Winiarski Dominika A, Engel Melissa L, Karnik Niranjan S, Brennan Patricia A
Department of Psychiatry, Rush University Medical Center, 1700 W. Van Buren St., Suite 5827A, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2018 Oct;49(5):730-739. doi: 10.1007/s10578-018-0785-9.
Early life stress (ELS) has been implicated in the development of aggression, though the exact mechanisms remain unknown. This study tested associations between ELS, callousness, and stress reactivity in the prediction of school-age and persistent early childhood aggression. A longitudinal sample of 185 mother-child dyads completed a lab visit and mothers completed an online follow-up when children were preschool-aged and school-aged, respectively. Physiological and behavioral measures of stress reactivity were collected during the preschool period. Ratings of child aggressive behavior, ELS, and callousness were collected as well. The results suggested that ELS was related to measures of both school-age and persistent early childhood aggression, and that callousness had a mediating role in this process. Cortisol reactivity also moderated the association between ELS and persistent childhood aggression, such that the ELS-aggression relationship was stronger among children who had higher levels of cortisol reactivity during the preschool period. Clinical implications are discussed.
早期生活应激（ELS）与攻击行为的发展有关，但其确切机制尚不清楚。本研究测试了ELS、冷漠以及应激反应性在预测学龄期和持续性幼儿期攻击行为中的关联。185对母婴的纵向样本完成了一次实验室访视，母亲们分别在孩子学龄前和学龄期完成了一次在线随访。在学龄前阶段收集了应激反应性的生理和行为指标。同时收集了儿童攻击行为、ELS和冷漠的评分。结果表明，ELS与学龄期和持续性幼儿期攻击行为的指标均相关，且冷漠在此过程中起中介作用。皮质醇反应性也调节了ELS与持续性儿童期攻击行为之间的关联，即学龄前皮质醇反应性较高的儿童中，ELS与攻击行为的关系更强。文中讨论了临床意义。
