TY - JOUR
T1 - Attachment Orientations, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia, and Stress Are Important for Understanding the Link Between Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Adult Self-Reported Health
AU - Murdock, Kyle W.
AU - Fagundes, Christopher P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The data were collected by the Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity, and Disease at Carnegie Mellon University under the directorship of Sheldon Cohen, PhD; and were accessed via the Common Cold Project website (www.commoncoldproject.com). Data collection was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AI066367) and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (RC1AT005799). Preparation of the manuscript was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1R01HL127260-01; 1F32HL131353).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, The Society of Behavioral Medicine.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - Background: Low childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is reliably associated with poor adult health. Social environments early in life and physiological stress responses are theorized to underlie this link; however, the role of attachment orientations is relatively unknown. Purpose: In this study, we examined whether attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and self-reported stress were mediators of the association between childhood SES and self-reported health in adulthood. Furthermore, we examined whether parasympathetic nervous system functioning was a moderator of associations between attachment orientations and self-reported stress. Methods: Participants (N = 213) provided self-reports of childhood SES, attachment orientations, general stress, and self-rated health. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured at rest, as well as during an acute social stressor. Results: Low childhood SES was associated with poor self-reported health via the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress. Moreover, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health via general stress, but only among those with high stress-induced RSA. Findings were independent of participant age, sex, race, body mass index, baseline RSA, and adult SES. Conclusions: Attachment theory is useful for understanding why those from low SES backgrounds are at greater risk of negative health outcomes in adulthood. Findings extend our knowledge of how interpersonal relationships in childhood can shape emotional and physical health outcomes in adulthood.
AB - Background: Low childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is reliably associated with poor adult health. Social environments early in life and physiological stress responses are theorized to underlie this link; however, the role of attachment orientations is relatively unknown. Purpose: In this study, we examined whether attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and self-reported stress were mediators of the association between childhood SES and self-reported health in adulthood. Furthermore, we examined whether parasympathetic nervous system functioning was a moderator of associations between attachment orientations and self-reported stress. Methods: Participants (N = 213) provided self-reports of childhood SES, attachment orientations, general stress, and self-rated health. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was measured at rest, as well as during an acute social stressor. Results: Low childhood SES was associated with poor self-reported health via the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress. Moreover, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health via general stress, but only among those with high stress-induced RSA. Findings were independent of participant age, sex, race, body mass index, baseline RSA, and adult SES. Conclusions: Attachment theory is useful for understanding why those from low SES backgrounds are at greater risk of negative health outcomes in adulthood. Findings extend our knowledge of how interpersonal relationships in childhood can shape emotional and physical health outcomes in adulthood.
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U2 - 10.1007/s12160-016-9842-4
DO - 10.1007/s12160-016-9842-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 27679464
AN - SCOPUS:84988691789
SN - 0883-6612
VL - 51
SP - 189
EP - 198
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 2
ER -