ORCID
0002-4655-7889
Date of Award
Summer 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
8-15-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Psychology
Program
Clinical Psychology
First Advisor
Betty Lin
Committee Members
Elana Gordis, Julian Thayer
Keywords
HF-HRV, psychophysiology, sensitivity, infant temperament
Subject Categories
Child Psychology | Clinical Psychology | Developmental Psychology
Abstract
Grounded in developmental psychobiology, this research aimed to elucidate how birthing people’s physiological regulation during pregnancy may shape the early emergence of socioemotional development in early infancy. The present study examined how birthing people’s prenatal parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity, specifically baseline high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and HF-HRV withdrawal, and postnatal sensitivity contributes to infant temperamental reactivity at six months of age. The study aimed to clarify early developmental mechanisms through which birthing people’s PNS shapes emerging infant temperament. Data were drawn from a longitudinal cohort of Black and African American birthing people, a population underrepresented in psychophysiological research, and their infants. Baseline HF-HRV and HF-HRV withdrawal were analyzed separately to distinguish their unique roles. Birthing people’s HF-HRV was measured prenatally, and sensitivity was assessed during an observed free play task at six months postpartum. Birthing people reported on their infants temperamental surgency and negativity using the IBQ-R-SF. Results revealed that less HF-HRV withdrawal or blunting was significantly associated with higher levels of infant temperamental surgency at six months. These findings elucidate the complex interplay between prenatal PNS functioning and postnatal caregiving in shaping early affective development and point to promising avenues for supporting birthing people and infant wellbeing during a critical window of development.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Flagg, Amanda M., "Contributions of Birthing People’s Prenatal Parasympathetic Nervous System Functioning and Postnatal Sensitivity on Infant Temperament" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 284.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/284