Featured Student Research

Title: Childhood Sexual Abuse and IL6 Mediated by Change in BMI over an 18-Year Period: A Growth Curve Model

Abstract: Background: Childhood sexual abuse can increase both body weight and inflammation later in life. Higher weight or faster changes in weight, as measured by changes in body mass index (BMI), may mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and inflammation, however, most studies to date have used a cross sectional design limiting causal inferences. Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the interrelationships between childhood sexual abuse, BMI, and C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL6). Participants and Setting: Data from 461 adults who participated in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study were utilized. Methods: Growth curve modeling was used to test initial levels of BMI and changes of BMI over an 18-year period as mediators linking childhood sexual abuse to CRP and IL6. Results: Sexual abuse was not significantly associated with the initial level of BMI; however, sexual abuse was associated with the slope of BMI (b = .072, p = .006). BMI intercept (b = .080, p = .001) and slope (b = .240, p = .002) predicted IL6 values whereas the slope of BMI (b = .398, p = .033) but not intercept predicted CRP values. The indirect effect from sexual abuse to IL6 through BMI slope was significant (b = .017, 95% [CI .001, .033]) while the indirect effect from sexual abuse to CRP through BMI slope was not significant (b = .028, 95% [CI -.004, .061]). Conclusion: Childhood sexual abuse was indirectly associated with IL6 through rates of change in BMI over time.

Citation

Hall, H., Papp, V.,  Fitzgerald, M. (In press). Childhood Sexual Abuse and IL6 Mediated by Change in BMI over an 18-Year Period: A Growth Curve Model. Child Abuse and Neglect. 

Title: Familial strain connects childhood abuse to chronic health conditions over time.

Abstract Parentally perpetrated childhood abuse is associated with physical health difficulties and familial support and strain may be possible mediators. Further, the associations among parentally perpetrated abuse in childhood, familial relationships in adulthood, and health may vary across age and gender. The current study examined familial support and strain over a 20-year period as mediators linking childhood abuse to chronic health conditions among adults, and examined gender and age as moderators. Using three waves of data from the study of Midlife Development in the United States (n = 2,377), results from a structural equation mediational model indicated that familial strain mediated the relationship between child abuse and chronic physical health problems for both men and women. On the other hand, familial support was not a mediator. Gender and age did not moderate any of the pathways. Continued relational stress over the life course appears to predict physical morbidity among adults who were abused in childhood. Clinicians may want to focus on familial strain when working with midlife and older men and women. 

Citation

Papp, V., & Fitzgerald, M. (2023). Childhood Abuse and Chronic Physical Health Conditions in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Analysis of Familial Support and Strain as Mediators. Contemporary Family Therapy. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-023-09682-9

Title: Childhood Maltreatment is Longitudinally Associated with Cardiometabolic Biomarkers Through Marital Quality: Do Health Locus of Control and Eating Habits Matter? 

Abstract: Childhood maltreatment influences adult physical health through cascading effects over the life course and it is critical to identify intervening processes. Marital quality has significant implications for adult physical health via cognitive, emotional, and behavioral pathways and may be a viable pathway. Given that cardiometabolic biomarkers are associated with the leading causes of death in the United States, the current study longitudinally investigated marital quality, health locus of control, and eating habits in a serial mediation model linking childhood maltreatment to high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL). Using a sample of 352 adults from the study of Midlife Development in the United States, we used three waves of data to test our hypotheses. Results of structural equation models indicate that although all the hypothesized direct effects were statistically significant, the serial indirect effects were non-significant. Childhood maltreatment was associated with a lower quality marriage, marital quality was associated with higher levels of health locus of control which, in turn, was associated with healthier eating habits. Finally, healthier eating habits were associated with greater HDL, but not lower LDL. Additionally, marital quality exerted a direct effect on LDL and mediated the relationship between maltreatment and LDL, but not HDL. For researchers, marital quality appears to be a mechanism linking childhood maltreatment to cardiometabolic biomarkers, yet health locus of control and eating habits do not appear to have strong effects. For clinicians, strengthening the couple relationship among survivors of maltreatment appears to have health promotive effects over time. 

Citation: Fitzgerald, M. Papp, V (in press). Childhood Maltreatment is Longitudinally Associated with Cardiometabolic Biomarkers Through Marital Quality: Do Health Locus of Control and Eating Habits Matter? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.