High frequency heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of neurocardiac communication that is thought to reflect predominantly parasympathetic cardiac regulation. Low HRV has been associated empirically with clinical and subclinical levels of anxiety and depression and, more recently, high levels of HRV have been associated with measures of executive functioning. These findings have informed theories proposing that HRV may provide an autonomic index of a broad, self-regulatory capacity underlying aspects of emotion regulation and cognitive control. This study sought to operationalize and test this proposition using a structural equation modeling approach by examining the relationships of HRV to negative affect (NA) and executive functioning (EF) in a large sample of U.S. adults spanning six decades of age (30s–80s). HRV was modeled as a predictor of an NA factor (self-reported trait anxiety and depression symptoms) and an EF factor (performance on three neuropsychological tests tapping facets of executive abilities). Alternative models also were tested to determine the utility of HRV for predicting EF, with and without statistical control of demographic and health-related covariates. In the initial structural, model HRV showed a significant relationship to EF and a nonsignificant relationship to NA. When covariates were included in the model, HRV’s associations with both constructs were nonsignificant. Age emerged as the only significant predictor of NA and EF in the final model, showing inverse relationships to both. Findings may reflect population and methodological differences between the present thesis and prior research, but they also suggest potential refinements to the interpretations of earlier findings and theoretical claims regarding HRV.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_5401
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
viii, 49 p. : ill.
Note (type = degree)
M.S.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Sarah L. Mann
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Heart beat--Psychological aspects
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Heart--Variation
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Cognition disorders
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.