Resting heart rate variability and emotion regulation difficulties: Comparing Asian Americans and European Americans

Asian Americans and European Americans differ in emotion regulation (ER), particularly regarding strategies utilized to adaptively engage in ER. Resting heart rate variability (HRV), a biomarker of ER ability, is suggested to differ between Asian Americans and European Americans, but evidence for such differences has been inconsistent. Yet, research has not considered how Asian Americans and European Americans might differ in the well-established link between resting HRV and ER difficulties, which might lend a better understanding of such inconsistencies. In 374 college-aged individuals (66 Asian Americans; 311 European Americans; 190 women; mean age = 19.3 years [Min. 18, Max 38]), we examined if ethnicity moderated the link between resting HRV and self-reported ER difficulties. Resting HRV was obtained during a 5-min resting-baseline period, and ER difficulties were assessed using the Difficulties in ER Scale, which contained six facets of ER difficulties. Adjusting for gender and body mass index, moderation analyses showed a stronger association between resting HRV and ER difficulties in Asian Americans compared to European Americans. When examining facets of ER, ethnicity moderated only the link between resting HRV and difficulties in accessing ER strategies when facing negative emotions. At lower levels of HRV, Asian Americans reported greater difficulties in ER relative to European Americans. This effect diminished and trended in the opposite direction among those with higher HRV. In sum, these results provide novel evidence that higher resting HRV might be particularly important for adaptive ER among Asian Americans - a marginalized ethnic group - in the U.S.