title: Impulsivity as a moderator of the associations between child maltreatment types and body mass index.
abstract: Child maltreatment has emerged as an important risk factor for adult obesity (Danese & Tan, 2014; Hemmingsson et al., 2014). However, there is a need for research delineating the factors that play a role in this association. Impulsivity has been shown to be associated with both child maltreatment (Brodsky et al., 2001) and body mass index (BMI; Cortese et al., 2008; Thamotharan et al., 2013). Further, given previous research showing that adverse events interact with impulsivity to predict hazardous drinking behaviors (Fox et al., 2010), there is reason to hypothesize that child maltreatment might interact with impulsivity to predict other adverse health outcomes, such as elevated BMI. Accordingly, the current study examined whether impulsivity moderated the association between child maltreatment types (i.e., physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect) and BMI. The sample was comprised of 500 undergraduate students (49.6% male) between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Regression analyses suggested that maltreatment types and impulsivity were not uniquely associated with BMI. However, impulsivity moderated the association between childhood sexual abuse and adult BMI, such that BMI was highest at high levels of both sexual abuse and impulsivity. Impulsivity did not moderate the associations between the other child maltreatment types and BMI. Limitations, future directions, and clinical implications of this research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. Electronic address: shaquanna@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Shaquanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Tarrah B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Clinical Child Psychology Program and Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, 2009 Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Fite
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 3916 Skaggs Hall, 30 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA; ConTRADA, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bortolato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BMI; Child maltreatment; Impulsivity