Interparental aggression and parent–adolescent salivary alpha amylase symmetry

Abstract

The present study examined salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a putative marker of adrenergic activity, in family members engaging in family conflict discussions. We examined symmetry among family members' sAA levels at baseline and in response to a conflict discussion. The relation between a history of interparental aggression on parent-adolescent sAA symmetry also was examined. Participants were 62 families with a mother, father, and biological child age 13-18 (n = 29 girls). After engaging in a relaxation procedure, families participated in a 15-minute triadic family conflict discussion. Participants provided saliva samples at post-relaxation/pre-discussion, immediately post-discussion, and at 10 and 20 min post-discussion. Participants also reported on interparental physical aggression during the previous year. Across the sample we found evidence of symmetry between mothers' and adolescents' sAA levels at baseline and around the discussion. Interparental aggression was associated with lower sAA levels among fathers. Interparental aggression also affected patterns of parent-child sAA response symmetry such that families reporting interparental aggression exhibited greater father-adolescent sAA symmetry than did those with no reports of interparental aggression. Among families with no interparental aggression history, we found consistent mother-adolescent symmetry. These differences suggest different patterns of parent-adolescent physiological attunement among families with interparental aggression.

Adolescents' Cortisol Reactivity and Subjective Distress in Response to Family Conflict: The Moderating Role of Internalizing Symptoms

“…In addition, measuring cortisol over several days would provide an assessment of intra-individual differences in situations of high versus low interpersonal stress. Other clinically relevant future research suggested here includes whether interventions would lead to increased HPA reactivity in adolescents after internalizing symptoms lessen [37], and whether, by incorporating observational measures, we would find concordance between behavioral measures of stress, self-reported stress, and systems of physiological stress [38, 39]. …”

Wives' and Husbands' Cortisol Reactivity to Proximal and Distal Dimensions of Couple Conflict

“…These topics were presented to the family to guide the 15‐minute family discussion. Families were instructed to do the following: discuss the highest conflict topic first, ensure that each individual expressed his/her point of view, and discuss the problem as they normally would (See Gordis, Margolin, Spies, Susman, & Granger, , for further details). To directly assess the similarity of the conflict discussions to families' discussions outside the laboratory, we administered a questionnaire immediately after the discussion on which participants rated the following question: “How similar was this discussion to other family discussions you have had?” Based on a 0 (not at all similar) to 4 (very similar) response scale, husbands' mean rating was 2.7 and wives' was 2.9, indicating laboratory discussions moderately similar to at‐home conflicts.…”

Victimization and Biological Stress Responses in Urban Adolescents: Emotion Regulation as a Moderator

“…Gordis et al (2010) studied family members’ biological stress responses to a family conflict discussion task. Adolescents from families with a history of interparental aggression showed a reactive response to the task, indicated by elevations in sAA, compared with adolescents from families with no family history of interparental aggression.…”