Getting Under the Skin: Long-Term Links of Adolescent Peer Relationship Difficulties to Adult Vagal Tone - Notes

Getting Under the Skin: Long-Term Links of Adolescent Peer Relationship Difficulties to Adult Vagal Tone

• Study by Allen, Loeb, Davis, Costello, & Uchino (2022).

Social Functioning and Physical Health

• Positive social relationships in adolescence may predict health in adulthood.
• Social baseline theory.
• "Under the skin."
• Mechanism: Effect on the parasympathetic nervous system.
  • This system helps to downregulate stress responses in situations perceived as dangerous.
  • Downregulation system is referred to as vagal tone.

Vagal Tone

• Measured as RSA (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) when at rest.
• Dysfunction in this system creates low levels of readiness to threat (fight or flight preparation mode).
• Low levels of vagal tone related to many negative health outcomes.

Why Adolescence?

• Social baseline theory.
• Adolescence is a unique developmental period for sensitivity to stress.
  • Hormone changes, neural development, social stressors, cognitive development.
• It is a "switch point" for the body to learn how to respond to stress.
• Chronic stress can affect metabolism and anatomical structures.

This Study

• 15-year longitudinal study (age 13 to 29 years).
• Direct relation: Lack of positive peer relations in mid-adolescence (ages 13-17 years) and lower quality friendships (ages 23-26 years) predicts low resting vagal tone in adults (27-29 years).
• Indirect relations: Mediated by difficulty establishing successful peer and romantic relationships.

Method

• Participants:
  • 141 (57 males, 84 females) at age 29.
  • 58% White, 30% African American.
• Time 1: 7th and 8th grades.
• Ages assessed: 13.3, 14.2, 15.1, 16.3, 18.3, 19.6, 23.7, 24.6, 25.6, 26.6, 27.4, and 28.7.
• Measures:
  • Used friend reports, parent report, romantic partner observations, self-report.

Results and Discussion

• As early as age 13 years, an absence of positive social relationships with peers is related to lower vagal tone across adulthood (age 29).
• Highlights the importance of early relationship experiences for later physical health.
• Why?
  • Relationship difficulties create an absence of safety and security.
  • The "relax" response is never fully activated, even under restful conditions.

Importance of Developmental Context

• The variable that mattered most in prediction to low vagal tone was the type of social context that was the most developmentally salient at the stage.
  • Mid-adolescence: Status within the broad peer group.
  • Early adulthood: Close friend competence.
  • Later adulthood: Warmth of long-term romantic pair bond.
• Conclusion: Must use a developmental lens when considering the importance of each variable across the lifespan.