Childhood Evolved Developmental Niche History and Autonomic Regulation in Women

Early life adversity has been studied widely, but still understudied is the impact of positive early life experiences. Emerging evidence suggests that humanity's millions-year-old evolved developmental niche (EDN) supports healthy biopsychosocial development. The EDN includes positive touch, responsive relationships, a welcoming social climate, social embeddedness, and self-directed free play. We examined the relation between EDN components and cardiac vagal regulation, the online biomarker for psychopathology, health, and a correlate of positive parenting behaviors.

Women (N = 78; 84% white/Euro-American) self-reported their childhood EDN history, and their respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was assessed across non-stimulating and stressful conditions, providing indexes of both cardiac vagal tone and cardiac vagal flexibility. Three latent growth curve models demonstrated that childhood history of social embeddedness and positive home climate outperformed the other EDN components. A higher positive home climate predicted higher cardiac vagal tone, whereas greater social embeddedness predicted vagal flexibility, buffering against stress and supporting faster rates of recovery from stress.

EDN-consistent childhoods, specifically experiencing a positive home climate and social embeddedness, may promote overall cardiac vagal tone and vagal flexibility in women years later. Ecological contexts that support EDN provision may support physiological adaptations that protect against stress and promote stress resilience in adulthood.