Institute of Policy Research, Northwestern University.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center.
Psychol Aging. 2023 May;38(3):247-262. doi: 10.1037/pag0000738. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
Following a stressful life event, there is considerable variation in how individuals respond and adapt. Multiple models of risk and resilience show that adverse childhood experiences may be associated with an individual's response to stress later in life. While there is considerable support that early adversity can sensitize the stress response system and lead to adverse outcomes later in life, there is mounting evidence that in adolescence and young adulthood, certain biological predispositions to stress may be associated with resilience in the context of subsequent stressors. In this study, we evaluated how individual differences in vagally mediated heart rate variability moderated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and grief among a sample of individuals experiencing a stressful life event (i.e., spousal bereavement) over time. Data were collected at approximately 3, 4.5, and 6.5 months after the death of a spouse ( = 130). Heart rate variability moderated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and grief symptoms over time ( = -0.03, < .001), such that among individuals with more severe experiences of childhood maltreatment, those with higher heart rate variability had a faster recovery from grief than those with low heart rate variability. This research highlights an overall pattern of resilience among older adult's following spousal bereavement, as well as the relationships between childhood maltreatment, heart rate variability, and differential responses to grief following the loss of a spouse. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
在经历压力性生活事件后，个体的反应和适应方式存在很大差异。多种风险和弹性模型表明，童年期逆境经历可能与个体日后对压力的反应有关。虽然有大量证据表明，早期逆境会使应激反应系统敏感化，并导致日后的不良后果，但越来越多的证据表明，在青少年和成年早期，某些对压力的生物学倾向可能与随后的应激源下的弹性有关。在这项研究中，我们评估了个体差异在迷走神经介导的心率变异性中如何调节童年期虐待与经历压力性生活事件（即配偶丧亡）的个体的悲伤之间的关系。数据是在配偶去世后大约 3、4.5 和 6.5 个月（n=130）收集的。心率变异性调节了童年期虐待和悲伤症状之间的关系（=-0.03，<0.001），即对于经历过更严重童年期虐待的个体，心率变异性较高的个体比心率变异性较低的个体从悲伤中更快地恢复。这项研究强调了老年个体在配偶丧亡后整体的弹性模式，以及童年期虐待、心率变异性和配偶丧亡后对悲伤的不同反应之间的关系。
