Citation

Gordis EB, Feres N, Olezeski CL, Rabkin AN, Trickett PK. J. Pediatr. Psychol. 2010; 35(5): 547-558.

Affiliation

University at Albany, SUNY, Social Sciences 399, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA. egordis@albany.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/jpepsy/jsp113

PMID

19995866

PMCID

PMC2874672

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an indicator of parasympathetic nervous system-linked cardiac activity, and skin conductance level (SCL), a sympathetic indicator, as moderators of the link between child maltreatment and adolescent aggression. METHOD: Participants were 234 maltreated (48.3% male) and 128 (57.8% male) comparison youth aged 9-16 years participating in wave 2 of a longitudinal study. RESULTS: Regression analyses suggest that among boys, high RSA may be protective against the effects of maltreatment on aggressive behavior. Among girls, the moderating effect of RSA was further moderated by SCL reactivity such that low levels of both baseline RSA and SCL reactivity, or conversely high levels of both baseline RSA and SCL reactivity, exacerbated the link between maltreatment and aggression. CONCLUSIONS: High RSA may protect against the effects of maltreatment on aggressive behavior, though this effect may be moderated by SCL reactivity among girls.

Language: en