Adolescent Peer Relationship Difficulties & Adult Vagal Tone

Social Functioning and Physical Health

• Positive social relationships in adolescence may predict health in adulthood.
• Social Baseline Theory: Examines how social connections affect our physiology.
• "Under the skin": Social experiences can have lasting impacts on physical health.
• Mechanism: Effect on parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate stress responses.
• Vagal tone: Downregulation system for stress responses.

Vagal Tone

• Measured as RSA (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) at rest.
• Dysfunction leads to low levels of readiness to threat (fight or flight mode).
• Low vagal tone is associated with negative health outcomes.

Why Adolescence Matters

• Social Baseline Theory: Adolescence is a period of heightened sensitivity to stress.
• Factors: Hormone changes, neural development, social stressors, cognitive development.
• "Switch point": Body learns to respond to stress.
• Chronic stress can affect metabolism and anatomy.

Study Overview

• Longitudinal study: 15 years (ages 13 to 29).
• Direct relation: Lack of positive peer relations in mid-adolescence (ages 13-17) predicts lower vagal tone in adults (27-29).
• Indirect relation: Mediated by difficulty establishing successful peer and romantic relationships.

Method

• Participants: 141 participants (57 males, 84 females) at age 29.
• Demographics: 58% White, 30% African American
• Time 1: 7th and 8th grades
• Ages assessed ranged from 13.3 to 28.7
• Measures: friend reports, parent reports, romantic partner observations, self-reports.

Results and Discussion

• Absence of positive social relationships with peers at age 13 is related to lower vagal tone in adulthood (age 29).
• Early relationship experiences are critical for later physical health.
• Relationship difficulties create a lack of safety and security.
• "Relax" response is not fully activated, even under restful conditions.

Importance of Developmental Context

• The most important variable for predicting low vagal tone depends on what social context is most salient at each developmental stage:
  • Mid-adolescence: Status within broad peer group.
  • Early adulthood: Close friend competence.
  • Later adulthood: Warmth of long-term romantic pair bond.
• Conclusion: A developmental perspective is essential when evaluating the importance of each variable across the lifespan.