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The interactive roles of narrative processing and emotion negativity/lability in relation to autonomic coordination.

Authors :
Song, Qingfang
Kamliot, Deborah Z.
Slonecker, Emily
Musser, Erica D.
Klemfuss, J. Zoe
Source :
Psychophysiology. Jul2024, Vol. 61 Issue 7, p1-16. 16p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Emotion regulation (ER) is a multifaceted construct, involving behavioral, cognitive, and physiological processes. Although autonomic coordination is theorized to play a crucial role in adaptive functioning, few studies have examined how different individual and contextual factors together may contribute to such coordination. This study examined the joint influences of narrative processing and emotional negativity/lability (N/L) traits on the coordination of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in a sample of 112 children, ages 8–12 years (Mage = 10.15 years, SD = 1.33). Children completed a stress‐induction task followed by an interview about the task. Children's trait‐level N/L was assessed via parent‐report on the Emotion Regulation Checklist. Narrative processing was assessed and coded based on children's narrative accounts of the event (i.e., causal coherence, overall emotional tone). Indexes of sympathetic (skin conductance response, SCR) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA) functioning were derived from physiological data obtained during the interview. Results revealed that children's trait‐level N/L and narrative processing of the stressful event interacted to predict the RSA–SCR correlation. Specifically, children who were high on either N/L or narrative causal coherence, but not both, demonstrated significant RSA–SCR correlation. Similarly, children with high N/L and negative‐to‐neutral narratives, as well as those with low N/L and neutral‐to‐positive narratives, exhibited significant RSA–SCR correlation. This work provides empirical evidence that narrative processing and trait N/L, together with RSA–SCR correlation, work in tandem to regulate emotional arousal. This study examined the interactive roles of individual and contextual factors in association with autonomic coordination in ER. Children's trait‐level negativity/lability and narrative processing (i.e., causal coherence, the overall emotional tone) interacted to predict sympathetic and parasympathetic coordination. Findings empirically support that narrative processing and trait N/L, together with RSA–SCR correlation, work in tandem to regulate emotional arousals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00485772
Volume :
61
Issue :
7
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Psychophysiology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
177649947
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14559