Dyadic Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Outcomes for Mothers and Their Children: Long‐Term Follow‐Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Parenting Interventions

This study was part of a longitudinal follow‐up of a 3‐armed randomized controlled trial designed to test the effects of two brief parenting interventions, Play Nicely (PN) and Triple P‐Level 2 (TP2), to a usual care control on parenting outcomes. Female caregivers with an identified index child ( M age = 3.7 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.7) were recruited through women, infants, and children (WIC) clinics in the greater New Orleans region. At a long‐term ( M years = 5 years, SD = 0.9) follow‐up assessment, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was assessed for a subset of these mother–child dyads during three dyadic interaction tasks: a baseline video, an affiliative discussion task, and an active cooperation task. Children displayed a significant decrease in RSA from the baseline video to the affiliative discussion task, whereas mothers displayed a significant decrease in RSA from the discussion task to the active cooperation task. Although no main intervention effects were found, differing patterns of child RSA in intervention groups were observed when accounting for time since intervention. Compared to the control group, children in the TP2 group exhibited relatively stable patterns of RSA, whereas children in the PN group exhibited RSA levels that decreased as time since intervention increased. These divergent patterns may reflect fundamental differences in the developmental scope of the two interventions. Together, these findings suggest that brief parenting interventions may differentially influence the stability of children's autonomic regulation during interactions with their caregiver, depending on their developmental focus and timing of delivery.