Key result
High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia buffered against rejection sensitivity, as highly rejection-sensitive participants reported less emotion control and more hostility only if they had low RSA.
Why the study?
Does high resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia improve emotion control and reduce hostility in highly rejection-sensitive individuals?
Observational
Does high resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia improve emotion control and reduce hostility in highly rejection-sensitive individuals?
High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia may serve as a protective physiological marker against difficulties controlling negative affect and hostile behaviors in vulnerable, rejection-sensitive populations.
High resting RSA was associated with better emotion control in rejection-sensitive adults; hypothesis-generating for protective role, longitudinal studies needed before any clinical use.
Emerging evidence suggests that high resting heart rate variability in the respiratory frequency band, or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may capture individual differences in the capacity to engage in situationally appropriate regulation of affect and behavior. The authors therefore hypothesized that high RSA may act as a protective factor against difficulties controlling negative affect and hostile behaviors in conflicts with romantic partners in highly rejection-sensitive individuals--a population otherwise vulnerable to these responses. Results were consistent with this hypothesis such that highly rejection-sensitive participants reported less emotion control and more hostility in conflicts only if they were also low in RSA. Furthermore, emotion control mediated the joint effect of rejection-sensitivity and RSA on hostile conflict behavior. These results are consistent with the argument that resting RSA is a marker of flexible responding in the context of highly emotional situations, and further suggest that it may serve as a protective factor particularly in vulnerable populations.
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Gyurak et al. (2008) conducted an observational in Rejection sensitivity. High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) vs. Low resting RSA was evaluated on Emotion control and hostile behaviors in conflicts. High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia buffered against rejection sensitivity, as highly rejection-sensitive participants reported less emotion control and more hostility only if they had low RSA.
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