University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
Res Nurs Health. 2024 Aug;47(4):369-383. doi: 10.1002/nur.22400. Epub 2024 May 28.
When children experience extreme or persistent stressors (e.g., maltreatment, housing insecurity, intimate partner violence), prolonged elevation of the stress-response system can lead to disrupted development of multiple physiological systems. This response, known as toxic stress, is associated with poor physical and mental health across the life course. Emerging evidence suggests that the effects of toxic stress may be transmitted through generations, but the biological and behavioral mechanisms that link caregivers' childhood history with the health of the children they care for remain poorly understood. The purpose of this report is to describe the research protocol for The CARING (Childhood Adversity and Resilience In the Next Generation) Study, a cross-sectional study of caregivers with children aged 3-5 years designed to (1) examine the intergenerational transmission of toxic stress and protective factors; (2) explore three hypothesized pathways of transmission: parenting, daily routines, stressors, and supports; and (3) explore the extent to which genotypic variation in candidate genes related to caregiving and stress contribute to caregivers' and children's susceptibility to the effects of early childhood experiences (i.e., gene × environment interactions). We expect that findings from this study will provide critical data needed to identify targets for precision health interventions, reduce health disparities related to toxic stress, and prevent cycles of adversity among families at risk.
当儿童经历极端或持续的压力源（例如，虐待、住房不安全、亲密伴侣暴力）时，压力反应系统的长期升高可能导致多个生理系统的发育紊乱。这种反应被称为毒性压力，与整个生命周期的身心健康不良有关。新出现的证据表明，毒性压力的影响可能会通过代际传递，但尚不清楚将照顾者的童年经历与他们照顾的孩子的健康联系起来的生物学和行为机制。本报告的目的是描述 CARING（下一代的儿童逆境与韧性）研究的研究方案，这是一项针对 3-5 岁儿童照顾者的横断面研究，旨在：（1）研究毒性压力和保护因素的代际传递；（2）探索三种假设的传递途径：育儿、日常常规、压力源和支持；（3）探讨与照顾和压力相关的候选基因的基因型变异在多大程度上使照顾者和儿童易受幼儿期经历影响（即，基因×环境相互作用）。我们预计，这项研究的结果将提供识别精准健康干预目标所需的关键数据，减少与毒性压力相关的健康差距，并防止处于危险中的家庭陷入逆境循环。
