Adversity is Linked with Decreased Parent-Child Behavioral and Neural Synchrony

Parent-child synchrony—parent-child interaction patterns characterized by contingent social responding, mutual responsivity, and co-regulation—has been robustly associated with adaptive child outcomes. Synchrony has investigated in both behavioral biological frameworks. While it demonstrated that adversity can influence parent-child synchrony, the neural mechanisms which this disruption occurs are understudied. The current study examined association between adversity, synchrony across lateral prefrontal cortical regions using functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning during a task included mild stress induction followed recovery period. Participants 115 children (ages 4-5) their primary caregivers. was quantified as amount time dyad synchronous (e.g., reciprocal communication, coordinated behaviors) task. hemodynamic concordance parent PFC activation. Adversity two, empirically-derived domains: sociodemographic risk family income) familial household chaos). Adversity, domains, decreased conditions. Sociodemographic context of experimentally-induced stress. These findings link to synchrony.