Physiological reactivity to stress and parental support: comparison of clinical and non‐clinical adolescents

Abstract

An Alarm Stress Task was developed to study affect regulation in the context of parent-child interactions in adolescents (mean age = 12.72, standard deviation = 2.06) with (n = 20) and without (n = 20) mental health problems. Changes in heart rate (HR), preejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were used as indicators of affect regulation. HR increased, and PEP and RSA decreased signifi cantly in reaction to a suggested failure on a simple task, indicating that this procedure induced affective arousal in adolescents. During reunion with the parent, RSA increased signifi cantly. Support seeking on reunion was associated with stronger parasympathetic reactivity during stress and reunion, consistent with the model that the parasympathetic system is involved when affect is regulated by social engagement. Quality of parent-adolescent interactive behaviour was overall lower in the clinical sample. Individual and relationship-based processes of affect regulation may be simultaneously assessed, highlighting the continuing importance of the parent-child relationship in adolescence for affect regulation and mental health.

Is compassion for others stress buffering? Consequences of compassion and social support for physiological reactivity to stress

“…For example, Egizio et al (2008) found that women who reported more positive social functioning also exhibited slight increases in heart rate variability during an acute stressor. More directly related, children experienced significant increases in heart rate variability after being reunited with a parent following a stressful lab experience (Willemen et al, 2008). In short, higher heart rate variability (HF-HRV) has been commonly associated with healthier functioning, both physically and socially.…”

“…Lepore, Allen, & Evan, 1993;Thorsteinsson & James, 1999), reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity (Heinrichs, Baumgartner, Kirschbaum, & Ehlert, 2003), increased parasympathetic nervous system reactivity (e.g. Willemen, Goossens, Koot, & Schuengel, 2008) and better immune function (see Uchino, Cacioppo, and Kiecolt-Glaser (1996) for a review).…”

Physiological regulation of stress in referred adolescents: the role of the parent–adolescent relationship

“…Alarm Stress Task (AST). The AST (Willemen et al., 2008) is a controlled paradigm in which the adolescents have to lie quietly on their beds in their own bedroom for 21 minutes, while their physiological activity is measured by an ambulatory monitoring system (see below). The experimenter suggests that any movement will set off an alarm signal and could spoil the measurement.…”

“…Following each alarm, there is a three‐minute reunion with the parent. The AST has been shown to induce significant changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity in adolescents with and without psychopathology and to elicit variation in secure‐base behaviour (Willemen et al., 2008). Information about the duration of the episodes is given in Figure 1.…”

“…The Alarm Stress Task was developed to facilitate simultaneous recording of physiological responses, interactive behaviour, and reactions to separations and reunions will minimising possible interference from locomotion and speaking (such as in public speaking tasks). In a preliminary study with 40 adolescents with and without psychological problems, the task was shown to elicit significant increases in arousal, to allow reliable ratings of parent-adolescent secure-base interaction, and to yield meaningful differences between clinical and nonclinical adolescents (Willemen, Goossens, Koot, & Schuengel, 2008).…”