Parent and child influences on adrenocortical synchrony during middle childhood

Parent-child synchrony, or coordination of behavioral, affective, and physiological responding during dyadic interactions, is associated with numerous positive child outcomes. Research considering how parental psychopathology influences synchrony, however, has failed to assess cooccurring parenting behaviors and styles that may influence synchrony. The current study assessed how parental history of depressive disorders, parenting styles and behaviors, and child behaviors during a dyadic interaction influence parent-child adrenocortical synchrony (PCAS). Participants included 40 parent-child dyads with children between 8-13-years-old (Mage = 10-years-old), with about half (47%) of parents meeting criteria for lifetime depressive disorders. Parent and child cortisol levels were measured before, during, and after children completed a challenging task with parents observing nearby. Dyads completed questionnaire measures of parenting styles, and video recordings were coded to assess parent and child behaviors during the task. Using multi-level regression analyses, we found that both parent- and child-report of greater parental firmness was associated with negative PCAS. Furthermore, fewer child help-seeking behaviors during the challenging task were associated with negative PCAS. Parental history of depressive disorders, however, did not influence PCAS. These results suggest that parent and child behaviors may influence the direction and magnitude of PCAS during middle childhood over and above parental psychopathology.