Background: Childhood maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has been associated with high levels of the pro-inflammatory marker interleuken-6 (IL-6), which is a risk factor for developing chronic...Show moreBackground: Childhood maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has been associated with high levels of the pro-inflammatory marker interleuken-6 (IL-6), which is a risk factor for developing chronic inflammation and poor health outcomes. How hormonal sex differences affect this relationship remains unclear. Objective: The first aim of this study was to investigate the association between experienced childhood maltreatment and inflammation, measured via salivary levels of IL-6. We then explored if this relationship was moderated by sex differences. Methods: A total of 117 participants (50.4% female, aged 22 to 65 years old) were recruited at Leiden University from a cross-sectional family study. Experienced abused and neglect were measured through self-report questionnaires (Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and IL-6 was measured through saliva samples gathered. Data was analysed with a moderation analysis, performed with the SPSS PROCESS macro. Results: Results indicate that there was no significant relationship between childhood maltreatment and increased levels of IL-6 in saliva, and sex differences did not moderate the relationship. A significant association was found between general health problems and increased levels of IL-6. Conclusion: No conclusive statements could be made with insignificant results. Further research should focus on differences in sex hormones (testosterone, oestrogen) after experiencing childhood maltreatment, with more distinction between abuse vs. neglect. And future studies should explore the validity of collecting IL-6 in salivary samples over blood.Show less
Adults who have experienced trauma in their childhood risk having a wide range of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there may be protective factors...Show moreAdults who have experienced trauma in their childhood risk having a wide range of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there may be protective factors that could explain why not all victims develop psychopathology in adulthood. One of these potential factors is ‘psychological resilience’: a cognitive process that determines if an individual is able to bounce back from a negative experience through flexible adaptation. The current study aims to examine the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms, along with the possible moderating impact of psychological resilience on this relationship. This was investigated with a cross-sectional design, by means of an online selfreport questionnaire performed by 26 Dutch women aged 25 to 62 years of whom most had experienced some type of trauma. The data was collected using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SR), the PTSD Checklist for DSM-V (PCL-5) and the Resilience Evaluation Scale (RES). The results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that, as expected, women who experienced more childhood trauma showed an increased amount of PTSD symptoms (R² = .614, p ≤ .000), and that women with a higher level of resilience showed a lower amount of PTSD symptoms (R² = .74, p ≤ .000). However, resilience cannot be considered as a moderator of the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms, as the interaction between childhood trauma and resilience was not significant (p = .179). Instead, the study did find that women who experienced more childhood trauma show lower levels of resilience (r = -.574, p = < .005). The current study recommends future studies to examine what exact role resilience has in the relationship between childhood trauma and PTSD symptoms. In addition, it emphasizes to boost resilience in victims of childhood trauma, because it may decrease the likelihood of developing PTSD symptoms in adulthood.Show less
