ORCID
0000-0003-0551-4724
Date of Award
Summer 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
5-9-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Psychology
Program
Clinical Psychology
First Advisor
Betty Lin
Committee Members
Elana Gordis, Sarah Domoff
Keywords
Childhood abuse, heart rate variability, social support, resilience
Subject Categories
Child Psychology | Developmental Psychology
Abstract
Childhood abuse is a prevalent experience that can have a profound impact on health and well-being. Extensive literature has linked childhood abuse to an elevated risk of psychopathology, including suicidality and substance use. Recent neuroimaging and psychophysiological research suggest that childhood abuse may influence the development of the body’s stress response systems. Exposure to chronic and uncontrollable stress, such as childhood abuse, has been implicated in the dysregulation of neural circuits that govern autonomic control and emotion regulation. This study examined resting high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) as an index of physiological regulation and its associations with adult mental health outcomes in the context of childhood abuse. Given the developmental nature of stress response system maturation, the timing of abuse exposure was also examined. The sample included Black American birthing people, a population disproportionately impacted by early life adversity and underrepresented in psychophysiological research. This study tested whether cumulative and developmentally timed childhood abuse were associated with adult mental health through resting HF-HRV, and whether childhood social engagement moderated these associations. As hypothesized, cumulative abuse and abuse during adolescence were each inversely associated with adult mental health. However, childhood abuse was not significantly associated with resting HF-HRV, and HF-HRV did not mediate the associations between abuse and mental health at any time point. A significant interaction emerged, where social engagement in early childhood moderated the relationship between early abuse and adult mental health. Specifically, higher levels of social engagement reduced the negative impact of abuse on adult mental health. These findings highlight the importance of developmental timing in understanding the long-term impacts of childhood abuse and suggest that early childhood social engagement may represent a potential point of intervention for resilience-promoting efforts.
License
This work is licensed under the University at Albany Standard Author Agreement.
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Rachel R., "The Developmental Impact of Childhood Abuse: Heart Rate Variability, Adult Psychopathology, and the Protective Role of Social Engagement" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 213.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/213
