The physiological regulation of emotion during social interactions: Vagal flexibility moderates the effects of a military parenting intervention on father involvement in a randomized trial

Zhang, N., Hoch, J., & Gewirtz, A. H. (2020). The physiological regulation of emotion during social interactions: Vagal flexibility moderates the effects of a military parenting intervention on father involvement in a randomized trial. Prevention Science, 21, 691-701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01122-6

This randomized controlled study examined whether vagal flexibility (i.e., a physiological indicator of emotion regulation) explained why some fathers demonstrated more improvements in their parenting practices following participation in the After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) program. 145 fathers in the National Guard/Reserve were randomized into the ADAPT program (n = 87) or a control group (n = 58). Vagal flexibility was measured at baseline by examining how physiologically aroused fathers tended to be at rest (i.e., reading to their child) compared to their arousal in a stressful parenting situation (i.e., engaging in a problem-solving task with their child). Fathers’ parenting practices (i.e., problem-solving, skill encouragement, monitoring, positive involvement, and discipline) were coded at baseline and at a one-year follow-up. Fathers enrolled in the ADAPT program with higher vagal flexibility generally exhibited more improvements in their parenting practices compared to fathers with lower vagal flexibility.

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