Relationship of parental trauma exposure and PTSD to PTSD, depressive and anxiety disorders in offspring

Intergenerational trauma transmission through family psychosocial factors in adult children of Rwandan survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi

Thirty years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, children of survivors are being increasingly documented to be at higher risk compared to their peers for adverse mental health outcomes. However, no studies in Rwanda have empirically explored family psychosocial factors underlying this intergenerational transmission of trauma. We investigated family psychosocial factors that could underlie this transmission in 251 adult Rwandan children of survivors (mean age = 23.31, SD = 2.40; 50.2% female) who completed a cross-sectional online survey. For participants with survivor mothers (n = 187), we found that both offspring-reported maternal trauma exposure and maternal PTSD were indirectly associated with children's PTSD via maternal trauma communication (specifically, nonverbal and guilt-inducing communication), and that maternal PTSD was indirectly associated with children's PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms through family communication styles. For participants with survivor fathers (n = 170), we found that paternal PTSD symptoms were indirectly associated with children's anxiety and depression symptoms via paternal parenting styles (specifically, abusive and indifferent parenting). Although replication is needed in longitudinal research with parent-child dyads, these results reaffirm the importance of looking at mass trauma in a family context and suggest that intergenerational trauma interventions should focus on addressing family communication, trauma communication, and parenting.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Military Sexual Trauma, and Birth Experiences at the Veterans Health Administration

BACKGROUND

Women are a growing portion of the U.S. veteran population, and every year the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) serves an increasing number of women seeking obstetrics services. Women veterans experience elevated rates of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and traumatic events, including military sexual trauma, as compared with women in the general population. It is possible that mental health disorders may be associated with birth experiences.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated the link between anxiety, depression, PTSD, and military sexual trauma (MST; i.e., rape and sexual harassment) with perceived birth experience (i.e., Negative or Neutral vs. Positive).

METHODS

Participants included 1,005 veterans who had recently given birth and were enrolled in the multisite, mixed methods study known as the Center for Maternal and Infant Outcomes Research in Translation study (COMFORT). Using χ2 tests, we investigated the relationship between mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, and PTSD and MST with birth experience (coded as Negative/Neutral vs. Positive).

RESULTS

Findings indicated that participants who endorsed PTSD (39.5%), MST-rape (32.1%), or MST-harassment (51.4%; all p < .05) were significantly more likely to report a Negative/Neutral birth experience (14.7%) versus a Positive birth experience (85.3%). Anxiety and depression were not associated with birth experience.

CONCLUSIONS

Veterans with PTSD and/or who experienced MST were more likely to report a negative or neutral birth experience. Thus, screening for PTSD and MST during obstetrics services as well as providing trauma-informed obstetrics care during pregnancy, labor, birth, and recovery may be important among veterans seeking obstetric services.

Association between dimensions of trauma-related psychopathology and asthma in trauma-exposed women

Introduction

Exposure to traumatic events and stressful life experiences are associated with a wide range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Studies have found post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety sensitivity occurrence to be common in addition to inflammatory diseases like asthma, especially in women. Moreover, overlapping neurobiological mechanisms have been linked to both PTSD and asthma.

Methods

In the current study, n = 508 women reported on presence of lifetime asthma diagnosis and symptoms of trauma-related psychopathology including PTSD and depression. A separate group of female participants (n = 64) reported on asthma, PTSD, depression and anxiety sensitivity, and underwent functional MRI scans during a fearful faces task, and their anterior insula responses were analyzed.

Results

Overall, PTSD and depression severity were significantly higher in those with asthma versus those without asthma. There was a positive association between anterior insula response to social threat cues and depression symptoms only among individuals without a lifetime presence of asthma.

Discussion

These findings provide continued evidence on the interactions between stress, neural mechanisms involved in interoception and salience detection, and trauma-related psychopathology.

Long-lasting effects of World War II trauma on PTSD symptoms and embodiment levels in a national sample of Poles

The main aim of this study was to investigate the long-lasting influences of World War II (WWII) trauma in a national sample of Poles, based on Danieli's (1998) survivors' post-trauma adaptational styles (fighter, numb, victim) and their link with current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and embodiment level among participants. We also sought to investigate whether the level of knowledge about WWII trauma among ancestors could moderate that association. The study was conducted among a representative sample of 1598 adult Poles obtained from an external company. Participants filled out the Danieli Inventory of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma, the knowledge about traumatic World War II experiences in the family questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale-5, and the Experience of Embodiment Scale. We observed a positive relationship between all survivors' post-trauma adaptational styles and current levels of PTSD symptoms among participants. In addition, PTSD level mediated the relationships between those adaptational styles and embodiment intensity; that mediation was additionally moderated by a lack of knowledge about WWII trauma among ancestors in our participants. Our study adds to the literature on intergenerational trauma by highlighting the importance of evaluating embodiment in understanding the mechanisms of trauma transmission. Furthermore, it highlights the moderating effect of knowledge of family history in this mechanism and the need to share family histories with subsequent generations.

Evidence of alterations in the learning and memory in offspring of stress-induced male rats

OBJECTIVES

There is extensive data pointing to offspring outcomes related to maternal life incidents, but there is less research concerning the association between paternal life events and progeny brain development and behaviour. As male gametogenesis is a continuous process, the incidences happening in life can modify the epigenetic regulation, altering the offspring's development and behaviour. The present study evaluates the effects of paternal stress during different life periods on their offspring's learning ability, memory, morphological and biochemical changes in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in the rat model.

METHODS

Four weeks' old male rats were subjected to five variable stressors at the rate of one per day. Stress received male rats were bred with naive female rats for 1 to 3 nights. The offspring's learning and memory were assessed by the Morris water maze test and automated Y maze. Following behavioural studies, offspring were euthanized to examine global DNA methylation, neurotransmitter levels, namely acetylcholine, glutamate in the hippocampus and frontal cortex.

RESULTS

The offspring of stress-induced animals exhibited a delay in acquiring learning and defect in memory and altered global DNA methylation in the hippocampus (p=0.000124). There was significant reduction of acetylcholine and glutamate levels in hippocampus (p=0.000018, p=0.00001, respectively) and in prefrontal cortex (p=0.00001, p=0.00001, respectively). HPA axis of offspring was altered considerably (p=0.00001). The histomorphometry of the prefrontal cortex and different hippocampal regions revealed a statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in neuronal numbers in the offspring of stressed animals compared to that of control. These impacts were markedly high in the offspring of fathers who received stress during both pubertal and adult periods.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study demonstrate that paternal stress can impact offspring learning and memory.

