title: Emotional and instrumental support during childhood and biological dysregulation in midlife.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether greater emotional and instrumental support during childhood is associated with less dysregulation across multiple physiological systems in midlife.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from participants in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States study (2004-2005) who participated in a clinic-based assessment of health status. Emotional and instrumental support was measured using a seven-item scale (α=0.89) based on participant retrospective self-report. Biological dysregulation was assessed using an allostatic load (AL) score constructed from 24 measures across seven physiological systems (N=1236, aged 34-84 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Emotional and instrumental support in childhood was associated with lower AL in a monotonic fashion: compared to individuals in the lowest quartile of support, respondents in the second, third, and fourth quartiles had -0.08 (standard deviation (SD)=0.08), -0.13 (SD=0.08) and -0.21 (SD=0.08) units lower AL, adjusting for age, sex, and race. This pattern was maintained after adjustment for reporting bias, childhood socioeconomic disadvantage, past-year depression, and physician-diagnosed cardiovascular disease or diabetes (p≤0.01). The inflammation and metabolic-lipid subscales showed the strongest associations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greater emotional and instrumental support in childhood was associated with less biological dysregulation in midlife, even after accounting for socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood and other potential confounders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park, United States. Electronic address: nslopen@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Slopen
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, United States.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University, Australia.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Priest
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of California at San Francisco, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Michelle A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, United States; Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University, United States.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Allostatic load; Childhood; Emotional support; Instrumental support; Life course; Parental support; Physiological dysregulation