| Description |
College students are at elevated risk for depression due to the unique stressors of this developmental stage. Among potential biomarkers, there has been a strong interest in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic influences on cardiac activity. Research suggests resting RSA may mark individual differences in selfregulation abilities and higher levels of resting RSA indicate increased physiological flexibility and self-regulation capacity. However, the precise relation between RSA and depression is inconsistent in the adult literature. We investigated the association between resting RSA and depressive symptoms across approximately 1 year in an emerging adult sample (n = 185). We hypothesized that lower resting RSA at year one (Y1) would predict higher depressive symptoms at Y2. Results indicate Y1 resting RSA is indeed associated with Y2 depressive symptoms in emerging adults, even after controlling for several confounding variables. Findings provide support for RSA as a promising biomarker for understanding and predicting psychopathology, specifically depressive symptoms. |
