Skin conductance level reactivity as a moderator of the link between parent depressive symptoms and psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults

Abstract

Although research indicates that psychophysiological factors influence youths’ susceptibility to the negative effects of parent depression in childhood and adolescence, little research has examined whether psychophysiology plays this role in emerging adulthood. To address this question, this study examined links between parent self-reported depressive symptoms and emerging adults’ (EAs’) self-reported psychosocial adjustment difficulties (i.e., symptoms of depression, disengagement responses to interpersonal stress, and adult attachment avoidance and anxiety), as moderated by EAs’ skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) to an interpersonal laboratory stressor. Tests were also conducted to determine whether the interactive contributions of parent depressive symptoms and SCLR were consistent with diathesis–stress or differential susceptibility models. The results revealed that parent depressive symptoms contributed to heightened adjustment difficulties only among EAs who exhibited high SCLR, and these interactions were most consistent with a diathesis–stress model. This study provides novel evidence that autonomic stress reactivity modulates the impact of parent depressive symptoms on EAs’ well-being.