National News
New Study: Domestic Violence’s Damage Runs Deep
Witnessing beatings, family member suicide or incarceration impacts children’s genes
By Jazelle Hunt
NNPA Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – While sticks
and stones can break bones, new research
indicates that family struggles can hurt chil-
dren on a molecular level.
The study, published in the July issue
of Pediatrics, involved 75 African American
families with children age 5 to 15 (out of a
sample of 80) in the New Orleans metro
area. Researchers found that the more “fam-
ily instability” a child had experienced over
time, the shorter his or her telomeres were.
The “family instabilities” examined in the
study were family incarceration, suicide of
a family member, and witnessed violence.
The study breaks down the effects by “wit-
strands from unwinding. Chromosomes
(our inherited strands of DNA) have to
replicate to allow a cell to multiply. Telom-
eres allow a chromosome to copy itself
without errors – but every time a chromo-
some replicates, its telomeres shorten until
the chromosome can no longer copy itself
properly. When chromosomes can’t copy, a
cell can’t either – so it dies.
Shorter telomeres mean shorter cell life.
That means the cells of children under
chronic stress are aging and dying faster.
“All of [your] biological systems, when
you’re stressed, are put on high alert. When
you’re on high alert too long you start to
speed up the whole aging process, and cells
are showing the effects sooner than the rest
of the body,” says Drury, who also serves as
‘Toxic stress likely influences child health and
development, particularly risk for cardiovascular
disease, obesity, and mental illness’
nessed
violence”
alone;
“family
disruption,” which is the other two instabil-
ities together; and a cumulative measure of
any combination of these experiences over
time.
Stacy Drury, M.D., author of the study,
describes telomeres as “shoelace caps” on
the ends of a chromosome that keep the
director of the Behavioral and Neurodevel-
opmental Genetics Laboratory at Tulane
University. “That’s one things that we were
surprised to find. We weren’t sure we’d see
this effect in kids this young.”
This effect – chronic stress manifesting
as cellular burnout – has long been linked
to poor health outcomes. Drury explains
that the shorten-
ing of telomeres
can be seen as
the
earliest
warning sign of
these outcomes.
The study, cit-
ing
other
research, states:
“Exposure
to
early adversity
increases risk for
negative health
outcomes across
the life course,
yet it is unclear
whether specific
experience or
cumulative
exposure is the
most biological-
ly toxic. Toxic
stress
likely
influences child
health and devel-
o p m e n t ,
particularly risk
for cardiovascu-
lar
disease,
obesity,
and
mental illness.”
Mori Gabriella Montgomery, a 19 year old aspiring model
from Illinois, took to Twitter and Instagram to document her
recovery after a brutal beating by her boyfriend during a trip
to Las Vegas. The courageous teenager endured more
abuse by offended viewers but posted on social media that
an even bigger groundswell of support has helped her
recover – and that even the critics helped her spread her
message. “Domestic violence is such an overlooked crime,”
Mori told news.com.au. “Nobody truly understands how often
tragedies happen due to spouse mistreatment. I plan to put
an end to the silence.”
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A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength-
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Page 8 The Portland and Seattle Skanner June 25, 2014
This chart shows how the ends of genes, known as telomeres, are shortened by
aging. New research shows stress speeds that process even in children.
Drury’s team also took into account other
factors that could influence a child’s devel-
opment, such as body mass index, age,
maternal education as an indication of
socio-economic status, household monthly
income, and more. Almost none of these
factors had any bearing on telomere length
— except for a few peculiarities around
gender and age.
Overall, children exposed to instability
have shorter telomeres than unexposed chil-
dren, but this genetic wear-and-tear seems
to affect girls more directly than boys. For
girls, the link remains strong over time, and
is not influenced by other variables, includ-
ing the type of instability they experience.
For boys, a few factors can influence the
severity of the effects. For example, boys
who see violence have the most significant
likelihood of shorter telomeres, as opposed
to other forms of instability. Yet, maternal
education seems to provide a buffer for
boys 10 years old or younger. Conversely,
the older a boy is as he experiences family
instability—cumulatively, or individual
instances—the shorter his telomeres will
be.
“The effects of this family instability…we
saw it in all kids, but we really saw it in
girls,” says Drury, adding that the difference
persists in adulthood, but there hasn’t yet
been enough research to determine how
early the difference appears. “One thing that
might play a role is the rate of develop-
ment—whether it’s biological differences,
or social interaction, or differences with a
child’s place within and outside the family
system.”
Another inexplicable tidbit from the
study: the children who had experienced the
most instability tended to have younger par-
ents and mothers who were more highly
educated.
For concerned caregivers who may not be
able to control their child’s exposure to
life’s hardships, Drury recommends creat-
ing a buffer zone with areas that are within
your control.
“Telomere length definitely changes, it’s
not a static measurement. You have to have
early intervention for prevention…better
nutrition, talk about holistic health, exer-
cise, and sleep,” she says, adding that
communal support helps as well. “If moms
and dads with exposure to family struggles
are focusing on ways to buffer the impact
on their kids, these things become more
important.”