Maternal Childhood Trauma and Offspring Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Function from Infancy to 6 Years of Age.

ABSTRACT: Childhood trauma experiences can carry over to the next generation, affecting the health and behavior of survivors' children. However, the mechanisms underlying these intergenerational effects of childhood trauma are not yet clear. One mechanism may be changes in children's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This preregistered longitudinal study examined associations between 170 mothers' childhood trauma experiences (maltreatment, family and peer violence) and their children's cortisol reactivity and total circadian cortisol output at 12 months and 6 years of age. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that maternal childhood trauma was not significantly associated with child cortisol reactivity or total circadian cortisol output, neither at 12 months nor at 6 years of age. Thus,

SUBMITTER: Loheide-Niesmann L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11831242 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature