Children's skin conductance reactivity as a mechanism of risk in the context of parental depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND

Children's physiological reactivity was examined as a moderator of relations between parental dysphoria and child adjustment problems, addressing gaps in the study of child characteristics as risk processes.

METHOD

One hundred fifty-seven children (86 boys, 71 girls) were assessed twice over a two-year interval. Skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) to inter-adult argument and problem-solving tasks was observed.

RESULTS

SCLR moderated longitudinal predictions of children's internalizing, externalizing and social adjustment problems, especially for paternal rather than maternal dysphoria. Higher SCLR predicted greater vulnerability to parental depressive symptomatology.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight that individual differences in children's physiological reactivity may relate to risk for adjustment problems in the context of parental depressive symptoms.