Alexithymia Mediates the Relation Between Caregiving Adversity and Health Symptoms In Childhood and Young Adulthood

Event: International Society for Developmental Psychobiology 2022 Annual Meeting
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Authors: Francesca R. Querdasi, Kristen A. Chu, Genesis D. Flores, Naomi N. Gancz, Emily Towner, J. Eason Taylor, Siyan Nussbaum, Bridget L. Callaghan
Poster Abstract: Exposure to early caregiving adversity (ECA) has been consistently linked to worsened mental and physical health across the lifespan. Understanding the psychological mechanisms which account for the broad health impacts of early care experiences will aid future intervention efforts. One interesting candidate in this respect is alexithymia (difficulty identifying and expressing emotions), which has been linked to lower emotion granularity, diminished interoceptive awareness, and a tendency to experience negative affective states through physical symptoms. In a sample of N = 162 youth (6-16 years old) who had variable experiences of early care instability, from stable care in birth parents’ home (N = 91) to multiple caregiving transitions (e.g., due to foster care; N = 71 with at least 1 transition), we examined whether alexithymia mediated associations between caregiving instability and child health in mental and physical domains, controlling for child sex and age at assessment.

Replicating prior work, we found that early care instability was associated with more internalizing, externalizing, and somatic symptoms. Moreover, we saw a positive relationship between the degree of caregiving instability (number of transitions) and externalizing and internalizing symptoms, but not somatic symptoms. Alexithymia mediated the relationship between early care instability and internalizing and somatic symptoms, but not externalizing symptoms. Results highlight that, while ECA is associated with increased risk for a range of health problems, explanations for these links may differ depending on symptom domain. In future work with this cohort, we will examine physiological mechanisms that may also contribute to the relationship between caregiving adversity and health outcomes.