A Review of the Impact of Maternal Prenatal Stress on Offspring Microbiota and Metabolites

Maternal prenatal stress exposure affects the development of offspring. We searched for articles in the PubMed database and reviewed the evidence for how prenatal stress alters the composition of the microbiome, the production of microbial-derived metabolites, and regulates microbiome-induced behavioral changes in the offspring. The gut-brain signaling axis has gained considerable attention in recent years and provides insights into the microbial dysfunction in several metabolic disorders. Here, we reviewed evidence from human studies and animal models to discuss how maternal stress can modulate the offspring microbiome. We will discuss how probiotic supplementation has a profound effect on the stress response, the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and how psychobiotics are emerging as novel therapeutic targets. Finally, we highlight the potential molecular mechanisms by which the effects of stress are transmitted to the offspring and discuss how the mitigation of early-life stress as a risk factor can improve the birth outcomes.

Parental Early Life Maltreatment and Related Experiences in Treatment of Youth Anxiety Disorder

The role of parents' early life maltreatment (ELM) (e.g. physical, sexual abuse) and related experiences, in relation to offspring anxiety is not well understood. The current study investigated the association between self-reported depression and ELM and related experiences in mothers (n = 79) and fathers (n = 50), and mother-, father-, and youth-reported symptoms of youth anxiety (n = 90). Outcomes were assessed at pre,- and posttreatment and 3-, 6-, and 12-months follow-up. Parental ELM were not associated with pre-treatment differences or differences in outcome of treatment. However ELM related experiences were associated with increased mother-, father-, and youth-rated youth anxiety at pretreatment. Fathers depressive symptoms were found to mediate the relationship between father ELM related experiences and father-rated youth anxiety symptoms. Future research is warranted on parental ELM and depression as factors affecting outcomes of treatment of youth anxiety. Trial registered at: helseforskning.etikkom.no (reg. nr. 2017/1367).

Impact of traumatic life events and polygenic risk scores for major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder on Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans

Traumatic experiences and genetic heritability are among the most widely acknowledged risk factors leading to the development of psychopathology; including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). The purpose of this study was to investigate if polygenic risk scores (PRS) among Veterans interacted with traumatic stress to predict PTSD and MDD. 1,389 Iraq-Afghanistan military service Veterans from the Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center dataset were analyzed. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) statistics were utilized to generate PRS for PTSD (PRS_PTSD) and PRS for MDD (PRS_MDD) in order to analyze PRS-by-environment (PRSxE) with trauma exposure to predict PTSD and MDD diagnoses. Trauma exposure and PRS_PTSD, were independently associated with a current PTSD diagnosis (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The interaction between trauma exposure and PRS_MDD to predict a current diagnosis of PTSD trended towards significance (p = 0.053). Stratifying by trauma thresholds, among those within the lowest trauma load, the association of PRS_MDD with PTSD was found to be nominally significant (p = 0.03). For a MDD diagnosis, there was a significant association with trauma exposure (p < 0.001); and the association with PRS_MDD was found to be nominally significant (p = 0.03). No significant PRSxE effects were found with MDD. Our findings corroborate previous research highlighting trauma exposure, and genetic heritability, as risk factors for the development of PTSD and MDD in a Veteran population. Additionally, findings suggest that genetic vulnerability may be less important as trauma exposure increases, with high levels of trauma likely to result in PTSD and MDD, regardless of genetic vulnerability.

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and the Quality of Maternal-Child Interactions in Mothers of Preterm Infants

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between maternal trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and directly observed maternal-child interactions among a diverse cohort of mother-preterm infant dyads at 12-month corrected age.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study. Maternal trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms were measured using the Modified Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale at baseline and 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was directly observed maternal-child interactions at 12-month corrected age using the Coding Interactive Behavior Manual. We used linear regression models to estimate the associations between trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms (and symptom clusters), and observer-rated maternal-child interactions.

RESULTS

Among the 236 participants, 89 (37.7%) self-reported as Black and 98 (41.5%) as Latina; mean gestational age of the infants was 31.6 weeks (SD 2.6). Mothers with posttraumatic stress symptoms demonstrated greater maternal sensitivity (β = 0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.58; standardized effect size = 0.39) and greater dyadic reciprocity (β = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.04-0.73; standardized effect size = 0.36) compared with those not exposed to trauma; however, we did not observe significant differences between trauma-exposed but asymptomatic women and those not exposed to trauma. Across symptom clusters, differences in maternal sensitivity and dyadic reciprocity were most pronounced for mothers with avoidance and re-experiencing symptoms, but not hyperarousal symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms seem to be associated with the quality of maternal-child interactions at age 1 year among a cohort of urban, mother-preterm infant dyads. These findings have implications for strength-based intervention development.

Mental Health and Well-Being among Children of Public Safety Personnel in Canada

Public safety personnel (PSP) often experience stress due to their occupational demands that affect the family environment (e.g., work-family conflict, marital breakdown, disruption to home routines, and holidays). A substantial base of research has focused on the impact of PSP work on the marital relationship, but fewer studies have focused specifically on children's functioning within PSP families. The current study investigated mental health, well-being, and functioning among children of PSP in Canada, as reported by PSP. Data were collected between 2016 and 2017 as part of a large pan-Canadian study of PSP. Participants (n = 2092; 72.5% women) were PSP parents who responded to questions about their 4- to 17-year-old children. Overall, a substantial proportion of PSP parents reported their children have at least some difficulties with sadness (15.4%), worries and fear (22.0%), disobedience or anger (22.0%), attention (21.0%), and friendships (11.4%). Firefighters reported the fewest problems among their children compared to other PSP groups. Almost 40% of participants indicated that their child's problems were related to their work as a PSP. The results highlight the need to find ways to identify children that are struggling and provide support to those families. Organizations and PSP leadership should develop and prioritize efforts to support families of PSP members, with the likely outcome of enhancing PSP member well-being.

Intergenerational transmission of risk for PTSD symptoms in African American children: The roles of maternal and child emotion dysregulation

OBJECTIVE

Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for many mental health disorders and develops in the context of early trauma exposure. Research suggests intergenerational risk associated with trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such that maternal trauma experiences and related symptoms can negatively impact child outcomes across development. The goals of the present study were to examine child and mother correlates of child PTSD symptoms and the unique roles of child and maternal emotion dysregulation in understanding child PTSD symptoms.

METHOD

Subjects included 105 African American mother-child dyads from an urban hospital serving primarily low-income minority individuals.

