Attachment Orientations, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, and Stress Are Important for Understanding the Link Between Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Adult Self-Reported Health

Abstract

Background Low childhood SES is reliably associated with poor adult health. Social environments early in life and physiological stress responses are theorized to underlie this link; however, the role of attachment orientations is relatively unknown. Purpose In this study, we examined whether attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and self-reported stress were mediators of the association between childhood SES and self-reported health in adulthood. Furthermore, we examined whether parasympathetic nervous system functioning was a moderator of associations between attachment orientations and self-reported stress. Methods Participants (N = 213) provided self-reports of childhood SES, attachment orientations, stress, and self-rated health. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured at rest, as well as during an acute social stressor. Results Low childhood SES was associated with poor self-reported health via the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress. Moreover, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health via general stress, but only among those with high stress-induced RSA. Findings were independent of participant age, sex, race, body mass index, baseline RSA, and adult SES. Conclusions Attachment theory is useful for understanding why those from low SES backgrounds are at greater risk of negative health outcomes in adulthood. Findings extend our knowledge of how interpersonal relationships in childhood can shape emotional and physical health outcomes in adulthood.

Adult attachment and physical health

“…Other work suggests that more complex models may be needed when evaluating links between attachment and physical health. A study of 213 individuals found that general stress mediated the links between attachment anxiety or avoidance and poorer self-reported health; childhood socioeconomic status also predicted attachment anxiety (but not avoidance) in these mediation models [43].…”

Low childhood subjective social status and telomere length in adulthood: The role of attachment orientations

“…Attachment avoidance is less reliably associated with stress and health as compared to attachment anxiety (Dewitte et al, 2010;Fagundes, 2012), which is consistent with present study findings. Notably, high attachment avoidance appears to be associated with high stress when respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is low, but not when RSA is high (Murdock & Fagundes, 2017). RSA is an indicator of the degree to which one is able to engage in effective emotion regulation (e.g., Segerstrom & Nes, 2007).…”

“…Individual differences in emotion regulation (i.e., the process by which individuals influence emotions, either automatic, or controlled) may be a mechanism linking childhood SSS, attachment anxiety, and telomere length. Indeed, prior work indicates that attachment anxiety is associated with self‐reported health via stress (Murdock & Fagundes, ). Individuals with high attachment anxiety tend to engage in ineffective emotion regulation strategies, such as rumination, due to worry about being rejected or abandoned (Brennan et al, ).…”

“…Alternatively, high attachment anxiety and avoidance may enhance the risk associated with low childhood SES on health due to the use of ineffective emotion regulation strategies that promote stress. Prior research has demonstrated that low childhood SSS and attachment orientations are interrelated predictors of adult health (Murdock & Fagundes, ); however, attachment orientations have not been examined as potential factors that may change the association between childhood SSS and adult telomere length. We examined this possibility in the present study and hypothesized that childhood SSS would be less strongly associated with telomere length among those with low attachment anxiety and avoidance.…”

A influência da escuta terapêutica sobre a ansiedade e os medos relacionados à cirurgia em pacientes no pré-operatório de cirurgia colorretal: um ensaio clínico aleatorizado

“…No entanto, há que se atentar para o fato de que baixos níveis socioeconômicos estão associados a piores índices de saúde (MURDOCK;FAGUNDES, 2016).…”