CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 23Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentChild Abuse and TraumaPsychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

Early Life Stress and Childhood Aggression: Mediating and Moderating Effects of Child Callousness and Stress Reactivity

Open access
Winiarski, Dominika A., Engel, Melissa L., Karnik, Niranjan S., Brennan, Patricia A.·2018·Child Psychiatry & Human Development
DOI 10.1007/s10578-018-0785-9PMC PMC6089667
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Early life stress (ELS) has been implicated in the development of aggression, though the exact mechanisms remain unknown. This study tested associations between ELS, callousness, and stress reactivity in the prediction of school-age and persistent early childhood aggression. A longitudinal sample of 185 mother-child dyads completed a lab visit and mothers completed an online follow-up when children were preschool-aged and school-aged, respectively. Physiological and behavioral measures of stress reactivity were collected during the preschool period. Ratings of child aggressive behavior, ELS, and callousness were collected as well. The results suggested that ELS was related to measures of both school-age and persistent early childhood aggression, and that callousness had a mediating role in this process. Cortisol reactivity also moderated the association between ELS and persistent childhood aggression, such that the ELS-aggression relationship was stronger among children who had higher levels of cortisol reactivity during the preschool period. Clinical implications are discussed.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s10578-018-0785-9

Cites

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In children, cortisol moderates the association between early life stress and persistent childhood aggression, with the ELS-aggression relationship being stronger among children who had higher levels of cortisol reactivity during the preschool period.

    “However, this data is at odds with recent data from children indicating a moderating role of cortisol in the association between early life stress and persistent childhood aggression, with the ELS-aggression relationship being stronger among children who had higher levels of cortisol reactivity during the preschool period49.”

    From Peripubertal stress increases play fighting at adolescence and modulates nucleus accumbens CB1 receptor expression and mitochondrial function in the amygdala (2018) · cites this paper as [49]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet

