| Internalizing problems and externalizing problems are antecedents of various psychological and behavioral disorders.A large amount of studies have examined the reasons for and mechanisms of the development of children's and adolescents'internalizing and externalizing problems.Researchers have discussed the role of social and psychological factors,such as family environment quality,education,and individual characteristics,as well as the role of biological factors,such as neural,physiological,and biochemical activities,in the formation of internalizing and externalizing problems.The advancement of neurophysiology(EEG and RSA analysis technology)research methods and technology has laid a critical foundation for further investigation of the mechanism of biological factors and the interaction between biological and social psychological factors in the formation of children's and adolescents'internalizing and externalizing problems.In recent years,researchers have begun to pay attention to the mechanism of the interactive effect of biological and social factors in the formation of children's and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems by focusing on the autonomic nervous activity and the environment.However,the results have been inconsistent,and many problems need further investigation.Based on the diathesis-stress theory and the differential susceptibility theory,as well as the existing research,the study systematically examined the fundamental characteristics of and social psychological reasons for,particularly the interactive effect of autonomic nerve activity and family environment in the formation of,adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems,using questionnaires and psychological stress experiment.The conclusions are as follows:1.Study 1 was conducted by using questionnaire investigation in a sample of 2232 adolescents.The results showed that 1)there were significant gender differences in both internalizing and externalizing problems,such that girls' internalizing problems were higher than those of boys;while boys' illegal behavior was higher than those of girls;2)less internalizing and externalizing problems were reported for adolescents who experienced relative supportive environments(i.e.,consistent parent guidance,harmonious parental relation and good communication with parents),compared with those who came from unsupportive or adverse environments;3)several aspects of personality traits were found to be related to internalizing and externalizing problems.Specifically,both internalizing and externalizing problems were positively related to neuroticism and self-control,and negatively related to friendliness,preciseness and resilience.Accordingly,adolescents with negative personality traits or exposed to family adversity would exhibit relatively high internalizing and externalizing problems.2.Study 2examined individual differences in physiological reactivity to,and recovery from,three types of stresses(i.e.,marital conflict video[MCV],mental arithmetic[MA]and public speaking[PS]task)among adolescents from three groups(i.e.,internalizing problems,externalizing problems and normal group).The results showed that:1)under conditions of MCV task,adolescents in internalizing group exhibited highest baseline HR and HR reactivity,and adolescents in externalizing problems group exhibited lowest HR reactivity.No significant group differences were found in systolic blood pressure(SBP)and diastolic blood pressure(DBP);2)under conditions of both MCV and PS task,adolescents both in internalizing problems group and externalizing problems group exhibited higher baseline HR,SBP,DBP than those in normal group;furthermore,adolescents in internalizing problems group exhibited greatest HR,SBP and DBP reactivity and least HR recovery,adolescents in externalizing problems group exhibited least HR,SBP and DBP reactivity.Accordingly,this study indicated that adolescents with high internalizing and externalizing problems both exhibited maladaptive physiological responding to stressors,such that an excessive pattern can be seen in adolescents with high internalizing problems,and insufficient pattern can be found in adolescents with high externalizing problems.3.Study 3 was designed to examine the prediction of internalizing and externalizing problems from family environment(i.e.,conflict and intimacy),RSA indices(i.e.,baseline RSA and RSA suppression),as well as their interactions.Results showed that:1)RSA suppression to MCV task interacted with family conflict to predict adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems,and interacted with family intimacy to predict adolescents' externalizing problems;2)RSA suppression to MA task interacted with family conflict to predict adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems;3)RSA suppression to PS task interacted with both family conflict and intimacy,to predict adolescents' externalizing problems,respectively.Accordingly,these findings indicated that a greater stress-induced RSA suppression may serve as a protective factor and ameliorate the effect of adverse family contexts(in this case,high family conflict or low family intimacy)on adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems.Overall,the present research found a differential physiological responding to stress among adolescents in normal group,and groups with internalizing and externalizing problems.Specifically,adolescents with high internalizing problems often displayed an excessive pattern,while adolescents with high externalizing problems often displayed an insufficient pattern.In addition,RSA suppression to different stress tasks moderated the relations between family contexts and adolescents' adjustment problems.High family conflict or low family intimacy was more associated with adolescents,high internalizing and externalizing problems under conditions of low RSA suppression.Findings highlight the importance of consideration of physiological factors when related family contexts to adolescents' adjustment. |
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