Melissa L. Sturge-Apple

Interactions of child maltreatment and serotonin transporter and monoamine oxidase A polymorphisms: depressive symptomatology among adolescents from low socioeconomic status backgrounds

Child maltreatment and polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genes were examined in relation to depressive symptomatology. Adolescents (M age = 16.7 years) from low socioeconomic backgrounds with a history of child maltreatment (n = 207) or no such history (n = 132) were interviewed and provided buccal cells for genetic analysis. Gene x environment interactions were observed. Heightened depressive symptoms were found only among extensively maltreated youth with low MAOA activity. Among comparably maltreated youth with high MAOA activity, self-coping strategies related to lower symptoms. Sexual abuse and the 5-HTT short/short genotype predicted higher depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. This Gene x Environment interaction was further moderated by MAOA activity level. The results highlight the protective functions of genetic polymorphisms and coping strategies in high risk youth and offer direction for understanding resilience and its promotion from a multiple levels of analysis perspective.

The role of child adrenocortical functioning in pathways between interparental conflict and child maladjustment.

This study examined the interplay between interparental conflict and child cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict in predicting child maladjustment in a sample of 178 families and their kindergarten children. Consistent with the allostatic load hypothesis (McEwen & Stellar, 1993), results indicated that interparental conflict was indirectly related to child maladjustment through its association with individual differences in child cortisol reactivity. Analyses indicated that the multimethod assessment of interparental conflict was associated with lower levels of child cortisol reactivity to a simulated phone conflict between parents. Diminished cortisol reactivity, in turn, predicted increases in parental reports of child externalizing symptoms over a 2-year period. Associations between interparental conflict, child cortisol reactivity, and child externalizing symptoms remained robust even after demographic factors and other family processes were taken into account.

Normalizing the development of cortisol regulation in maltreated infants through preventive interventions.

Longitudinal effects of child maltreatment on cortisol regulation in infants from age 1 to 3 years were investigated in the context of a randomized preventive intervention trial. Thirteen-month-old infants from maltreating families (N = 91) and their mothers were randomly assigned to one of three intervention conditions: child-parent psychotherapy, psychoeducational parenting intervention, and a control group involving standard community services (CS). A fourth group of infants from nonmaltreating families (N = 52) and their mothers comprised a nonmaltreated comparison (NC) group. The two active interventions were combined into one maltreated intervention (MI) group for statistical analyses. Saliva samples were obtained from children at 10:00 a.m. before beginning a laboratory observation session with their mothers when the children were 13 months of age (preintervention), 19 months (midintervention), 26 months (postintervention), and 38 months (1-year postintervention follow-up). At the initial assessment, no significant differences among groups in morning cortisol were observed. Latent growth curve analyses examined trajectories of cortisol regulation over time. Beginning at midintervention, divergence was found among the groups. Whereas the MI group remained indistinguishable from the NC group across time, the CS group progressively evinced lower levels of morning cortisol, statistically differing from the MI and NC groups. Results highlight the value of psychosocial interventions for early child maltreatment in normalizing biological regulatory processes.

Hostility and withdrawal in marital conflict : Effects on parental emotional unavailability and inconsistent discipline

This study examined the nature of pathways between marital hostility and withdrawal, parental disagreements about child rearing issues, and subsequent changes in parental emotional unavailability and inconsistent discipline in a sample of 225 mothers, fathers, and 6-year-old children. Results of autoregressive, structural equation models indicated that marital withdrawal and hostility were associated with increases in parental emotional unavailability over the one-year period, whereas marital hostility and withdrawal did not predict changes in parental inconsistency in discipline. Additional findings supported the role of child rearing disagreements as an intervening or mediating mechanism in links between specific types of marital conflict and parenting practices. Implications for clinicians and therapists working with maritally distressed parents and families are discussed.

Maternal Depression, Children's Attachment Security, and Representational Development: An Organizational Perspective

Relations among maternal depression, child attachment, and childrens representations of parents and self were examined. Participants included toddlers and their mothers with a history of major depressive disorder (n= 63) or no history of mental disorder (n= 68). Attachment was assessed at 20 and 36 months and representations of parents and self were assessed at 36 and 48 months. Depressive symptoms were assessed at all 3 time points. While early-occurring maternal depression had a negative impact on childrens negative and positive representations of parents, attachment security mediated the relation between depressive symptoms and negative representations. Attachment security served as an intervening variable between maternal depression and changes in childrens negative representations of self. Implications for prevention are highlighted.

