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Cited by 204Child Abuse and TraumaStress Responses and CortisolChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

The hormonal costs of subtle forms of infant maltreatment

Bugental, Daphne Blunt, Martorell, Gabriela A, Barraza, Veronica·2003·Hormones and Behavior
DOI 10.1016/s0018-506x(02)00008-9
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Abstract

We show here that subtle forms of maltreatment during infancy (below 1 year of age) have potential consequences for the functioning of the child's adrenocortical response system. Infants who received frequent corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) showed high hormonal reactivity to stress (a repeated separation from mother, combined with the presence of a stranger). In addition, infants who experienced frequent emotional withdrawal by their mothers (either as a result of maternal depression, or mother's strategic use of withdrawal as a control tactic) showed elevated baseline levels of cortisol. It was suggested that there are hormonal "costs" when mothers show response patterns (intentionally or unintentionally) that limit their utility as a means of buffering the child against stress. The hormonal responses shown by infants may alter the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in ways that, if continued, may foster risk for immune disorders, sensitization to later stress, cognitive deficits, and social-emotional problems.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0018-506x(02)00008-9

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  • Infants and school-aged children exposed to frequent physical punishment demonstrate exaggerated cortisol responses to psychological stress.

    “Infants (Bugental et al., 2003) and school-aged children (Kuhlman et al., 2014) exposed to frequent physical punishment demonstrate exaggerated cortisol responses to psychological stress.”

    From Developmental psychoneuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune pathways from childhood adversity to disease (2017) · cites this paper as Bugental et al., 2003

  • Specific contexts more prevalent in low-income homes, such as nonoptimal attachment relationships and maternal unavailability, are more stressful for infants and young children.

    “Studies have indicated specific contexts, more prevalent in low-income homes, that are more stressful for infants and young, such as nonoptimal attachment relationships with primary caregivers (de Haan, Gunnar, Tout, Hart, & Stansbury, 1998; Gunnar, Brodersen, Nachmias, Buss, & Rigatuso, 1996) and maternal unavailability (Bugental, Martorell, & Barraza, 2003; Haley & Stansbury, 2003).”

    From Stress and the development of self-regulation in context (2010) · cites this paper as Bugental, Martorell, & Barraza, 2003

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Authors
Bugental, D. B., Martorell, G. A., & Barraza, V.
Affiliations
University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
Corresponding author
Bugental, Daphne Blunt
Venue
Hormones and Behavior
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-01
Volume
43
Issue
1
Pages
237-244
ISSN
0018-506X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0018-506x(02)00008-9
OpenAlex
W2056773740
Cited by
204
References
7
Citations by year
2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 16
FWCI
9.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Hormones and Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • National Institute of Mental Health (5R01 MH 19095)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
infant maltreatment, corporal punishment, spanking, maternal depression, cortisol, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, stress reactivity, maternal separation, cognitive impairment, social-emotional problems
MeSH terms
Adult, Child Abuse, Depression, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Infant, Male, Maternal Deprivation, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Punishment, Stress, Psychological, Infant Behavior

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