Key result
Parenting had non-significant associations with child autonomic nervous system physiology overall, but positive parenting was associated with higher resting parasympathetic nervous system activity.
Why the study?
No quantitative synthesis had evaluated the literature linking parental socialization to the development of children's autonomic nervous system activity.
Does positive parenting improve child autonomic nervous system activity?
Meta-Analysis (n=13,044)
Does positive parenting improve child autonomic nervous system activity?
Positive parenting is associated with higher resting parasympathetic nervous system activity in children, particularly in experimental studies and clinical populations.
Positive parenting may support child autonomic health in clinical settings; leaves open causal effects and broad practice changes.
Parental socialization may influence the development of children’s autonomic nervous system (ANS), a key stress-response system. However, to date no quantitative synthesis of the literature linking parenting and child ANS physiology has been conducted. To address this gap, we conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis. A systematic review of the literature identified 103 studies (n = 13,044 participants) with available effect sizes describing the association between parenting and either parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) or sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in children. The overall analysis revealed non-significant associations between parenting and child ANS physiology on average. However, moderation analyses revealed a positive association between more positive parenting and higher resting PNS activity that was stronger when a study was experimental rather than correlational, and when the sample included children with a clinical condition. In conclusion, well-controlled experimental studies show that positive parenting is associated with the development of higher resting PNS activity, an effect that may be stronger among children who are at elevated developmental risk.
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Alen et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis in Child autonomic nervous system activity (n=13,044). Parenting was evaluated on Association between parenting and child autonomic nervous system physiology. Parenting had non-significant associations with child autonomic nervous system physiology overall, but positive parenting was associated with higher resting parasympathetic nervous system activity.
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