title: Supportive Family Environments Ameliorate the Link Between Racial Discrimination and Epigenetic Aging: A Replication Across Two Longitudinal Cohorts.
abstract: This study tested the hypothesis that supportive family environments during adolescence buffer exposure to racial discrimination, reducing its impact on biological weathering and its manifestation in cellular aging. Perceived racial discrimination, support in the family environment, and confounder variables were assessed for 3 consecutive years across adolescence in two independent cohorts of African American youth from rural Georgia. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected during young adulthood. Patterns of methylation were used to index the epigenetic ages of these cells and the extent to which they differed from participants' chronological ages. Among youth in supportive family environments, exposure to higher levels of racial discrimination did not forecast greater epigenetic aging. Among youth in less supportive family environments, exposure to higher levels of racial discrimination did forecast greater epigenetic aging. The associations emerged independently of confounder variables, and the results were replicated across the two cohorts.
authors.affiliation: Center for Family Research, University of Georgia gbrody@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Gene H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Brody
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University.
authors.forename: Gregory E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Center for Family Research, University of Georgia.
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Owens Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia.
authors.forename: Steven R H
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Beach
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D000375:Aging; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D004777:Environment; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D063505:Racism; D012424:Rural Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescent development; environmental effects; minority groups; racial and ethnic attitudes and relations; relationship quality