Stress-Induced Elevation of Oxytocin in Maltreated Children: Evolution, Neurodevelopment, and Social Behavior
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Child maltreatment often has a negative impact on the development of social behavior and health. The biobehavioral mechanisms through which these adverse outcomes emerge, however, are not clear. To better understand the ways in which early life adversity affects subsequent social behavior, changes in the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in children (n = 73) aged 8.1-11.5 years following a laboratory stressor were examined. Girls with histories of physical abuse have higher levels of urinary OT and lower levels of salivary cortisol following the stressor when compared to controls. Abused and control boys, however, do not differ in their hormonal responses. These data suggest that early adversity may disrupt the development of the stress regulation system in girls by middle childhood.
Source: Child Development
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12136
Authors: Leslie J Seltzer, Toni Ziegler, Michael J Connolly, Ashley R Prososki, Seth D Pollak
Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (UW-Madison)(UL1), Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award, Waisman Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Wisconsin National Primate Research Center Support, Training Program in Emotion Research, Emotion Processing: Risk for Psychopathology in Children, Wisconsin National Primate Research Center Support
OpenAlex ID: W2116235882