Introduction: Adolescence marks an important period of emotional, cognitive and physical changes. The current study investigated the associations among emotional difficulties, self-control, inhibitory control, and heart-rate variability (HRV) among adolescents. As proposed by the Neurovisceral Integration (NVI) model, it was expected that self-control and inhibitory control were related to emotional difficulties, with HRV as a mediator. Additionally, sex was expected as a moderator in the multiple relations in the model. Despite knowledge of the critical developmental nature of adolescence, research to date has largely focused on adults or clinical samples, leaving a gap in understanding how these factors are related among a healthy adolescent population.
Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 184 Dutch adolescents aged 10 to 20 years completed validated self-report measures to assess emotional difficulties, self-control and inhibitory control, and underwent resting-state HRV assessment using heart rate monitors.
Results: Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed with HRV as a potential mediator, sex as a moderator and age as confounder. Results revealed significant direct negative associations between self-control and emotional difficulties and positive associations between inhibitory control and emotional difficulties. However, HRV did not mediate these relationships, and the overall SEM demonstrated poor model fit. Sex moderated several associations, indicating differential HRV-behavioral control links for males and females.
Discussion: The findings suggest that HRV may not act as a universal mediator of self-regulatory mechanisms in adolescence, in contrast to the proposed NVI model. Additionally, it highlights the importance of developmental and sex-specific factors in understanding physiological correlates of emotional functioning.