Synchrony of electrodermal activity in a socioeconomically and racially diverse sample of mothers and preschoolers.

Physiological synchrony occurs when caregivers and children match their biological states and provides important information about the caregiver-child relationship. Given the links between this relationship and child outcomes (e.g., Schneider, Atkinson, & Tardif, 2001), further study of synchrony is warranted. The present study examined physiological synchrony of electrodermal activity (EDA) between 56 mother-preschooler dyads. Mothers and children completed a baseline and an interactive task. Mothers self-reported psychopathology symptoms and childrens mother-rated internalizing and externalizing symptoms were examined as moderators of EDA synchrony. EDA synchrony was not found in the interactive task, but was significantly moderated by mothers psychopathology symptoms at baseline. Specifically, during the baseline task, mothers with higher symptoms showed significant negative synchrony, while synchrony did not emerge for mothers with lower symptoms. Moderation by childrens internalizing and externalizing symptoms was not significant. Limitations and future directions, including methodological considerations, are discussed.