Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/808749
IT IS WELLŸESTABLISHED THAT LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ¡SES¢ DURING CHILDHOOD CAN NEGATIVELY INFLUENCE HE ALTH THROUGHOUT THE ADULT YE ARS. RECENT RESE ARCH PUBLISHED IN ANNALS OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE SUGGESTS AT TACHMENT ORIENTATION MAY BE A MEDIATOR OF THIS PHENOMENON. Childhood BY TIFFANY PARNELL RESEARCHERS LINK to Poorer Adult Health LOW CHILDHOOD SES has been linked to a w ide ra nge of hea lth concerns in adulthood, from increased risk of hea r t disea se to lower self-repor ted hea lth, higher rates of infectious illnesses, such a s the common cold, a nd even g reater risk of premature death, according to a literature review in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. " These associations a re independent of traditiona l risk factors, such as poor hea lt h practices a nd a lack of access to med ica l resou rces," says Sheldon C oh e n , Ph D, Un i v e r s it y P r ofe s s or of P s y c h olo g y a t C a r n e g i e Me l lon Universit y. " In most ca ses, t hey a lso withsta nd controls for adult SES, thus suggesting that chi ld hood SES sets a hea lth trajector y ea rly in life a nd its a ssociation w it h a du lt hea lt h is not just attributable to low-SES children becoming low-SES adults." A lthough the ev idence connecting low childhood SES and poor adult health is clear, the exact mechanisms by which ch i ld hood SE S cont r ibut es t o a du lt hea lth a re less cer ta in. "O ne ex pl a n at ion for t he se a s so - ciations is that low-SES environments may a lter biolog ica l systems ea rly in life when the ner vous, endocrine a nd i m mu ne s y s t em s a r e s t i l l pl a s t ic ," C oh e n s a y s . " T h e s e c h a n ge s h a v e per ma nent i mplications for d isea se susceptibilit y in adults." A 201 3 s t udy publ i shed i n B rain , B eh av i o r an d Immunit y fou nd t h at adults who g rew up in low-SES house- holds in which pa rents did not ow n a home have shor ter telomeres in their CD8+CD28- leukocy te cells. Telomere leng th in these cells is related to aging, and in younger, hea lthier adults, shorter t elomere len g t h m ay t r a n s l at e t o a higher risk of infectious disea se. The aut hors of t he st udy concluded t hat telomere leng th may be a partia l media- tor for t he hig her rates of infectious disease obser ved in adults who grew up in low-SES homes. Other hy pothesized mecha nisms include decreased access to hea lth ca re ea rly in life. T h e a u t h o r s o f t h e A n n a l s o f Behavioral Medicine study, however, b e l i e v e t h e a s s o c i a t i o n m a y h a v e a nother root: attachment orientation. ATTACHMENT THEORY A de ca de s- old t he or y developed by psycholog ists John Bowlby a nd Ma r y A inswor th, attachment theor y posits that the ea rly bonds infa nts a nd tod- dlers form with ca reg ivers a re strong pre d ic t or s of s o ci a l a nd emot ion a l grow th a nd development, according to The Brookings Institution. The theor y holds that children form either secure or i n secu re at t a ch ment s w it h t hei r ca reg ivers. Insecure attachments ca n ma nifest as either attachment a nxiety or attachment avoida nce. "Attachment a n xiet y represents the deg ree to wh ich one fea rs aba ndon- ment, so someone high on attachment a nxiety would worr y that their pa r tner or c a reg iver m ay leave t hem ," say s Ky l e Mu r d o c k , Ph D, p o s t d o c t o r a l resea rch fellow in psycholog y at R ice University a nd the study 's f irst author. "At tachment avoida nce is the deg ree to which someone feels com for table 2 0