RESULTS

Correlational results showed that child trauma exposure, child emotion dysregulation, maternal depressive symptoms, maternal emotion dysregulation, and potential for maternal child abuse all were significantly associated with child PTSD symptoms (ps < 0.05). Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that child trauma exposure, maternal depression, and maternal abuse potential accounted for 29% of the variance in child PTSD symptoms (p < 0.001). Both child emotion dysregulation (Rchange² = 0.14, p < .001) and maternal emotion dysregulation (Rchange² = 0.04, p < .05) were significantly associated with child PTSD symptoms independent of other risk factors and potential for maternal abuse was no longer a significant predictor.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that maternal emotion dysregulation may be an important factor in influencing their child's PTSD symptoms above and beyond child-specific variables. Both maternal and child emotion dysregulation could be valuable treatment targets for improving maternal mental health and parenting behaviors and bolstering child health outcomes, thus reducing intergenerational transmission of risk associated with trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Prenatal maternal stress and offspring aggressive behavior: Intergenerational and transgenerational inheritance

Even though studies have shown that prenatal maternal stress is associated with increased reactivity of the HPA axis, the association between prenatal maternal stress and fetal glucocorticoid exposure is complex and most likely dependent on unidentified and poorly understood variables including nature and timing of prenatal insults. The precise mechanisms in which prenatal maternal stress influence neuroendocrine signaling between the maternal-placental-fetal interface are still unclear. The aim of this review article is to bring comprehensive basic concepts about prenatal maternal stress and mechanisms of transmission of maternal stress to the fetus. This review covers recent studies showing associations between maternal stress and alterations in offspring aggressive behavior, as well as the possible pathways for the “transmission” of maternal stress to the fetus: (1) maternal-fetal HPA axis dysregulation; (2) intrauterine environment disruption due to variations in uterine artery flow; (3) epigenetic modifications of genes implicated in aggressive behavior. Here, we present evidence for the phenomenon of intergenerational and transgenerational transmission, to better understands the mechanism(s) of transmission from parent to offspring. We discuss studies showing associations between maternal stress and alterations in offspring taking note of neuroendocrine, brain architecture and epigenetic changes that may suggest risk for aggressive behavior. We highlight animal and human studies that focus on intergenerational transmission following exposure to stress from a biological mechanistic point of view, and maternal stress-induced epigenetic modifications that have potential to impact on aggressive behavior in later generations.

Experiences of eating difficulties in siblings of people with anorexia nervosa: a reflexive thematic analysis

BACKGROUND

Siblings of people with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been found to experience strong emotions, changing family roles and poorer wellbeing as a consequence of experiencing the effects of the illness on their sibling and family system. These factors, combined with genetic influences, may put siblings at an increased risk of developing eating disorder psychopathology in addition to other mental health issues. This research aims to explore the experiences of siblings of people with AN who have had eating difficulties themselves and investigate issues that may be important to the development and prevention of eating difficulties in this population.

METHODS

This qualitative study used a reflexive thematic analysis approach. Ten adults who had witnessed a sibling with AN and experienced eating difficulties themselves participated in semi-structured interviews.

ANALYSIS

Participants' own eating difficulties were affected by the specific experience of witnessing a sibling with AN through mealtimes becoming emotionally charged, an increased focus on body size and diet, and comparisons with their sibling. Difficult experiences, such as marital discord amongst parents were common, as was a difficulty in managing emotions. The onset of AN within the family caused participants to take on caring responsibilities for their sibling and to hide their own difficulties for fear of adding additional burden to their parents. This reduced their perceived ability to access support and for some increased a desire to restrict as a coping mechanism for the stress they were experiencing. Systemic beliefs regarding the value of thinness were prevalent and influential. Protective factors, such as not wanting to become as unwell as a sibling with AN and an understanding of the negative consequences of AN, aided recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Eating difficulties in siblings of people with AN may be influenced by competition for slimness, increased focus on diet and body size, and a need to manage difficult emotions. The disruption to social connections and a difficulty finding emotional support that may be experienced by people when a sibling develops AN may further influence susceptibility to eating difficulties. Further research is needed into the best ways to support siblings of people with AN.

Trauma-affected refugees and their non-exposed children: A review of risk and protective factors for trauma transmission

The rates of posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) are high among refugee populations. At the same time, evidence is emerging of intergenerational transmission of psychopathology. The objective of this study was to examine the current knowledge on risk and protective factors for adverse mental health outcomes in the non-exposed offspring of trauma-affected refugees. A systematic search was undertaken from 1 January 1981 to 5 February 2021 (PubMed, Embase, PSYCInfo). Studies were included if they reported on families of trauma-exposed refugee parents and mental health outcomes in their non-exposed children. The search yielded 1415 results and twelve articles met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies emphasized the negative effects of parental mental health symptoms. There was substantial evidence of an association between parental PTSD and increased risk of psychological problems in offspring. Parenting style was identified as both a potential risk and protective factor. Risk/protective factors at the individual and family level were identified, but findings were inconclusive due to sample sizes and study designs. There is a need for evidence-based interventions aimed at improving child outcomes, especially by improving parental mental health and reinforcing parenting skills. Future research should aim to incorporate broader aspects of child development.

Transgenerational epigenetic impacts of parental infection on offspring health and disease susceptibility

Maternal immune activation (MIA) and infection during pregnancy are known to reprogramme offspring phenotypes. However, the epigenetic effects of preconceptual paternal infection and paternal immune activation (PIA) are not currently well understood. Recent reports show that paternal infection and immune activation can affect offspring phenotypes, particularly brain function, behaviour, and immune system functioning, across multiple generations without re-exposure to infection. Evidence from other environmental exposures indicates that epigenetic inheritance also occurs in humans. Given the growing impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is imperative that we investigate all of the potential epigenetic mechanisms and multigenerational phenotypes that may arise from both maternal and paternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, as well as associated MIA, PIA, and inflammation. This will allow us to understand and, if necessary, mitigate any potential changes in disease susceptibility in the children, and grandchildren, of affected parents.

Pregnancy and Infant Development (PRIDE)-a preliminary observational study of maternal adversity and infant development

Background

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families have a markedly elevated risk for impaired cognitive and social-emotional development. Children in poverty experience have a high risk for developmental delays. Poverty engenders disproportionate exposure to psychological adversity which may contribute to impaired offspring development; however the effect may be mitigated by social support and other aspects of resilience. Our objective was to determine the association between maternal stress, adversity and social support and early infant neurobehavior and child behavior at two and three years.

Methods

We conducted a longitudinal mother-infant cohort study nested within a regional home visiting program in Cincinnati, Ohio. Four home study visits were completed to collect measures of maternal stress, adversity and social support and infant and child behavior. A measure of infant neurobehavior (‘high-arousal’ infant) was derived from the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) at 1 month and externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at 24 and 36 months. Linear and logistic regression identified associations between maternal risk/protective factors and infant and child behavioral measures. We used stratification and multiplicative interaction terms to examine potential interactions.

