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The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Child Telomere Length: Examining Self‐Regulation as a Behavioral Mediator
Author(s) -
Sosnowski David W.,
Kliewer Wendy,
Valrie Cecelia R.,
Winter Marcia A.,
Serpell Zewelanji,
Amstadter Ananda B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.13441
Subject(s) - adverse childhood experiences , psychology , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , telomere , self control , mediator , attrition , causation , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , mental health , psychotherapist , genetics , dentistry , dna , biology , political science , law
Childhood adversity is linked to shortened telomere length (TL), but behavioral indicators of telomere attrition remain unclear. This study examined the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child TL, and if ACEs were indirectly associated with TL through children’s self‐regulatory abilities (i.e., effortful control and self‐control). Hypotheses were tested using national data from teachers, parents, and their children ( N = 2,527; M age = 9.35, SD = .36 years). More ACEs were uniquely associated with short TL, and low self‐control mediated the association between more ACEs and short TL. While longitudinal studies are needed to strengthen claims of causation, this study identifies a pathway from ACEs to TL that should be explored further.