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Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of parasympathetic nervous system activity. Levels of RSA while at rest (i.e., baseline) are thought to reflect a trait-like capacity for effective emotion regulation (Beauchaine, 2001). In contrast, decreases in RSA (i.e., RSA reactivity) in response to a stressful event are thought to reflect negative emotional states, including feelings of anger or anxiety (Beauchaine, 2001). Therefore, increases in RSA following the removal of a stressor (i.e., RSA recovery) may indicate effective emotional recovery. The development and functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system, and RSA in particular, is shaped by environmental stimuli, including experiences within parent-child relationships (Propper & Holochwost, 2013). This may be especially true during infancy, as this is a period characterized by heightened neuroplasticity and dependence on attachment relationships with parents (Bowlby, 1982; Lupien et al., 2009). Parental sensitivity when infants are distressed (e.g., responding to infants’ cues in a timely and appropriate manner; Ainsworth et al., 1978) is thought to be particularly influential in shaping infants’ emerging emotion regulation strategies and skills (Leerkes et al., 2009; Sroufe, 1997; Thompson, 2014). Specifically, parental sensitivity in response to infant distress helps soothe the infant, thereby potentially facilitating RSA to return to baseline levels after a stressful event. In contrast, insensitive parental responses (i.e., rejecting, dismissing, or ignoring negative emotions) when infants are upset may exacerbate their distress, which would be reflected by a lack of RSA recovery. Furthermore, sensitive responses in the context of infant non-distress (such as play interactions) may help the infant develop skills related to maintaining manageable arousal while engaging in non-distressing social play (Feldman et al., 1999; Thompson, 2014). However, most research examining potential parental contributions to child RSA activity has focused on examining children’s RSA reactivity to a stressful context rather than RSA recovery (Alen et al., 2022). Parental sensitivity has been associated with young infants’ RSA responses to the Still Face Paradigm (SFP; Tronick et al., 1978). For example, Conradt and Ablow (2010) found that maternal sensitivity in the context of infant distress was associated with infants’ RSA recovery from the stressful still-face episode, even after controlling for maternal sensitivity in the context of infant non-distress. In other words, infants who experienced higher levels of maternal sensitivity when they were distressed exhibited increases in RSA levels during the reunion episode. Raby and colleagues (2022) recently replicated these findings using the same sample that will be used in this study. Little is known, however, about whether parental sensitivity in the context of infant distress has sustained associations with young children’s RSA outcomes, especially RSA recovery after a stressful task. Longitudinal data are needed to test whether the influence of parental sensitivity on infant RSA persists over time as opposed to being limited to the concurrent effects in the moment. Therefore, the present study will investigate whether maternal sensitivity at seven months predicts toddlers’ RSA activity during the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP; Ainsworth, 1978) approximately one year later. |
