The Relation of Parental Emotion Regulation to Child Autism Spectrum Disorder Core Symptoms: The Moderating Role of Child Cardiac Vagal Activity.

Xiaoyi Hu,Qiandong Wang,Zhuo Rachel Han,Hui Wang,Li Yi,Yannan Hu,Shuyuan Feng

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02480

Xiaoyi Hu, Qiandong Wang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02480

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Abstract

This study investigated the role of parental emotion regulation (ER) on children’s core symptoms in families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in middle childhood; the study also explored whether children’s physiological ER functioning served as a risk or protective factor with respect to parental relationships. Thirty-one Chinese children with ASD (age 6–11) and their primary caregivers participated in this study. Parental ER and child ASD symptoms were collected via questionnaires from parents. Child cardiac vagal activity (derived from heart rate variability) was measured at rest and during a parent-child interaction task. Using moderation analyses, the results showed that parental ER was not directly associated with children’s core ASD symptoms; rather, it interacted significantly with children’s resting cardiac vagal activity, but not task-related changes of cardiac vagal activity, to exert an impact on children’s core ASD symptoms. Specifically, our findings suggested that parents’ difficulties with their own ER significantly impacted their children’s core ASD symptoms only for the children who showed blunted resting cardiac vagal activity. Implications for the future measurement of ER in the family context and future directions for intervention are discussed.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interest, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
Results demonstrated that none of the demographic characteristics and children’s cognitive abilities were significantly correlated with any study variables
In line with other studies (e.g., Staton et al, 2009; Saghir et al, 2017), we controlled the influences of participant demographics and children’s fullscale IQ in further analyses, as ASD children’s heart rate variability (HRV) and the severity of their ASD symptoms might be varied by these factors (e.g., Condy et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interest, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many individuals with ASD experience tremendous challenges in modulating their emotional responses and coping with depression, anxiety, aggression, tantrums, or self-injury (Weiss, 2014; Chandler et al, 2015; Mazefsky, 2015). These problems can significantly impact the development and quality of life for children with ASD, as well as the psychological wellbeing of their parents (Boonen et al, 2014; Ting and Weiss, 2017). Due to their children’s autistic symptom, parents of children with ASD could experience tremendous stress in parenting, giving prominence to the role of emotional regulation

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