Community Threat, Positive Parenting, and Accelerated Epigenetic Aging: Longitudinal Links from Childhood to Adolescence.

Abstract

Early Life Adversity (ELA) has been linked to accelerated epigenetic aging. While positive parenting is hypothesized to buffer the detrimental effects of ELA on child development, its role in mitigating epigenetic age acceleration remains unclear. Data from 2,039 children (49.7% female) in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) were included in the current study (46.7% Black, 26.5% Hispanic, 19% White non-Hispanic). Home and community threat and observed parenting were measured from ages 3 to 9. Salivary epigenetic age acceleration was measured at ages 9 and 15. Positive parenting reduces the pace of epigenetic aging in low, but not high, community-threat environments. Interventions across home and community environments may be necessary to prevent ELA's biological embedding.