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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Developmental Psychology

Virginia Commonwealth University

Theses and Dissertations

Telomere

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Adverse Childhood Experiences Indirectly Affect Child Telomere Length Through Self-Regulation, David Sosnowski Jan 2019

Adverse Childhood Experiences Indirectly Affect Child Telomere Length Through Self-Regulation, David Sosnowski

Theses and Dissertations

The goals of present study were: (a) to examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and telomere length during childhood using ACE composite scores both with and without “new” adversities (i.e., parental death and poverty), and (b) to determine if ACEs indirectly affect telomere length through children’s self-regulatory abilities (i.e., effortful control and self-control). The analytic sample consisted of national data from teachers, biological parents, and their children (N = 2,527; Mage = 9.35, SD = .36 years; 52% male; 45% Black). Results from linear regression analyses revealed a statistically significant main effect of updated (but not traditional) …


Protective Factors In The Association Between Child Sexual Abuse And Telomere Length In Adults, David Sosnowski Jan 2017

Protective Factors In The Association Between Child Sexual Abuse And Telomere Length In Adults, David Sosnowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine if childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was associated with decreases in mean telomere length (TL), and if social support and/or optimism moderated this association. The study included 99 Caucasian female monozygotic twins, ranging in age from 19-48 (Mage = 30.5, SD = 7.8) at Time 1. Linear mixed effects models were employed to test study hypotheses. Analyses with all participants did not detect an effect of CSA exposure or severity on mean TL, nor were there effects with optimism. However, in analyses that only included women exposed to abuse, increases …