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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (103 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2021)

Background

Research suggests that children's health and well-being are supported by core adaptive systems, including the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Despite evidence for the importance of adulthood ANS regulation in the development of disease, few studies have examined how early development may influence emerging ANS function. Therefore, we examined how infant adiposity gain during early infancy related to ANS regulation at 6 months.

Methods

Infant weight and length were abstracted from birth records and measured during the 6-month assessment in a low-income, racially/ethnically diverse sample (N = 60). WHO-standardized weight-for-length-gain change was calculated across the first 6 months of life. ANS reactivity was measured as the combined sympathetic (i.e., pre-ejection period) and parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia) nervous system responses during the developmentally challenging Still Face Paradigm (SFP). ANS "classic reactivity" response was characterized by paired sympathetic activation and parasympathetic withdrawal.

Results

Lower weight-for-length gain in the first 6 months predicted classic reactivity during still face. However, greater weight-for-length gain predicted "classic reactivity" during the reunion, when infants were expected to recover, suggesting autonomic dysregulation.

Conclusions

These findings suggest an association between early life adiposity gain and the development of infant ANS regulation.

Impact

Adiposity gain during early infancy was associated with autonomic nervous system regulation at 6 months. This study identifies early adiposity gain (greater than average infant weight-for-length gain) as a risk for ANS dysregulation. This research focuses on a critical developmental period of ANS plasticity. If confirmed, findings can be used to inform early intervention programs targeting obesity prevention and to promote self-regulation.
    Cover page: Infant weight-for-length gain associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2021)

    Evolutionary theory related to the pursuit of dominance within social hierarchical structures supports the idea that externalizing traits are a consequence of the behavioral variability that has evolved to support high levels of dominance motivation and behavior. While decades of research have shown a profound influence of social rank on psychological syndromes in adults, this study aimed to ascertain whether there is evidence for this association beginning in early childhood. The present study used an observational approach to examine children’s social position during the kindergarten year and test its consequences for behavioral adjustment. This study also examined sociocultural predictors, including racial and ethnic minority status, family immigrant status, and socioeconomic status, as predictors of classroom social position, within a very diverse sample of children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Participants were drawn from a community sample of 338 children (163 females, 175 males; mean age = 5.3 years) from 29 kindergarten classrooms sampled across six schools and three urban school districts with racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. Classroom interactions were observed during the winter months of the kindergarten year during structured, semi-structured, and free play activities. Prospective relations of classroom social position to children’s externalizing problems at T2 (end of kindergarten year), controlling for baseline externalizing symptoms in fall (T1), child age, and child gender, were tested using multilevel regression analyses. Kindergarten classroom social position predicted teachers’ reports of children’s externalizing problems at T2, such that those children with more dominant social positions during winter assessments had higher teacher-reported externalizing behaviors at the end of the spring semester than those with more subordinate social positions. This finding is especially noteworthy due to the study design. Although teacher-reported externalizing symptoms at T1 (the beginning of the kindergarten year) were not correlated with classroom social position, classroom social position was associated with developmental changes in children’s externalizing symptoms by the end of the kindergarten year. Immigrant status was associated with classroom social position such that children in immigrant families held more subordinate social positions when compared to children of non-immigrant families. Racial/ethnic minority status and SES were not significantly associated with classroom social position in this study. Although parents of racial/ethnic minority children (largely parent-identified as African American and mixed race/ethnicity) rated their children lower on externalizing problems than parents of racial/ethnic majority children, teachers reported more problematic externalizing symptoms for racial/ethnic minority children, and less problematic externalizing symptoms for children in immigrant families (primarily parent-identified as Asian American and mixed race/ethnicity) when compared to children of non-immigrant families. It is important to interpret these findings with the understanding that our data were gathered in ethnically and socioeconomically diverse schools in one of the most racially and ethnically diverse regions in the nation. This study contributes to the understanding of how sociocultural factors may influence a young child’s classroom social experience, how classroom social position may influence the development of problematic externalizing behaviors in children as young as kindergarten age, and what may contribute to differences in parent and teacher ratings of child behavior. This research also highlights the importance of taking an ecological framework that considers the layered and complex influences on children when developing interventions for families with young children.

