Parenting and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence: The moderating role of vagal tone

Cai, Tianying

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/104869 Copy

Description

Title

Parenting and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence: The moderating role of vagal tone

Author(s)

Cai, Tianying

Issue Date

2019-04-19

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Tu, Kelly M.

Committee Member(s)

Larson, Reed W.

Department of Study

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Discipline

Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Parental monitoring knowledge
• Psychological control
• Early adolescence
• Internalizing symptoms
• Vagal tone

Abstract

The present study investigated baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as moderator of the prospective association between parenting and internalizing symptoms among a group of typically developing adolescents across the transition to middle school. At Time 1 (5th grade; spring before middle school transition), participants included 100 young adolescents (53% boys; 57% European American; Mage = 11.05 years, SD = .33) and their mothers (Mage = 41.25 years, SD = 6.22; 96.0% biological). At Time 2 (6th grade; fall after middle school transition), 89 adolescents and their mothers returned. To address study aims, a multi-informant, multi-method, longitudinal design was used. At Time 1, mothers reported on monitoring knowledge and psychological control, and adolescents’ baseline RSA was measured during a resting baseline period. At Times 1 and 2, adolescents reported on three indices of internalizing symptoms (depressive symptoms, social anxiety, loneliness and social dissatisfaction). Results from multiple regression analyses revealed that lower levels of maternal monitoring knowledge and higher levels of psychological control were predictive of higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness. Further, among boys, lower baseline RSA exacerbated the link between maternal psychological control and higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness, whereas higher baseline RSA attenuated the effect. Overall, findings were consistent with prior evidence of lower baseline RSA as a risk factor and higher baseline RSA as a protective factor against psychopathology, contributing the growing literature on the effects of the interplay between parenting and youth ANS functioning on youth mental health.

Graduation Semester

2019-05

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/104869

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2019 Tianying Cai

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