References 64 · Cited by 23

Research works printed but not linked: 57

  1. [1]Dodge KA Developmental psychopathology in children of depressed mothers Dev Psychol 1990 26 1 3 6 10.1037/0012-1649.26.1.3 · DOI
  2. [2]Loeber R Stouthamer-Loeber M Development of juvenile aggression and violence Am Psychol 1998 53 2 242 259 10.1037/0003-066X.53.2.242 9491750 · DOI
  3. [3]Jonson-Reid M Presnall N Drake B Effects of child maltreatment and inherited liability on antisocial development: an official records study J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2010 49 4 321 332 20410725 PMC2878182
  4. [4]McEwen BS Wingfield JC The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine Horm Behav 2003 43 1 2 15 10.1016/S0018-506X(02)00024-7 12614627 · DOI · Paper page
  5. [6]Allwood M Handwerger K Kivlighan KT Granger D Stroud LR Direct and moderating links of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol stress-reactivity to youth behavioral and emotional adjustment Biol Psychol 2011 88 1 57 64 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.06.008 21771636 PMC3270695 · DOI · Paper page
  6. [7]Gunnar MR Early life stress: what is the human chapter of the mammalian story? Child Dev Perspect 2016 10 3 178 183 10.1111/cdep.12182 · DOI
  7. [8]Lupien SJ McEwen BS Gunnar MR Heim C Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition Nat Rev Neurosci 2009 10 6 434 445 10.1038/nrn2639 19401723 · DOI · Paper page
  8. [9]Turner-Cobb JM Psychological and stress hormone correlates in early life: a key to HPA-axis dysregulation and normalisation Stress 2005 8 1 47 57 10.1080/10253890500095200 16019597 · DOI
  9. [10]Essex MJ Klein MH Cho E Kalin NH Maternal stress beginning in infancy may sensitize children to later stress exposure: effects on cortisol and behavior Biol Psychiatry 2002 52 8 776 784 10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01553-6 12372649 · DOI · Paper page
  10. [11]Sapolsky RM Romero LM Munck AU How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and reparative actions Endocr Rev 2000 21 1 55 89 10696570
  11. [12]von Klitzing K Perren S Klein AM The interaction of social risk factors and HPA axis dysregulation in predicting emotional symptoms of five- and six-year-old children J Psychiatr Res 2012 46 3 290 297 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2011.12.004 22226637 · DOI
  12. [13]Poustka L Maras A Hohm E Negative association between plasma cortisol levels and aggression in a high-risk community sample of adolescents J Neural Transm 2010 117 5 621 627 10.1007/s00702-010-0386-7 20217435 · DOI
  13. [14]Stadler C Kroeger A Weyers P Cortisol reactivity in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive behavior problems: the impact of callous unemotional traits Psychiatry Res 2011 187 1–2 204 209 10.1016/j.psychres.2010.05.004 20813414 · DOI
  14. [15]von Polier GG Herpertz-Dahlmann B Konrad K Reduced cortisol in boys with early-onset conduct disorder and callous-unemotional traits Biomed Res Int 2013 PMC3693123 23841064
  15. [16]Blair KA Denham SA Kochanoff A Whipple B Playing it cool: temperament, emotion regulation, and social behavior in preschoolers J Sch Psychol 2004 42 6 419 443 10.1016/j.jsp.2004.10.002 · DOI
  16. [17]Cole PM Martin SE Dennis TA Emotion regulation as a scientific construct: methodological challenges and directions for child development research Child Dev 2004 75 2 317 333 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00673.x 15056186 · DOI
  17. [19]Coie JD Lochman JE Terry R Hyman C Predicting early adolescent disorder from childhood aggression and peer rejection J Consult Clin Psychol 1992 60 5 783 792 10.1037/0022-006X.60.5.783 1401394 · DOI
  18. [20]Crick NR The role of overt aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in the prediction of children’s future social adjustment Child Dev 1996 67 2317 2327 10.2307/1131625 9022243 · DOI
  19. [21]Gartstein MA Putnam SP Rothbart MK Etiology of preschool behavior problems: contributions of temperament attributes in early childhood Infant Ment Health 2012 33 2 197 211 10.1002/imhj.21312 28520102 · DOI
  20. [22]Helmsen J Koglin U Petermann F Emotion regulation and aggressive behavior in preschoolers: the mediating role of social information processing Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2012 43 1 87 101 10.1007/s10578-011-0252-3 21901542 · DOI
  21. [23]Röll J Koglin U Petermann F Emotion regulation and childhood aggression: longitudinal associations Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 2012 43 6 909 923 10.1007/s10578-012-0303-4 22528031 · DOI
