Marital conflict and trajectories of adolescent adjustment: The role of autonomic nervous system coordination

Developmental Psychology
Lauren E PhilbrookMona El-Sheikh

Abstract

The present study investigates how coordination between stress responsivity of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) moderates the prospective effects of marital conflict on internalizing and externalizing symptoms across adolescence. Although an important avenue for psychophysiological research concerns how PNS and SNS responses jointly influence adjustment in the context of stress, these processes have rarely been studied in adolescence or longitudinally. Participants were 252 youth (53% female, 66% European American, 34% African American) who participated in laboratory assessments when they were 16, 17, and 18 years old. PNS activity (measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) and SNS activity (measured via skin conductance level [SCL]) were assessed during a resting baseline and in response to a laboratory-based challenge (star tracing). Parents and adolescents both reported on marital conflict and adolescents reported on their internalizing and externalizing symptoms. At higher levels of marital conflict, coactivation of PNS and SNS activity, characterized by increased RSA and increased SCL from baseline to challenge, predicted elevated internalizing symptoms and an increase in...Continue Reading

Citations

Feb 11, 2020·Psychophysiology·Lisa M Gatzke-KoppNilam Ram
Oct 2, 2020·Developmental Psychobiology·Olivia Martin-PiñónMona El-Sheikh
Jul 28, 2020·Psychophysiology·Kristen L Rudd, Tuppett M Yates
May 18, 2019·Development and Psychopathology·Susan D CalkinsLaurie Wideman
Jul 23, 2021·Developmental Psychobiology·Ellie LisitsaAmy H Mezulis
Dec 29, 2021·Developmental Science·Selin ZeytinogluEsther M Leerkes

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.