Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul:129:67-75.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.04.008. Epub 2018 Apr 19.

Psychopathology, everyday behaviors, and autonomic activity in daily life: An ambulatory impedance cardiography study of depression, anxiety, and hypomanic traits

Sarah H Sperry  1 , Thomas R Kwapil  2 , Kari M Eddington  2 , Paul J Silvia  3
Affiliations

Psychopathology, everyday behaviors, and autonomic activity in daily life: An ambulatory impedance cardiography study of depression, anxiety, and hypomanic traits

Sarah H Sperry et al. Int J Psychophysiol. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Discrepancies regarding the link between autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and psychopathology may be due in part to inconsistent measurement of non-psychological factors, including eating, drinking, activity, posture, and interacting with others. Rather than sources of noise, behaviors like being active and being with others may be the behavioral pathways that connect psychopathology symptoms to autonomic activity. The present study examined whether behaviors mediate the association of depression, anxiety, and hypomanic traits with ANS by using experience sampling methodology and ambulatory impedance cardiography. Participants (n = 49) completed measures of affect and one day of experience sampling and ambulatory impedance cardiography. The association of hypomanic traits with heart rate variability and heart rate was mediated by physical activity, and social activity mediated the association of depressive symptoms and respiration. These results highlight the importance of considering the pathways between psychopathology and ANS and the mediating role that everyday behaviors play.

Keywords: Ambulatory assessment; Ambulatory psychophysiology; Experience sampling methodology; Heart rate variability; Impedance cardiography; PEP; RMSSD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mediation model for hypomanic personality, physical activity, and RMSSD. Note. The regression coefficients are standardized; 95% confidence intervals are in brackets.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mediation model for hypomanic personality, physical activity, and HR. Note. The regression coefficients are standardized; 95% confidence intervals are in brackets.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mediation model for depression, social activity, and respiration rate. Note. The regression coefficients are standardized; 95% confidence intervals are in brackets.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Antony MM, Bieling PJ, Cox BJ, Enns MW, Swinson RP, 1998. Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychol. Assess 10, 176.
    1. Beauchaine T, 2001. Vagal tone, development, and Gray’s motivational theory: Toward an integrated model of autonomic nervous system functioning in psychopathology. Dev. Psychopathol 13, 183–214. - PubMed
    1. Berntson GG, Lozano DL, Chen Y-J, Cacioppo JT, 2004. Where to Q in PEP. Psychophysiology 41, 333–337. 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2004.00156.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Burns JW, Friedman R, Katkin ES, 1992. Anger Expression, Hostility, Anxiety, and Patterns of Cardiac Reactivity to Stress. Behav. Med 18, 71–78. 10.1080/08964289.1992.9935174 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Butler EA, Wilhelm FH, Gross JJ, 2006. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, emotion, and emotion regulation during social interaction. Psychophysiology 43, 612–622. 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2006.00467.x - DOI - PubMed

Publication types