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Principal Investigator: KANWALJEET S ANAND
Organization: STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $1,003,564
Funding agency: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), parenting, and social determinants of health (SDH) contribute to early
life adversity (ELA), which can disrupt development in the brain, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems
to increase the risks for chronic non-communicable diseases, substance abuse, or other detrimental outcomes.
In contrast, positive childhood experiences (PCEs) can build resilience, and improve physical and mental health
outcomes. We have validated the assays for hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) to assess chronic stress
and hair oxytocin concentrations (HOC) to assess social bonding in over 1200 children. We found significant
differences in HCC/HOC by age, sex, race/ethnicity, parent income, the child’s health and ACEs exposures. We
also measured hair growth rates and hair composition, and found no effects of hair composition on HCC/HOC.
The social psychology of childhood flows from parenting and family factors, with ACEs and PCEs reflecting the
negative vs. positive experiences in the child’s social ecology. We propose an identity disruption model to study
how early social psychology and health are altered by their social ecology, using hair biomarkers to define the
role of HPA-axis (dys)regulation in mediating these outcomes. We will derive a measure of toxic stress (TS) from
ACEs, PCEs, and family factors in a prospective longitudinal study, evaluating 450 children at 6-month intervals
to see how TS affects HCC/HOC trajectories and to develop HCC criteria for HPA-axis dysregulation.
AIM 1 examines how ACEs exposures in preschool children are related to a chronic stress biomarker (HCC).
AIM 2 examines how the PCEs are related to a social bonding biomarker (HOC), and if the PCEs can protect
children from developing HPA-axis dysregulation. The degree and timing of child exposures to toxic stress will
be related to the adaptive, hyperresponsive, maladaptive, and exhaustive phases of HPA-axis (dys)regulation.
We will examine how the ACEs, PCEs, and family factors are associated with HPA-axis profiles by classifying
children into 4 groups of atypically low (0-25th), normative (25th-75th), reactive (75th-90th), or atypically high (90th-
100th) HCC percentiles. Latent class mixed models will reveal their HCC trajectories, and secondary analyses
will examine the moderating effects of parent resilience, self-esteem, mental health symptoms, and parenting
stress on HCC trajectories. This project will also establish the first-ever scalable methodology for public health
studies of HPA-axis function in children and adults, to identify those at risk for long-term effects of toxic stress
on their physical, mental, social, and relational health; thus becoming eligible for intervention trials or programs.
We have an experienced multidisciplinary team, the pilot data, and the strong community partnerships to
successfully complete the proposed project, which addresses fundamental gaps in our current knowledge,
and establishes a scientific framework for predicting long-term physical and mental health sequelae of TS.
Our research focuses on childhood trauma and traumatic stress occurring in the most sensitive periods for
HPA-axis maturation, and it also contributes to the NICHD priorities on health disparities & disease prevention.
