Task-specific associations between RSA and parenting in families with histories of CPS involvement

• In Event: Parenting and Psychophysiology: Evaluating Complex Dyadic Processes

Abstract

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of parasympathetic nervous system activation associated with emotion regulation and social engagement (Porges, 2007). Literature on associations between RSA and parenting behavior is mixed: studies representing a range of developmental stage and task demands have linked higher-quality parenting with higher baseline RSA, more RSA withdrawal (i.e., negative change), and more RSA augmentation (i.e., positive change) during parenting tasks (e.g., Buisman et al., 2018; Moore et al., 2009; Musser et al., 2012; Skowron et al., 2011). More research is needed regarding the adaptive significance of RSA across parenting contexts, especially among populations at risk for parenting dysfunction.
The current study investigates task-specific associations between RSA and observed parenting behavior among families with a history of Child Protectives Services (CPS) involvement during infancy. Following CPS referral, participants were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) parenting intervention (Dozier & Bernard, 2019). Families were subsequently invited to participate in follow-up assessments during middle childhood. Participants were 96 primary caregivers (89.5% mothers; 72.9% Black/African America; 44.8% ABC) of nine-year-old children completing longitudinal follow-up. Heart rate data were acquiring during video-recorded parent-child interactions and later scored for RSA. Following a three-minute baseline episode, participants completed a support task (i.e., the child sought the parent’s support about a recent distressing event) and a planning task (i.e., collaboratively planning the child’s perfect day). RSA was averaged within episodes, and task-related change was calculated as the residualized change score from the previous episode.
Interaction tasks were coded for multiple dimensions of parenting behavior. Given variations in task demands, nurturance (i.e., comforting the child when distressed) was selected as the primary outcome for the support task, and sensitivity (i.e., following the child’s lead when not distressed) was selected as the primary outcome for the planning task. Given research and theory linking higher RSA with social engagement and emotion regulation, we anticipated that more nurturing parenting during the support discussion would be associated with higher baseline RSA and less RSA withdrawal from baseline to support. We further hypothesized that sensitive parenting during the planning discussion would be associated with higher baseline RSA; we did not have a priori hypotheses regarding associations with concurrent RSA change.
Hypotheses were partially supported. Neither measure of parenting behavior was significantly related to baseline RSA. However, parental nurturance during the support task was positively associated with RSA change (r = 0.27, p = 0.03), such that parents showing augmentation or minimal withdrawal from baseline to support were rated as more comforting. Parental sensitivity during the planning task was negatively associated with RSA change from support to planning (r = -0.25, p = 0.04). These associations remained significant controlling for respiration rate and intervention status. Taken together, results suggest that effective parenting is associated with high levels of RSA during episodes of child distress, followed by flexible withdrawal when child distress subsides. Future research should model changing task demands, and parenting-focused interventions may benefit from incorporating measures of parents’ physiological regulation.

Authors

• Madelyn Labella, William and Mary
  Presenting Author

• Alexandra Tabachnick, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Lindsay Zajac, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

• Alison Goldstein, University of California - Irvine

• Lee Raby, University of Utah

• Lydia Bierce, Wake Forest University

• Tabitha Sellers, University of Delaware

• Mary Dozier, University of Delaware