Attachment status and mother-preschooler parasympathetic response to the strange situation procedure

Justin D. Smith; Susan S. Woodhouse; Caron A.C. Clark; Elizabeth A. Skowron

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.008

Attachment status and mother-preschooler parasympathetic response to the strange situation procedure

Justin D. Smith^*, Susan S. Woodhouse, Caron A.C. Clark, Elizabeth A. Skowron

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Early attachment relationships are important for children's development of behavioral and physiological regulation strategies. Parasympathetic nervous system activity, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), is a key indicator of self-regulation, with links to numerous developmental outcomes. Attachment-related changes in and associations between mother and child RSA during the Strange Situation procedure (SSP) can elucidate individual differences in physiological response to stress that are important for understanding the development of and intervention for psychopathology. Methods: A sample of 142 at-risk mothers and preschool-age children participated in the SSP and provided time-synchronized RSA data during the 7 episodes, which included 2 separations and 2 reunions. Attachment classifications were obtained using the Cassidy et al. (1992) coding system. Linear mixed-effects models were constructed to examine attachment-related change in RSA during the SSP and the concordance between mother and child RSA over time. Results: Findings demonstrated attachment-related differences in children's RSA. Secure children's RSA was relatively stable over time, whereas insecure-avoidant children showed RSA increases during the first separation and insecure-resistant children's RSA declined across the SSP. Mothers showed RSA withdrawal during separation regardless of child's attachment classification. Mother-child RSA showed a positive concordance that was strongest in the insecure-resistant group, compared with the other groups. Conclusions: Results support attachment theories concerning parasympathetic response to stress and the role of the mother-child relationship in physiological regulation. Our findings advance previous research by focusing on at-risk mother-preschooler dyads within diverse attachment classifications.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	39-48
Number of pages	10
Journal	Biological Psychology
Volume	114
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.008
State	Published - Feb 1 2016

Funding

This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH079328, awarded to Elizabeth A. Skowron, and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and Administration for Children and Families/Children''s Bureau of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families as part of the Federal Child Neglect Research Consortium. Justin D. Smith was supported by National Institute of Mental Health research training grant MH020012, awarded to Elizabeth A. Stormshak, by a Loan Repayment Grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) through the Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology for Drug Abuse and Sex Risk Behavior (DA027828), awarded to C. Hendricks Brown. The authors gratefully thank Megan McConnell, Shanna Williams, and Susan Paris for their contributions to this project; Brandon Scott for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript; Cheryl Mikkola for editorial support; and the families who generously participated in our research. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant MH079328, awarded to Elizabeth A. Skowron, and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and Administration for Children and Families/Children's Bureau of the Administration on Children , Youth and Families as part of the Federal Child Neglect Research Consortium. Justin D. Smith was supported by National Institute of Mental Health research training grant MH020012, awarded to Elizabeth A. Stormshak, by a Loan Repayment Grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) through the Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology for Drug Abuse and Sex Risk Behavior (DA027828), awarded to C. Hendricks Brown. The authors gratefully thank Megan McConnell, Shanna Williams, and Susan Paris for their contributions to this project; Brandon Scott for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript; Cheryl Mikkola for editorial support; and the families who generously participated in our research.

Keywords

Attachment
Dyadic concordance
Preschool
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia
Strange situation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
General Neuroscience

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10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.12.008

Cite this

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title = "Attachment status and mother-preschooler parasympathetic response to the strange situation procedure",

abstract = "Background: Early attachment relationships are important for children's development of behavioral and physiological regulation strategies. Parasympathetic nervous system activity, indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), is a key indicator of self-regulation, with links to numerous developmental outcomes. Attachment-related changes in and associations between mother and child RSA during the Strange Situation procedure (SSP) can elucidate individual differences in physiological response to stress that are important for understanding the development of and intervention for psychopathology. Methods: A sample of 142 at-risk mothers and preschool-age children participated in the SSP and provided time-synchronized RSA data during the 7 episodes, which included 2 separations and 2 reunions. Attachment classifications were obtained using the Cassidy et al. (1992) coding system. Linear mixed-effects models were constructed to examine attachment-related change in RSA during the SSP and the concordance between mother and child RSA over time. Results: Findings demonstrated attachment-related differences in children's RSA. Secure children's RSA was relatively stable over time, whereas insecure-avoidant children showed RSA increases during the first separation and insecure-resistant children's RSA declined across the SSP. Mothers showed RSA withdrawal during separation regardless of child's attachment classification. Mother-child RSA showed a positive concordance that was strongest in the insecure-resistant group, compared with the other groups. Conclusions: Results support attachment theories concerning parasympathetic response to stress and the role of the mother-child relationship in physiological regulation. Our findings advance previous research by focusing on at-risk mother-preschooler dyads within diverse attachment classifications.",

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Attachment status and mother-preschooler parasympathetic response to the strange situation procedure

Abstract

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Keywords

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