Poster #63 - Physiological Regulation and Cognitive Reappraisal Moderate the Link Between Political Climate Stress and Anxiety in Latina and Black Mothers

• In Event: Poster Session 19

Abstract

The Family Stress Model for minority families (Emmen et al., 2013) states that culturally-specific stressors can undermine healthy psychological adaptation in Latina and Black mothers and can exacerbate the negative effects of general stressors often experienced by parents of color (e.g., low income; Masarik & Conger, 2017). Political climate stress (PCS) is a potent cultural stressor for Latina and Black families, specifically being linked to symptoms of anxiety in Latina and Black mothers (Bernstein et al., 2019). PCS refers to the stress an individual feels with respect to racially-charged news stories, anti-immigration actions, and violence towards immigrants and other people of color (McLeod et al., 2020; Roche et al., 2018). Self-regulation has shown to be important in the context of stress, and the positive impact of maternal self-regulation on psychological adaptation is well established (Inzlicht et al., 2021; Lengua et al., 2021). The present study examined the buffering effect of three factors of self-regulation (i.e., physiological regulation, cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness) on the association between political climate stress (PCS) and maternal anxiety symptoms in a sample of Latina and Black mothers.

Participants included 81 mothers (Mage = 34.01 years, SD = 6.16) and their Latina or Black children (Mage = 6.85 years, SD =1.52, 54.4% female) who attended an in-person assessment. Physiological data in the form of respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) data was collected with Mindware BioLab software (Version 3.0.6) during a resting task and an RSA average across the ten resting epochs was calculated to reflect physiological self-regulation. Mothers completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., 2006), Political Climate Scale (Roche, 2018), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003), and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in the presence of a trained research assistant.

Results showed that income was negatively associated with PCS scores (r = -.26, p = .03) and mindfulness was negatively related to anxiety symptoms (r = -.60, p < .001). Moderation analyses showed that the link between PCS and anxiety was strongest at low levels of mother baseline RSA, b = 2.58, SE(b) = 0.82, t(70) = 3.16, p = .002, 95% CI [0.95, 4.21] and low levels of cognitive reappraisal, b = 1.85, SE(b) = 0.70, t(76) = 2.64, p = .010 , 95% CI [0.46, 3.24]. There was no relation between PCS and PBS at high levels of mother baseline or high levels of cognitive reappraisal. Mindfulness did not significantly moderate the association between political climate stress and anxiety, b = -0.20, SE(b) = 0.47, t(77) = -0.43, p = .667, 95% CI [-0.74, 1.15]. Neither income nor gender were significant covariates in any models.

Findings suggest that RSA and cognitive reappraisal may be important targets of intervention programs designed to maximize the well-being of Latina and Black mothers. Mindfulness may not play a role in the relation between PCS and anxiety, though it’s strong negative relation with anxiety suggests future work is needed to better understand the role of mindfulness in mental health.

Authors

• Andrea Marie George, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Molly Hale, University of Georgia

• Margaret O'Brien Caughy, University of Georgia

• Cynthia Mary Suveg, University of Georgia