Sociodemographic risk, parenting, and inhibitory control in early childhood: the role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia

• Published in: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry 2018-09, Vol.59 (9), p.973-981
• Main Authors: Holochwost, Steven J., Volpe, Vanessa V., Gueron‐Sela, Noa, Propper, Cathi B., Mills‐Koonce, W. Roger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiac arrhythmia; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child Behavior - physiology; Child Development - physiology; Child Rearing; Child, Preschool; Childhood; Environmental aspects; Environmental Influences; Etiology; Female; Humans; inhbitory control; Inhibition, Psychological; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Maternal Behavior; Mothers; Parenting; Parents & parenting; Physiological processes; Questionnaires; respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia - physiology; Response inhibition; Risk behavior; Risk Factors; Sociodemographics; Structural equation modeling; Structural Equation Models; Task performance; vagal tone; Young Children
• ISSN: 0021-9630; 1469-7610
• DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12889

Background Deficits of inhibitory control in early childhood are linked to externalizing behaviors and attention problems. While environmental factors and physiological processes are associated with its etiology, few studies have examined how these factors jointly predict inhibitory control. This study examined whether respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) functioned as a mediator or moderator of both cumulative sociodemographic risk and parenting behaviors on inhibitory control during early childhood. Methods The sample included 206 children and their biological mothers. At 24, 30, and 36 months of child age dyads participated in a series of laboratory visits in which sociodemographic, parenting, and baseline RSA (RSAB) data were collected. Inhibitory control was assessed at 36 months using a gift‐wrap delay task. Results A series of structural equation models yielded no evidence that RSAB mediated the relations of risk or parenting and inhibitory control. RSAB moderated the effects of risk, such that high‐risk children with low RSAB performed more poorly on tasks of inhibitory control, while high‐risk children with high RSAB did not. Conclusions These results suggest that higher levels of RSAB may mitigate the influence of environmental risk on the development of inhibitory control early childhood.