Exploring the Contribution of Proximal Family Risk Factors on SLC6A4 DNA Methylation in Children with a History of Maltreatment: A Preliminary Study

Francesco Craig, Eleonora Mascheroni, Roberto Giorda, Maria Grazia Felline, Maria Grazia Bacco, Annalisa Castagna, Flaviana Tenuta, Marco Villa, Angela Costabile, Antonio Trabacca and Rosario Montirosso
Additional contact information
Francesco Craig: Department of Culture, Education and Society, University of Calabria, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Eleonora Mascheroni: 0–3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, 23842 Lecco, Italy
Roberto Giorda: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, 23842 Lecco, Italy
Maria Grazia Felline: Unit for Severe Disabilities in Developmental Age and Young Adults, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 72100 Brindisi, Italy
Maria Grazia Bacco: Unit for Severe Disabilities in Developmental Age and Young Adults, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 72100 Brindisi, Italy
Annalisa Castagna: 0–3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, 23842 Lecco, Italy
Flaviana Tenuta: Department of Culture, Education and Society, University of Calabria, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Marco Villa: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, 23842 Lecco, Italy
Angela Costabile: Department of Culture, Education and Society, University of Calabria, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Antonio Trabacca: Unit for Severe Disabilities in Developmental Age and Young Adults, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 72100 Brindisi, Italy
Rosario Montirosso: 0–3 Center for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, 23842 Lecco, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: The cumulative effects of proximal family risk factors have been associated with a high number of adverse outcomes in childhood maltreatment, and DNA methylation of the serotonin transporter gene ( SLC6A4 ) has been associated with child maltreatment. However, the relationships between proximal family risk factors and SLC6A4 methylation remains unexplored. We examined the association among cumulative family risk factors, maltreatment experiences and DNA methylation in the SLC6A4 gene in a sample of 33 child victims of maltreatment. We computed a cumulative family risk (CFR) index that included proximal family risk factors, such as drug or alcohol abuse, psychopathology, parents’ experiences of maltreatment/abuse in childhood, criminal history, and domestic violence. The majority of children (90.9%) experienced more than one type of maltreatment. Hierarchical regression models suggested that the higher the CFR index score and the number of maltreatment experiences, and the older the children, the higher the SLC6A4 DNA methylation levels. Although preliminary, our findings suggest that, along with childhood maltreatment experiences per se, cumulative proximal family risk factors are seemingly critically associated with DNA methylation at the SLC6A4 gene.

Keywords: cumulative family risk; child maltreatment; early adversity; DNA methylation; SLC6A4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12736/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12736/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12736-:d:693843

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().