Initial respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) decreases followed by RSA increases during angry event recall were related to better anger and sadness regulation and more prosocial behavior.
Observational (n=206)
Are respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) responses during an angry event discussion task associated with emotion regulation and adjustment in adolescents?
Dynamic changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia during emotional stress are linked to better emotion regulation and prosocial behavior in adolescents.
The current study examined associations between adolescent respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during an angry event discussion task and adolescents' emotion regulation and adjustment. Data were collected from 206 adolescents (10-18 years of age, M age = 13.37). Electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration data were collected from adolescents, and RSA values and respiration rates were computed. Adolescents reported on their own emotion regulation, prosocial behavior, and aggressive behavior. Multilevel latent growth modeling was employed to capture RSA responses across time (i.e., linear and quadratic changes; time course approach), and adolescent emotion regulation and adjustment variables were included in the model to test their links to RSA responses. Results indicated that high RSA baseline was associated with more adolescent prosocial behavior. A pattern of initial RSA decreases (RSA suppression) in response to angry event recall and subsequent RSA increases (RSA rebound) were related to better anger and sadness regulation and more prosocial behavior. However, RSA was not significantly linked to adolescent aggressive behavior. We also compared the time course approach with the conventional linear approach and found that the time course approach provided more meaningful and rich information. The implications of adaptive RSA change patterns are discussed.
Cui et al. (Mon,) conducted a observational in Emotion regulation and adjustment (n=206). Angry event discussion task was evaluated on Associations between adolescent respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and emotion regulation and adjustment. Initial respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) decreases followed by RSA increases during angry event recall were related to better anger and sadness regulation and more prosocial behavior.