Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T10:47:12.411Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Child maltreatment and allostatic load: Consequences for physical and mental health in children from low-income families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2011

Fred A. Rogosch ,
Melissa N. Dackis  and
Dante Cicchetti
Fred A. Rogosch*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Melissa N. Dackis
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester
Dante Cicchetti*
Affiliation:
Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Fred Rogosch, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Stree, Rochester, NY 14608; E-mail: fred.rogosch@rochester.edu; or Dante Cicchetti, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: cicchett@umn.edu.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Fred Rogosch, Mt. Hope Family Center, 187 Edinburgh Stree, Rochester, NY 14608; E-mail: fred.rogosch@rochester.edu; or Dante Cicchetti, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: cicchett@umn.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Child maltreatment and biomarkers of allostatic load were investigated in relation to child health problems and psychological symptomatology. Participants attended a summer research day camp and included 137 maltreated and 110 nonmaltreated low-income children, who were aged 8 to 10 years (M = 9.42) and racially and ethnically diverse; 52% were male. Measurements obtained included salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandosterone, body mass index, waist–hip ratio, and blood pressure; these indicators provided a composite index of allostatic load. Child self-report and camp adult-rater reports of child symptomatology were obtained; mothers provided information on health problems. The results indicated that higher allostatic load and child maltreatment status independently predicted poorer health outcomes and greater behavior problems. Moderation effects indicated that allostatic load was related to somatic complaints, attention problems, and thought problems only among maltreated children. Risks associated with high waist–hip ratio, low morning cortisol, and high morning dehydroepiandosterone also were related to depressive symptoms only for maltreated children. The results support an allostatic load conceptualization of the impact of high environmental stress and child abuse and neglect on child health and behavioral outcomes and have important implications for long-term physical and mental health.

Type
Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 23 , Issue 4: Allostatic Load: Part 2 , November 2011 , pp. 1107 - 1124
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. (1991). Manual for the Teacher Report Form and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Anda, R. F., Brown, D. W., Felitti, V. J., Bremner, D., Dube, S. R., & Giles, W. H. (2007). Adverse childhood experiences and prescribed psychotropic medications in adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32, 389–394,CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barnett, D., Manly, J. T., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In Cicchetti, D. & Toth, S. L. (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 7–73). Norwood, NJ: Abex.Google Scholar
Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 899–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolger, K. E., Patterson, C. J., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1998). Peer relationships and self-esteem among children who have been maltreated. Child Development, 69, 1171–1197.Google ScholarPubMed
Bradley, R. H., Houts, R., Nader, P. R., O'Brien, M, Belsky, J., & Crosnoe, R. (2008). The relationship between body mass index and behavior in children. Journal of Pediatrics, 153, 629–634.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpenter, L. L., Shattuck, T. T., Tyrka, A. R., Geracioti, T. D., & Price, L. H. (2011). Effects of childhood physical abuse on cortisol stress response. Psychopharmacology, 214, 367–375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, E., Cohen, S., & Miller, G. E. (2010). How low socioeconomic status affects 2-year hormonal trajectories in children. Psychological Science, 21, 31–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1989). How research on child maltreatment has informed the study of child development: Perspectives from developmental psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D., & Carlson, V. (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 377–431). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (2002). How a child builds a brain: Insights from normality and psychopathology. In Hartup, W., & Weinberg, R. (Eds.), Minnesota symposia on child psychology: Child psychology in retrospect and prospect (Vol. 32, pp. 23–71). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (2010). Resilience under conditions of extreme stress: A multilevel perspective. World Psychiatry, 9, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Lynch, M. (1993). Toward an ecological/transactional model of community violence and child maltreatment: Consequences for children's development. Psychiatry, 56, 96–118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Manly, J. T. (1990). A personal perspective on conducting research with maltreating families: Problems and solutions. In Brody, G., & Sigel, I. (Eds.), Methods of family research: Families at risk (Vol. 2, pp. 87–133). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1997). The role of self-organization in the promotion of resilience in maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 9, 799–817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2001a). Diverse patterns of neuroendocrine activity in maltreated children. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 677–694.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2001b). The impact of child maltreatment and psychopathology upon neuroendocrine functioning. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 783–804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2007). Personality, adrenal steroid hormones, and resilience in maltreated children: A multi-level perspective. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 787–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Gunnar, M. R., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The differential impacts of early abuse on internalizing problems and diurnal cortisol activity in school-aged children. Child Development, 25, 252–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Oshri, A. (2011). Interactive effects of corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1, serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region, and child maltreatment on diurnal cortisol regulation and internalizing symptomatology Development and Psychopathology, 23, 1125–1138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Toth, S. L. (2006). Fostering secure attachment in infants in maltreating families through preventive interventions. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 623–650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Toth, S. L., & Sturge-Apple, M. L. (2011). Normalizing the development of cortisol regulation in maltreated infants through preventive interventions. Developmental and Psychopathology, 23, 789–800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L., & Manly, J. T. (2003). Maternal Maltreatment Classification Interview. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Tucker, D. (1994). Development and self-regulatory structures of the mind. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 533–549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Valentino, K. (2006). An ecological transactional perspective on child maltreatment: Failure of the average expectable environment and its influence upon child development. In Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (2nd ed., pp. 129–201). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Clark, D. B., Thatcher, D. L., & Martin, C. S. (2010). Child abuse and other traumatic experiences, alcohol use disorders, and health problems in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35, 499–510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, P., Brown, J., & Smaile, E. (2001). Child abuse and neglect and development of mental disorders in the general population. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 981–999.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collishaw, S., Pickles, A., Messer, J., Rutter, M., Shearer, C., & Maughan, B. (2007). Resilience to adult psychopathology: Evidence from a community sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 211–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Danese, A., Moffitt, T. E., Pariante, C. M., Ambler, A., Poulton, R., & Caspi, A. (2008). Elevated inflammation levels in depressed adults with a history of child maltreatment. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65, 409–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, A. (2007). Preschool program improves cognitive control. Science, 318, 3187–1388.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1990). Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science, 250, 1678–1683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Socialization mediators of the relation between socioeconomic status and child conduct problems. Child Development, 65, 649–665.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dube, S. R., Fairweather, D., Pearson, W. S., Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., & Croft, J. B. (2009). Cumulative stress and autoimmune diseases in adults. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71, 243–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dubowitz, H., Pitts, S. C., Litrownik, A. J., Cox, C. E., Runyan, D., & Black, M. M. (2005). Defining child neglect based on child protective services data. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 493–511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, V., Holden, G., Felitti, V., & Anda, R. (2003). Relationship between multiple forms of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health in community respondents: Results from the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1453–1460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
English, D. J., Upadhyaya, M. P., Litrownik, A. J., Marshall, J. M., Runyan, D. K., Graham, J. C., et al. (2005). Maltreatment's wake: The relationship of maltreatment dimensions to child outcomes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 597–619.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, G.W. (2003). A multimethodological analysis of cumulative risk and allostatic load among rural children. Developmental Psychology, 39, 924–933.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, G. W., Kin, P., Ting, A. H., Tesher, H. B., & Shannis, D. (2007). Cumulative risk, maternal responsiveness, and allostatic load among young adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 43, 341–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Famularo, R., Kinscherff, R., & Fenton, T. (1992). Psychiatric diagnoses of maltreated children: Preliminary findings. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 863–867.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 245–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Granger, D. A., Schwartz, E. B., Booth, A., Curran, M., & Zakaria, D. (1999). Assessing dehydroepiandrosterone in saliva: A simple radioimmunoassay for use in studies of children, adolescents, and adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 24, 567–579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, G. G., McLaughlin, K A.Berglund, P. A., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, M., et al. (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication I: Associations with first onset of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67, 113–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hackman, D. A., & Farah, M. J. (2009). Socioeconomic status and the developing brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13, 65–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hackman, D. A., Farah, M. J., & Meaney, M. (2010). Socioeconomic status and the brain: Mechanistic insights from human and animal research. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 11, 651–659.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heckman, J. J. (2006). Skill formation and economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science, 312, 1900–1902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heim, C., Newport, D. J., Mletzko, T., Miller, A. H., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2008). The link between childhood trauma and depression: Insights from HPA axis studies in humans. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33, 693–710.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Juster, R.-P., Bizik, G., Picard, M., Arsenault-Lapierre, G., Sindi, S., Trepanier, L., et al. (2011). A transdisciplinary perspective of chronic stress in relation to psychopathology throughout life span development. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 725–776.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Juster, R. P., McEwen, B. S., & Lupien, S. J. (2010). Allostatic load biomarkers of chronic stress and impact on health and cognition. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, 35, 2–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplow, J. B., & Widom, C. S. (2007). Age of onset of child maltreatment predicts long-term mental health outcomes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 176–187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, K. S., Kuhn, J. W., & Prescott, (2004). Childhood sexual abuse, stressful life events, and risk for major depression in women. Psychological Medicine, 34, 1475–1482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M. (1982). The Children's Depression Inventory: A self-rated depression scale for school-aged youngsters. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Kovacs, M. (2004). Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.Google Scholar
Knutson, J. F., Taber, S. M., Murray, A. J., Valles, N. L., & Koeppl, G. (2010). The role of care neglect and supervisory neglect in childhood obesity in a disadvantaged sample. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35, 523–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuczmarski, R. J., Ogden, C. L., Guo, S. S., Grummer-Strawn, L. M., Hegal, K. M., Mei, Z., et al. (2002). 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: Methods and development. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics, 11, 1–190.Google Scholar