Results

We enrolled n = 55 pregnant mothers and follow 53 mother–offspring dyads at 1 month, 40 dyads at 24 months and 27 dyads at 36 months. Maternal adversity and protective factors were not associated with neurobehavior at one month. However, maternal depression and measures of distress in pregnancy were significantly associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 24 and 36 months.

Conclusions

This pilot study established the feasibility of conducting longitudinal research within a community intervention program. In addition, although there were no statistically significant associations between maternal psychosocial factors in pregnancy and infant neurobehavior, there were several associations at 24 months, primarily internalizing symptoms, which persisted through 36 months. Future work will replicate findings within a larger study as well as explore mediators and modifiers of these associations.

Posttraumatic stress disorder: from gene discovery to disease biology

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex mental disorder afflicting approximately 7% of the population. The diverse number of traumatic events and the wide array of symptom combinations leading to PTSD diagnosis contribute substantial heterogeneity to studies of the disorder. Genomic and complimentary-omic investigations have rapidly increased our understanding of the heritable risk for PTSD. In this review, we emphasize the contributions of genome-wide association, epigenome-wide association, transcriptomic, and neuroimaging studies to our understanding of PTSD etiology. We also discuss the shared risk between PTSD and other complex traits derived from studies of causal inference, co-expression, and brain morphological similarities. The investigations completed so far converge on stark contrasts in PTSD risk between sexes, partially attributed to sex-specific prevalence of traumatic experiences with high conditional risk of PTSD. To further understand PTSD biology, future studies should focus on detecting risk for PTSD while accounting for substantial cohort-level heterogeneity (e.g. civilian v. combat-exposed PTSD cases or PTSD risk among cases exposed to specific traumas), expanding ancestral diversity among study cohorts, and remaining cognizant of how these data influence social stigma associated with certain traumatic events among underrepresented minorities and/or high-risk populations.

Profiling nonhuman primate germline RNA to understand the legacy of early life stress

Exposure to stress is a risk factor for perturbed mental health, including impoverished regulation of emotional and physiological responses that accompany anxiety and mood disorders, substance abuse and behavioral disorders. Such disruptions to well‐being could be triggered by discrete environmental events or pervasive early life stress (ELS) resulting for example from adverse caregiving. Recent data mostly collected from rodents exposed to anthropogenic stressors suggest that one way via which the detrimental effects of such stress extend beyond the exposed population to future offspring is via stress‐induced alterations of RNA found in the paternal germline. In contrast, less attention has been paid to how naturally occurring stress in males might influence offspring biology and behavior. In this study, we used a translational nonhuman primate model of ELS caused by naturally occurring adverse caregiving of infant macaques to (1) profile total RNA in the adolescent male germline, and (2) identify how those RNA profiles are affected by exposure to ELS. Our findings that the top 100 transcripts identified correspond to transcripts related to germline biology and reproduction demonstrate the validity and feasibility of profiling RNA in the germline of rhesus macaques. While our small sample sizes precluded definitive assessment of stress‐induced alterations of RNA in the male germline of rhesus macaques that experienced ELS, our study sets the foundation for future investigations of how early adversity might alter the male germline, across species and in experimental protocols that involve anthropogenic vs natural stressors.

The top 100 genes in the male germline for which RNA sequences aligned to the sense strand were relevant to male germline‐related biology and reproduction.

Sequences aligned to the antisense strand that may play an important role in regulation of gene expression in the zygote after fertilization were also found.

Intergenerational impacts of trauma and hardship through parenting

BACKGROUND

Millions of people worldwide experience severe trauma in their lifetime. Trauma has immediate and long-term effects on emotional wellbeing. Moreover, the experiences of one generation may influence subsequent generations via social and biological pathways. Poor mental health and emotion dysregulation associated with trauma may affect parenting behaviours, which may have long-lasting effects on children's development.

METHODS

We use longitudinal data from a unique sample of 732 caregivers of children aged 6-36 months living in extremely poor rural households in Rwanda to examine associations of caregiver lifetime trauma, recent daily hardships, mental health, and emotion dysregulation with parenting behaviours reflecting parental acceptance and rejection of their offspring.

RESULTS

Cumulative trauma exposure (β = .234, p < .001) and recent daily hardships (β = .323, p < .001) are associated with higher levels of internalising symptoms. Trauma (β = .257, p < .001) and daily hardships (β = .323, p < 0.001) are also associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Internalising symptoms predict more rejection (β = .177, p = .001), but show no association with acceptance. Caregiver PTSD symptoms predict more rejection (β = .277, p < .001) and less acceptance (β = -.190, p = .003). Both internalising symptoms (β = .557, p < .001) and PTSD symptoms (β = .606, p < .001) are strongly associated with poor emotion regulation. Indirect effects suggest that caregiver trauma and hardships affect parenting indirectly via elevated caregiver internalising symptoms and PTSD and that some of these effects are accounted for by emotion dysregulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregiver internalising and PTSD symptoms are important mechanisms through which caregiver trauma and hardship affect parenting behaviours. Emotion dysregulation is a shared mechanism linking caregivers' mental health problems with parenting behaviours that reflect acceptance and rejection of the child. Emotion regulation is indicated as a key target for prevention of adverse effects of caregiver trauma on mental health and child wellbeing.

Gene Expression Analysis in Three Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Cohorts Implicates Inflammation and Innate Immunity Pathways and Uncovers Shared Genetic Risk With Major Depressive Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychiatric disorder that can develop following exposure to traumatic events. The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium PTSD group (PGC-PTSD) has collected over 20,000 multi-ethnic PTSD cases and controls and has identified both genetic and epigenetic factors associated with PTSD risk. To further investigate biological correlates of PTSD risk, we examined three PGC-PTSD cohorts comprising 977 subjects to identify differentially expressed genes among PTSD cases and controls. Whole blood gene expression was quantified with the HumanHT-12 v4 Expression BeadChip for 726 OEF/OIF veterans from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), 155 samples from the Injury and Traumatic Stress (INTRuST) Clinical Consortium, and 96 Australian Vietnam War veterans. Differential gene expression analysis was performed in each cohort separately followed by meta-analysis. In the largest cohort, we performed co-expression analysis to identify modules of genes that are associated with PTSD and MDD. We then conducted expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and assessed the presence of eQTL interactions involving PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD). Finally, we utilized PTSD and MDD GWAS summary statistics to identify regions that colocalize with eQTLs. Although not surpassing correction for multiple testing, the most differentially expressed genes in meta-analysis were interleukin-1 beta (IL1B), a pro-inflammatory cytokine previously associated with PTSD, and integrin-linked kinase (ILK), which is highly expressed in brain and can rescue dysregulated hippocampal neurogenesis and memory deficits. Pathway analysis revealed enrichment of toll-like receptor (TLR) and interleukin-1 receptor genes, which are integral to cellular innate immune response. Co-expression analysis identified four modules of genes associated with PTSD, two of which are also associated with MDD, demonstrating common biological pathways underlying the two conditions. Lastly, we identified four genes (UBA7, HLA-F, HSPA1B, and RERE) with high probability of a shared causal eQTL variant with PTSD and/or MDD GWAS variants, thereby providing a potential mechanism by which the GWAS variant contributes to disease risk. In summary, we provide additional evidence for genes and pathways previously reported and identified plausible novel candidates for PTSD. These data provide further insight into genetic factors and pathways involved in PTSD, as well as potential regions of pleiotropy between PTSD and MDD.

