In the current study a three-generational design was used to investigate intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (ITCM) using multiple sources of information on child maltreatment: ...mothers, fathers and children. A total of 395 individuals from 63 families reported on maltreatment. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to combine data from mother, father and child about maltreatment that the child had experienced. This established components reflecting the convergent as well as the unique reports of father, mother and child on the occurrence of maltreatment. Next, we tested ITCM using the multi-informant approach and compared the results to those of two more common approaches: ITCM based on one reporter and ITCM based on different reporters from each generation. Results of our multi-informant approach showed that a component reflecting convergence between mother, father, and child reports explained most of the variance in experienced maltreatment. For abuse, intergenerational transmission was consistently found across approaches. In contrast, intergenerational transmission of neglect was only found using the perspective of a single reporter, indicating that transmission of neglect might be driven by reporter effects. In conclusion, the present results suggest that including multiple informants may be necessary to obtain more valid estimates of ITCM.
Peptide YY (PYY) is a 36 amino-acid peptide secreted from ileal L cells following meals. The cleaved subpeptide PYY3-36 is biologically active and may constitute the majority of circulating PYY-like ...immunoreactivity. The peptide family that includes PYY, pancreatic peptide and neuropeptide Y is noted for its orexigenic effect following intracerebroventricular administration.
To investigate the effects of peripheral (intraperitoneal and chronic subcutaneous) infusions of PYY3-36 on food intake, body weight and glycemic indices.
Food intake was measured in normal mice and in several rodent models of obesity and type II diabetes. In marked contrast to the reported central orexigenic effects, in the present study, PYY3-36 acutely inhibited food intake by up to 45%, with an ED(50) of 12.5 microg/kg in fasted female NIH/Swiss mice. A 4-week infusion reduced weight gain in female ob/ob mice, without affecting the cumulative food intake. In diet-induced obese male mice, PYY3-36 infusion reduced cumulative food intake, weight gain and epididymal fat weight (as a fraction of carcass) with similar ED(50)'s (466, 297 and 201 microg/kg/day, respectively) and prevented a diet-induced increase in HbA1c. Infusion at 100 microg/kg/day for 8 weeks in male fa/fa rats reduced the weight gain (288+/-11 vs 326+/-12 g in saline-infused controls; P<0.05), similar to effects in a pair-fed group. In female ob/ob and db/db mice, there was no acute effect of PYY3-36 on plasma glucose concentrations. In male diabetic fatty Zucker rats, PYY3-36 infused for 4 weeks reduced HbA1c and fructosamine (ED(50)'s 30 and 44 microg/kg/day).
Peripheral PYY3-36 administration reduced the food intake, body weight gain and glycemic indices in diverse rodent models of metabolic disease of both sexes. These findings justify further exploration of the potential physiologic and therapeutic roles of PYY3-36.
In the current study associations between parents’ experiences of childhood maltreatment and their perceptual, behavioral and autonomic responses to infant emotional signals were examined in a sample ...of 160 parents. Experienced maltreatment (both physical and emotional abuse and neglect) was reported by the participants and, in approximately half of the cases, also by their parents. During a standardized infant vocalization paradigm, participants were asked to squeeze a handgrip dynamometer at maximal and at half strength while listening to infant crying and laughter sounds and to rate their perception of the sounds. In addition, their heart rate (HR), pre-ejection period (PEP), and vagal tone (RSA) were measured as indicators of underlying sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity. Results indicated that participants did not differ in their perceptions of the infant vocalizations signals according to their maltreatment experiences. However, maltreatment experiences were associated with the modulation of behavioral responses. Experiences of neglect during childhood were related to more handgrip force during infant crying and to less handgrip force during infant laughter. Moreover, a history of neglect was associated with a higher HR and a shorter PEP during the entire infant vocalization paradigm, which may indicate chronic cardiovascular arousal. The findings imply that a history of childhood neglect negatively influences parents’ capacities to regulate their emotions and behavior, which would be problematic when reacting to children’s emotional expressions.
