Baseline Functioning and Stress Reactivity in Maltreating Parents and At-Risk Adults

Abstract

We reviewed and meta-analyzed 10 studies (N = 492) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment perpetration and basal autonomic activity, and 10 studies (N = 471) that examined the association between (risk for) child maltreatment and autonomic stress reactivity. We hypothesized that maltreating parents/at-risk adults would show higher basal levels of heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) and lower levels of HR variability (HRV) and would show greater HR and SC stress reactivity, but blunted HRV reactivity. A narrative review showed that evidence from significance testing within and across studies was mixed. The first set of meta-analyses revealed that (risk for) child maltreatment was associated with higher HR baseline activity (g = 0.24), a possible indication of allostatic load. The second set of meta-analyses yielded no differences in autonomic stress reactivity between maltreating/at-risk participants and nonmaltreating/low-risk comparison groups. Cumulative meta-analyses showed that positive effects for sympathetic stress reactivity as a risk factor for child maltreatment were found in a few early studies, whereas each subsequently aggregated study reduced the combined effect size to a null effect, an indication of the winner’s curse. Most studies were underpowered. Future directions for research are suggested.

Annual Research Review: Umbrella synthesis of meta‐analyses on child maltreatment antecedents and interventions: differential susceptibility perspective on risk and resilience

“…The total sample sizes varied from somewhat <500 to over 8,500, but was not always reported. Effect sizes ranged between d = −.10 (for parental autonomic nervous system reactivity, Reijman et al, ) and d = .69 (for parental insecure attachment, Lo et al, ), indicating a broad range of meta‐analytic effects.…”

“…A long-standing idea is that the neurophysiology of perpetrating parents is dysregulated, which would make them constitutionally more liable to become abusive. Neural reactivity (Rilling & Young, 2014), as well as autonomic and sympathetic nervous system responses, prepares the individual organism for action to cope with stress, but if the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is dysregulated, over-or underreactivity to stressful stimuli such as infant crying might result in harsh parenting or neglect (Reijman et al, 2016). As context factors, single parenthood, lack of social support, and low socioeconomic status have been associated with increased risk for child maltreatment (Stith et al, 2009).…”

Hair cortisol in the perinatal period mediates associations between maternal adversity and disrupted maternal interaction in early infancy

“…In addition, Gonzalez et al (2012) found that greater diurnal cortisol secretion (indicated by a larger area under the curve (AUCg) value) mediated the relation between early-life trauma and lower maternal sensitivity. Thus, both higher basal cortisol levels (i.e., diurnal cortisol secretion) and blunted reactivity may indicate a pattern of cortisol dysregulation that acts as a mechanism linking adversity to maladaptive caregiving (Reijman et al, 2016). …”

Parenting the crying infant

“…Reijman and her colleagues reported significantly lower levels of alpha-amylase, a marker of autonomic nervous system activity, in a clinical sample that included both abusive and neglectful mothers [35], a pattern that has held up across several studies [36]. Childhood poverty, too, has been linked to distinctive responses to infant crying.…”