Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder

Baker, Jason K.; Fenning, Rachel M.; Erath, Stephen A.; Baucom, Brian R.; Messinger, Daniel S.; Moffitt, Jacquelyn; Kaeppler, Alexander; Bailey, Alyssa N.

doi:10.1177/1362361319848525

Cited by 16 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…For instance, parenting that promotes increased task engagement while providing effective behavioral contingencies may be particularly important for reducing comorbid behavior problems in children with ASD exhibiting low SNS arousal tendencies [Baker, Fenning, Erath, et al, ]. In contrast, reducing parental criticism and harsh discipline may be especially helpful for children with ASD with high SNS or PNS reactivity [Baker, Fenning, Howland, & Huynh, ; Baker et al, ]. Further exploration of the association between coregulatory parenting behaviors, children's psychophysiology, and behavioral outcomes is needed, and may serve to enhance development of tailored supports.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sympathetic‐Parasympathetic Interaction and Externalizing Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2019

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit significant difficulties with emotion regulation and reactivity, which may be linked to underlying psychophysiology. The present study examined associations between autonomic nervous system activity and individual differences in externalizing behavior problems in children with ASD. A multisystem approach was adopted to consider the interplay between markers of sympathetic (electrodermal reactivity—EDA‐R) and parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity—RSA‐R) in relation to behavioral challenges. Fifty‐two children with ASD ages 6–10 years contributed complete psychophysiological data. Measures of EDA‐R and RSA‐R (RSA withdrawal) were obtained in response to a laboratory challenge task and parents reported on child externalizing behavior problems using a standardized questionnaire and a structured clinical interview. An equifinality model was supported, with two distinct psychophysiological pathways linked to heightened externalizing behavior problems. Greater RSA‐R was associated with more externalizing problems in the context of higher levels of EDA‐R, and lower EDA‐R was associated with increased externalizing problems at lower levels of RSA‐R. Findings underscore the importance of considering the role of psychophysiology in the unfolding of comorbid externalizing problems in children with ASD. Potential implications for tailoring coregulatory supports are discussed. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1805–1816. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit elevated rates of challenging behavior. This study identified specific psychophysiological profiles (low sympathetic‐low parasympathetic reactivity, and high sympathetic‐high parasympathetic reactivity) that may place these children at greater risk for behavior problems. Findings have implications for better understanding behavioral challenges in children with ASD, and for tailoring supports to address underlying psychophysiology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sympathetic‐Parasympathetic Interaction and Externalizing Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

et al. 2019

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“…However, this is consistent with data from clinical samples, particularly those with externalizing problems, (Beauchaine, 2015), and aspects of emerging models in ASD (e.g., Condy et al, 2019; Patriquin et al, 2019). Moreover, interactions with other physiologic systems (e.g., sympathetic; Fenning et al, 2019) and environmental factors (e.g., parenting; Baker et al, 2020) may ultimately determine whether RSA‐R vulnerability eventuates in functional impairments such as externalizing problems. Further consideration of these multi‐system processes and additional child (e.g., temperament, executive functions) and environmental contributions will facilitate a more comprehensive characterization of emotion regulation in ASD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emerging evidence suggests each of these functions in ASD, with high RSA‐R indexing differential susceptibility to certain environmental and internal factors. For example, Baker et al (2020) found that higher RSA‐R in 6‐ to 10‐year‐old children with ASD predicted more externalizing problems in the context of high parental negativity, but fewer problems when parental negativity was low. Similarly, Fenning et al (2019) found that higher RSA‐R predicted externalizing problems differentially based upon children's sympathetic nervous system responding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concurrent direct assessment of RSA and emotion regulation is needed to understand the functional significance of RSA in children with ASD. Utilizing the Baker et al (2020) sample, we examined RSA‐B and RSA‐R in relation to emotion dysregulation observed during a challenge task from which RSA‐R was also derived. First, we attempted to replicate Fenning et al (2018) by testing whether ASD symptom level would emerge as the strongest correlate of dysregulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parasympathetic withdrawal indexes risk for emotion dysregulation in children with autism spectrum disorder

et al. 2022

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant difficulties with emotion regulation. Theory and empirical evidence suggest substantial biological contributions to regulatory challenges, which may be related to core ASD symptoms. Respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) is a measure of parasympathetic nervous system activity that serves as a putative biomarker for emotion regulation. Higher baseline RSA and more RSA reactivity (parasympathetic withdrawal; RSA-R) in response to challenge appear adaptive in non-clinical populations, but existing evidence for children with ASD remains inconclusive. The current study examined correlates of observed emotion dysregulation in 61 children with ASD between the ages of 6 and 10 years, including ASD symptom levels as well as both baseline RSA and concurrent RSA reactivity. Consistent with previous research, ASD symptom level was significantly correlated with observed dysregulation whereas additional factors such as child IQ were not. Baseline RSA was unrelated to observed dysregulation, but higher RSA reactivity predicted concurrent dysregulation above and beyond the contribution of child ASD symptoms. Findings contribute to an emerging understanding of dysregulation in these children, raise questions about the utility of traditional baseline RSA measures for this population, and clarify the functional significance of RSA reactivity as a risk factor for emotion dysregulation in children with ASD. Lay SummaryChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at high risk for emotion dysregulation. This study identifies core ASD symptom level as important to understanding regulatory challenges, and suggests that certain biological arousal processes (e.g., the "freeing" of regulatory control to meet a challenge) may operate in a different way for this population as compared to what is generally observed for most children with neurotypical development.

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“…Families were drawn from a larger study examining the interplay between parenting and child regulation in families of children with ASD (e.g., Baker et al, 2020). Of the 77 families enrolled in the larger study, 63 (82%) returned questionnaires measuring reactions and coping.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental coping as a buffer between child factors and emotion-related parenting in families of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Alostaz¹,

Baker²,

Fenning³

et al. 2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of stress related to their children’s symptoms and comorbid behavior problems. Adaptive parental coping in response to child-related stressors is proposed to serve a buffering function, and yet, little research has examined whether coping actually moderates associations between child factors and parent outcomes in this population. The few studies to do so have focused on parent well-being as the primary outcome and have not considered the degree to which child-related stressors may affect parenting and contribute to maladaptive transactional parent–child processes over time. The present study tested whether adaptive parental coping was associated with reduced associations between higher levels of child ASD symptoms and comorbid externalizing problems and poorer quality parent reactions to child negative emotions in 63 families of children with ASD. Parents reported on their children’s externalizing problems, their own coping behavior, and their reactions to their children’s negative emotions, and child ASD symptoms were measured through direct testing. Adaptive coping—primarily active planning—moderated the association between children’s behavior problems and supportive parent reactions such that parents of children with more externalizing problems reported less supportive reactions, but only when adaptive coping was low. Child ASD symptoms did not significantly relate to parent reactions, and coping did not moderate these associations. This cross-sectional study is the first to identify parental coping as a potential protective factor for parenting behavior in families of children with ASD and comorbid behavior problems. Implications for future longitudinal research are discussed.

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Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, parenting, and externalizing behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 16 publications

References 68 publications

Sympathetic‐Parasympathetic Interaction and Externalizing Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sympathetic‐Parasympathetic Interaction and Externalizing Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parasympathetic withdrawal indexes risk for emotion dysregulation in children with autism spectrum disorder

Parental coping as a buffer between child factors and emotion-related parenting in families of children with autism spectrum disorder.

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