      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2018)
      Animal and human research suggests that the development of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is particularly sensitive to early parenting experiences. The Still-Face Paradigm (SFP), one of the most widely used measures to assess infant reactivity and emotional competence, evokes infant self-regulatory responses to parental interaction and disengagement. This systematic review of 33 peer-reviewed studies identifies patterns of parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic (SNS) nervous system activity demonstrated by infants under one year of age during the SFP and describes findings within the context of sample demographic characteristics, study methodologies, and analyses conducted. A meta-analysis of a subset of 14 studies with sufficient available respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) data examined whether the SFP reliably elicited PNS withdrawal (RSA decrease) during parental disengagement or PNS recovery (RSA increase) during reunion, and whether results differed by socioeconomic status (SES). Across SES, the meta-analysis confirmed that RSA decreased during the still-face episode and increased during reunion. When studies were stratified by SES, low-SES or high-risk groups also showed RSA decreases during the still face episode but failed to show an increase in RSA during reunion. Few studies have examined SNS activity during the SFP to date, preventing conclusions in that domain. The review also identified multiple qualifications to patterns of SFP ANS findings, including those that differed by ethnicity, infant sex, parental sensitivity, and genetics. Strengths and weaknesses in the extant research that may explain some of the variation in findings across the literature are also discussed, and suggestions for strengthening future research are provided.
        Cover page: Autonomic nervous system functioning assessed during the Still-Face Paradigm: A meta-analysis and systematic review of methods, approach and findings.
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2020)
        Harsh and restrictive parenting are well-established contributors to the development of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) among children. However, few studies have explored whether interpersonal relationships that develop outside the family environment attenuate the risk for ODD that is associated with harsh parenting. The current study tested multireporter measures of teacher-child closeness and peer acceptance as moderators of the association between harsh parenting and children's ODD as children's social worlds widen during the kindergarten year (N = 338 children, 48% girls, M age = 5.32 years). Harsh parenting interacted with peer nominations of peer acceptance and children's report of teacher-child closeness to predict children's ODD symptoms in the spring, adjusting for fall symptoms. Children exposed to harsh parenting exhibited greater symptom increases when they were less liked/accepted playmates and in the context of lower teacher-child closeness. However, harsh parenting was not associated with symptom change among children with higher levels of peer-nominated acceptance and those who reported closer relationships with teachers. There were no significant interactions using teacher's report of peer acceptance or teacher's report of teacher-child closeness. Findings highlight positive peer and teacher relationships as promising targets of intervention among children exposed to harsh parenting and support the importance of assessing multiple perspectives of children's social functioning.
          Cover page: Informant-specific reports of peer and teacher relationships buffer the effects of harsh parenting on children's oppositional defiant disorder during kindergarten
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2016)
          Early-life adversities (ELA) are associated with subsequent pervasive alterations across a wide range of neurobiological systems and psychosocial factors that contribute to accelerated onset of health problems and diseases. In this article, we provide an integrated perspective on recent developments in research on ELA, based on the articles published in this Special Issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. We focus on the following: 1) the distinction between specific versus general aspects of ELA with regard to the nature of exposure (e.g., physical and sexual abuse, emotional abuse or neglect, relative socioeconomic deprivation), biological and behavioral correlates of ELA, and differences across diseases; 2) the importance of timing in the critical phases of exposure to ELA; and 3) adaptive versus dysfunctional responses to ELA and their consequences for biological and behavioral risk factors for adverse health outcomes. This article concludes with outlining important new targets for research in this area, including the neurobiology of affect as a mechanism linking ELA to adverse health outcomes, and the need for large-scale longitudinal investigations of multisystem processes relevant to ELA in diverse samples, starting prenatally, continuing to late adolescence, and with long-term follow-up assessments that enable evaluation of incident disease outcomes.
            Cover page: Mechanisms Underlying the Association Between Early-Life Adversity and Physical Health
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2016)

            Introduction

            Few studies have examined prenatal mood as a means to identify women at risk for negative childbirth experiences. We explore associations between prenatal mood and birth perceptions in a socioeconomically diverse, American sample.

            Methods

            We conducted a prospective study of 136 predominantly low-income and ethnic minority women of mixed parity. Prenatal measures of perceived stress, pregnancy-related anxiety, and depressive symptoms were used to predict maternal perceptions of birth experiences 1 month postpartum, using the childbirth experience questionnaire (CEQ; 1).

            Results

            After adjusting for sociodemographic variables and mode of delivery, higher third-trimester stress predicted worse CEQ total scores. This association was predominantly explained by two CEQ domains: own capacity (e.g., feelings of control and capability), and perceived safety. Pregnancy-related anxiety and depressive symptoms correlated with perceived stress, though neither independently predicted birth experience. An unplanned cesarean delivery was associated with a worse CEQ total score. Vaginal delivery predicted greater perceived safety. Altogether, sociodemographic covariates, mode of delivery, and prenatal mood accounted for 35 percent of the variance in birth experience (p < 0.001).

