title: Early Life Family Conflict, Social Interactions, and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood.
abstract: Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean intima-media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood.
  
  
  
  Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean [standard deviation] age = 42.8 [7.3] years). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support.
  
  
  
  Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (β = 0.08, t(447) = 2.13, p = .034, R = 0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and ecological momentary assessment reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0001-0.0014] and β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0002-0.0015], respectively).
  
  
  
  These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Neha A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: John-Henderson
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kamarck
authors.forename: Matthew F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Muldoon
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Manuck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000069586:Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000072860:Ecological Momentary Assessment; D054541:Family Conflict; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support
references.citation: Circulation. 2007 Jan 30;115(4):459-67
references.pmid: 17242284
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Aug 1;60(3):296-301
references.pmid: 16460697
references.citation: J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2008 Feb;21(2):93-111; quiz 189-90
references.pmid: 18261694
references.citation: Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2008;4:1-32
references.pmid: 18509902
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008 Jul;95(1):197-211
references.pmid: 18605860
references.citation: Behav Res Methods. 2008 Aug;40(3):879-91
references.pmid: 18697684
references.citation: Health Psychol. 2009 May;28(3):338-46
references.pmid: 19450040
references.citation: JAMA. 2009 Jun 3;301(21):2252-9
references.pmid: 19491187
references.citation: Stroke. 2009 Oct;40(10):3166-72
references.pmid: 19713542
references.citation: Depress Anxiety. 2010 Dec;27(12):1087-94
references.pmid: 21132844
references.citation: Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2011 Apr;18(2):167-74
references.pmid: 21568017
references.citation: Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Oct;25(7):1468-74
references.pmid: 21672624
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2011 Nov;137(6):959-97
references.pmid: 21787044
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2011 Nov-Dec;73(9):795-802
references.pmid: 22021461
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2012 May;74(4):327-37
references.pmid: 22582330
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2012 Jul-Aug;74(6):596-603
references.pmid: 22753630
references.citation: JAMA. 2012 Aug 22;308(8):796-803
references.pmid: 22910757
references.citation: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Oct 23;60(17):1599-604
references.pmid: 22999720
references.citation: Atherosclerosis. 2013 May;228(1):1-11
references.pmid: 23395523
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2013 Nov;43(11):2417-26
references.pmid: 23369583
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2014 Jun;76(5):347-54
references.pmid: 24915293
references.citation: Stroke. 2014 Aug;45(8):2246-51
references.pmid: 25034715
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;896:85-95
references.pmid: 10681890
references.citation: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2001 Jan;21(1):82-7
references.pmid: 11145937
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2001 May-Jun;63(3):423-33
references.pmid: 11382269
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 2002;53:341-69
references.pmid: 11752489
references.citation: Adolescence. 2001 Winter;36(144):655-64
references.pmid: 11928874
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2002 Mar;128(2):330-66
references.pmid: 11931522
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2002 Jun;70(3):548-68
references.pmid: 12090369
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2003 Jan;129(1):10-51
references.pmid: 12555793
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2003 Nov-Dec;65(6):1003-11
references.pmid: 14645779
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2004 Jul-Aug;66(4):553-8
references.pmid: 15272102
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 1990 Sep;108(2):267-90
references.pmid: 2236384
references.citation: Child Dev. 1991 Dec;62(6):1352-66
references.pmid: 1786720
references.citation: J Pers. 1992 Jun;60(2):175-215
references.pmid: 1635039
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 1994 Mar;15(2):103-11
references.pmid: 8173556
references.citation: JAMA. 1997 Jun 25;277(24):1940-4
references.pmid: 9200634
references.citation: Stroke. 1997 Nov;28(11):2195-200
references.pmid: 9368564
references.citation: Child Dev. 1998 Feb;69(1):124-39
references.pmid: 9499562
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 1999 Jul-Aug;61(4):476-87
references.pmid: 10443756
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2005 May 15;161(10):960-7
references.pmid: 15870160
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005;29(4-5):843-65
references.pmid: 15893378
references.citation: Ann Epidemiol. 2006 Feb;16(2):91-104
references.pmid: 16257232
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2006 Jun;34(3):303-19
references.pmid: 16705498
references.citation: Clin Sci (Lond). 2007 Sep;113(5):219-32
references.pmid: 17663659