ABSTRACT

Children with histories of secure attachments during infancy are expected to develop healthier patterns of physiological activity at rest and in response to a stressor than children with insecure attachments. The present study examined longitudinal associations between infant attachment security and children’s respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at rest and in response to a frustration task at age 9. The study focused on a sample of children referred from Child Protective Services (N = 97). RSA reflects the regulation of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, is sensitive to environmental influences, and is associated with emotion regulation. Children with histories of secure attachments during infancy exhibited less RSA withdrawal during a frustration task than children with histories of insecure attachments. Attachment security was not significantly associated with baseline RSA. Results suggest that mitigating parasympathetic reactivity during frustrating situations may be one avenue by which infant attachment security promotes emotion regulation.

摘要

与具有不安全依恋的儿童相比，在婴儿期有安全依恋历史的儿童预计在休息时和对压力源的反应中会发展出更健康的生理活动模式。本研究检查了婴儿依恋安全与儿童呼吸性窦性心律失常 (RSA) 之间的纵向关联，以及对 9 岁时受挫任务的反应。该研究侧重于儿童保护服务 ( N= 97)。RSA反映了自主神经系统副交感神经分支的调节，对环境影响敏感，与情绪调节有关。与有不安全依恋历史的儿童相比，在婴儿期有安全依恋历史的儿童在受挫任务中表现出较少的 RSA 退缩。附件安全性与基线 RSA 没有显着关联。结果表明，在令人沮丧的情况下减轻副交感神经反应可能是婴儿依恋安全促进情绪调节的一种途径。