High vagal tone and rapid extinction learning as potential transdiagnostic protective factors following childhood violence exposure.
Dev Psychobiol
; 63(6): e22176, 2021 09.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34423415
ABSTRACT
Childhood exposure to violence is strongly associated with psychopathology. High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is associated with lower levels of psychopathology in children exposed to violence. High RSA may help to protect against psychopathology by facilitating fear extinction learning, allowing more flexible autonomic responses to learned threat and safety cues. In this study, 165 youth (79 female, aged 9-17; 86 exposed to violence) completed assessments of violence exposure, RSA, and psychopathology, and a fear extinction learning task; 134 participants returned and completed psychopathology assessments 2 years later. Resting RSA moderated the longitudinal association of violence exposure with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and externalizing psychopathology, such that the association was weaker among youths with higher RSA. Higher skin conductance responses (SCR) during extinction learning to the threat cue (CS+) was associated with higher internalizing symptoms at follow-up and greater SCR to the safety cue (CS-) was associated with higher PTSD, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms, as well as the p-factor, controlling for baseline symptoms. Findings suggest that higher RSA may protect against emergence of psychopathology among children exposed to violence. Moreover, difficulty extinguishing learned threat responses and elevated autonomic responses to safety cues may be associated with risk for future psychopathology.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Arritmia Sinusal Respiratoria
/
Exposición a la Violencia
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Dev Psychobiol
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos