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Associations Between Maternal Experiences of Discrimination and Biomarkers of Toxic Stress in School-Aged Children

Associations Between Maternal Experiences of Discrimination and Biomarkers of Toxic Stress in... Objective To examine associations between maternal experiences of discrimination and child biomarkers of toxic stress in a multiethnic, urban sample of mothers and children (4–9 years). Methods Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study of maternal–child dyads (N = 54) living in low-income neighborhoods in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Mothers reported experiences of discrimination. Noninvasive biomarkers of toxic stress were collected to assess neuroendocrine (hair cortisol), immune (salivary cytokines, c-reactive protein), and cardiovascular (blood pressure) functioning in children. Results Maternal experiences of discrimination were associated with increased log-transformed salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in children (β = 0.15, p = 0.02). Conclusions Vicarious racism, or indirect exposure to discrimination experienced by caregivers, is associated with poor health outcomes for children. Immune pathways may be a biological mechanism through which racial discrimination “gets under the skin,” but additional research is needed to fully understand these relationships. Uncovering the physiological mechanisms linking vicarious racism with child health is an important step towards understanding possible early roots of racial and ethnic health inequities. Keywords Social discrimination · Racism · Stress, physiological · Child health · Parenting · Vicarious racism Significance Introduction Racism and discrimination are powerful social determinants Toxic stress refers to chronic elevation of a child’s stress- of http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Maternal and Child Health Journal Springer Journals

Associations Between Maternal Experiences of Discrimination and Biomarkers of Toxic Stress in School-Aged Children

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References (29)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
Subject
Medicine & Public Health; Public Health; Sociology, general; Population Economics; Pediatrics; Gynecology; Maternal and Child Health
ISSN
1092-7875
eISSN
1573-6628
DOI
10.1007/s10995-019-02779-4
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Objective To examine associations between maternal experiences of discrimination and child biomarkers of toxic stress in a multiethnic, urban sample of mothers and children (4–9 years). Methods Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study of maternal–child dyads (N = 54) living in low-income neighborhoods in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Mothers reported experiences of discrimination. Noninvasive biomarkers of toxic stress were collected to assess neuroendocrine (hair cortisol), immune (salivary cytokines, c-reactive protein), and cardiovascular (blood pressure) functioning in children. Results Maternal experiences of discrimination were associated with increased log-transformed salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in children (β = 0.15, p = 0.02). Conclusions Vicarious racism, or indirect exposure to discrimination experienced by caregivers, is associated with poor health outcomes for children. Immune pathways may be a biological mechanism through which racial discrimination “gets under the skin,” but additional research is needed to fully understand these relationships. Uncovering the physiological mechanisms linking vicarious racism with child health is an important step towards understanding possible early roots of racial and ethnic health inequities. Keywords Social discrimination · Racism · Stress, physiological · Child health · Parenting · Vicarious racism Significance Introduction Racism and discrimination are powerful social determinants Toxic stress refers to chronic elevation of a child’s stress- of

Journal

Maternal and Child Health Journal – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 20, 2019

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