Psychological stress has repeatedly been found to be associated with pro-inflammatory markers in blood, and neuro-inflammation may play a role in the development of psychopathology after early life ...stress. Salivary immune testing is a novel method to non-invasively assess immune functioning. We examined a large range of salivary immune markers in relation to self-reported childhood maltreatment and psychopathology in an adult sample.
Participants (N = 118, 51% female, mean age = 46.6 yrs, range 22–64) were drawn from a cross-sectional three-generation study, and supplied 2 ml of saliva via passive drool. They reported on childhood maltreatment experiences and on psychopathological symptoms in the last 6 months. Hair cortisol was additionally assessed in a subsample (n = 68). Levels of IL1ß, IL6, IL8, IFNγ, TNFα, tIgE, sIgA, FLCƛ, and FLCƙ were assessed.
Linear mixed model analyses showed that several salivary immune markers were associated with age (sIgA and IgE), BMI (sIgA, IL1ß, and IL6), sex (FLCs and IgE), and bad health (IL6, IL8, TNFα). No associations with (anti-inflammatory) medication use or oral health problems were found. Notably, no associations between the immune markers and self-reported childhood maltreatment, psychopathology, or hair cortisol were found.
Salivary immune measures were found to be sensitive to individual differences in age, sex, health and BMI. However. in the current sample there was no indication of inflammation in relation to chronic psychological stress. Larger studies, including participants with higher stress levels, are needed to further examine associations between salivary immune markers and psychological stress.
•A large range of salivary immune markers can be assessed in adults.•Several salivary immune markers were sensitive to differences in sex, age and BMI.•Salivary immune markers were unrelated to maltreatment or psychopathology in our sample.
Child-driven genetic factors can contribute to negative parenting and may increase the risk of being maltreated. Experiencing childhood maltreatment may be partly heritable, but results of twin ...studies are mixed. In the current study, we used a cross-sectional extended family design to estimate genetic and environmental effects on experiencing child maltreatment. The sample consisted of 395 individuals (225 women; M
age = 38.85 years, rangeage = 7–88 years) from 63 families with two or three participating generations. Participants were oversampled for experienced maltreatment. Self-reported experienced child maltreatment was measured using a questionnaire assessing physical and emotional abuse, and physical and emotional neglect. All maltreatment phenotypes were partly heritable with percentages for h
2 ranging from 30% (SE = 13%) for neglect to 62% (SE = 19%) for severe physical abuse. Common environmental effects (c
2) explained a statistically significant proportion of variance for all phenotypes except for the experience of severe physical abuse (c
2 = 9%, SE = 13%, p = .26). The genetic correlation between abuse and neglect was ρg = .73 (p = .02). Common environmental variance increased as socioeconomic status (SES) decreased (p = .05), but additive genetic and unique environmental variances were constant across different levels of SES.
An optical immunochip biosensor has been developed as a rapid method for allergen detection in complex food matrixes, and its application evaluated for the detection of the egg white allergens, ...ovalbumin and ovomucoid. The optical near-field phenomenon underlying the basic principle of the sensor design is called resonance-enhanced absorption (REA), which utilizes gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as signal transducers in a highly sensitive interferometric setup. Using this approach, a novel, simple, and rapid colorimetric solid-phase immunoassay on a planar chip substrate was realized in direct and sandwich assay formats, with a detection system that does not require any instrumentation for readout. Semiquantitative immunochemical responses are directly visible to the naked eye of the analyst. The biosensor shows concentration-dependent color development by capturing antibody-functionalized Au NPs on allergen-coated chips and has a detection limit of 1 ng/mL. To establish a rapid method, we took advantage of the physicochemical microenvironment of the Au NP−antibody bioconjugate to be bound directly over an interacting poly(styrene−methyl methacrylate) interlayer by an immobilized antigen. In the direct assay format, a coating time with allergen of only 5 min under “soft” nondenaturing conditions was sufficient for accurate reproducibility and sensitivity. In conclusion, the REA-based immunochip sensor is easy to fabricate, is reproducible and selective in its performance, has minimal technical requirements, and will enable high-throughput screening of affinity binding interactions in technological and medical applications.
