Anxious parents show higher physiological synchrony with their infants

Article

Smith, C. G., Jones, E. J. H., Charman, T., Clackson, K., Mirza, F. U. and Wass, S. V. 2022. Anxious parents show higher physiological synchrony with their infants. Psychological Medicine. 52 (14), p. 3040–3050. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720005085
AuthorsSmith, C. G., Jones, E. J. H., Charman, T., Clackson, K., Mirza, F. U. and Wass, S. V.
Abstract

Background
Interpersonal processes influence our physiological states and associated affect. Physiological arousal dysregulation, a core feature of anxiety disorders, has been identified in children of parents with elevated anxiety. However, little is understood about how parent–infant interpersonal regulatory processes differ when the dyad includes a more anxious parent.

Methods
We investigated moment-to-moment fluctuations in arousal within parent-infant dyads using miniaturised microphones and autonomic monitors. We continually recorded arousal and vocalisations in infants and parents in naturalistic home settings across day-long data segments.

Results
Our results indicated that physiological synchrony across the day was stronger in dyads including more rather than less anxious mothers. Across the whole recording epoch, less anxious mothers showed responsivity that was limited to ‘peak’ moments in their child's arousal. In contrast, more anxious mothers showed greater reactivity to small-scale fluctuations. Less anxious mothers also showed behaviours akin to ‘stress buffering’ – downregulating their arousal when the overall arousal level of the dyad was high. These behaviours were absent in more anxious mothers.

Conclusion
Our findings have implications for understanding the differential processes of physiological co-regulation in partnerships where a partner is anxious, and for the use of this understanding in informing intervention strategies for dyads needing support for elevated levels of anxiety.

JournalPsychological Medicine
Journal citation52 (14), p. 3040–3050
ISSN0033-2917
1469-8978
Year2022
PublisherCambridge University Press
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Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720005085
Publication dates
Online10 Feb 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited21 May 2025
Copyright holder© 2021 The Authors
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Powell, G., Wass, S. V., Erichsen, J. T. and Leekam, S. R. 2016. First evidence of the feasibility of gaze-contingent attention training for school children with autism . Autism. 20 (8), pp. 927-937. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315617880
Applying gaze-contingent training within community settings to infants from diverse SES backgrounds
Ballieux, H., Wass, S., Tomalski, P., Kushnerenko, E., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Johnson, M. H. and Moore, D. 2016. Applying gaze-contingent training within community settings to infants from diverse SES backgrounds. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. 43, pp. 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2015.12.005
Developmental Psychology: How Social Context Influences Infants’ Attention
Wass, S. and Leong, Victoria 2016. Developmental Psychology: How Social Context Influences Infants’ Attention. Current Biology. 26 (9), pp. R357-R359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.051
Infant Attention Is Dynamically Modulated With Changing Arousal Levels
de Barbaro, Kaya, Clackson, Kaili and Wass, S. 2016. Infant Attention Is Dynamically Modulated With Changing Arousal Levels. Child Development. 88 (2), pp. 629-639. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12689