Daily family assistance and inflammation among adolescents from Latin American and European backgrounds.
To assess the biological impact of time spent helping the family during the teenage years, we examined circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6r), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in 64 adolescents (M(age)=17.79 years) from Latin American and European backgrounds. Analyses of nightly diary checklists over 14 days showed that the amount of time spent helping the family in a variety of ways, such as cooking, cleaning, and sibling care, was associated with long-term elevations of sIL-6r and CRP, even after controlling for ethnicity, parental education, BMI, substance use, distress, and frequency of daily family assistance 2 years earlier. However, adolescents who derived a greater sense of role fulfillment from helping the family on a daily basis had lower levels of sIL-6r and CRP as compared to their peers who engaged in the same amount of family assistance. Additional work should explore the family context that drives high levels of assistance among adolescents, as well as the variety of ways adolescents may derive meaning from this activity.
Fuligni
Andrew J
AJ
Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA. afuligni@ucla.edu
Telzer
Eva H
EH
Bower
Julienne
J
Irwin
Michael R
MR
Kiang
Lisa
L
Cole
Steve W
SW
D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People
D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D002097:C-Reactive Protein