Parental Marital Conflict and Growth in Adolescents’ Externalizing Problems: the Role of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia

Abstract Previous studies have examined the moderating effect of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) on association between marital conflict and externalizing problems, however findings were inconsistent. One possible reason is that covariation internalizing problems in problems. Therefore, present study aimed to examine this issue. Participants 332 Chinese adolescents (54.5% boys) age from 13 15 years old. At T1, electrocardiogram monitoring was performed during resting state stressor tasks (a speech task a mental arithmetic task) obtain RSA data. The version Achenbach Youth Self-Report-2001 (YSR-2001) Children’s Perception Interparental Conflict scale used assess adolescents’ their perception conflict, respectively. Adolescents’ problem behaviors assessed again second third waves data collection, with 1-year lag among each wave. results revealed 3- interactions × reactivity sex significantly predicted trajectory when controlling for Specifically, girls greater suppression reported low stable however, boys same pattern associated slightly increased levels While, augmentation increase both high families over time. However, interaction effects not significant partial out highlight importance examining person environment development