Bubier Jennifer L, Drabick Deborah A G, Breiner Tyler
Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
J Fam Psychol. 2009 Aug;23(4):500-10. doi: 10.1037/a0015555.
Although previous research has identified various child-specific and contextual risk factors associated with externalizing behaviors, there is a dearth of literature examining child x context interactions in the prospective prediction of externalizing behaviors. To address this gap, we examined autonomic functioning as a moderator of the relation between contextual factors (i.e., neighborhood cohesion and harsh parental behaviors) and externalizing behaviors. Participants were an ethnic minority, inner-city sample of first through fourth grade children (N = 57, 50% male) and their primary caregivers who participated in two assessments approximately 1 year apart. Results indicated that baseline sympathetic functioning moderated the relation between (a) neighborhood cohesion and externalizing behaviors and (b) harsh parental behaviors and externalizing behaviors. Post-hoc probing of these interactions revealed that higher levels of neighborhood cohesion prospectively predicted (a) higher levels of externalizing behaviors among children with heightened baseline sympathetic functioning, and (b) lower levels of externalizing behaviors among children with attenuated baseline sympathetic functioning. In addition, among children with heightened baseline sympathetic functioning, higher levels of harsh parental behaviors prospectively predicted higher levels of externalizing behaviors.
尽管先前的研究已经确定了与外化行为相关的各种儿童特定和情境风险因素，但在对外化行为的前瞻性预测中，研究儿童与情境相互作用的文献却很匮乏。为了填补这一空白，我们考察了自主神经功能对外化行为与情境因素（即邻里凝聚力和严厉的父母行为）之间关系的调节作用。参与者是来自市中心的少数民族一至四年级儿童样本（N = 57，50%为男性）及其主要照顾者，他们大约相隔1年参加了两次评估。结果表明，基线交感神经功能调节了（a）邻里凝聚力与外化行为之间的关系，以及（b）严厉的父母行为与外化行为之间的关系。对这些相互作用的事后探究表明，较高水平的邻里凝聚力前瞻性地预测了（a）基线交感神经功能增强的儿童中外化行为水平较高，以及（b）基线交感神经功能减弱的儿童中外化行为水平较低。此外，在基线交感神经功能增强的儿童中，较高水平的严厉父母行为前瞻性地预测了较高水平的外化行为。
