Greater maternal emotional support predicted higher initial vagal withdrawal levels, while lower support was associated with the greatest increase in withdrawal over time.
Observational
Does maternal emotional support influence trajectories of baseline RSA and vagal withdrawal in preschool children?
Higher maternal emotional support is associated with earlier development of physiological regulation (vagal withdrawal) in preschool children.
Trajectories of baseline RSA (respiratory sinus arrhythmia), an index of reactivity, and vagal withdrawal, an index of regulation, across the preschool period were examined. In addition, maternal emotional support was investigated as a potential time-varying predictor of these trajectories. Physiological measures were obtained during frustration tasks, and a maternal emotional support measure was assessed via maternal report and direct observation. Children's baseline RSA and vagal withdrawal scores were moderately stable across the preschool period. Growth models indicated that children's baseline RSA scores changed linearly over the preschool years, and there was significant variability in withdrawal trajectories. Greater maternal emotional support predicted higher initial withdrawal levels and lower emotional support was associated with the greatest increase in withdrawal over time. This suggests that children of higher emotionally supportive mothers reached higher levels of physiological regulation earlier in development and therefore did not show the same increase across preschool as children of less supportive mothers. Maternal emotional support was not significantly related to trajectories of baseline RSA.
Perry et al. (Wed,) reported a observational. Maternal emotional support vs. Lower maternal emotional support was evaluated on Trajectories of baseline RSA and vagal withdrawal. Greater maternal emotional support predicted higher initial vagal withdrawal levels, while lower support was associated with the greatest increase in withdrawal over time.