Lanier, P., Jonson-Reid, M., Stahlschmidt, M. J., Drake, B., & Constantino, J. (2010). Child maltreatment and pediatric health outcomes: A longitudinal study of low-income children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35, 511–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lupien, S. J., King, S., Meaney, M. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2001). Can poverty get under your skin? Basal cortisol levels and cognitive function in children from low and high socioeconomic status. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 653–676.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lupien, S. J., McEwen, B. S., Gunnar, M. R., & Heim, C. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behavior, and cognition. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 10, 434–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupien, S. J., Ouellet-Morin, I., Hupbach, A., Tu, M. T., Buss, C., Walker, D., et al. (2006). Beyond the stress concept: Allostatic load—A developmental biological and cognitive perspective. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Developmental neuroscience (2nd ed., pp. 578–628). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2000). The construct of resilience: Implications for intervention and social policy. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 857–885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, J. T. (2005). Advances in research definitions of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 425–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manly, J. T., Kim, J. E., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Dimensions of child maltreatment and children's adjustment: Contributions of developmental timing and subtype. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 759–782.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491–495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClellan, J. (2011). Clinically relevant phenomenology: The nature of psychosis, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 642–644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease. Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840, 33–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwen, B. S. (2002). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators: The good and bad sides of the response to stress. Metabolism, 51(6, Suppl. 1), 2–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwen, B. S. (2003). Interacting mediators of allostatic load: Towards an understanding of resilience in aging. Metabolism, 52(10, Suppl. 2), 10–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwen, B. S., & Stellar, E. (1993). Stress and the individual: Mechanisms leading to disease. Archives of Internal Medicine, 153, 2093–2101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwen, B. S., & Wingfield, J. C. (2003). The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine. Hormones and Behavior, 43, 2–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLaughlin, K. A., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Zalavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychiatric disorders in the National Comorbidity Study Replication II: Associations with persistence of DSM-IV disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67, 124–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, G. E., Chen, E., & Zhou, E. S. (2007). If it goes up, must it come down? Chronic stress and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis in humans. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 25–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nigg, J. T., Hinshaw, S. P., & Huang-Pollock, C. (2006). Disorders of attention and impulse regulation. In Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 358–403). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (2004). Cognitive neuroscience of attention. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (2008). The neuropsychology of attention. In Marien, C. B., & Abutalebi, J. (Eds.), Neuropsychological research: A review (pp. 331–348). New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Putnam, F. W. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 269–278.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riley, A. W., Forrest, C. B., Starfield, B. S., Rebok, G. W., Robertson, J. A., & Green, B. F. (2004). The parent report form of the CHIP-Child Edition: Reliability and Validity. Medical Care, 42, 210–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (1994). Illustrating the interface of family and peer relations through the study of child maltreatment. Social Development, 3, 291–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogosch, F. A., Cicchetti, D., & Aber, J. L. (1995). The role of child maltreatment in early deviations in cognitive and affective processing abilities and later peer relationship problems. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 591–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sapolsky, R. M., Romero, L. M., & Munck, A. U. (2000). How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions. Endocrine Reviews, 21, 55–89.Google ScholarPubMed
Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., et al. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Report to Congress, executive summary. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.Google Scholar
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Parental maltreatment and emotion dysregulation as risk factors for bullying and victimization in middle childhood. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 349–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shonkoff, J. B., Boyce, W. T., & McEwen, B. S. (2008). Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the roots of childrenhood health disparities. Building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention. Journal of the American Medical Association, 301, 2252–2259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, C. A., & Thornberry, T. (1995). The relationship between child maltreatment and adolescent involvement in delinquency. Criminology, 33, 451–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Susman, E. J., Dockray, S., Schiefelbein, V. L., Herwehe, S., Heaton, J. A., & Dorn, L. D. (2007). Morningness/eveningness, morning-to-afternoon cortsol ratio, and antisocial behavior problems during puberty. Developmental Psychology, 43, 811–822.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toth, S. L., Pickreign Stronach, E., Rogosch, F. A., Caplan, R., & Cicchetti, D. (2011). Illogical thinking and thought disorder in maltreated children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 659–668.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. (2005). The fourth report on the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents (NIH Publication No. 05-5267). Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Google Scholar
von Stumm, S., Deary, I. J., Kivimaki, M.Jokelya, M., Clark, H., & Batty, G. D. (2011). Childhood behavior problems and health at midlife: 35-year follow-up of a Scottish birth cohort. Journal of Child Psychology, and Psychiatry, 52, 992–1001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widom, C. S. (1999). Post-traumatic stress disorder in abused and neglected children grown up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1223–1229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widom, C. S., DuMont, K., & Czaja, S. J. (2007). A prospective investigation of major depressive disorder and comorbidity in abused and neglected children grown up. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 49–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, D. F., Thompson, T. J., Anda, R. F., Dietz, W. H., & Felitti, V. (2002). Body weight and obesity in adults and self-reported abuse in childhood. International Journal of Obesity, 26, 1075–1082.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed