Implications of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) inertia for child psychopathology

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) inertia is the temporary dependency of RSA levels between consecutive epochs, which captures the epoch-to-epoch stickiness of RSA reactivity. Previous studies examining the developmental function of between-task RSA reactivity have yielded mixed findings and have often overlooked RSA reactivity within the task. The present study examined whether RSA inertia during a stress task was associated with subsequent changes in child psychopathology symptoms. To have a comprehensive understanding of the function of RSA reactivity, we tested whether RSA inertia interacted with between-task RSA reactivity to jointly predict changes in child psychopathology symptoms. Eighty-nine middle-to-high income Chinese parent-child dyads were recruited. Children ( M age = 8.77 years, SD = 1.80 years, 41 girls) participated in a 2-min resting phase and then a 4-min stress task (a public speaking task), during which RSA was continuously recorded in the lab. Parents ( M age = 39.27 years, SD = 3.53 years, 67 mothers) reported on children's psychopathology symptoms in the lab and again 9 months later. Children with heightened RSA inertia tended to exhibit increased externalizing symptoms 9 months later. Moreover, RSA inertia interacted with between-task RSA reactivity to predict subsequent changes in externalizing symptoms. Children with the combination of lower RSA inertia and larger between-task RSA decreases had the lowest externalizing symptoms, suggesting an adaptive RSA reactivity pattern. Heightened within-task RSA inertia as well as reduced between-task RSA reactivity may help to identify children at risk for subsequent psychopathology symptoms, aiding in early intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Autonomic nervous system · Developmental psychology · Heart rate · Psychopathology · Reactivity (psychology · Vagal tone · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology