1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The goal of the present study is to examine the moderating role of ELA [exposure to early life adversity] on the association between MQ [marital quality] and inflammation.» (p. 59)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«Given that the impact of social relationships on health outcomes may be particularly pronounced when individuals are facing significant stressors […], it was hypothesized that […] ELA would attenuate the beneficial effect of greater MQ on reduced inflammation and […] that this moderation effect would be more pronounced among individuals experiencing chronic caregiving stress.» (p. 59)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Participants were part of a project on chronic caregiving stress and health (N=222). For the current study, only participants who reported currently being in a romantic relationship were included (n=167). Participants were biological mothers of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability (chronic caregiving stress group; n=92) or mothers of typically developing adolescents (comparison group; n=75) who were in the process of preparing their child’s transition in or out of the high school system. […] Participants were on average 46.77 [...] years old, ranging from 34 to 63, and had an adolescent with a mean age of 15.86 […].» (p. 59) The location of participants is not mentioned.

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results indicated a significant moderation effect of ELA on the association between MQ and [markers of inflammation]. Specifically, a beneficial effect of high MQ on reduced levels of inflammation emerged among participants with lower levels of ELA. However, among participants with higher ELA, the association between MQ and inflammation was attenuated and no longer significant. This moderation effect was independent of current exposure to chronic caregiving stress and other sociodemographic and health behavior covariates. These results suggest that high ELA exposure may impair the social buffering effect of positive MQ on circulating proinflammatory cytokines, providing one potential mechanism through which ELA may lead to elevated systemic inflammation over the life course. The present study showed small correlations between the different indicators of MQ and inflammation. […] However, these associations were significantly moderated by ELA, such that the associations between positive MQ and reduced inflammation were more pronounced among individuals with lower ELA exposure, compared to their counterparts reporting higher ELA exposure. Although there were some variations for predicting specific markers of inflammation, this moderation effect was observed for the individual components of the composite MQ index, namely relationship satisfaction, dyadic coping, and perceived partner responsiveness. ELA may thus be a key moderator of the association between different indicators of MQ and inflammation.» (p. 63)