Linking Parental Monitoring and Psychological Control with Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Moderating Role of Vagal Tone.

Linking Parental Monitoring and Psychological Control with Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adolescence: The Moderating Role of Vagal Tone. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020 Mar 13;: Authors: Cai T, Tu KM Abstract The present study investigated baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as moderator of the prospective association between parenting (i.e., monitoring knowledge, psychological control) and internalizing symptoms among typically developing adolescents across the transition to middle school. Gender differences in the aforementioned association were tested as an exploratory aim. At Time 1 (5th grade), participants included 100 young adolescents (53% boys; 57% European American; Mage = 11.05 years, SD = 0.33) and their mothers (Mage = 41.25 years, SD = 6.22; 96.0% biological). At Time 2 (6th grade), 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 higher levels of psychological control predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness over time. Further, am...
Source: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Abnorm Child Psychol Source Type: research