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Parenting Practices May Buffer the Impact of Adversity on Epigenetic Age Acceleration Among Young Children With

Alexandra D W Sullivan1,2, Anne K Bozack3, Andres Cardenas3,4

  • 1Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont.

Psychological Science
|September 21, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Children facing adversity showed slower epigenetic aging when parents used more positive and less negative parenting. This finding highlights the protective role of supportive parenting in mitigating biological aging in at-risk children.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Epigenetics
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Childhood adversity is linked to negative health outcomes.
  • Epigenetic age acceleration may serve as a biomarker for biological aging.
  • Parenting interventions aim to improve child development and well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between childhood adversity, parenting practices, and epigenetic age acceleration.
  • To determine if parenting moderates the effect of adversity on epigenetic aging.
  • To examine these associations in children with developmental delays and externalizing behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 62 children (mean age 36.26 months) from a randomized controlled trial.
  • Epigenetic age acceleration measured using a pediatric buccal epigenetic clock from saliva samples.
  • Adversity assessed via cumulative risk indicators; parenting practices observed at two time points.

Main Results:

  • Adversity interacted with parenting practices to predict epigenetic age acceleration.
  • Higher adversity was associated with lower epigenetic age acceleration when positive parenting increased.
  • Higher adversity was also linked to lower epigenetic age acceleration when negative parenting decreased.

Conclusions:

  • Parenting practices significantly moderate the association between childhood adversity and epigenetic age acceleration.
  • Improved positive and reduced negative parenting may buffer the biological aging effects of adversity.
  • Findings underscore the importance of supportive parenting for children exposed to risk factors.

Keywords:
adversitycumulative riskdevelopmental delaysearly interventionepigenetic age accelerationparentingyoung children

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