College of Nursing, 16203Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
College of Nursing, 6243University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Biol Res Nurs. 2023 Jan;25(1):137-149. doi: 10.1177/10998004221124145. Epub 2022 Aug 27.
Immigrant Arab American families face multiple stressors related to migration and resettlement. Telomere length (TL) is an established biomarker of aging and psychosocial stress. No published studies have concurrently examined the association between maternal and paternal psychosocial factors and infants' TL. The purpose of this study was to: (1) compare mother, father, and infant TLs; (2) explore the association of maternal and paternal psychosocial factors (acculturative stress and depressive symptoms) with maternal and paternal TL; and (3) explore the association of maternal and paternal psychosocial factors with infants' TL among Arab American immigrants. Using a cross-sectional exploratory design, a sample of 52 immigrant Arab American mother-father-infant triads were recruited from community centers. Data were collected in a single home visit when the infant was 6-24 months old. Each parent completed the study questionnaires addressing their psychosocial factors (acculturative stress, and depressive symptoms), then parents and infants provided buccal cell for TL measurement. Maternal TL was positively correlated to infants' TL ( = .31, = .04) and significantly shorter ( < .001). Paternal TL was not correlated with infant TL but was significantly shorter than infant's TL ( < .001). Maternal depression was significantly correlated with mothers' TL ( = .4, = .007). Higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms were significantly associated with shorter infant TL when controlling for background characteristics. Our pilot study is the first study to examine maternal and paternal psychosocial factors related to migration and infants' TL. More research is needed to advance our understanding of the effects of immigration on the intergenerational transfer of stress and trauma.
移民的阿拉伯裔美国家庭面临着与移民和重新安置相关的多种压力。端粒长度 (TL) 是衰老和心理社会压力的既定生物标志物。目前还没有发表的研究同时检查了母亲和父亲的心理社会因素与婴儿 TL 之间的关联。本研究的目的是：(1) 比较母亲、父亲和婴儿的 TL；(2) 探讨母亲和父亲的心理社会因素（文化适应压力和抑郁症状）与母亲和父亲 TL 的关系；(3) 探讨阿拉伯裔美国移民中母亲和父亲的心理社会因素与婴儿 TL 的关系。使用横断面探索性设计，从社区中心招募了 52 名移民的阿拉伯裔美国家庭母亲-父亲-婴儿三人组。当婴儿 6-24 个月大时，在一次家庭访问中收集数据。每位父母都完成了研究问卷，问卷涉及他们的心理社会因素（文化适应压力和抑郁症状），然后父母和婴儿提供口腔细胞进行 TL 测量。母亲的 TL 与婴儿的 TL 呈正相关（=.31，=.04），且明显较短（<.001）。父亲的 TL 与婴儿的 TL 没有相关性，但明显短于婴儿的 TL（<.001）。母亲的抑郁与母亲的 TL 显著相关（=.4，=.007）。控制背景特征后，较高水平的母亲抑郁症状与较短的婴儿 TL 显著相关。我们的初步研究是第一项研究，探讨了与移民和婴儿 TL 相关的母亲和父亲的心理社会因素。需要更多的研究来深入了解移民对代际压力和创伤传递的影响。