Association between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in the Offspring

Objectives

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) of mothers may negatively affect the mental health of their offspring. Little is known about the intergenerational effect of maternal ACE on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the offspring. This study inves-tigated the impact of maternal ACEs on PTSD in the offspring.

Methods

A total of 156 mothers with children aged 13–18 years completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) Predictive Scales to determine the presence of psychiatric disorders in their offspring. The subjects completed the ACE questionnaire and the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report-Short Form. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between ma-ternal ACEs and PTSD in the offspring.

Results

Of the mothers, 23.7% had at least one ACE, and PTSD was reported in 21.8% of the offspring. The offspring of the mothers in the ACE group had a significantly higher rates of traumatic experiences and PTSD than the offspring of the mothers in the no ACE group. Maternal household dysfunction independently predicted offspring PTSD [odds ratio (OR)=3.008, p=0.05), and three or more maternal ACEs were significantly related to PTSD in the offspring (OR=10.613, p=0.025).

Conclusion

Maternal ACEs have a significant impact on the risk of traumatic experiences and PTSD in the offspring. These findings suggest the presence of intergenerational transmissions by which maternal ACEs affect the mental health of the offspring.

Cardinal role of the environment in stress induced changes across life stages and generations

The stress response in rodents and humans is exquisitely dependent on the environmental context. The interactive element of the environment is typically studied by creating laboratory models of stress-induced plasticity manifested in behavior or the underlying neuroendocrine mediators of the behavior. Here, we discuss three representative sets of studies where the role of the environment in mediating stress sensitivity or stress resilience is considered across varying windows of time. Collectively, these studies testify that environmental variation at an earlier time point modifies the relationship between stressor and stress response at a later stage. The metaplastic effects of the environment on the stress response remain possible across various endpoints, including behavior, neuroendocrine regulation, region-specific neural plasticity, and regulation of receptors. The timescale of such variation spans adulthood, across stages of life history and generational boundaries. Thus, environmental variables are powerful determinants of the observed diversity in stress response. The predominant role of the environment suggests that it is possible to promote stress resilience through purposeful modification of the environment.

A traumatic life experience in childhood increases the risk of a psychiatric disorder in the offspring

A traumatic life experience in childhood is a fundamental risk factor of numerous psychiatric disorders. Recently, studies try to evaluate the mental health consequences on victims' offspring, but few psychiatric disorders were examined, and whether these results apply to the general population remains unknown. In this study, we use the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a large representative sample of American population, in order to estimate the impact on the offspring of a traumatic experience in parents. Besides, we use a well-known risk factor for offspring's psychiatric disorder: a familial history of a psychiatric disorder, in order to compare and assess the importance of parental traumatism as a risk factor for the offspring. Our results show that the five psychiatric disorders studied, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, mood disorder, antisocial personality disorder and anxiety disorder, are more prevalent in the offspring, when at least one parent report a traumatic life event in his own childhood. Moreover, the magnitude of this risk factor is close to the magnitude of having a parental history of psychiatric disorder.

The Development of Adolescent Chronic Pain following Traumatic Brain Injury and Surgery: The Role of Diet and Early Life Stress

Pain is evolutionarily necessary for survival in that it reduces tissue damage by signaling the body to respond to a harmful stimulus. However, in many circumstances, acute pain becomes chronic, and this is often dysfunctional. Adolescent chronic pain is a growing epidemic with an unknown etiology and limited effective treatment options. Given that the relationship between acute pain and chronic pain is not straightforward, there is a need to better understand the factors that contribute to the chronification of pain. Since early life factors are critical to a variety of outcomes in the developmental and adolescent periods, they pose promise as potential mechanisms that may underlie the transition from acute to chronic pain. This review examines two early life factors: poor diet and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); they may increase susceptibility to the development of chronic pain following surgical procedures or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Beyond their high prevalence, surgical procedures and TBI are ideal models to prospectively understand mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain. Common themes that emerged from the examination of poor diet and ACEs as mechanisms underlying this transition included: prolonged inflammation and microglia activation leading to sensitization of the pain system, and stress-induced alterations to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function, where cortisol is likely playing a role in the development of chronic pain. These areas provide promising targets for interventions, the development of diagnostic biomarkers, and suggest that biological treatment strategies should focus on regulating the neuroinflammatory and stress responses in an effort to modulate and prevent the development of chronic pain.

Sleep duration and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms: a twin study

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Long and short sleep duration are associated with greater risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, it is unknown how genetic and environmental influences affect this relationship. Thus, we investigated the association between sleep duration and PTSD symptoms using twin models.

METHODS

Data were obtained from 1865 monozygotic and 758 dizygotic twin pairs enrolled in the community-based Washington State Twin Registry. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the Impact of Events Scale (IES). A classical twin model decomposed the variances of sleep duration and IES score into additive genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental components. We used correlated factor models to examine the moderation of variance components of sleep duration and IES.

RESULTS

Shorter and longer sleep duration were associated with higher IES scores with a quadratic association (p < 0.001). The heritability of sleep duration was 36%, and IES 31%. Variance in sleep duration attributable to shared (b1C1 = 2.91, 95% CI = 1.40 to 4.43; p < 0.001) and unique (b1E1 = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.10 to 0.27; p < 0.001) environment was moderated by IES score. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, variance in IES attributable to additive genetics (b1A2 = -0.23, 95% CI = -0.45 to 0.00; p = 0.048) was moderated by sleep duration.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater PTSD symptom severity was associated with short and long sleep duration. Increasing PTSD symptoms increased variability in sleep duration primarily via shared environmental factors, whereas decreasing sleep duration increased variability in PTSD symptoms primarily via additive genetic factors. This suggests childhood experiences affect variability of sleep duration and genetic factors affect the variability of PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed individuals.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of the March 11 attacks in Madrid admitted to a hospital emergency room: 6-month follow-up

Purpose:

To determine the change in prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in victims of the March 11 attacks and their relatives, 1 and 6 months after the attacks.

