Poster #20 - Autonomic Nervous System Functioning: A Moderator of Associations Between Neighborhood Stress and Youth Externalizing Behaviors

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Integrative Statement

Previous work has suggested that youth who perceive their neighborhoods as less connected and more dangerous are at risk for externalizing problems (Kim, 2016), yet there is variability in the strength of these effects (Chang, Wang, & Tsai, 2016). The purpose of this study was to examine how coordination of sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity could explain such variability. Based on the work of El-Sheikh and colleagues (El-Sheikh & Erath, 2011), we considered whether profiles describing coordination between the SNS and PNS (reciprocal sympathetic, reciprocal parasympathetic, coactivation, coinhibition) predicted levels of externalizing problems, or moderated associations between neighborhood stress and externalizing problems. We defined these profiles in terms of two well-established indicators of physiological reactivity: change in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (delta RSA; PNS reactivity) and skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR; SNS reactivity).

Sixty-eight young adolescents wore heart rate monitors and finger cuffs to measure heart rate and skin conductance while they engaged in the Trier Social Stress Test (Buske-Kirschbaum et al., 1997). Youth self-reported their externalizing symptoms (Youth Self Report; Achenbach, 1991) and three measures of perceived neighborhood stress: low neighborhood social cohesion (Neighborhood Quality Index; Cook, Herman, Philips, & Settersten, 2002), low neighborhood connectedness (Adolescent Pathways Project, 1992; Aber & Seidman, 1993), and neighborhood negative influences (Neighborhood Quality Index; Cook, Herman, Philips, & Settersten, 2002). Indicators of perceived neighborhood quality were combined into a single weighted composite. Stress reactivity was calculated by subtracting each physiological measure during a baseline reading task from the measurement taken during the challenge task yielding delta RSA and SCLR scores (El‐Sheikh et al., 2001; Erath, El-Sheikh, Hinnant, & Cummings, 2011).

Hierarchical multiple regression was used to predict youth externalizing behavior from neighborhood, delta RSA, SCLR, and all two-way and three-way interactions involving these three variables. When considered separately, neither SCLR nor delta RSA predicted levels of externalizing behaviors, nor did they moderate associations between neighborhood stress and externalizing behavior. However, levels of SCLR and delta RSA interacted to predict externalizing behavior. This significant interaction effect suggested that the highest levels of externalizing were observed among youth characterized by high delta RSA and low SCLR – the coinhibition group, whereas the lowest levels of externalizing behavior were observed for youth characterized by low delta RSA and low SCLR – the reciprocal parasympathetic group (Figure 2). The association between neighborhood stress and externalizing behavior was positive and significant only for youth characterized by low SCLR and low delta RSA (higher vagal suppression, the reciprocal parasympathetic group; Figure 2).

These findings suggest that consideration of physiological reactivity represents a critical and often overlooked method for identifying which youth may be at the greatest risk for externalizing behavior, particularly within the context of stressful neighborhoods. Our findings support the conclusions drawn by El-Sheikh and Erath (2011) that physiological profiles reflecting the coordination of SNS and PNS reactivity provide important clues explaining variability in responses to neighborhood stressors. Considering these profiles challenges researchers to move beyond previous assumptions regarding what have been considered universally risky contexts.

Authors

• Anne C. Fletcher, UNC Greensboro
  Presenting Author

• Cheryl C. Buehler, UNC Greensboro
  Non-Presenting Author