Experiencing maltreatment during childhood exerts substantial stress on the child and increases the risk for overweight and obesity later in life. The current study tests whether hair cortisol-a ...measure of chronic stress-and its metabolite cortisone mediate the relation between abuse and neglect on the one hand, and body mass index (BMI) on the other.
The sample consisted of 249 participants aged 8 to 87 years (M = 36.13, SD = 19.33). We collected data on child abuse and neglect using questionnaires, measured cortisol and cortisone concentrations in hair, and BMI. In a structural model, the effects of abuse and neglect on hair cortisol, hair cortisone, and BMI were tested, as well as the covariance between hair cortisol and BMI, and hair cortisone and BMI.
Within the sample, 23% were overweight but not obese and 14% were obese. Higher levels of experienced abuse were related to higher cortisone concentrations in hair (β = 0.24,
< .001) and higher BMI (β = 0.17,
=.04). Neglect was not related to hair cortisol, hair cortisone, or BMI. Hair cortisol and cortisone did not mediate the association between maltreatment, and BMI. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate the same pattern of results in a subsample of adult participants currently not living with their parents. However, in younger participants who were still living with their parents, the associations between abuse and cortisone (β = 0.14,
=.35) and abuse and BMI (β = 0.02,
=.92) were no longer significant.
These findings confirm that experiencing abuse is related to higher BMI but suggest that hair cortisol and cortisone are not the mechanism underlying the association between child maltreatment and BMI. This is the first study to show abuse may be associated to elevated concentrations of hair cortisone-evidence of long-term alterations in chronic stress levels. Future research may benefit from exploring the effects of maltreatment on weight gain in longitudinal designs, including measures of other potential mediators such as eating as a coping mechanism, and more direct indicators of metabolic health.
Understanding how child maltreatment is passed down from one generation to the next is crucial for the development of intervention and prevention strategies that may break the cycle of child ...maltreatment. Changes in emotion recognition due to childhood maltreatment have repeatedly been found, and may underly the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment.
In this study we, therefore, examined whether the ability to recognize emotions plays a role in the intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect.
A total of 250 parents (104 males, 146 females) were included that participated in a three-generation family study.
Participants completed an emotion recognition task in which they were presented with series of photographs that depicted the unfolding of facial expressions from neutrality to the peak emotions anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. Multi-informant measures were used to examine experienced and perpetrated child maltreatment.
A history of abuse, but not neglect, predicted a shorter reaction time to identify fear and anger. In addition, parents who showed higher levels of neglectful behavior made more errors in identifying fear, whereas parents who showed higher levels of abusive behavior made more errors in identifying anger. Emotion recognition did not mediate the association between experienced and perpetrated child maltreatment.
Findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between abuse and neglect when investigating the precursors and sequalae of child maltreatment. In addition, the effectiveness of interventions that aim to break the cycle of abuse and neglect could be improved by better addressing the specific problems with emotion processing of abusive and neglectful parents.
In the current study, the associations between multiple types of child maltreatment (CM), parent-offspring interactions, and family cohesion were examined in an extended family study. A total of 366 ...parent-offspring pairs from 137 nuclear families participated. Parents (M
age = 52.8 years, age range: 26.6-88.4 years, 57% female) reported about perpetrated CM and offspring (M
age = 25.7 years, range: 7.5-65.5 years, 58% female) about experienced CM during their childhood. Parent-offspring interactions were observed during a conflict interaction task. Cohesion within the nuclear family was observed during a playful tower building task. Results showed that parents and offspring displayed more aversive behavior in parent-offspring dyads characterized by higher levels of child abuse, but not in dyads characterized by higher levels of child neglect. In addition, less dyadic affective similarity was observed in parent-offspring dyads characterized by higher levels of child neglect, whereas dyadic affective similarity was higher in dyads characterized by higher levels of child abuse. Findings imply that interventions focused on parent-offspring interactions with a somewhat different content for neglectful and abusive families may be efficacious for families in the child welfare system.
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