Citation

Cui L, Zhang X, Houltberg BJ, Criss MM, Morris AS. Dev. Psychobiol. 2019; 61(4): 592-604.

Affiliation

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/dev.21835

PMID

30740651

Abstract

This study assessed adolescent respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity while watching a bullying film clip from Boyz'n the Hood. We emphasized the importance of considering measurement context of RSA and examined whether RSA reactivity moderated the links between environmental factors (i.e., neighborhood violence, parental psychological control, and parental acceptance) and adolescent social adjustment. Data were collected from 57 adolescents and their primary caregivers. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration data were obtained from adolescents.

RESULTS indicated that neighborhood violence was positively associated with aggressive behavior but only among adolescents showing RSA augmentation, not suppression. Among youth displaying RSA suppression, parental acceptance was positively linked to prosocial behavior. We propose that, in the specific context of watching a bullying film clip, RSA suppression may relate to physiological regulation of emotion, which may differentially influence adolescents' responses to socialization.

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

RSA reactivity; adolescence; aggressive behavior; neighborhood violence; parenting; prosocial behavior