced by many children in this sample, it is possible the typically adaptive physiological response of Class One may have increased susceptibility for developing anxiety symptoms, as an increased physiological response may be linked to an increased psychological response. Within a consistently stressful environment, a more muted physiological response, as seen in Class Three, may then lead to less symptoms as these children may react less to their environment. This is in line with the findings on the SCARED and the marginal means on the TSCC subscales. This study highlights the importance of using diverse samples to identify patterns of differential susceptibility concerning the physiological stress system. Future steps include directly testing how factors such as poverty and community violence exposure relate to psychophysiological profiles in similar samples of children.

Authors

• Anna Smith, University of Rochester
  Presenting Author

• Jody Todd Manly, University of Rochester

• Michael Lynch, State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo)