The Impact of Early Childhood Life Adversity on Peripubertal Accelerated Epigenetic Aging and Psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE: To examine longitudinal associations between early life threat and deprivation on epigenetic age acceleration at ages 9 and 15 years, and to examine associations of age acceleration on later internalizing and externalizing symptoms. METHOD: The study examines a large (n = 2,039) and racially diverse (Black/African American = 44%, Latino = 18%, White = 5%) sample from a national dataset. Epigenetic age acceleration was estimated using the pediatric buccal epigenetic clock. Early life threat and deprivation were measured using composites from the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale and county-level violent and property crime rate data. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms came from parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist. Path analysis models examined associations of threat and deprivation at age 3 years on epigenetic age acceleration at ages 9 and 15. Experiences of threat were further broken down into threat experienced in the home and in the community. RESULTS: Home threat experienced at age 3 years predicted age acceleration at 9 and 15, and community threat experienced at 3 predicted age acceleration at 15, but not at 9. Deprivation was not a significant predictor of accelerated aging. Age acceleration at age 9 predicted externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms at age 15. Community threat had a direct effect on externalizing. No association emerged with internalizing. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed that threat, not deprivation, was predictive of age acceleration, demonstrating support for this pattern longitudinally, using an epigenetic clock that is accurate in children. The findings provide critical nuance to the examination of threat, and highlight associated risks and possible intervention points for externalizing symptoms.

Negative versus withdrawn maternal behavior: Differential associations with infant gray and white matter during the first 2 years of life.

Distinct neural effects of threat versus deprivation emerge by childhood, but little data are available in infancy. Withdrawn versus negative parenting may represent dimensionalized indices of early deprivation versus early threat, but no studies have assessed neural correlates of withdrawn versus negative parenting in infancy. The objective of this study was to separately assess the links of maternal withdrawal and maternal negative/inappropriate interaction with infant gray matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), amygdala, and hippocampal volume. Participants included 57 mother-infant dyads. Withdrawn and negative/inappropriate aspects of maternal behavior were coded from the Still-Face Paradigm at four months infant age. Between 4 and 24 months (M age = 12.28 months, SD = 5.99), during natural sleep, infants completed an MRI using a 3.0 T Siemens scanner. GMV, WMV, amygdala, and hippocampal volumes were extracted via automated segmentation. Diffusion weighted imaging volumetric data were also generated for major white matter tracts. Maternal withdrawal was associated with lower infant GMV. Negative/inappropriate interaction was associated with lower overall WMV. Age did not moderate these effects. Maternal withdrawal was further associated with reduced right hippocampal volume at older ages. Exploratory analyses of white matter tracts found that negative/inappropriate maternal behavior was specifically associated with reduced volume in the ventral language network. Results suggest that quality of day-to-day parenting is related to infant brain volumes during the first two years of life, with distinct aspects of interaction associated with distinct neural effects.

Development of the Nighttime Parenting Scale: Differentiating nighttime versus general parenting practices and their impact on youth sleep health.

OBJECTIVES: The current study provides a novel method of assessing the impact of nighttime parenting practices on youth sleep health during the sensitive transition from childhood to adolescence (ie., peri-puberty). Specifically, we aimed to advance the measurement of nighttime parenting by developing a conceptually driven questionnaire for use in research and clinical settings. METHOD: A total of 625 parents (67.9% mothers) of peripubertal youth (age M=11.6, SD=1.31) were recruited online and completed self-report questionnaires. The sample was primarily White (67.4%), followed by 16.5% Black, 13.1% Latinx, and 9.6% Asian. Factor structure was examined through four empirically-driven stages (ie, exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, examining internal and test-retest reliability, and indices of validity). Furthermore, the current study sought to validate nighttime parenting as a unique construct by exploring associations with peripubertal youth sleep health. RESULTS: A factor structure consisting of six dimensions of nighttime parenting was established (ie, nighttime supportiveness, hostility, physical control, limit-setting, media monitoring, and co-sleeping behaviors). Furthermore, the current measure demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Finally, the established dimensions were cross-sectionally associated with youth sleep health indices. CONCLUSIONS: This study extends previous research by examining the influence of distinct domains of parenting practices that specifically occur at nighttime and how these differentially relate to youth sleep health. Results suggest that intervention and/or prevention programs targeting sleep should place emphasis on fostering positive parenting at nighttime as a strategy for creating an evening environment that is conducive to optimizing youth sleep health.

Maternal Childhood Abuse Versus Neglect Associated with Differential Patterns of Infant Brain Development.

Severity of maternal childhood maltreatment has been associated with lower infant grey matter volume and amygdala volume during the first two years of life. A developing literature argues that effects of threat (abuse) and of deprivation (neglect) should be assessed separately because these distinct aspects of adversity may have different impacts on developmental outcomes. However, distinct effects of threat versus deprivation have not been assessed in relation to intergenerational effects of child maltreatment. The objective of this study was to separately assess the links of maternal childhood abuse and neglect with infant grey matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), amygdala and hippocampal volume. Participants included 57 mother-infant dyads. Mothers were assessed for childhood abuse and neglect using the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire in a sample enriched for childhood maltreatment. Between 4 and 24 months (M age = 12.28 months, SD = 5.99), under natural sleep, infants completed an MRI using a 3.0 T Siemens scanner. GMV, WMV, amygdala and hippocampal volumes were extracted via automated segmentation. Maternal history of neglect, but not abuse, was associated with lower infant GMV. Maternal history of abuse, but not neglect, interacted with age such that abuse was associated with smaller infant amygdala volume at older ages. Results are consistent with a threat versus deprivation framework, in which threat impacts limbic regions central to the stress response, whereas deprivation impacts areas more central to cognitive function. Further studies are needed to identify mechanisms contributing to these differential intergenerational associations of threat versus deprivation.

Associations Between Early Life Adversity and Youth Psychobiological Outcomes: Dimensional and Person-Centered Approaches.

Exposure to early life adversity (ELA) is associated with increased externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression and oppositionality), internalizing symptoms (e.g., withdrawal and anxiety), and biological indicators of accelerated aging (e.g., telomere length) in childhood. However, little is known about how distinct dimensions of ELA, such as threat and deprivation, impact youth psychobiological outcomes. The present study includes data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a large population-based, birth cohort study of majority (approximately 75%) racial and ethnic minority youth born between 1998 and 2000 across 20 large cities in the United States. The present study includes a subset of the original sample (N = 2,483, 51.6% male) who provided genetic data at age 9. First, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, which revealed four distinct dimensions of ELA (home threat, community threat, neglect, and lack of stimulation) when children were age 3. Second, latent profile analyses identified an eight-profile solution based on unique patterns of the four ELA dimensions. Lastly, latent profiles were used to predict associations with child psychological and biological outcomes at age 9. Results suggest that exposure to specific combinations of ELA is differentially associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors in childhood, but not with telomere length. Findings have implications for personalized early intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing ELA exposure to protect against downstream negative mental health outcomes for diverse youth.

Assessing parenting in racially and ethnically diverse families: A lack of measurement equivalence.

The present study explored measurement invariance of the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS; Parent & Forehand, 2017) across White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian American parents. Participants included 2,734 parents, 58% of whom were mothers. On average, parents were 36.32 years old (SD = 9.54); the parent sample was 66.9% White non-Hispanic, 10.1% Black, 5.3% Asian, and 17.7% Hispanic regardless of race. Child ages ranged from 3 to 17 years (M = 9.84, SD = 3.71), and 58% were identified as male. Parents completed a demographics questionnaire about themselves and their target child, and the 34-item MAPS. We explored measurement equivalence of the MAPS Broadband Positive and Negative parenting scales using item response theory to identify differential item functioning (DIF). Univariate analyses for Positive and Negative Parenting showed reliability was excellent. Twelve items assessing negative aspects of parenting exhibited bias by race/ethnicity. Specifically, when comparing racial and ethnic groups, three items had nonuniform DIF comparing Black and Asian participants, two items had nonuniform DIF comparing Black and Hispanic participants, and one item showed nonuniform DIF comparing Asian and Hispanic participants. When looking at Positive Parenting, no items showed evidence of DIF. Results from the present study suggest broadband Positive Parenting can be compared across ethnoracial groups, while findings raise concern about assessing Negative Parenting items when examining invariance across race and ethnicity. Findings from the present study imply that racial and ethnic comparisons are potentially invalid. These findings offer guidance for improving parenting assessment for racially/ethnically diverse populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal Childhood Maltreatment Is Associated With Lower Infant Gray Matter Volume and Amygdala Volume During the First Two Years of Life.