            Discussion

            Our finding that prenatal stress explains a significant and likely clinically meaningful proportion of the variance in birth experience suggests that women perceive and recall their birth experiences through a lens that is partially determined by preexisting personal circumstances and emotional reserves. Since childbirth perceptions have implications for maternal and child health, patient satisfaction, and health care expenditures, these findings warrant consideration of prenatal stress screening to target intervention for women at risk for negative birth experiences.
              Cover page: A Prospective Investigation of Prenatal Mood and Childbirth Perceptions in an Ethnically Diverse, Low‐Income Sample
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2016)
              The autonomic nervous system (ANS) consists of two branches, the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, and controls the function of internal organs (e.g., heart rate, respiration, digestion) and responds to everyday and adverse experiences (1). ANS measures in children have been found to be related to behavior problems, emotion regulation, and health (2-7). Therefore, understanding the factors that affect ANS development during early childhood is important. Both branches of the ANS affect young children's cardiovascular responses to stimuli and have been measured noninvasively, via external monitoring equipment, using valid and reliable measures of physiological change (8-11). However, there are few studies of very young children with simultaneous measures of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, which limits understanding of the integrated functioning of the two systems. In addition, the majority of existing studies of young children report on infants' resting ANS measures or their reactivity to commonly used mother-child interaction paradigms, and less is known about ANS reactivity to other challenging conditions. We present a study design and standardized protocol for a non-invasive and rapid assessment of cardiac autonomic control in 18 month old children. We describe methods for continuous monitoring of the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the ANS under resting and challenge conditions during a home or laboratory visit and provide descriptive findings from our sample of 140 ethnically diverse toddlers using validated equipment and scoring software. Results revealed that this protocol can produce a range of physiological responses to both resting and developmentally challenging conditions, as indicated by changes in heart rate and indices of parasympathetic and sympathetic activity. Individuals demonstrated variability in resting levels, responses to challenges, and challenge reactivity, which provides additional evidence that this protocol is useful for the examination of ANS individual differences for toddlers.
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2022)
                Maternal depression is a robust risk factor for children's internalizing symptoms; however, the intergenerational transmission of mood disorders is likely more complex than unidirectional parent-directed effects. Theoretical models support transactional associations between maternal and child symptomatology over time but have not been well examined, especially in younger high-risk samples. The present investigation examined predictive transactional relations between maternal depression and children's internalizing in toddlerhood and early childhood using a cross-lagged panel model. Participants were 162 low-income, largely racial/ethnic minority mothers and their offspring (32% African American, 16% White, 52% Other/Multiethnic; 53% female) who were assessed when children were 18 months and 4 years old. There were significant cross-sectional relations between maternal depressive and child internalizing symptoms when children were 18 months but not 4 years of age. Cross-lagged associations were evident such that maternal depression symptoms at 18 months were positively associated with internalizing symptoms among children at 4 years, adjusting for prior maternal symptom levels and the cross-sectional correlations between maternal-child symptoms at 18 months. Within the same model, children's internalizing symptoms at 18 months were also positively associated with maternal depressive symptoms at 4 years, adjusting for prior child symptom levels and cross-sectional correlations. This study is among the first to demonstrate that transactional relations between maternal and child mood symptoms occur as early as toddlerhood/early childhood. Findings highlight the potential utility of inclusive, family-focused interventions that support both parents and children in the treatment of early emotional problems.
                  Cover page: Transactions between Maternal and Child Depressive Symptoms Emerge Early in Life
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2018)
                  Establishing typical values of the steroid hormone cortisol at rest and after challenge is critical for understanding how environmental factors impact stress regulation and overall development, beginning at birth. Yet most extant samples are small or based upon low-risk populations, and few studies address the potential role of maternal weight during pregnancy in their study designs or sampling strategy. Here we report basal and reactivity levels of salivary cortisol within a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 132 infants approximately one month of age (Age in days: M=37.61, SD=7.27) born to lower income overweight or obese mothers. Reactivity was assessed in response to a multi-domain infant stressor paradigm, which included assessment via the Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO) system and extensive anthropometric measurements. Sample means for basal, post stressors, and reactivity to the NBO were significantly lower than those reported in reviews of low-risk samples. Parity was associated with cortisol levels such that first-born infants had lower resting cortisol and higher reactivity than infants born to multiparous women. Latino infants had lower basal cortisol. No other demographic characteristics significantly predicted cortisol. The variability in cortisol levels present in this sample suggests that considerable psychophysiological diversity may exist in samples of low-SES or high-risk participants. Findings provide useful ranges for samples of racially and ethnically diverse newborns from low-income families.
                    Cover page: Basal and reactivity levels of cortisol in one-month-old infants born to overweight or obese mothers from an ethnically and racially diverse, low-income community sample
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2018)
                    OBJECTIVE:Children from families with lower socioeconomic status (SES) evidence greater physiological dysregulation and poorer health. Despite recognition of environmental contributors, little is known about the influence of neighborhood characteristics. The present study examined the moderating role of community-level risks and resources on the relation of family SES to children's daily cortisol output and physical health during the kindergarten year. METHODS:In fall and spring of kindergarten, children's (N = 338) daily total cortisol was measured and parents and teachers rated children's global physical health. Parents reported family SES. Neighborhood characteristics were assessed using the Child Opportunity Index, a population-level tool that evaluates the quality of multiple domains of neighborhood attributes. RESULTS:In fall, children reared in lower SES family environments had higher cortisol when residing in lower quality (lower opportunity) neighborhoods (b = -.097, p < .001), but there was no relation between family SES and children's cortisol in more advantaged (higher opportunity) neighborhoods (b = -.023, p = .36). Lower family SES was prospectively associated with poorer physical health in spring (controlling for fall health) only among children living in lower opportunity neighborhoods (b = -.250, p = .018) and was unrelated to physical health among children residing in higher opportunity neighborhoods (b = .042, p = .70). CONCLUSIONS:Higher opportunity neighborhoods may protect against the negative consequences of low family SES on children's stress physiology and physical health. Public health interventions that bolster neighborhood opportunities may benefit young children reared in socioeconomically disadvantaged family environments.
                      Cover page: Family Socioeconomic Status, Cortisol, and Physical Health in Early Childhood
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