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Internalizing Symptoms Moderate Pre- to Post-Treatment Associations between Externalizing Psychopathology and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia among Preschoolers with ADHD

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2016, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of parasympathetic-linked cardiac activity, is a reliable biomarker of emotion regulation capabilities, given appropriate stimulus conditions. Low resting RSA and excessive RSA reactivity (withdrawal) to emotion evocation are associated consistently with clinical levels of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Moreover, concurrently elevated levels of both internalizing and externalizing symptoms predict greater RSA reactivity to emotion evocation than either alone. No studies, however, have examined whether internalizing symptoms moderate longitudinal associations between RSA and externalizing psychopathology among preschoolers treated for behavior problems. I assessed resting RSA and RSA reactivity to emotion evocation, both before and after preschool children (n=99) with ADHD participated in the Incredible Years intervention, and compared their responding to that of age-matched, typically developing controls (n=33). Different associations between externalizing symptoms and RSA were observed depending on levels of internalizing symptoms. Children with high externalizing scores and low internalizing scores exhibited reductions in resting RSA from pre- to post-treatment, whereas children with high externalizing scores and high internalizing scores exhibited increases in resting RSA. Finally, high externalizing scores and high internalizing scores predicted greater RSA withdrawal to emotion evocation following the intervention. Implications for contemporary models of emotion regulation are discussed.
Theodore Beauchaine, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Michael Vasey, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Mary Fristad, Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member)
54 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bell, Z. E. (2016). Internalizing Symptoms Moderate Pre- to Post-Treatment Associations between Externalizing Psychopathology and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia among Preschoolers with ADHD [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471609741

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bell, Ziv. Internalizing Symptoms Moderate Pre- to Post-Treatment Associations between Externalizing Psychopathology and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia among Preschoolers with ADHD. 2016. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471609741.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bell, Ziv. "Internalizing Symptoms Moderate Pre- to Post-Treatment Associations between Externalizing Psychopathology and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia among Preschoolers with ADHD." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471609741

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)