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Child Abuse, Later PTSD Show Distinctive Genetic Signature
Such discoveries have the possibility of leading to new, specific treatment protocols for post-traumatic stress disorder among individuals who experienced child abuse.
In the study, researchers examined adult civilians with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and found that individuals with a history of childhood abuse have distinct, profound changes in gene activity patterns, compared to adults with PTSD but without a history of child abuse.
Investigators took blood samples from 169 participants in the Grady Trauma Project, a study of more than 5,000 Atlanta residents with high levels of exposure to violence, physical and sexual abuse and with high risk for civilian PTSD.
“These are some of the most robust findings to date showing that different biological pathways may describe different subtypes of a psychiatric disorder, which appear similar at the level of symptoms but may be very different at the level of underlying biology,” said Kerry Ressler, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University.
“As these pathways become better understood, we expect that distinctly different biological treatments would be implicated for therapy and recovery from PTSD based on the presence or absence of past child abuse.”
Study results are found online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition.
Divya Mehta, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, and her colleagues examined changes in the patterns of which genes were turned on and off in blood cells from patients.
They also looked at patterns of methylation, a DNA modification on top of the four letters of the genetic code that causes genes to be “silenced” or made inactive.
For the study participants were divided into three groups: people who experienced trauma without developing PTSD, people with PTSD who were exposed to child abuse, and people with PTSD who were not exposed to child abuse.
The researchers were surprised to find that although hundreds of genes had significant changes in activity in the PTSD with and without child abuse groups, there was very little overlap in patterns between these groups.
The two groups shared similar symptoms of PTSD, which include intrusive thoughts such as nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance of trauma reminders, and symptoms of hyperarousal and hypervigilance.
The PTSD with child abuse group displayed more changes in genes linked with development of the nervous system and regulation of the immune system, while the PTSD minus child abuse group displayed more changes in genes linked with apoptosis (cell death) and growth rate regulation.
In addition, changes in methylation were more frequent in the PTSD with child abuse group. The authors believe that these biological pathways may lead to different mechanisms of PTSD symptom formation within the brain.
The German group evaluated gene activity in blood cells, rather than brain tissue. Similar results have been obtained by researchers studying the influence of child abuse on the brains of people who had committed suicide.
“Traumatic events that happen in childhood are embedded in the cells for a long time,” said senior author Elisabeth Binder, M.D., Ph.D. “Not only the disease itself, but the individual’s life experience is important in the biology of PTSD, and this should be to be reflected in the way we treat these disorders.”
Source: Emory Health Sciences
For Many Young Adults, ‘Fantasy Gap’ Between Materialism, Work Ethic
New research by San Diego State University psychologist Dr. Jean M. Twenge — who has written about Millenials and other young adult cohorts in books such as “Generation Me” — compares the last three generations on characteristics of materialism and work ethic.
Twenge, along with co-author Dr. Tim Kasser, a professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, set out to evaluate the following question: Are today’s youth really more materialistic and less motivated than past generations, or do adults tend to perceive moral weakness in the next generation?
Study results, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, show that there is in fact a growing gap for today’s young adults between materialism and the desire to work hard.
“Compared to previous generations, recent high school graduates are more likely to want lots of money and nice things, but less likely to say they’re willing to work hard to earn them,” said Twenge.
“That type of ‘fantasy gap’ is consistent with other studies showing a generational increase in narcissism and entitlement.”
In the study, Twenge and Kasser drew from a nationally representative survey of 355,000 U.S. high school seniors conducted from 1976 to 2007.
The survey examines the materialistic values of three generations with questions focused on the perceived importance of having a lot of money and material goods, as well as the willingness to work hard.
Compared to Baby Boomers graduating from high school in the 1970s, recent high school students are more materialistic — 62 percent of students surveyed in 2005-07 think it’s important to have a lot of money, while just 48 percent had the same belief in 1976-78.
Sixty-nine percent of recent high school graduates thought it was important to own a home, compared to just 55 percent in 1976-78.
Materialism peaked in the ’80s and ’90s with Generation X and has continued to stay high.
As for work ethic, 39 percent of students surveyed in 2005-07 admitted they didn’t want to work hard, compared to only 25 percent in 1976-78.
An interesting finding was the discovery that adolescents’ materialism was highest when advertising spending made up a greater percentage of the U.S. economy.
“This suggests that advertising may play a crucial role in the development of youth materialism,” said Twenge. “It also might explain the gap between materialism and the work ethic, as advertising rarely shows the work necessary to earn the money necessary to pay for the advertised products.”
It is important to understand the generational relationship between money (materialism) and work ethic because mental health issues such as depression and anxiety often surface as adolescents begin placing a strong priority on money and possessions, Kasser said.
“This study shows how the social environment shapes adolescents attitudes,” said Twenge.
“When family life and economic conditions are unstable, youth may turn to material things for comfort. And when our society funds large amounts of advertising, youth are more likely to believe that ‘the good life’ is ‘the goods life.’”
Source: San Diego State University
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