A Systematic Review of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of the parasympathetic nervous system, has recently gained attention as a physiological component of regulatory processes, social connectedness, and health. Within the context of romantic relationships, studies have operationalized and conceptualized RSA in disparate ways, obscuring a clear pattern of findings. This systematic review synthesizes the rapidly developing literature and clarifies the role of RSA in romantic relationships. We evaluate support for three conceptual hypotheses: (1) resting baseline RSA is associated with better quality relationships; (2) phasic RSA is reflective of changes in threat and connection during couple interactions; and (3) physiological linkage in RSA between romantic partners relates to positive or negative relationship functioning depending on the nature of the linkage (e.g., in-phase vs. antiphase). We identified 26 empirical studies that tested associations between RSA and an index of romantic relationships (i.e., relationship satisfaction). Our findings show that higher RSA is not uniformly "good" for relationships. Higher resting baseline RSA was contemporaneously associated with better quality relationships, yet higher baseline RSA was also unexpectedly associated with relationship violence. Short-term decreases in RSA were found during relationship conflict, though the opposite-phasic increases in RSA during positive romantic partner interactions-was not found due to mixed empirical support. As expected, evidence for RSA linkage was found, though the connection between linkage and relationship functioning depends on the context in which it was measured. We discuss methodological limitations and directions for future research.

Embodying intimacy in everyday interaction: A biolinguistic study of long‐term partners in the Southeastern United States

“…Jocelyn and Tag's RSA values, in contrast, demonstrate what we call a “tug‐of‐war” linkage pattern of time offset synchrony within which one individual's physiological arousal changed and the other followed with a similar arousal or de‐arousal pattern (see Figure 2). Jocelyn and Tag here seem to demonstrate a pattern of lagged synchrony, which has not been correlated specifically to either positive or negative relational quality (Han et al., 2021). In contrast to their low relationship satisfaction scores, however, Jocelyn and Tag's linked RSA values do demonstrate a distinct pattern of anti‐phase coordination, which generally has been associated with positive relational quality (ibid.).…”

“…As described above, the current study focused specifically on investigating fluctuations in each partner's RSA, a reflection of activity in the parasympathetic arm of the autonomic nervous system (Cacioppo et al., 1994). RSA, in other words, is derived from HRV, but captures a component of the moment‐to‐moment regulation of arousal that serves as a particularly useful index of availability for affiliation and social intimacy (Cacioppo et al., 1994; Cribbit, 2013; DeCaro, 2016; Gates et al., 2015; Han et al., 2021; Porges, 2011).…”

“…Increased parasympathetic activity as measured by greater RSA, in other words, is indicative of de‐arousal and provides psychophysiological support for positive, affiliative social engagement (Cacioppo et al., 1994; DeCaro, 2016; Porges, 2011). High RSA, accordingly, has come to be seen as an index of availability for intimacy (Cacioppo et al., 1994; Cribbet, 2013; Gates et al., 2015; Han et al., 2021; Porges, 2011).…”

Increased cardiac vagal tone in childhood-only, adolescent-only, and persistently antisocial teenagers: the mediating role of low heart rate

“…Resting vagal tone (as measured by RSA) showed a negative association (d = −0.16, p = 0.20, k = 21), while vagal tone as measured by RMSSD (root mean square of successive differences) during task performance indicated a positive relationship, indicating increased vagal tone being associated with increased antisocial behavior (d = 0.36, p = 0.331, k = 18; de Looff et al, 2022), with increased vagal tone additionally being argued to be the most reliable autonomic correlate of psychopathy. Similarly, a systematic review of violence in romantic relationships concluded that high vagal tone was associated with increased relationship violence (Han, Baucom, Timmons, & Margolin, 2021). Overall, the main conclusion drawn from the extant literature to date is that findings on vagal tone and antisocial behavior are mixed (Glenn & McCauley, 2019;Zhang & Gao, 2015).…”

Arritmia sinusal: Caso clínico

“…156 -172. noviembre 2023 www.alfapublicaciones.com permanente y controlar el ritmo o de la selección de dispositivos después de la ablación del nódulo aurículo ventricular Price C (2016). La arritmia sinusal respiratoria ayudara a los pacientes a brindar una regulación emocional en personas que tienen trastorno por consumo de sustancias, es una medida importante de los mecanismos subyacentes para los estudios de tratamiento del trastorno por consumo de sustancias, variación de la frecuencia cardíaca, control vagal, control vagal cardíaco, psicofisiológica, intervención, tratamiento, mente-cuerpo, salud mental, dependencia química y regulación emocional Han C et al (2021).…”