Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Biomarkers of Childhood Trauma
Description
DNA sequencing has proven itself both reliable and valid in determining whether a person was involved in a crime or not and Mehta and colleagues (2013) have begun to extend a similar forensic approach into the area of childhood trauma. Genes are encoded in DNA, but the DNA molecule is wrapped in a complex assembly of proteins and RNA molecules called chromatin, which in turn determines whether a gene is expressed and at what level (epigenetics). To assess whether such an approach can discriminate between trauma victims with or without a history of child abuse, the gene expression profiles and the epigenetic state of differentially-expressed genes were examined in the relevant adult demographics.
Validity and Reliability of Epigenetic Biomarkers for Child-Abuse History
The sample size was 396 adults, of which 169 had experienced trauma with or without childhood abuse (Mehta et al., 2013). All were scored using the reliable and valid PTSD Symptomatic Scale (PSS), with scores above 20 judged to be clinically significant. The BDI was used to measure current depression. Both the PSS and BDI were able to significantly discriminate between trauma and non-trauma subjects (p < 8.47x10-18), as was the gene expression profiles (p < .05); however, the PSS, but not BDI, could discriminate between trauma victims with or without a history...
Surprisingly, the gene expression profile was almost completely distinct between the two trauma groups with only 14 out of 244 genes overlapping. There was also a 12-fold difference in the levels of epigenetic changes at selected genes between trauma victims with or without a history of child abuse. These findings suggest that gene expression profiling and epigenetic analysis is at least as sensitive as the PSS in discriminating between controls and trauma victims and between trauma victims with or without a history of child abuse. Based on these comparisons, these biomarkers are valid for discriminating between controls and the two different trauma groups. In terms of reliability, the experimental approach screened against genes and epigenetic markers producing unacceptably high variance (SD > 5-10%) between subjects and therefore established reliability experimentally. This work suggests that trauma at least, produces an epigenetic 'fingerprint' that can be easily measured using blood samples.
References
Gillihan, Seth J., Aderka, Idan M., Conklin, Phoebe H., Capaldi, Sandra, and Foa, Edna B. (2012). The Child PTSD Symptom Scale: Psychometric properties in female adolescent sexual assault survivors. Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 23-31.
Mehta, Divya, Klengel, Torsten, Conneely, Karen N., Smith, Alicia K., Altmann, Andre, Pace, Thaddeus W. et al. (2013). Childhood maltreatment is associated with distinct genomic and epigenetic profiles in posttraumatic stress disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(20), 8302-8307.
Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the
The authors do not state that public perceptions of severity should be discounted, but merely that these should not be over-emphasized, as was the case in previous literature. Another existing mode of measuring crime severity is that of economic models. Economic measures of costs may seem more objective, but given that they also involve speculative losses (such as lost productivity), they are not universally agreed upon. One widely-used model to
Test Development This research is a mixed methods study designed to explore the perceptions of self-identifying individuals with anxiety and depression regarding any relation between their conditions and their ability to access appropriate healthcare under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Five respondents completed the questionnaire constructed explicitly for this research study. A review of the literature serves as a canvas of instruments also developed for assessing Axis 1
Abused children develop antisocial behavior that persists through three continuous generations. Such behavior grows out of angry, aggressive parenting and an overall negative home environment, perpetuated by sibling collusion, economic and biological factors. These children exhibit this in preschool by committing at least one antisocial behavior each day in class. As dysfunctional adolescents, their romantic lives and eventual marriages also fail. African-American children suffer from the affliction than Caucasian children.
Domestic violence is an ongoing experience of physical, psychological, and even sexual abuse in the home that is often a method used by one adult to establish control and power over another person (Flitcraft et al., 1992). Exposure by children to marital aggression is now a recognized public health concern. The investigation of the effects of the exposure to this type of aggression on the functioning of a child is
While many articles tend to deal with the fact that victims of child abuse tend to become abusers, I wanted to go in another direction, looking at how child abuse can actually affect the life of the abused. In order to consider this, I contemplated Belik et al.'s study, "Relation Between Traumatic Events and Suicide Attempts in Canadian Military Personnel." In this article, the authors' purpose wanted to "determine