Test of Effortful Control as a Moderator of the Relation between RSA & Temperament

Abstract

Prior research examining associations between negative affect (NA) in childhood and respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) has found mixed results. One possible explanation for inconsistent findings may be that there are moderating factors. One potential moderating factor is effortful control, such that the effect of RSA on negative affect depends on a child’s level of effortful control. Another possible explanation is that there may be an understudied quadratic effect of RSA. We hypothesize that 1) at low levels of effortful control there will be a quadratic relation between NA (fear and frustration) and baseline RSA, but at high levels there will be no relation; and 2) these patterns of relations will be the same for RSA reactivity (RSA task – RSA baseline). The present study utilized a sample of 306 children (Mage = 3.05, SDage = 0.07). Results did not support curvilinear or interactive effects in the prediction of frustration, however, there was a significant, quadratic interactive effect when using baseline RSA as a predictor of fear. The results suggest the association of RSA with children’s negative affect is complex and might depend on the specific emotion.