Natale, Brianna N.
(2024)
Childhood antecedents of systemic inflammation in adolescence and adulthood: Contributions of childhood family environment and socioeconomic context.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The childhood family environment has been associated with lifelong health trajectories, including cardiometabolic disease morbidity and mortality. Systemic inflammation is one important preclinical marker of cardiometabolic risk, and prior studies have shown that early-life experiences, including family relationship quality and socioeconomic status, are related to circulating levels of inflammatory markers as early as adolescence. The current study utilized data from the Pittsburgh Girls Study to longitudinally investigate links between a childhood family environment latent variable—indicated by harsh punishment, caregiver-partner conflict, and caregiver depression—and inflammation in adolescence (n=429; M age=10.52) and early adulthood (n=1,362; M age=23.57), while considering additional risk (financial strain) and protective (supportive parenting) factors. Structural equation models found that greater family adversity across ages 5-9 was prospectively associated with higher levels of interleukin (IL)-6 in both adolescence and adulthood, even when adjusting for covariates (e.g., child self-control, pubertal timing). Further adjustment for adolescent waist circumference attenuated the link between the childhood family environment and adult IL-6 to non-significance, and sensitivity analyses revealed that it was a significant mediator of this relationship. When adding financial strain into the models, the childhood family environment was no longer predictive of later inflammation, but there was evidence for associations between childhood financial strain and adult IL-6. Contrary to hypotheses, supportive parenting did not moderate associations between childhood family environment or financial strain and later inflammation. Together, these results suggest that the childhood family environment contributes to long-term systemic inflammation, although not independently of childhood socioeconomic context. The current study offers novel insights into links between childhood stressors and inflammatory profiles across developmental stages and highlights opportunities to further probe biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying these relationships.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
6 June 2024 |
| Approval Date: |
27 August 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
19 June 2024 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
103 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
childhood family environment; socioeconomic status; inflammation |
| Date Deposited: |
27 Aug 2024 14:04 |
| Last Modified: |
27 Aug 2024 14:04 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/46582 |
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