Behavioral and Biological Indicators of Risk and Well-Being in a Sample of South African Youth

Self report measures have been widely used in research to illustrate high rates of exposure to violence among youth in trauma-saturated regions, such as Cape Town, South Africa. To better understand the risk and resilience factors of youth who have been exposed to, witnessed, or directly experienced violence, the current study used a multi-method assessment in a naturalistic setting that included heart rate variability (an index of regulatory flexibility and cardiovascular health), a computerized risk-taking task, and self report measures. Youth (N = 83) from Cape Town, South Africa, participated in a psychobiological assessment. Findings suggest elevated age-adjusted heart rate variability compared to age related norms, which is indicative of overregulation of behavior and emotion. Additionally, youth, all of whom had witnessed or experienced violence at least once, demonstrated a low risk taking and reward seeking propensity. Low risk taking in the context of elevated heart rate variability may reflect youth's affective and behavioral inhibition, suggestive of stress among children who have an overgeneralized threat response. These results both demonstrate the feasibility of psychophysiological research in community youth settings, and counter the traditional narrative that there is an overarching lack of capacity to regulate and a high propensity to risk in violence-exposed youth.