Byrd Amy L, Vine Vera, Vanwoerden Salome, Jennings J Richard, Stepp Stephanie D
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Sterling Plaza, 201 N. Craig St., Suite 408, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 13. doi: 10.1007/s00787-025-02756-z.
Individual differences in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) are linked to emotion and behavior dysregulation, two transdiagnostic indicators of psychopathology youth. However, most research has focused on RSA reactivity to stressors, with little work examining individual differences in RSA following stressors. The current study examined associations between dynamic changes in RSA following parent-child conflict and youth emotion dysregulation and reactive aggression in daily life. In a transdiagnostic sample of clinically referred youth (n = 162; M = 12.03 years, SD = 0.92; 47% female; 60% minoritized racial/ethnic status), RSA was assessed during a laboratory-based parent-child interaction task, which included a conflict discussion and four subsequent tasks. Emotion dysregulation and reactive aggression were assessed during a 4-day ecological momentary assessment protocol. Dynamic changes in RSA were modeled using a non-linear growth model (i.e., free curve slope intercept [FCSI] model), and associations with emotion dysregulation and reactive aggression were examined within a multivariate structural equation model. Results from the FCSI model demonstrated significant between-person differences (intercept) and within-individual change (slope) in RSA and predictive associations were specific to reactive aggression. Specifically, youth with higher mean levels of RSA (β = 0.20, p = .02) and those showing decreases in RSA (i.e., continued withdrawal) following parent-child conflict (β = -0.25, p = .03) were more likely to engage in reactive aggression in daily life. No associations wer found with emotion dysregulation. Findings underscore the importance of examining dynamic changes in RSA and suggest prolonged autonomic recovery following a conflict may be an indicator of risk for reactive aggression.
呼吸性窦性心律不齐（RSA）的个体差异与情绪和行为失调有关，这是青少年精神病理学的两个跨诊断指标。然而，大多数研究都集中在RSA对应激源的反应性上，很少有研究考察应激源后RSA的个体差异。本研究考察了亲子冲突后RSA的动态变化与青少年情绪失调和日常生活中反应性攻击行为之间的关联。在一个临床转介青少年的跨诊断样本中（n = 162；M = 12.03岁，SD = 0.92；47%为女性；60%为少数族裔/种族身份），在基于实验室的亲子互动任务中评估RSA，该任务包括一次冲突讨论和随后的四项任务。在为期4天的生态瞬时评估方案中评估情绪失调和反应性攻击行为。使用非线性增长模型（即自由曲线斜率截距[FCSI]模型）对RSA的动态变化进行建模，并在多变量结构方程模型中考察与情绪失调和反应性攻击行为的关联。FCSI模型的结果表明，RSA存在显著的个体间差异（截距）和个体内变化（斜率），且预测关联特定于反应性攻击行为。具体而言，RSA平均水平较高的青少年（β = 0.20，p = 0.02）以及在亲子冲突后RSA下降（即持续退缩）的青少年（β = -0.25，p = 0.03）在日常生活中更有可能出现反应性攻击行为。未发现与情绪失调有关联。研究结果强调了考察RSA动态变化的重要性，并表明冲突后自主神经恢复时间延长可能是反应性攻击行为风险的一个指标。
