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Biological Sensitivity to Context: The Interactive Effects of Stress Reactivity and Family Adversity on Socioemotional Behavior and School Readiness
Author(s) -
Obradović Jelena,
Bush Nicole R.,
Stamperdahl Juliet,
Adler Nancy E.,
Boyce W. Thomas
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01394.x
Subject(s) - socioemotional selectivity theory , psychology , reactivity (psychology) , developmental psychology , prosocial behavior , context (archaeology) , cognition , vagal tone , stressor , clinical psychology , neuroscience , medicine , paleontology , heart rate , heart rate variability , alternative medicine , radiology , pathology , blood pressure , biology
This study examined the direct and interactive effects of stress reactivity and family adversity on socioemotional and cognitive development in three hundred and thirty‐eight 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children. Neurobiological stress reactivity was measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and salivary cortisol responses to social, cognitive, sensory, and emotional challenges. Adaptation was assessed using child, parent, and teacher reports of externalizing symptoms, prosocial behaviors, school engagement, and academic competence. Results revealed significant interactions between reactivity and adversity. High stress reactivity was associated with more maladaptive outcomes in the context of high adversity but with better adaption in the context of low adversity. The findings corroborate a reconceptualization of stress reactivity as biological sensitivity to context by showing that high reactivity can both hinder and promote adaptive functioning.