Effects of child protective services involvement on developmental trajectories of respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Abstract

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a widely used biomarker of physiological regulation, such that higher levels of resting RSA are positively associated with behavioral regulation and negatively associated with psychopathology. Resting RSA increases across early childhood and typically remains stable across middle childhood to late adolescence for typically developing children. However, it is unclear whether early adverse experiences, such as child maltreatment, are associated with atypical developmental trajectories of resting RSA. The present study examined experience of CPS involvement as a predictor of change in resting RSA from middle childhood to adolescence. Further, change in resting RSA was examined as a predictor of adolescent emotion reactivity and regulation. Data from a randomized clinical trial were utilized resulting in a sample of 183 children (118 of which had histories of early maltreatment risk) who had completed 9-, 13-, and 14-year follow-up assessments where resting RSA and self-reported emotional reactivity and emotion regulation were measured. Structural equation modeling was used to calculate change in RSA from ages 9 to 13 as a latent change variable. Results revealed that history of child maltreatment marginally predicted change in RSA from 9- to 13-years-old. Change in RSA predicted emotional reactivity at age 13 and RSA measured at age 9 predicted emotion regulation at age 14. Findings suggest that early adversity may play a role in the development of RSA and individual differences in developmental trajectories of RSA are predictive of adolescent emotional functioning.