Study links child behavior stress and lower self-regulation in parents

Any parent will tell you that raising a child isn't easy. While the experience can be filled with joy and love and fulfillment, emotional, financial, and marital stress will present challenges to any family.

This can be especially true for parents of children with behavioral issues. A study by Concordia researchers found that these stressors are associated with lower capacity for self-regulation in parents, and that fathers are particularly vulnerable when marital tension is also present.

The study, published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology, examined 80 cohabitating heterosexual couples with preschool-aged children. In a lab session, the parents were fitted with electrocardiogram monitors (ECGs) that recorded their heart activity. Over the course of the session, they completed a checklist that assessed their child's behavioral problems and discussed the challenges their child's behavior presented to their marriage.

The parents were also tasked with keeping a marriage diary and recording negative marital interactions over a six-day period.

The researchers paid particular attention to the effect of children's behaviors and marital stressors on high-frequency heart rate variability (HRV) - very small fluctuations in the intervals between heartbeats.

Contrary to popular belief, these small fluctuations are desirable, as they indicate that the body is ready to react quickly in response to challenges. High frequency heart rate variability is influenced by the parasympathetic nervous system, the body's "rest and digest system," promoting calmness and recovery. It acts as a counterbalance to the sympathetic nervous system's "fight or flight" response, activated in response to stress.

Higher heart rate variability indicates that the individual is better able to self-regulate to respond adaptively to stressors. It has been associated with several beneficial outcomes, such as lower depression, better coping with stress, better self-control, and less negative interaction cycles with children."

Sasha MacNeil, Study Lead Author and Postdoctoral Fellow, McGill University

Behavior is a whole family issue

The researchers found that parents whose children exhibited more difficult behavior, such as aggression, defiance, or hyperactivity, tended to have lower HRV. This suggests they could have a harder time staying calm and responding adaptively under stress.

The link between child behavioral problems and lower heart rate variability was stronger when marital stress was also present. Fathers were especially sensitive to this effect. When their partners reported higher levels of marital stress, HRV decreases in fathers were exacerbated.

"For fathers, this means that having a child with more behavioral problems and a partner who is reporting more stress in the relationship is associated with worse self-regulation," MacNeil says. "Whereas with mothers, heart rate variability was associated with their children's behavioral problems, but that association was not amplified by marital stress.

"These results show the importance of considering the whole family dynamic when supporting parents, and not just the relationship with the child," MacNeil concludes. "It is important to consider what we can do to support parents in their interactions with each other in this critical time.

"This is especially pertinent for fathers, who may have been socialized to have fewer sources of support outside the relationship that they could turn to for help with self-regulation."