Subjects and methods

Evaluation of PTSD symptoms using the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in a sample of 56 patients admitted to an emergency room of a general hospital, and assessment of PTSD symptoms in relatives of the patients.

Results:

At Month 1, 41.1% of patients (31.3% of males and 54.2% of females) presented with PTSD. At Month 6, this figure was 40.9% (30.4% of males and 52.4% of females). There was a significant improvement in perception of health among females between Month 1 and Month 6. Relatives presented similar DTS scores at baseline and at 6 months.

Discussion:

We verified that rates of PTSD did not vary substantively between the two evaluations. PTSD symptoms positively correlated with psychological health involvement. This correlation points out that both PTSD symptoms and subjective general health involvement are part of the psychological response to trauma.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was high and remained stable between Month 1 and Month 6, while subjective perception of health improved significantly.

A novel theory on the predictive value of variation in the β-endorphin system on the risk and severity of PTSD

Despite growing interest in genetic and psychosocial indicators of heightened susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a predictive model, which explains why some individuals develop PTSD in response to life-threatening traumatic events, while others, when faced with the same or similar experiences, do not, has thus far remained out of reach. In this paper, we review the literature on gene-environment interactions in β-endorphin system functioning with regard to PTSD and suggest that variation, both genetic and with regard to environmental stimuli, in systems which, like the β-endorphin system, distort human perception of life-threatening traumatic experiences may account for some of the variance in resilience to the disorder. Given the role of β-endorphin in both social connections and physical exercise, this becomes especially relevant with regard to military selection, training, and leadership processes.

Siblings of Individuals With Eating Disorders: A Review of the Literature

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious psychopathologies characterized by a persistent disturbance in eating or eating-related behavior. Studies have shown EDs' detrimental consequences not only for patients, but also for their families. Nevertheless, a specific group that has so far been neglected, in both the research and clinical fields, are siblings of individuals with EDs. In an effort to identify this population's needs, and to facilitate effective prevention and treatment, this paper aims to review the existing literature on the subject, and examine siblings' personal experience, ways of coping, and levels of psychopathology. PubMed and PsycNet databases were searched with no publication date restrictions, yielding 26 relevant papers. Studies were categorized according to common themes they addressed, and subsequently summarized by highlighting common features, as well as information unique to each study. Several themes emerged, including emotional well-being, psychopathology, social consequences, family dynamics, and coping strategies. Results show that EDs experienced by one individual have significant effects on one's siblings, such as a decrease in quality of life, social isolation, and elevated familial strain. In several studies siblings were found to have elevated levels of psychopathology and EDs related symptoms. Nevertheless, findings' nature and magnitude were highly varied. The review indicates the need for further studies that will examine possible intra- and interpersonal moderating factors for EDs' impact on well-being among siblings, and take into consideration the substantial heterogeneity in studies conducted thus far. Additionally, this review highlights the need for novel and effective interventions, specifically targeting this at-risk group.

Trauma Associated Sleep Disorder: Clinical Developments 5 Years After Discovery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We review recent and growing evidence that provides support for a novel parasomnia, trauma associated sleep disorder (TASD). Based on these findings, we further develop the clinical and polysomnographic (PSG) characteristics of TASD. We also address factors that precipitate TASD, develop a differential diagnosis, discuss therapy, and propose future directions for research.

RECENT FINDINGS

Nightmares, classically a REM phenomenon, are prevalent and underreported, even in individuals with trauma exposure. When specifically queried, trauma-related nightmares (TRN) are frequently associated with disruptive nocturnal behaviors (DNB), consistent with TASD. Capture of DNB in the lab is rare but ambulatory monitoring reveals dynamic autonomic concomitants associated with disturbed dreaming. TRN may be reported in NREM as well as REM sleep, though associated respiratory events may confound this finding. Further, dream content is more distressing in REM. Therapy for this complex disorder likely requires addressing not only the specific TASD components of TRN and DNB but comorbid sleep disorders. TASD is a unique parasomnia developing after trauma. Trauma-exposed individuals should be specifically asked about their sleep and if they have nightmares with or without DNB. Patients who report TRN warrant in-lab PSG as part of their evaluation.

Toward a Psychological Framework of Radical Healing in Communities of Color

Advancing beyond individual-level approaches to coping with racial trauma, we introduce a new psychological framework of radical healing for People of Color and Indigenous individuals (POCI) in the United States. We begin by providing a context of race and racism in the United States and its consequences for the overall well-being of POCI. We build on existing frameworks rooted in social justice education and activism and describe a form of healing and transformation that integrates elements of liberation psychology, Black psychology, ethnopolitical psychology, and intersectionality theory. We briefly review these conceptual foundations as a prelude to introducing a psychological framework of radical healing and its components grounded in five anchors including: (a) collectivism, (b) critical consciousness, (c) radical hope, (d) strength and resistance, and (e) cultural authenticity and self-knowledge. We conclude with a discussion of the applications of radical healing to clinical practice, research, training, and social justice advocacy.

Parental immigration and offspring post-traumatic stress disorder: A nationwide population-based register study

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between parental immigration status and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their offspring.

METHODS

This nested matched case-control study was based on a Finnish national birth cohort for 1987-2010 and cases were diagnosed with PTSD by 2012 from the Care Register for Health Care. We identified 3639 cases and 14,434 controls individually matched for gender, place and date of birth (±30 days). Conditional logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between parental immigration status, parents' region of birth and time since paternal immigration, and PTSD after controlling for confounding factors.

RESULTS

The likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD was significantly increased among children with an immigrant father (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3 - 2.4) than those with two Finnish parents and one immigrant mother. There was no significant association between having an immigrant mother or two immigrant parents and receiving a diagnosis of PTSD. The likelihood of being diagnosed with PTSD was increased if the children's fathers had migrated less than five years before their birth (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.9) and if their immigrant fathers had been born in North Africa or the Middle East (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.4 - 3.3).

LIMITATIONS

The sample included a heterogeneous migrant group without information on the reason for migration. The cases were identified from hospital diagnosis that may have only included severe cases.

CONCLUSION

The increased likelihood of a diagnosis of PTSD underlines the need for psychosocial services among second-generation immigrants.