  22. [24]Lee V Hoaken PNS Cognition, emotion, and neurobiological development: mediating the relation between maltreatment and aggression Child Maltreat 2007 12 3 281 298 10.1177/1077559507303778 17631627 · DOI
  23. [25]Agnew R White HR An empirical test of general strain theory Criminology 1992 30 4 475 500 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1992.tb01113.x · DOI · Paper page
  24. [27]Frick PJ Ray JV Thornton LC Kahn RE Can callous-unemotional traits enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of serious conduct problems in children and adolescents? a comprehensive review Psychol Bull 2013 140 1 1 57 10.1037/a0033076 23796269 · DOI
  25. [29]Frick PJ White SF Research review: the importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2008 49 4 359 375 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01862.x 18221345 · DOI · Paper page
  26. [30]Gao Y Raine A Venables PH Dawson ME Mednick SA Reduced electrodermal fear conditioning from ages 3 to 8 years is associated with aggressive behavior at age 8 years J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2010 51 5 550 558 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02176.x 19788551 PMC2891527 · DOI
  27. [31]Raine A Reynolds C Venables PH Mednick SA Farrington DP Fearlessness, stimulation-seeking, and large body size at age 3 years as early predispositions to childhood aggression at age 11 years Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998 55 8 745 751 10.1001/archpsyc.55.8.745 9707386 · DOI
  28. [33]Gao Y Raine A Chan F Venables PH Mednick SA Early maternal and paternal bonding, childhood physical abuse and adult psychopathic personality Psychol Med 2010 40 6 1007 1016 10.1017/S0033291709991279 20441692 PMC3720131 · DOI
  29. [34]Goodman SH Gotlib IH Risk for psychopathology in the children of depressed mothers: a developmental model for understanding mechanisms of transmission Psychol Rev 1999 106 3 458 490 10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.458 10467895 · DOI · Paper page
  30. [36]Holmes MR Aggressive behavior of children exposed to intimate partner violence: an examination of maternal mental health, maternal warmth and child maltreatment Child Abuse Negl 2013 37 8 520 530 10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.12.006 23332295 · DOI · Paper page
  31. [37]Barry TD Dunlap ST Cotten SJ Lochman JE Wells KC The influence of maternal stress and distress on disruptive behavior problems in boys J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2005 44 3 265 273 10.1097/00004583-200503000-00011 15725971 · DOI
  32. [38]Feurer C Hammen CL Gibb BE Chronic and episodic stress in children of depressed mothers J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 2016 45 3 270 278 10.1080/15374416.2014.963859 25496371 PMC4465881 · DOI
  33. [39]Frick PJ Cornell AH Barry CT Bodin SD Dane HE Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in the prediction of conduct problem severity, aggression, and self-report of delinquency J Abnorm Child Psychol 2000 31 4 457 470 10.1023/A:1023899703866 12831233 · DOI · Paper page
  34. [40]Olweus D Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: a review Psychol Bull 1979 86 4 852 875 10.1037/0033-2909.86.4.852 482487 · DOI · Paper page
  35. [41]Sarason IG Johnson JH Siegel JM Assessing the impact of life changes: development of the life experiences survey J Consult Clin Psychol 1978 46 5 932 966 10.1037/0022-006X.46.5.932 701572 · DOI · Paper page
  36. [42]Bronfenbrenner U Contexts of child rearing: problems and prospects Am Psychol 1979 34 10 844 850 10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.844 · DOI
  37. [44]Fabrigar LR Wegener DT MacCallum RC Strahan EJ Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research Psychol Methods 1999 4 3 272 299 10.1037/1082-989X.4.3.272 · DOI · Paper page
  38. [45]Kaiser HF The application of electronic computers to factor analysis Educ Psychol Meas 1960 20 1 141 151 10.1177/001316446002000116 · DOI · Paper page
  39. [46]Cattell RB The scree test for the number of factors Multivar Behav Res 1966 1 2 245 276 10.1207/s15327906mbr0102_10 26828106 · DOI · Paper page
  40. [47]Talge NM Donzella B Kryzer EM Gierens A Gunnar MR It’s not that bad: error introduced by oral stimulants in salivary cortisol research Dev Psychobiol 2005 47 4 369 376 10.1002/dev.20097 16284967 · DOI
  41. [48]Bruce J Davis EP Gunnar MR Individual differences in children’s cortisol response to the beginning of a new school year Psychoneuroendocrinology 2002 27 635 650 10.1016/S0306-4530(01)00031-2 12084657 · DOI
  42. [49]Gordon MK Peloso E Auker A Dozier M Effect of flavored beverage crystals on salivary cortisol enzyme-immunoreactive assay measurements Dev Psychobiol 2005 47 2 189 195 10.1002/dev.20081 16136564 · DOI
