TY - JOUR
T1 - Autonomic complexity and emotion (dys-)regulation in early childhood across high- and low-risk contexts
AU - Berry, Daniel
AU - Palmer, Alyssa R.
AU - Distefano, Rebecca
AU - Masten, Ann S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019.
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - Developing the ability to regulate one's emotions in accordance with contextual demands (i.e., emotion regulation) is a central developmental task of early childhood. These processes are supported by the engagement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), a physiological hub of a vast network tasked with dynamically integrating real-time experiential inputs with internal motivational and goal states. To date, much of what is known about the ANS and emotion regulation has been based on measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a cardiac indicator of parasympathetic activity. In the present study, we draw from dynamical systems models to introduce two nonlinear indices of cardiac complexity (fractality and sample entropy) as potential indicators of these broader ANS dynamics. Using data from a stratified sample of preschoolers living in high- (i.e., emergency homeless shelter) and low-risk contexts (N = 115), we show that, in conjunction with respiratory sinus arrhythmia, these nonlinear indices may help to clarify important differences in the behavioral manifestations of emotion regulation. In particular, our results suggest that cardiac complexity may be especially useful for discerning active, effortful emotion regulation from less effortful regulation and dysregulation.
AB - Developing the ability to regulate one's emotions in accordance with contextual demands (i.e., emotion regulation) is a central developmental task of early childhood. These processes are supported by the engagement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), a physiological hub of a vast network tasked with dynamically integrating real-time experiential inputs with internal motivational and goal states. To date, much of what is known about the ANS and emotion regulation has been based on measures of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a cardiac indicator of parasympathetic activity. In the present study, we draw from dynamical systems models to introduce two nonlinear indices of cardiac complexity (fractality and sample entropy) as potential indicators of these broader ANS dynamics. Using data from a stratified sample of preschoolers living in high- (i.e., emergency homeless shelter) and low-risk contexts (N = 115), we show that, in conjunction with respiratory sinus arrhythmia, these nonlinear indices may help to clarify important differences in the behavioral manifestations of emotion regulation. In particular, our results suggest that cardiac complexity may be especially useful for discerning active, effortful emotion regulation from less effortful regulation and dysregulation.
KW - autonomic nervous system
KW - dynamical systems
KW - emotion regulation
KW - entropy
KW - fractal
KW - respiratory sinus arrhythmia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068842035&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85068842035&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0954579419000683
DO - 10.1017/S0954579419000683
M3 - Article
C2 - 31290736
AN - SCOPUS:85068842035
SN - 0954-5794
VL - 31
SP - 1173
EP - 1190
JO - Development and psychopathology
JF - Development and psychopathology
IS - 3
ER -