Is silence about trauma harmful for children? Transgenerational communication in Palestinian families

Style of family communication is considered important in the transgenerational transmission of trauma. This study had three aims: first, to identify the contents of family communication about past national trauma; second, to examine how parents' current war trauma is associated with transgenerational communication; and third, to analyze the associations between transgenerational communication and children's mental health, measured as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and psychological distress. The study sample consisted of 170 Palestinian families in Gaza Strip, in which both mothers (n = 170) and fathers (n = 170) participated, each with their 11-13-year-old child. Mothers and fathers responded separately to three questions: 1) what did their own parents tell them about the War of 1948, Nakba?; 2) what did they tell their own children about the Nakba?; and 3) What did they tell their own children about the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and military occupation? Current war trauma, as reported separately by mothers, fathers and their children, refers to the Gaza War 2008/09. Children reported their symptoms of PTSD, depression, and psychological distress. Results revealed seven communication content categories and one category indicating maintaining silence about the traumas. Fathers' high exposure to current war trauma was associated with a higher level of communicating facts, reasons, and meanings regarding the1948 and 1967 wars, and mothers' high exposure to current war trauma was associated with a lower level of maintaining silence. Family communication about facts, reasons, and meanings was significantly associated with children not showing PTSD and marginally with not showing psychological distress, while maintaining silence was not associated with children's mental health.

Transgenerational epigenetic influences of paternal environmental exposures on brain function and predisposition to psychiatric disorders

In recent years, striking new evidence has demonstrated non-genetic inheritance of acquired traits associated with parental environmental exposures. In particular, this transgenerational modulation of phenotypic traits is of direct relevance to psychiatric disorders, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders. Here we review the recent progress in this field, with an emphasis on acquired traits of psychiatric illnesses transmitted epigenetically via the male lineage. We discuss the transgenerational effects of paternal exposure to stress vs. positive stimuli, such as exercise, and discuss their impact on the behavioral, affective and cognitive characteristics of their progeny. Furthermore, we review the recent evidence suggesting that these transgenerational effects are mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, including changes in DNA methylation and small non-coding RNAs in the sperm. We discuss the urgent need for more research exploring transgenerational epigenetic effects in animal models and human populations. These future studies may identify epigenetic mechanisms as potential contributors to the 'missing heritability' observed in genome-wide association studies of psychiatric illnesses and other human disorders. This exciting new field of transgenerational epigenomics will facilitate the development of novel strategies to predict, prevent and treat negative epigenetic consequences on offspring health, and psychiatric disorders in particular.

Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: a systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms

Exposure to war and violence has major consequences for society at large, detrimental impact on people's individual lives, and may also have intergenerational consequences. To gain more insight into these intergenerational consequences, research addressing the impact of the Holocaust on offspring is an important source of information. The aim of the current study was to systematically review the mechanisms of intergenerational consequences by summarizing characteristics in Holocaust survivors and their offspring suggested to impact the offspring's mental health. We focused on: 1) parental mental health problems, 2) (perceived) parenting and attachment quality, 3) family structure, especially parental Holocaust history, 4) additional stress and life events, and 5) psychophysiological processes of transmission. We identified 23 eligible studies published between 2000 and 2018. Only Holocaust survivor studies met the inclusion criteria. Various parent and child characteristics and their interaction were found to contribute to the development of psychological symptoms and biological and epigenetic variations. Parental mental health problems, perceived parenting, attachment quality, and parental gender appeared to be influential for the mental well-being of their offspring. In addition, having two survivor parents resulted in higher mental health problems compared to having one survivor parent. Also, there was evidence suggesting that Holocaust survivor offspring show a heightened vulnerability for stress, although this was only evident in the face of actual danger. Finally, the results also indicate intergenerational effects on offspring cortisol levels. Clinical and treatment implications are discussed.

Intergenerational transmission of war-related trauma assessed 40 years after exposure

BACKGROUND

The intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from parent to offspring has been suggested in the literature, but this is highly controversial. We aimed to study the association between veterans' war exposure and lifetime PTSD and the psychological characteristics of their respective offspring, 40 years after war-related trauma.

METHODS

Forty-four adult offspring of veterans with PTSD and 29 offspring of veterans without PTSD were included in the study, from a total of 46 veterans. War exposure intensity, lifetime PTSD, and the general psychopathology (with Brief Symptom Inventory-BSI) of the veterans were studied, as were childhood trauma, attachment, and the general psychopathology (with BSI) of their offspring.

RESULTS

Veterans' war exposure was associated with BSI in the offspring with regard to somatisation (β = 0.025; CI 0.001, 0.050), phobic anxiety (β = 0.014; CI: 0.000, 0.027), Global Severity Index (GSI) (β = 0.022; CI 0.005, 0.038), and Positive Symptom Distress Index (β = 0.020; CI 0.006, 0.033). The fathers' GSI mediated only 18% of the effect of the veterans' total war exposure on offspring's GSI. Fathers' war exposure was associated with offspring's physical neglect as a childhood adversity, although non-significantly (p = 0.063). None of the other variables was associated with veterans' war exposure, and veterans' lifetime PTSD was not associated with any of the variables studied.

CONCLUSIONS

The offspring of war veterans showed increased psychological suffering as a function of their fathers' war exposure intensity, but not of their fathers' lifetime PTSD. These results could be used to suggest that mental health support for veterans' offspring should consider the war exposure intensity of their fathers, and not just psychopathology. This could spare offspring's suffering if this mental health support could be delivered early on, after veterans return from war.

Exposure to traumatic events in childhood predicts cortisol production among high risk pregnant women

Childhood exposure to traumatic events has a profound and disruptive impact on mental and physical health, including stress physiology. In the current study, we evaluate 90 pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery and assess the association between history of exposure to traumatic events and hair cortisol concentrations, an integrated measure of cortisol production. Exposure to more traumatic events in childhood and in adulthood independently predicted elevated hair cortisol concentrations in pregnancy. Notably, the impact of childhood exposure to traumatic events remained after accounting for more proximal traumatic events in adulthood. Further, there was a significant interaction between childhood and adult exposures. Traumatic experiences in adulthood were more strongly associated with hair cortisol concentrations among mothers with a history of greater childhood trauma. Findings suggest that not only do proximal adult exposures impact HPA-axis functioning during pregnancy, but that childhood traumatic experiences have persisting consequences for HPA-axis functioning during pregnancy. Maternal HPA-axis dysregulation in pregnancy has consequences for both maternal health and for fetal development. Therefore, we consider prenatal maternal HPA-axis functioning as a potential biological pathway underlying intergenerational consequences of childhood trauma.

