# Examining Neurophysiological Predictors of Treatment Response to a Multi-Component Early Intervention for Socially Inhibited Preschoolers

> **NIH NIH R03** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2022 · $88,234

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The apparent and impactful role played by parents’ intrusive-controlling (IC) parenting behaviors in the stability
of children’s behavioral inhibition (BI) and as a moderator of risk for anxiety disorders (AD) has motivated
treatment and prevention approaches that specifically target these behaviors. Parents who are easily aroused
and have difficulty regulating in response to their child’s distress are prone to ineffective, harsh, and intrusive
parenting, and a growing body of research demonstrates that parents’ physiology influences their behaviors,
particularly during times of heightened stress. However, very little research has investigated the influences of
parents’ neurophysiological reactivity and regulation on IC behaviors. Moreover, although there is growing evi-
dence that neurophysiological functioning may predict behavior change in response to intervention, no re-
search has examined this possibility with regard to IC parenting or children’s BI. The current proposal leverag-
es an existing randomized controlled trial dataset (n = 151 parent-child dyads) to (Aim 1) establish the influ-
ences of parents’ neurophysiological regulation on their IC parenting behaviors and whether these links are
moderated by parents’ anxiety and (Aim 2) test the influences of parents’ neurophysiological regulation and IC
parenting on reductions in child BI across treatment, whether children’s neurophysiological regulation mediates
these associations, and the moderating role of parents’ anxiety. The Turtle Program (TP), a multi-component
(i.e., combination of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and children’s Social Skills Training) early intervention
program, was developed to target IC parenting to reduce risk for anxiety among preschool-aged children by
comparing it to the best available psychoeducational treatment for BI, Cool Little Kids (R01MH103253; PIs:
Rubin and Chronis-Tuscano).The current proposal specifically examines parents’ sympathetic nervous system
(SNS) and parents’ and children’s parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) functioning assessed across social
stressors, an impactful next step given PNS and SNS functioning index neural structures implicated in arousal
and attention regulation (RDoC Arousal and Cognitive Systems) and may inform treatment response. TP and
CLK, which have both demonstrated reductions in IC parenting, systematically vary in intensity, structure, and
required resources. As such, the current proposal will provide preliminary evidence for who might need more
intensive treatments which will promote the development of personalized intervention and reduce patient bur-
den. Additionally, this proposal is innovative and significant because it will (1) establish the processes and
mechanisms through which parents’ and children’s neurophysiological regulation predicts treatment response,
(2) clarify who might benefit from more intensive treatments, and (3) provide preliminary insight into potential
treatment t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10391565
- **Project number:** 5R03MH123762-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas J Wagner
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $88,234
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2023-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10391565

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10391565, Examining Neurophysiological Predictors of Treatment Response to a Multi-Component Early Intervention for Socially Inhibited Preschoolers (5R03MH123762-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10391565. Licensed CC0.

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