title: Trajectories of children's internalizing symptoms: the role of maternal internalizing symptoms, respiratory sinus arrhythmia and child sex.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We assessed trajectories of children's internalizing symptoms as predicted by interactions among maternal internalizing symptoms, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and child sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of children (n = 251) participated during three study waves. Children's mean ages were 8.23 years (SD = 0.72) at T1, 9.31 years (SD = 0.79) at T2 and 10.28 years (SD = 0.99) at T3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple-indicator multilevel latent growth analyses showed maternal internalizing symptoms interacted with child RSA and sex to predict children's internalizing symptoms. Girls with higher RSA whose mothers had lower levels of internalizing symptoms showed the steepest decline in internalizing symptoms across time. Girls with lower RSA whose mothers had higher levels of internalizing symptoms showed the highest levels of internalizing symptoms at T3, whereas boys with higher RSA whose mothers had higher levels of internalizing symptoms showed the highest levels of internalizing symptoms at T3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings build on this scant literature and support the importance of individual differences in children's physiological regulation in the prediction of psychopathology otherwise associated with familial risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA. emily.wetter@va.gov
authors.forename: Emily K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Wetter
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Sheikh
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires