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Interpretation biases and depressive symptoms among anxiety‐disordered children: The role of individual differences in respiratory sinus arrhythmia
Author(s) -
Trent Erika S.,
Viana Andres G.,
Raines Elizabeth M.,
Conroy Haley E.,
Storch Eric A.,
Zvolensky Michael J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.22002
Subject(s) - vagal tone , moderation , psychology , anxiety , depression (economics) , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , depressive symptoms , population , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , heart rate , heart rate variability , blood pressure , psychotherapist , social psychology , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics
Individual differences in interpretation biases—the tendency to interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening—partially explain the presence of comorbid depressive symptoms among anxious youth. Increasing efforts have examined physiological processes that influence the association between interpretation biases and depressive symptoms in this population, and potential gender differences in this relationship. This study examined the moderating role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) suppression (i.e., decrease from baseline)—an index of parasympathetic nervous system reactivity—in the association between interpretation biases and depressive symptoms in clinically anxious youth. One‐hundred‐and‐five clinically anxious children ( M age = 10.09 years, SD = 1.22; 56.7% female; 61.9% racial/ethnic minority) completed measures of self‐reported and behaviorally indexed interpretation biases, reported anxiety/depression symptom severity, and participated in a speech task. RSA suppression during the task moderated the association between interpretation biases and depressive symptom severity in the total sample. Separate exploratory moderation analyses were conducted among girls and boys. Among girls, RSA suppression moderated the association between behaviorally indexed interpretation biases and depressive symptoms, and marginally moderated ( p = .067) the association between self‐reported interpretation biases and depressive symptoms. Among boys, RSA suppression was not a significant moderator. These findings may help identify clinically anxious youth most at‐risk for comorbid depressive symptoms.