Background: Childhood maltreatment affects approximately 25% of the world's population. Importantly, the children of mothers who have been maltreated are at increased risk of behavioral problems. Thus, one important priority is to identify child neurobiological processes associated with maternal childhood maltreatment (MCM) that might contribute to such intergenerational transmission. This study assessed the impact of MCM on infant gray and white matter volumes and infant amygdala and hippocampal volumes during the first 2 years of life. Methods: Fifty-seven mothers with 4-month-old infants were assessed for MCM, using both the brief Adverse Childhood Experiences screening questionnaire and the more detailed Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure scale. A total of 58% had experienced childhood maltreatment. Between 4 and 24 months (age in months: mean = 12.28, SD = 5.99), under natural sleep, infants completed a magnetic resonance imaging scan using a 3T Siemens scanner. Total brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, and amygdala and hippocampal volumes were extracted via automated segmentation. Results: MCM on the Adverse Childhood Experiences and Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure scales were associated with lower infant total brain volume and gray matter volume, with no moderation by infant age. However, infant age moderated the association between MCM and right amygdala volume, such that MCM was associated with lower volume at older ages. Conclusions: MCM is associated with alterations in infant brain volumes, calling for further identification of the prenatal and postnatal mechanisms contributing to such intergenerational transmission. Furthermore, the brief Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire predicted these alterations, suggesting the potential utility of early screening for infant risk.

A Role for Data Science in Precision Nutrition and Early Brain Development.

Multimodal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide biomarkers of early influences on neurodevelopment such as nutrition, environmental and genetic factors. As the exposure to early influences can be separated from neurodevelopmental outcomes by many months or years, MRI markers can serve as an important intermediate outcome in multivariate analyses of neurodevelopmental determinants. Key to the success of such work are recent advances in data science as well as the growth of relevant data resources. Multimodal MRI assessment of neurodevelopment can be supplemented with other biomarkers of neurodevelopment such as electroencephalograms, magnetoencephalogram, and non-imaging biomarkers. This review focuses on how maternal nutrition impacts infant brain development, with three purposes: (1) to summarize the current knowledge about how nutrition in stages of pregnancy and breastfeeding impact infant brain development; (2) to discuss multimodal MRI and other measures of early neurodevelopment; and (3) to discuss potential opportunities for data science and artificial intelligence to advance precision nutrition. We hope this review can facilitate the collaborative march toward precision nutrition during pregnancy and the first year of life.

Increased Breastfeeding Proportion Is Associated with Improved Gross Motor Skills at 3-5 Years of Age: A Pilot Study.

Breastmilk provides key nutrients and bio-active factors that contribute to infant neurodevelopment. Optimizing maternal nutrition could provide further benefit to psychomotor outcomes. Our observational cohort pilot study aims to determine if breastfeeding extent and breastmilk nutrients correlate with psychomotor outcomes at school age. The breastfeeding proportion at 3 months of age and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3-5 years of age were recorded for 33 typically developing newborns born after uncomplicated pregnancies. The association between categorical breastfeeding proportion and neurodevelopmental outcome scores was determined for the cohort using a Spearman correlation with and without the inclusion of parental factors. Vitamin E and carotenoid levels were determined in breastmilk samples from 14 of the mothers. After the inclusion of parental education and income as covariates, motor skill scores positively correlated with breastmilk contents of α-tocopherol (Spearman coefficient 0.88, p-value = 0.02), translutein (0.98, p-value = 0.0007), total lutein (0.92, p-value = 0.01), and zeaxanthin (0.93, p-value = 0.0068). Problem solving skills negatively correlated with the levels of the RSR enantiomer of α-tocopherol (-0.86, p-value = 0.03). Overall, higher exposure to breastfeeding was associated with improved gross motor and problem-solving skills at 3-5 years of age. The potential of α-tocopherol, lutein, and zeaxanthin intake to provide neurodevelopmental benefit is worthy of further investigation.

Assessment of Maternal Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD) as a Potential Marker for Dietary Carotenoid Intake during Lactation in Humans.

Pregnancy and lactation can change the maternal nutrient reserve. Non-invasive, quantitative markers of maternal nutrient intake could enable personalized dietary recommendations that improve health outcomes in mothers and infants. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is a candidate marker, as MPOD values generally reflect carotenoid intake. We evaluated the association of MPOD with dietary and breastmilk carotenoids in postpartum women. MPOD measurements and dietary intake of five carotenoids were obtained from 80 mothers in the first three months postpartum. Breastmilk samples from a subset of mothers were analyzed to determine their nutrient composition. The association between MPOD and dietary or breastmilk carotenoids was quantitatively assessed to better understand the availability and mobilization of carotenoids. Our results showed that dietary α-carotene was positively correlated with MPOD. Of the breastmilk carotenoids, 13-cis-lutein and trans-lutein were correlated with MPOD when controlled for the total lutein in breastmilk. Other carotenoids in breastmilk were not associated with MPOD. Maternal MPOD is positively correlated with dietary intake of α-carotene in the early postpartum period, as well as with the breastmilk content of lutein. MPOD may serve as a potential marker for the intake of carotenoids, especially α-carotene, in mothers in the early postpartum period.