Poster #91 - Immigration Stress & Maternal Sensitivity: The Role of Parasympathetic Activity

• In Event: Poster Session 14

Abstract

The immigration process is associated with a host of stressors that impact family and parental wellbeing. Immigrants to the United States may experience difficulties learning the language of their host country, racial/ethnic discrimination, and legal issues upon arrival (Cervantes et al., 1991). Research suggests that such experiences are linked to diminished parent sensitivity in minority groups (Lorenzo-Blanco et al., 2016; MacKenzie et al., 2013; Zeiders et al., 2016). One mechanism through which immigration-related stress may influence parent sensitivity is by altering psychophysiological functioning. In particular, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) may impact relations between immigration-related stress and parent sensitivity, as the PNS is thought to play a key role both in recovery from stress as well as in promoting social engagement (Porges, 2009). Indeed, chronic stress has been found to alter PNS functioning (Liu et al., 2020), and PNS functioning has been found to play a role in supporting parent sensitivity (Joosen et al., 2013). Despite apparent links between stress and PNS function, and PNS function and maternal sensitivity, whether immigration stress may impact parental sensitivity through its influence on parasympathetic responsivity has never been investigated.
The present study examined whether immigration stress was related to maternal sensitivity, and whether PNS activity would account for their associations. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of 313 predominantly first-generation Mexican American mothers (M age = 27, range = 24). Participants self-reported levels of immigration stress using the Hispanic Stress Inventory (Cervantes et al., 1991) at 9 months postpartum. Mothers’ PNS activity was indexed using respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at 18 months postpartum. Behavioral observations of maternal sensitivity were obtained during semi-structured mother-infant interactions at 24 months postpartum, and rated using Coding Interactive Behaviors (Feldman, 1998). Results of a mediation model testing the effects of immigration stress on maternal RSA and subsequent maternal sensitivity indicated that immigration stress was significantly associated with higher maternal resting RSA, B = 0.103, SE = 0.05, p = 0.04. However, the direct effect of immigration stress on sensitivity and the indirect effect of immigration stress on maternal RSA and subsequent sensitivity were not significant. Subsequent analyses will investigate cultural resiliency factors that may moderate associations between immigration stress and maternal RSA. Efforts to elucidate the psychobiological mechanisms through which immigration-related stress may influence family functioning are critically needed to advance understanding of resilience in vulnerable populations.

Authors

• Annabelle Armah, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany)
  Presenting Author

• Betty Lin, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany)

• Nancy A Gonzales, Arizona State University

• Linda J. Luecken, Arizona State University

• Keith A Crnic, Arizona State University