title: Mother-infant dyadic reparation and individual differences in vagal tone affect 4-month-old infants' social stress regulation.
abstract: Infants' social stress regulation (i.e., reactivity and recovery) might be affected by mother-infant dyadic functioning and infants' vagal tone (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia, RSA). This study investigated the role of a specific dyadic functioning feature (i.e., dyadic reparation) and individual differences in vagal tone regulation (i.e., RSA suppression vs. non-suppression) in relation to social stress regulation in 4-month-old infants. A total of 65 mother-infant dyads participated in the face-to-face still-face paradigm. Social stress reactivity and recovery were measured as negative emotionality during Still-Face and Reunion episodes, respectively. RSA was measured during Play, Still-Face, and Reunion episodes. Suppressors had higher dyadic reparation during Play and higher recovery from social stress compared with non-suppressors. Higher reparation during Play was associated with lower reactivity and higher recovery only for suppressors. Findings suggest a joint role of infants' RSA individual differences and dyadic reparation in affecting infants' social stress regulation at 4 months of age.
authors.affiliation: 0-3 Center for the Study of Social Emotional Development of at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Provenzi
authors.affiliation: 0-3 Center for the Study of Social Emotional Development of at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casini
authors.affiliation: 0-3 Center for the Study of Social Emotional Development of at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: de Simone
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Laboratory, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reni
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borgatti
authors.affiliation: 0-3 Center for the Study of Social Emotional Development of at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842 Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy. Electronic address: rosario.montirosso@bp.lnf.it.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Montirosso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014630:Vagus Nerve
keywords: Dyadic reparation; Mother-infant interaction; Respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Social stress; Still-Face paradigm; Vagal tone suppression