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Nonlinear Moderation Effect of Vagal Regulation on the Link between Childhood Trauma and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

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A Correction to this article was published on 13 December 2023

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Abstract

Childhood trauma is a leading early adverse environment that increases psychopathological symptoms. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) suppression to challenges as a marker of self-regulation is found to linearly moderate the link between early adverse experiences and psychopathological symptoms, but yielding mixed findings. The present study examined the relationships between childhood trauma and internalizing and externalizing symptoms via a 1.5-year longitudinal design and the quadratic moderation effect of RSA suppression on these relationships among adolescents. In November 2021 (T1), the final sample of 275 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.94, SDage = 0.79; 49.82% females) completed the short form of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report-2001 and underwent a speech task during which their baseline RSA and stress exposure RSA were obtained. In June 2023 (T2), 251 adolescents completed the Achenbach Youth Self-Report-2001. Results showed that childhood trauma at T1 was positively correlated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T1 and T2. RSA suppression to stress quadratically moderated these associations, such that adolescents with moderate rather than higher or lower RSA suppression had the least internalizing and externalizing symptoms at T1 and T2 when exposed to childhood trauma. The findings suggest that moderate RSA suppression to stress as a marker of optimal vagal regulation buffers the risk of developmental psychopathology from early adverse experiences.

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Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32171066) awarded to Wei Lü.

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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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  1. School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Shaanxi Key Research Center for Children Mental and Behavior Health, Xi’an, China

    Yefei Huang & Wei Lü

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  1. Yefei Huang
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  2. Wei Lü
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H.Y. participated in the study design, conducted the statistical analysis, and drafted the article; L.W. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, reviewed and provided the guidance of revision of the article. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wei Lü.

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Huang, Y., Lü, W. Nonlinear Moderation Effect of Vagal Regulation on the Link between Childhood Trauma and Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms. J. Youth Adolescence 53, 217–228 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01860-0

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