Department of Anthropology, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
Laboratory of Anthropology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Am J Hum Biol. 2024 Nov;36(11):e24150. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.24150. Epub 2024 Sep 17.
Previous studies have suggested that maternal childhood trauma (MCT) may influence infant temperament, but the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study sought to confirm the involvement of breast milk cortisol in the link between MCT and infant temperament. The study sample included 90 mother-infant dyads recruited from the urban Polish population. MCT was assessed based on the Early Life Stress Questionnaire (ELSQ) and infant temperamental factors (surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity, and orienting/regulation) using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised at 12 months of life. Cortisol was assayed in milk samples collected at 5 months of life using the ELISA method. Based on the ELSQ median, the sample was divided into low and high MCT groups. The ANCOVA models with milk cortisol as a covariant were run to check the effect of low versus high MCT on infant temperament. We found a positive association between milk cortisol and orienting/regulation. Surprisingly, the low and high MCT groups did not significantly differ in milk cortisol. Furthermore, we found that MCT was unrelated to any infant temperamental factor. While recent literature on the association between milk cortisol and infant temperament is inconsistent, our results suggest that high orienting/regulation might be an adaptation to adverse environments such as stress. Moreover, the infant's temperament appears to be more responsive to the current exposition to maternal stress than her experience of traumatic stress.
先前的研究表明，母体童年创伤（MCT）可能会影响婴儿的气质，但潜在的生理机制仍不清楚。本研究旨在证实母乳皮质醇在 MCT 与婴儿气质之间的联系中的作用。研究样本包括 90 对从波兰城市人口中招募的母婴对子。MCT 是根据早期生活应激问卷（ELSQ）和婴儿气质因素（冲动/外向性、负性情绪和定向/调节）来评估的，使用婴儿行为问卷修订版在 12 个月大时进行评估。使用 ELISA 法在 5 个月大时的母乳样本中测定皮质醇。根据 ELSQ 的中位数，将样本分为低 MCT 和高 MCT 组。使用母乳皮质醇作为协变量的 ANCOVA 模型用于检查低 MCT 与高 MCT 对婴儿气质的影响。我们发现母乳皮质醇与定向/调节呈正相关。令人惊讶的是，低 MCT 和高 MCT 组在母乳皮质醇方面没有显著差异。此外，我们发现 MCT 与任何婴儿气质因素都没有关系。虽然最近关于母乳皮质醇与婴儿气质之间的关联的文献不一致，但我们的结果表明，高定向/调节可能是对压力等不利环境的一种适应。此外，婴儿的气质似乎对当前暴露于母体应激的反应比对创伤性应激的经历更敏感。
