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Cited by 48COVID-19 and Mental HealthHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlPosttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Adversity History Predicts Self-Reported Autonomic Reactivity and Mental Health in US Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Kolacz, Jacek, Dale, Lourdes P., Nix, Evan J., Roath, Olivia K., Lewis, Gregory F., Porges, Stephen W.·2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577728PMC PMC7653174
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Abstract

Background: The spread of the COVID-19 virus presents an unprecedented event that rapidly introduced widespread life threat, economic destabilization, and social isolation. The human nervous system is tuned to detect safety and danger, integrating body and brain responses via the autonomic nervous system. Shifts in brain-body states toward danger responses can compromise mental health. For those who have experienced prior potentially traumatic events, the autonomic threat response system may be sensitive to new dangers and these threat responses may mediate the association between prior adversity and current mental health. Method: The present study collected survey data from adult U.S. residents (n = 1,666; 68% female; Age M = 46.24, SD = 15.14) recruited through websites, mailing lists, social media, and demographically-targeted sampling collected between March and May 2020. Participants reported on their adversity history, subjective experiences of autonomic reactivity, PTSD and depression symptoms, and intensity of worry related to the COVID-19 pandemic using a combination of standardized questionnaires and questions developed for the study. Formal mediation testing was conducted using path analysis and structural equation modeling. Results: Respondents with prior adversities reported higher levels of destabilized autonomic reactivity, PTSD and depression symptoms, and worry related to COVID-19. Autonomic reactivity mediated the relation between adversity and all mental health variables (standardized indirect effect range for unadjusted models: 0.212–0.340; covariate-adjusted model: 0.183–0.301). Discussion: The data highlight the important role of autonomic regulation as an intervening variable in mediating the impact of adversity on mental health. Because of the important role that autonomic function plays in the expression of mental health vulnerability, brain-body oriented therapies that promote threat response reduction should be investigated as possible therapeutic targets.

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  • The BPQ-SF measure of autonomic reactivity mediated the relationship between adversity history and mental health symptoms during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in individuals who had not been infected.

    “we documented that the BPQ-SF measure of autonomic reactivity mediated the relationship between adversity history and mental health symptoms during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 29 to May 13, 2020) in individuals who had not been infected [77].”

    From The vagal paradox: A polyvagal solution (2023) · cites this paper as [77]

    The Methods (Measures) identify the BPQ-SF as the autonomic-reactivity measure, and the Discussion reports that autonomic reactivity mediated the association between prior adversity and PTSD and depression symptoms. The Methods (Procedure) give the stated March 29–May 13, 2020 dates, but list only an age requirement for participation; our copy does not establish that participants had not been infected. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Kolacz, J., Dale, L. P., Nix, E. J., Roath, O. K., Lewis, G. F., & Porges, S. W.
Affiliations
  • University of Florida (US)
  • Indiana University Bloomington (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-10-27
Volume
11
Pages
577728-577728
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577728
PMC
PMC7653174
OpenAlex
W3097539944
Cited by
48
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 7
FWCI
2.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, autonomic reactivity, autonomic nervous system, mental health, posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, worry, threat response, mediation, potentially traumatic events

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