Medical Research Council Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Dec 1;70(11):1016-23. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.06.017. Epub 2011 Aug 12.
Evidence from animal and human studies suggests that early-life stress such as physical maltreatment has long-lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and is associated with blunted HPA axis reactivity in adulthood. Few studies have investigated whether blunted HPA axis reactivity observed in children exposed to early-life stress signals social, emotional, and behavioral problems.
Participants were 190 12-year-old children (50.5% males) recruited from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994 to 1995 cohort of families with twins. Cortisol responses to psychosocial stress were measured in maltreated/bullied (n = 64) and comparison children (n = 126). We ascertained maltreatment and bullying victimization using mothers' reports and assessed children's social, emotional, and behavioral problems at ages 5 and 12 using mothers' and teachers' reports.
Piecewise multilevel growth curve analyses indicated that maltreated/bullied and comparison children showed distinct cortisol responses to stress. Specifically, maltreated/bullied children had lower cortisol responses than comparison children who exhibited a significant increase. Lower cortisol responses were, in turn, associated with more social and behavioral problems among maltreated/bullied children.
These findings provide support for the influence of childhood harm on blunted HPA axis reactivity and its potential impact on children's functioning. Our findings emphasize the need to integrate stress biomarkers in guiding prevention efforts for young victims.
动物和人类研究的证据表明，早期生活中的压力，如身体虐待，对下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴有持久的影响，并与成年后 HPA 轴反应迟钝有关。很少有研究调查过暴露于早期生活压力信号下的儿童的 HPA 轴反应迟钝是否与社会、情感和行为问题有关。
参与者是 190 名 12 岁的儿童（50.5%为男性），他们来自环境风险纵向双胞胎研究，这是一个具有代表性的 1994 年至 1995 年的双胞胎家庭队列。使用社会心理压力测量了受虐待/受欺凌（n=64）和对照组儿童（n=126）的皮质醇反应。我们通过母亲的报告确定了虐待和欺凌的受害情况，并使用母亲和教师的报告在 5 岁和 12 岁时评估了儿童的社会、情感和行为问题。
分段多水平增长曲线分析表明，受虐待/受欺凌和对照组儿童对压力有不同的皮质醇反应。具体来说，受虐待/受欺凌的儿童的皮质醇反应低于对照组，对照组的皮质醇反应明显增加。反过来，皮质醇反应较低与受虐待/受欺凌的儿童的更多社会和行为问题有关。
这些发现为童年伤害对 HPA 轴反应迟钝的影响及其对儿童功能的潜在影响提供了支持。我们的研究结果强调了需要将应激生物标志物纳入指导年轻受害者的预防工作中。