Preconception Paternal Stress in Rats Alters Brain and Behavior in Offspring

Whereas environmental challenges during gestation have been repeatedly shown to alter offspring brain architecture and behavior, exploration examining the consequences of paternal preconception experience on offspring outcome is limited. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of preconception paternal stress (PPS) on cerebral plasticity and behavior in the offspring. Several behavioral assays were performed on offspring between postnatal days 33 (P33) and 101 (P101). Following behavioral testing, the brains were harvested and dendritic morphology (dendritic complexity, length, and spine density) were examined on cortical pyramidal cells in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbital frontal cortex (OFC), parietal cortex (Par1), and the CA1 area of the hippocampus. As anticipated, behavior was altered on both the activity box assay and elevated plus maze and performance was impaired in the Whishaw tray reaching task. Neuroanatomical measures revealed a heavier brain in stressed animals and dendritic changes in all regions measured, the precise effect varying with the measure and cerebral region. Thus, PPS impacted both behavior and neuronal morphology of offspring. These effects likely have an epigenetic basis given that in a parallel study of littermates of the current animals we found extensive epigenetic changes at P21.

Testing a Military Family Stress Model

The current study examines a military family stress model, evaluating associations between deployment-related stressors (i.e., deployment length/number, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) and parent, child, parenting, and dyadic adjustment among families in which a parent had previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in the recent conflicts. Married families (N = 293) with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 12 were recruited from a Midwestern state. Service members were from the Reserve Component (National Guard or Reserves); fathers (N = 253) and/or mothers had deployed (N = 45) to the recent conflicts in the Middle East. Multiple-method (observations of parenting and couple interactions; questionnaires) and multiple informant measures were gathered online and in the homes of participants, from parents, children, and teachers. Findings demonstrated associations between mothers' and fathers' PTSD symptoms and a latent variable of child adjustment comprising teacher, parent, and child report. Mothers' but not fathers' PTSD symptoms were also associated with dyadic adjustment and parenting practices; parenting practices were in turn associated with child adjustment. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for military family stress research and interventions to support and strengthen parents and families after deployment.

Parental posttraumatic stress and child behavioral problems in world trade center responders

BACKGROUND

We investigated trans-generational associations between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in World Trade Center (WTC) responders and behavioral problems in their children.

METHODS

Participants were WTC responders-8034 police and 8352 non-traditional (eg, construction workers)-with one or more children at the time of their first visit to the World Trade Center Health Program (WTC-HP). Self-report questionnaires were administered approximately 4 years after the 9/11 WTC attack.

RESULTS

A total of 31.4% of non-traditional and 20.0% of police responders reported behavioral problems in their children. Non-traditional responder status, female sex, Hispanic ethnicity, more life stressors, more WTC-related PTSD symptoms, and dysphoric arousal symptoms were significant correlates of behavioral problems in responders' children.

CONCLUSIONS

Specific parental sociodemographic, psychosocial and clinical characteristics, as well as PTSD symptom severity, were significant correlates of child behavior problems. Findings encourage monitoring and early intervention for children of disaster responders, particularly those at highest risk.

Dairy cows - an opportunity in the research field of non-genetic inheritance?

More than 1 billion cattle are raised annually for meat and milk production. Dairy cows are repeatedly impregnated and separated from their calves, usually within the first 24 h after birth. Here, I suggest that dairy cows undergo a procedure comparable to the 'Maternal separation combined with unpredictable maternal stress' paradigm (MSUS), which is used to study the non-genetic inheritance (NGI) of phenotypes in rodents. I discuss what research on dairy cows may bring to the research field of NGI. The resulting research findings are likely to have benefits to our understanding of MSUS, NGI and consumer safety.

Intergenerational transmission of traumatization: Theoretical framework and implications for prevention

Intergenerational transmission of traumatization (ITT) occurs when traumatized parents have offspring with increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Although fetal exposure to the maternal biological milieu is known to be one factor in ITT, PTSD-driven parent-child interactions represent an additional important and potentially modifiable contributor. The Perinatal Interactional Model of ITT presented herein proposes that PTSD leads to social learning and suboptimal parent-child interactions, which undermine child regulatory capacity and increase distress, largely explaining poor social-emotional outcomes for offspring of parents with PTSD. Psychosocial intervention, particularly when delivered early in pregnancy, holds the possibility of disrupting ITT.

Incident mental disorders in the aftermath of traumatic events: A prospective-longitudinal community study

BACKGROUND

Few strictly prospective-longitudinal community studies examined the role of traumatic events for risk of developing a broad range of incident mental disorders over several years.

METHOD

A representative community sample of adolescents and young adults (n = 2797, baseline age 14-24) was prospectively examined in up to three assessment waves over up to 10 years. Traumatic events and DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed at each wave using the DIA-X/M-CIDI. Associations between traumatic events (meeting the DSM-IV A1-criterion for posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD) or qualifying traumatic events (meeting the DSM-IV A2-criterion) at baseline and incident disorders at follow-up were tested with logistic regressions adjusted for gender and age.

RESULTS

While traumatic and qualifying traumatic events at baseline were related to various baseline disorders, considerably fewer associations were found in strictly prospective analyses with incident disorders at follow-up as outcomes. After adjustment for baseline disorders, only (a) the association of traumatic events with incident specific phobias (Odds Ratio, OR = 1.6) and (b) the associations of qualifying traumatic events with incident specific phobias (OR = 1.6), PTSD (OR = 2.5) and major depressive episodes (OR = 1.4) remained significant.

CONCLUSION

Targeted prevention and early intervention among traumatized individuals may be particularly beneficial to lower the incidence of specific phobias and MDE besides PTSD.

LIMITATIONS

Associations between traumatic events and incident mental disorders might be underestimated, as cases developing psychopathology immediately after trauma exposure prior to baseline were excluded in our strictly prospective analyses.

Single-Prolonged Stress: A Review of Two Decades of Progress in a Rodent Model of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common, costly, and often debilitating psychiatric condition. However, the biological mechanisms underlying this disease are still largely unknown or poorly understood. Considerable evidence indicates that PTSD results from dysfunction in highly-conserved brain systems involved in stress, anxiety, fear, and reward. Pre-clinical models of traumatic stress exposure are critical in defining the neurobiological mechanisms of PTSD, which will ultimately aid in the development of new treatments for PTSD. Single prolonged stress (SPS) is a pre-clinical model that displays behavioral, molecular, and physiological alterations that recapitulate many of the same alterations observed in PTSD, illustrating its validity and giving it utility as a model for investigating post-traumatic adaptations and pre-trauma risk and protective factors. In this manuscript, we review the present state of research using the SPS model, with the goals of (1) describing the utility of the SPS model as a tool for investigating post-trauma adaptations, (2) relating findings using the SPS model to findings in patients with PTSD, and (3) indicating research gaps and strategies to address them in order to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of PTSD.