TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the link between emotional childhood abuse and social relationships in midlife
T2 - The moderating role of the oxytocin receptor gene
AU - Ebbert, Ashley M.
AU - Infurna, Frank J.
AU - Luthar, Suniya S.
AU - Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn
AU - Corbin, William R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by the National Institute on Aging R01 AG26006 . The funders had no role in study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Background: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs53576, of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been associated with fundamental aspects of social processes and behaviors. Compared to A carriers, GG individuals have enhanced social competencies and tend to elicit more positive responses from social partners. However, the G allele of the OXTR rs53576 has also been associated with greater social sensitivity. Objective: The current study examined the unique influence of emotional childhood abuse on positive and negative aspects of different types of social relationships (e.g., family, spouse/partner, and friends) in midlife and whether genetic variations of OXTR rs53576 moderated these associations. Participants and Setting: A total of 614 participants in midlife (aged 40–65), recruited for a large-scale study of Phoenix metropolitan residents (AS U Live Project), answered self-report questionnaires and provided blood samples for DNA genotyping. Methods: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested whether emotional childhood abuse predicted social support and strain for each relationship type and whether these potential linkages differed by OXTR genotype (GG versus AA/AG). Results: Overall, individuals with a history of emotional childhood abuse had less supportive and more strained relationships in midlife. For supportive family relationships, the effect of emotional childhood abuse was moderated by OXTR rs53576 (p < .001). Under conditions of experiencing more emotional abuse in childhood, GG individuals had more supportive family relationships in midlife compared to A carriers. Conclusions: Overall, genetic variations of OXTR rs53576 may be an important candidate in understanding the development of social functioning within the context of emotional childhood abuse.
AB - Background: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs53576, of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has been associated with fundamental aspects of social processes and behaviors. Compared to A carriers, GG individuals have enhanced social competencies and tend to elicit more positive responses from social partners. However, the G allele of the OXTR rs53576 has also been associated with greater social sensitivity. Objective: The current study examined the unique influence of emotional childhood abuse on positive and negative aspects of different types of social relationships (e.g., family, spouse/partner, and friends) in midlife and whether genetic variations of OXTR rs53576 moderated these associations. Participants and Setting: A total of 614 participants in midlife (aged 40–65), recruited for a large-scale study of Phoenix metropolitan residents (AS U Live Project), answered self-report questionnaires and provided blood samples for DNA genotyping. Methods: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested whether emotional childhood abuse predicted social support and strain for each relationship type and whether these potential linkages differed by OXTR genotype (GG versus AA/AG). Results: Overall, individuals with a history of emotional childhood abuse had less supportive and more strained relationships in midlife. For supportive family relationships, the effect of emotional childhood abuse was moderated by OXTR rs53576 (p < .001). Under conditions of experiencing more emotional abuse in childhood, GG individuals had more supportive family relationships in midlife compared to A carriers. Conclusions: Overall, genetic variations of OXTR rs53576 may be an important candidate in understanding the development of social functioning within the context of emotional childhood abuse.
KW - Emotional childhood abuse
KW - Midlife
KW - OXTR rs53576
KW - Oxytocin receptor gene
KW - Social relationships
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U2 - 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104151
DO - 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104151
M3 - Article
C2 - 31521905
AN - SCOPUS:85072016182
SN - 0145-2134
VL - 98
JO - Child Abuse and Neglect
JF - Child Abuse and Neglect
M1 - 104151
ER -