Family stress moderates relations between physiological and behavioral synchrony and child self-regulation in mother-preschooler dyads

• Published in: Developmental psychobiology Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 83 - 97
• Main Authors: Suveg, Cynthia, Shaffer, Anne, Davis, Molly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2016
• Subjects: Adult; Child, Preschool; Family Relations - psychology; Female; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Male; Mother-Child Relations - psychology; parent-child interaction; preschool; risk; Self-Control; self-regulation; Stress, Psychological - psychology; synchrony; Young Adult; parent-child interaction; self-regulation; preschool; risk; synchrony
• ISSN: 0012-1630; 1098-2302
• DOI: 10.1002/dev.21358

ABSTRACT From a bio‐behavioral framework, the relations between physiological synchrony, positive behavioral synchrony, and child self‐regulation under varying levels of risk were examined among 93 mother‐ (M age = 30.44 years, SD = 5.98 years) preschooler (M age = 3.47 years, SD =.52 years, 58.70% male) dyads. Physiological synchrony was examined using interbeat interval (IBI) data and measures of positive behavioral synchrony and self‐regulation were based on observations of a mother–child interaction task. Results supported the phenomenon of physiological synchrony among mother–preschooler dyads during an interaction, but not a baseline, task. Moderation analyses indicated that under conditions of high family risk, positive behavioral synchrony and child self‐regulation were greater when physiological synchrony was low. Positive behavioral synchrony was positively associated with child self‐regulation, regardless of risk status. The results document physiological synchrony among mothers and their preschool‐aged children and the complex ways that physiological attunement relates to important developmental processes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58:83–97, 2016.