A dynamic developmental systems approach to emotional self-regulation reveals effects of preterm birth

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Chua, Yu Wei and Jiménez Sánchez, Lorena and Ginnell, Lorna and Ledsham, Victoria and O’Carroll, Sinéad and Hall, Jill and Cox, Ralf F. A. and Boardman, James P. and Fletcher-Watson, Sue and Delafield-Butt, Jonathan (2023) A dynamic developmental systems approach to emotional self-regulation reveals effects of preterm birth. Other. PsyArXiv. (https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/xwvg2)

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Abstract

Emotional self-regulation involves different systems (such as motor, attentional and cognitive) interacting in time to influence emotional behaviour and physiology. We investigated differences in emotional self-regulation during the still-face paradigm in 111 9-month-old infants (61 term; 50 preterm, <33 weeks of gestation), in the amount of emotional self-regulatory behaviours, as well as the micro-level (obtained using recurrence quantification analysis) and macro-level behavioural dynamics (differences under repeated stress). Preterm birth was associated with fewer repetitive movements, and lower gestational age increased this effect. Unlike that of term-born infants, the behaviour of preterm-born infants changed under repeated stress, leading to fewer object-oriented attentional distraction strategies, fewer repetitive movements, and greater oral-tactile self-comforting strategies. No differences in micro-level behavioural dynamics, or socially-oriented regulatory behaviours were found. Prematurity results in greater regulatory “brakes” on emotional expression with repetitive movements, and emotional self-regulatory capacities may be more vulnerable to the nature of environmental stress.

ORCID iDs

Chua, Yu Wei, Jiménez Sánchez, Lorena, Ginnell, Lorna, Ledsham, Victoria, O’Carroll, Sinéad, Hall, Jill, Cox, Ralf F. A., Boardman, James P., Fletcher-Watson, Sue and Delafield-Butt, Jonathan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8881-8821;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)