title: Parental drinking problems and children's adjustment: vagal regulation and emotional reactivity as pathways and moderators of risk.
abstract: Children's emotional regulation (as indexed by vagal suppression) and children's emotional reactivity during an argument were examined as moderators and mediators of parental problem drinking and children's adjustment in a sample of 6- to 12-year-olds. Cardiac vagal tone was assessed during both a baseline condition and exposure to an audiotaped argument. Vagal suppression was calculated by subtracting vagal tone during the baseline from that recorded during the argument, with a higher number representing increased suppression of vagal tone during the argument. Emotional reactivity was based on both observations of overt behaviors of children and their reported feelings during the argument. A higher level of vagal suppression was a protective factor against children's externalizing, internalizing, and social problems associated with exposure to parental problem drinking. Emotional reactivity was a vulnerability factor, and children's increased anger and fear, and to a lesser degree sadness, each moderated and exacerbated the effects of parental problem drinking on child outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, Alabama 36849, USA. elshemm@auburn.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Sheikh
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*