Adolescent sympathetic activity and salivary C-reactive protein: The effects of parental behavior

Abstract

Objective: This study utilized a novel multisystem approach to investigate the effect of observed parental behavior on the relationship between biological mechanisms associated with disease processes (i.e., autonomic physiology and immune response) among their adolescent children. Method: Thirty-three adolescents (23 males), aged 11-13, and their parents participated in a laboratory session in which adolescents provided baseline measures of autonomic (sympathetic) activity, and adolescents and 1 parent participated in a laboratory based dyadic conflict resolution interaction task. This included 3 male parent/male adolescent dyads, 20 female parent/male adolescent dyads, 3 male parent/female ..