Interparental Violence, Maternal Emotional Unavailability and Children’s Cortisol Functioning in Family Contexts

Our goal in the present study was to examine the specificity of pathways among interparental violence, maternal emotional unavailability, and childrens cortisol reactivity to emotional stressors within interparental and parent-child relationships. The study also tested whether detrimental family contexts were associated, on average, with hypocortisolism or hypercortisolism responses to stressful family interactions in young children. Participants included 201 toddlers and their mothers who were from impoverished backgrounds and who experienced disproportionate levels of family violence. Assessments of interparental violence were derived from maternal surveys and interviews, whereas maternal emotional unavailability was assessed through maternal reports and observer ratings of caregiving. Salivary cortisol levels were sampled at 3 time points before and after laboratory paradigms designed to elicit childrens reactivity to stressful interparental and parent-child contexts. Results indicated that interparental violence and the mothers emotional unavailability were differentially associated with childrens adrenocorticol stress reactivity. Furthermore, these family risk contexts predicted lower cortisol change in response to distress. The results are interpreted in the context of risky family and emotional security theory conceptualizations that underscore how family contexts differentially impact childrens physiological regulatory capacities.

Adrenocortical Underpinnings of Children’s Psychological Reactivity to Interparental Conflict

This study examined interrelationships among childrens cortisol reactivity and their psychological reactivity to interparental conflict in a sample of 208 first graders (mean age = 6.6 years). Assessments of childrens psychological reactivity to conflict distinguished among their distress, hostile, and involvement responses across multiple methods (i.e., observation, questionnaire) and informants (i.e., observer, parent). Relative to other forms of conflict reactivity, childrens distress responses to interparental conflict were consistent, unique predictors of their elevated cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict even after inclusion of demographic factors as moderators and covariates. Moderator analyses further revealed that associations between distress and elevated cortisol levels in response to interparental conflict were particularly pronounced when children exhibited high levels of involvement in conflicts.

Typologies of Family Functioning and Children’s Adjustment During the Early School Years

Guided by family systems theory, the present study sought to identify patterns of family functioning from observational assessments of interparental, parent-child, and triadic contexts. In addition, it charted the implications for patterns of family functioning for childrens developmental trajectories of adjustment in the school context across the early school years. Two-hundred thirty-four kindergarten children (129 girls and 105 boys; mean age = 6.0 years, SD = 0.50 at Wave 1) and their parents participated in this multimethod, 3-year longitudinal investigation. As expected, latent class analyses extracted 3 primary typologies of functioning including: (a) cohesive, (b) enmeshed, and (c) disengaged families. Furthermore, family patterns were differentially associated with childrens maladaptive adjustment trajectories in the school context. The findings highlight the developmental utility of incorporating pattern-based approaches to family functioning.

Interparental Conflict and Children’s School Adjustment: The Explanatory Role of Children’s Internal Representations of Interparental and Parent–Child Relationships

This study examined how childrens insecure internal representations of interparental and parent-child relationships served as explanatory mechanisms in multiple pathways linking interparental conflict and parent emotional unavailability with the emotional and classroom engagement difficulties the children had in their adjustment to school. With their parents, 229 kindergarten children (127 girls and 102 boys, mean age = 6.0 years, SD = .50, at Wave 1) participated in this multimethod, 3-year longitudinal investigation. Findings revealed that childrens insecure representations of the interparental relationship were a significant intervening mechanism in associations between observational ratings of interparental conflict and child and teacher reports on childrens emotional and classroom difficulties in school over a 2-year period. Moreover, increased parental emotional unavailability accompanying high levels of interparental conflict was associated with childrens insecure representations of the parent-child relationship and childrens difficulties in classroom engagement at school entry. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the intrinsic processes that contribute to difficulties with stage-salient tasks for children who are experiencing interparental discord.

Children's patterns of emotional reactivity to conflict as explanatory mechanisms in links between interpartner aggression and child physiological functioning

BACKGROUND This paper examined childrens fearful, sad, and angry reactivity to interparental conflict as mediators of associations between their exposure to interparental aggression and physiological functioning. METHODS Participants included 200 toddlers and their mothers. Assessments of interparental aggression and childrens emotional reactivity were derived from maternal surveys and a semi-structured interview. Cortisol levels and cardiac indices of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity were used to assess toddler physiological functioning. RESULTS Results indicated that toddler exposure to interparental aggression was associated with greater cortisol levels and PNS activity and diminished SNS activity. Toddler angry emotional reactivity mediated associations between interparental aggression and cortisol and PNS functioning. Fearful emotional reactivity was a mediator of the link between interparental aggression and SNS functioning. CONCLUSIONS The results are interpreted within conceptualizations of how exposure and reactivity to family risk organize individual differences in physiological functioning.