Maternal Attachment Avoidance is Linked to Youth Diurnal Cortisol Slopes in Children with Asthma

Overview

Journal Attach Hum Dev

Publisher Informa Healthcare

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2018 Nov 9

PMID 30406724

Authors

Michael W Harvey

Allison K Farrell

Ledina Imami

Justin M Carre

Richard B Slatcher

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Prior evidence suggests that an individual's attachment orientation is linked to the health and health-related biology of his/her romantic relationship partners. The current study examined whether this effect extends to parent-child relationships. Specifically, we investigated the association between maternal attachment anxiety and avoidance and diurnal cortisol of offspring. In a sample of 138 youth with asthma and their primary caregivers, caregivers reported their attachment orientations, and their children (aged 10-17) supplied four saliva samples per day over four days to assess diurnal cortisol patterns. Growth curve analyses revealed no links to caregiver attachment anxiety, but caregiver attachment avoidance was significantly associated with children's diurnal cortisol slopes, such that greater attachment avoidance predicted flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. Maternal warmth did not mediate this link. These results support the possibility that an individual's adult attachment orientation may "get under the skin" of family members to influence their health-related biology. Future research should seek to determine the causal direction of this association and mechanisms of this effect.

References

Jaremka L, Glaser R, Loving T, Malarkey W, Stowell J, Kiecolt-Glaser J . Attachment anxiety is linked to alterations in cortisol production and cellular immunity. Psychol Sci. 2013; 24(3):272-9. PMC: 3816388. DOI: 10.1177/0956797612452571. View

Miller G, Chen E, Parker K . Psychological stress in childhood and susceptibility to the chronic diseases of aging: moving toward a model of behavioral and biological mechanisms. Psychol Bull. 2011; 137(6):959-97. PMC: 3202072. DOI: 10.1037/a0024768. View

Doane L, Mineka S, Zinbarg R, Craske M, Griffith J, Adam E . Are flatter diurnal cortisol rhythms associated with major depression and anxiety disorders in late adolescence? The role of life stress and daily negative emotion. Dev Psychopathol. 2013; 25(3):629-42. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579413000060. View

Pietromonaco P, Collins N . Interpersonal mechanisms linking close relationships to health. Am Psychol. 2017; 72(6):531-542. PMC: 5598782. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000129. View

Adam E, Gunnar M, Tanaka A . Adult attachment, parent emotion, and observed parenting behavior: mediator and moderator models. Child Dev. 2004; 75(1):110-22. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00657.x. View

Raque-Bogdan T, Ericson S, Jackson J, Martin H, Bryan N . Attachment and mental and physical health: self-compassion and mattering as mediators. J Couns Psychol. 2011; 58(2):272-278. DOI: 10.1037/a0023041. View

Enders C . The impact of nonnormality on full information maximum-likelihood estimation for structural equation models with missing data. Psychol Methods. 2002; 6(4):352-70. View

Matthews K, Schwartz J, Cohen S, Seeman T . Diurnal cortisol decline is related to coronary calcification: CARDIA study. Psychosom Med. 2006; 68(5):657-61. DOI: 10.1097/01.psy.0000244071.42939.0e. View

Beck L, Pietromonaco P, DeBuse C, Powers S, Sayer A . Spouses' attachment pairings predict neuroendocrine, behavioral, and psychological responses to marital conflict. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013; 105(3):388-424. PMC: 4076153. DOI: 10.1037/a0033056. View

10.

Collins N, Feeney B . A safe haven: an attachment theory perspective on support seeking and caregiving in intimate relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000; 78(6):1053-73. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.6.1053. View

11.

Quirin M, Pruessner J, Kuhl J . HPA system regulation and adult attachment anxiety: individual differences in reactive and awakening cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2008; 33(5):581-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.01.013. View

12.

Bamberger C, Schulte H, Chrousos G . Molecular determinants of glucocorticoid receptor function and tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids. Endocr Rev. 1996; 17(3):245-61. DOI: 10.1210/edrv-17-3-245. View

13.

Evans G, Li D, Whipple S . Cumulative risk and child development. Psychol Bull. 2013; 139(6):1342-96. DOI: 10.1037/a0031808. View

14.

Oskis A, Loveday C, Hucklebridge F, Thorn L, Clow A . Anxious attachment style and salivary cortisol dysregulation in healthy female children and adolescents. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010; 52(2):111-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02296.x. View

15.

House J, Landis K, Umberson D . Social relationships and health. Science. 1988; 241(4865):540-5. DOI: 10.1126/science.3399889. View

16.

Wolf J, Nicholls E, Chen E . Chronic stress, salivary cortisol, and alpha-amylase in children with asthma and healthy children. Biol Psychol. 2008; 78(1):20-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.12.004. View

17.

Ditzen B, Schmidt S, Strauss B, Nater U, Ehlert U, Heinrichs M . Adult attachment and social support interact to reduce psychological but not cortisol responses to stress. J Psychosom Res. 2008; 64(5):479-86. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.11.011. View

18.

Fraley R, Heffernan M, Vicary A, Brumbaugh C . The Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures questionnaire: a method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychol Assess. 2011; 23(3):615-25. DOI: 10.1037/a0022898. View

19.

Powers S, Pietromonaco P, Gunlicks M, Sayer A . Dating couples' attachment styles and patterns of cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to a relationship conflict. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2006; 90(4):613-28. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.613. View

20.

Adam E, Kumari M . Assessing salivary cortisol in large-scale, epidemiological research. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009; 34(10):1423-36. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.011. View