  43. [50]Kirschbaum C Hellhammer DH Salivary cortisol in psychoneuroendocrine research: recent developments and applications Psychoneuroendocrinology 1994 19 4 313 333 10.1016/0306-4530(94)90013-2 8047637 · DOI · Paper page
  44. [51]Vining RF McGinley RA The measurement of hormones in saliva: possibilities and pitfalls J Steroid Biochem 1987 27 1 81 94 10.1016/0022-4731(87)90297-4 3320544 · DOI
  45. [52]Hagan MJ Roubinov DS Mistler AK Luecken LJ Mental health outcomes in emerging adults exposed to childhood maltreatment: the moderating role of stress reactivity Child Maltreat Emerg Adulthood Coll Popul 2014 19 3–4 156 167 10.1177/1077559514539753 24920249 · DOI
  46. [56]Essau CA Sasagawa S Frick PJ Callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of adolescents Assessment 2006 13 4 454 469 10.1177/1073191106287354 17050915 · DOI · Paper page
  47. [57]Ezpeleta L de la Osa N Granero R Penelo E Josep M Penelo E Inventory of callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of preschoolers J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 2013 42 1 91 105 10.1080/15374416.2012.734221 23095075 · DOI
  48. [58]Hayes AF Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression based approach 2013 New York Guilford Press
  49. [59]Granger DA Hibel LC Fortunato CK Kapelewski CH Medication effects on salivary cortisol: tactics and strategy to minimize impact in behavioral and developmental science Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009 34 10 1437 1448 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.017 19632788 · DOI
  50. [60]Hellhammer DH Wüst S Kudielka BM Salivary cortisol as a biomarker in stress research Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009 34 2 163 171 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.026 19095358 · DOI · Paper page
  51. [61]Jessop DS Turner-Cobb JM Measurement and meaning of salivary cortisol: a focus on health and disease in children Stress 2008 11 1 1 14 10.1080/10253890701365527 17853059 · DOI
  52. [62]Kudielka BM Kirschbaum C Awakening cortisol responses are influenced by health status and awakening time but not by menstrual cycle phase Psychoneuroendocrinology 2003 28 1 35 47 10.1016/S0306-4530(02)00008-2 12445835 · DOI
  53. [63]Hauser RM Measuring socioeconomic status in studies of child development Child Dev 1994 65 6 1541 1545 10.2307/1131279 7859541 · DOI
  54. [64]First MB, Spitzer RL, Gibbon M, Williams JB (2002) Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis I disorders-patient edition. New York Biometrics Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  55. [66]Mauss I Robinson M Measures of emotion: a review Cogn Emot 2009 23 2 209 237 10.1080/02699930802204677 19809584 PMC2756702 · DOI · Paper page
  56. [67]Dodge KA Coie JD Social information-processing factors in reactive and proactive aggression in children’s peer groups J Pers Soc Psychol 1987 53 6 1146 1158 10.1037/0022-3514.53.6.1146 3694454 · DOI · Paper page
  57. [68]Raine A Dodge K Loeber R The reactive-proactive aggression questionnaire: differential correlates of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescent boys Aggress Behav 2006 32 2 159 171 10.1002/ab.20115 20798781 PMC2927832 · DOI · Paper page

Authors
Winiarski, D. A., Engel, M. L., Karnik, N. S., & Brennan, P. A.
Affiliations
  • Rush University Medical Center (US)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Emory University (US)
Corresponding author
Winiarski, Dominika A.
ORCID
Venue
Child Psychiatry & Human Development
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2018-02-13
Volume
49
Issue
5
Pages
730-739
ISSN
  • 0009-398X (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-3327
DOI
10.1007/s10578-018-0785-9
PMC
PMC6089667
OpenAlex
W2791766436
Cited by
23
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
FWCI
2.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2018-02-24)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Child Psychiatry & Human Development (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (MH088609)
  • NARSAD Independent Investigator Award
  • Emory University Professional Development Support Funds
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
Keywords
early life stress, child aggression, callousness, stress reactivity, cortisol response, mediation, moderation, preschool children, mother-child dyads, physiological stress measures
MeSH terms
Adverse Childhood Experiences, Adult, Aggression, Behavioral Symptoms, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Mothers, Population, Psychological Techniques, Stress, Psychological

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review