Terms: <0-11 years old><1-5 years old><21+ years old><ASD><Address><Adrenal Glands><Adrenals><Adult><Adult Human><Adverse Experience><Adverse event><Aeroseb-HC><Affect><Affective Disorders><Age><Alcohol Chemical Class><Alcohols><Algorithms><Assay><Attentional deficit><Autism><Autistic Disorder><Behavioral><Bioassay><Biological Assay><Biological Markers><Bionomics><Brain><Brain Nervous System><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><Cancers><Cardiovascular><Cardiovascular Body System><Cardiovascular Organ System><Cardiovascular system><Cetacort><Child><Child Abuse and Neglect><Child Health><Child Rearing><Child Youth><Childhood><Childhood maltreatment><Children (0-21)><Chronic><Chronic stress><Classification><Cognitive><Cort-Dome><Cortef><Cortenema><Cortisol><Cortispray><Cortril><Data><Dermacort><Development><Diabetes Mellitus><Disease><Disorder><Drug abuse><Early Infantile Autism><Ecology><Economic Income><Economical Income><Eldecort><Eligibility><Eligibility Determination><Emotional><Emotions><Encephalon><Enrollment><Epidemiology><Ethnic Origin><Ethnicity><Event><Exposure to><Family><Generalized Growth><Growth><HPA axis><Hair><Health><Health Care Costs><Health Costs><Healthcare Costs><Heart Vascular><Homicide><Human><Hydrocortisone><Hydrocortone><Hypophysis><Hypophysis Cerebri><Hypothalamic structure><Hypothalamus><Hytone><Immune system><Impoverished><Imprisonment><Income><Infantile Autism><Intervention Trial><Interventional trial><Kanner's Syndrome><Knowledge><Lead><Life><Link><Long-Term Effects><Long-term prospective studies><Longterm Effects><Longterm prospective studies><Love><Malignant Neoplasms><Malignant Tumor><Measurement><Measures><Mediating><Mental Depression><Mental Health><Mental Hygiene><Metabolic><Methodology><Modeling><Modern Man><Mood Disorders><NICHD><National Institute of Child Health and Human Development><National Institute of Children's Health and Human Development><Nutracort><Obesity><Ocytocin><Outcome><Oxytocin><Parenting><Parenting behavior><Parents><Pb element><Phase><Physiologic><Physiological><Pituitary><Pituitary Gland><Pituitary Nervous System><Poverty><Preschool Child><Prevalence><Preventive><Proctocort><Property><Protocol Screening><Psyche structure><Psychological Health><Psychometrics><Psychopathology><Public Health><Publishing><Race><Races><Recombinant Oxytocin><Regulation><Research><Respiratory Disease><Respiratory System Disease><Respiratory System Disorder><Risk><Role><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><Sampling><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Severities><Single Parent><Social Psychology><Social isolation><Stress><Substance abuse problem><Suicide><Symptoms><System><Systematics><Testing><Time><Tissue Growth><Toxic effect><Toxicities><Training><Youth><Youth 10-21><abnormal psychology><abuse of drugs><abuse of substances><abuses drugs><adiposity><adolescent trauma><adulthood><adverse childhood events><adverse childhood experiences><aged><ages><allostatic load><attentive deficit><autism spectral disorder><autism spectrum disorder><autistic spectrum disorder><bio-markers><biologic marker><biomarker><build resilience><build resiliency><care giving><caregiving><child maltreatment><childhood trauma><childrearing><circulatory system><community partnership><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><corpulence><depression><develop resilience><develop resiliency><developmental><diabetes><disease prevention><disorder prevention><disparity in health><early adversity><early childhood><early childhood adversity><early life adversity><emotional trauma><enhance resilience><enhance resiliency><enroll><epidemiologic><epidemiological><experience><fatal attempt><fatal suicide><health disparity><heavy metal Pb><heavy metal lead><hypothalamic><hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis><hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis><hypothalmus-pituitary-adrenal axis><improve resilience><improve resiliency><improved><incarcerated><incarceration><incomes><increase resilience><increase resiliency><intent to die><intervention program><kids><life span><lifespan><longitudinal, prospective study><malignancy><mental><multidisciplinary><neoplasm/cancer><novel><ontogeny><pandemic><pandemic associated stress><pandemic disease><pandemic induced stress><pandemic related stress><pandemic stress><parent><pediatric><pediatric trauma><physical conditioning><physical health><poor health outcome><preschool child (1-5)><prevent><preventing><programs><promote resilience><promote resiliency><protective effect><psychosocial><racial><racial background><racial origin><reduced health outcome><resilience><resilience development><resilient><saliva assay><saliva based assay><saliva based test><saliva test><salivary assay><salivary test><screening><screenings><secondary analysis><self esteem><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><sex><social><social attachment><social bonding><social disadvantage><social disparities><social health determinants><social inequality><social role><stress due to pandemic><stress during the pandemic><stress reactivity><stressor><substance abuse><suicides><suprarenal gland><trauma in children><traumatic stress><worse health outcome><youngster>