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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Parasympathetic Regulation and Inhibitory Control Predict the Development of Externalizing Problems in Early

Sarah Kahle1, William T Utendale2, Keith F Widaman3

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|May 12, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Better cognitive self-regulation in preschoolers predicts fewer externalizing problems later. Physiological self-regulation, specifically respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity, influences this relationship, highlighting an integrated view of self-regulation for predicting behavioral outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Child Psychopathology

Background:

  • Self-regulation is crucial for child development and mental health.
  • Understanding the interplay between cognitive and physiological aspects of self-regulation is key.
  • Externalizing problems in early childhood are linked to later psychopathology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine longitudinal associations between cognitive self-regulation, physiological self-regulation, and externalizing problems in children.
  • To investigate the moderating role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity in this relationship.
  • To explore an integrated, multi-system perspective on self-regulation for predicting psychopathology risk.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study with children at ages 4 and 6.
  • Inhibitory control assessed using the Day-Night task (executive function).
  • Cardiac activity measured to derive RSA as an index of parasympathetic activity; mothers reported externalizing problems; cross-lagged path modeling used.

Main Results:

  • Earlier inhibitory control predicted fewer later externalizing problems; the reverse was not significant.
  • RSA reactivity moderated the link: better inhibitory control predicted fewer problems only with mild RSA suppression to augmentation.
  • Children with high externalizing problems at age 6 showed RSA augmentation and poor inhibitory control.

Conclusions:

  • Cognitive self-regulation (inhibitory control) is a significant predictor of later externalizing problems.
  • Physiological self-regulation (RSA reactivity) modulates this predictive relationship.
  • An integrated, multi-system perspective of self-regulation offers a more nuanced understanding of psychopathology risk in children.

Keywords:
Executive functionExternalizing problemsInhibitory controlParasympathetic nervous systemRespiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)Self-regulation

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