Risk and Resilience in the Intergenerational Impacts of Childhood Trauma Among Black Americans: Moderating Roles of Epigenetic Aging and the Gut Microbiome Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This dissertation examined the intergenerational associations between maternal childhood adversity and offspring symptoms of psychopathology among Black American mothers and children. Moreover, we explored whether two biological factors related to stress physiology – gut microbiome composition and epigenetic aging – may explain individual differences in offspring susceptibility to maternal childhood adversity. Specifically, we examined how maternal childhood trauma (measured via the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and maternal adverse childhood experiences (measured via the ACEs survey) related to offspring internalizing, externalizing, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology. We additionally explored whether maternal childhood maltreatment subtypes (i.e., emotional, physical, and sexual abuse) were differentially related to offspring outcomes. Our findings suggested that both maternal ACEs and maternal childhood trauma, particularly maternal emotional and sexual abuse, are predictive of offspring symptoms of psychopathology, with potentially varying impacts of different types of adversity. We also examined whether variation in the composition of the infant gut microbiome may moderate these intergenerational associations. Although limited evidence supported this hypothesis, we found that the significant association between maternal ACEs and offspring internalizing symptoms was marginally attenuated in offspring with a greater relative abundance of the protective bacteria Lactobacillus. In a separate study, we examined whether offspring epigenetic aging – a measure of DNA methylation differences that are associated with infant health outcomes – may moderate the association between maternal childhood trauma and offspring symptoms. In line with our hypothesis, we found that the significant associations between maternal childhood sexual abuse and offspring internalizing, externalizing, and posttraumatic stress symptoms were attenuated in offspring with accelerated epigenetic aging at birth. Taken together, these results suggest that individual differences in biological factors that relate to the development and regulation of the stress response may influence a child’s susceptibility to stress, including the intergenerational impact of maternal stress. Findings from the current dissertation highlight the utility of better understanding the factors that contribute to these biological differences and whether targeting these modifiable processes could help interrupt the intergenerational transmission of trauma, particularly for those who are most profoundly impacted.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

General Introduction..........................................................................................1

Study 1: Intergenerational and Early Life Associations of the Gut Microbiome and Stress- Related Symptomatology Among Black American Mothers and Children

Title.....................................................................................................6

Abstract.................................................................................................7

Introduction.............................................................................................8

Method.................................................................................................12

Results..................................................................................................20

Discussion..............................................................................................27

Study 2: Infant Epigenetic Aging Moderates the Link Between Maternal Childhood Trauma and Offspring Symptoms of Psychopathology

Title....................................................................................................33

Abstract................................................................................................34

Introduction............................................................................................35

Method.................................................................................................41

Results..................................................................................................45

Discussion..............................................................................................52

General Discussion..........................................................................................62

References.....................................................................................................73 

Table of Contents (cont.)

Tables and Figures

Study 1: Intergenerational and Early Life Associations of the Gut Microbiome and Stress- Related Symptomatology Among Black American Mothers and Children

Table 1................................................................................................14

Figure 1................................................................................................18

Figure 2................................................................................................21

Figure 3................................................................................................22

Figure 4................................................................................................24

Figure 5.................................................................................................25

Figure 6.................................................................................................26

Study 2: Infant Epigenetic Aging Moderates the Link Between Maternal Childhood Trauma and Offspring Symptoms of Psychopathology

Table 1................................................................................................47

Table 2.................................................................................................48

Table 3.................................................................................................50

Table 4.................................................................................................50

Table 5..................................................................................................53

Table 6..................................................................................................53

Figure 1.................................................................................................51

Figure 2.................................................................................................54

Figure 3.................................................................................................55 

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Psychology
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical
Mot-clé	intergenerational microbiome adversity epigenetics
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Patricia A. Brennan, Emory University
Committee Members	W. Edward Craighead, Emory University Alicia K. Smith, Emory University Anne L. Dunlop, Emory University Rohan H.C. Palmer, Emory University Sierra E. Carter, Georgia State University

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