Low Serotonin Level And Mother-Daughter
Conflict May Be A Deadly Combination
March 6, 2008
A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of
serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for
adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors
such as cutting themselves.
New University of Washington research indicates that these two factors in
combination account for 64 percent of the difference among adolescents,
primarily girls, who engage in self-harming behaviors and those who do not.
"Girls who engage in self harm are at high risk for attempting suicide, and
some of them are dying," said Theodore Beauchaine, a UW associate professor
of psychology and co-author of a new study. "There is no better predictor
of suicide than previous suicide attempts."
The paper, co-authored by Sheila Crowell, one of his doctoral students, appears
in the current issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
Beauchaine said the relationship between the level of mother-daughter conflict
and self-harming behavior was not strong. There was a stronger relationship
between serotonin levels and self-harming behavior. But when both factors were
considered together, the relationship to self-harming behaviors was very strong.
"Most people think in terms of biology or environment rather than biology
and environment working together," he said. "Having a low level of
serotonin is a biological vulnerability for self-harming behavior and that
vulnerability increases remarkably when it is paired with maternal
conflict."
To understand this relationship, the researchers recruited 20 adolescents with a
history of self-harming behavior and 21 age-matched adolescents who did not harm
themselves. Adolescents were considered self-injuring if they had harmed
themselves three or more times in the past six months or five or more times in
their lifetimes. The mean age of both groups was 15 years and the participants
were predominantly white. There were two boys in each group.
Each mother and child separately filled out behavioral questionnaires that
examined the adolescent's mental health and self-injurious behaviors, and one
that identified areas of conflict between parents and teenagers. To assess
negativity in each parent-child relationship, the researchers selected a topic
that both parties said was a serious issue. Crowell said that doing chores at
home was the most common area of conflict. Then each mother and child were asked
to discuss a specific problem topic for 10 minutes. The discussion was taped and
the interaction was later coded. After the discussion small amounts of blood
were drawn from the adolescents to assess their serotonin level.
"You would think that they would be civil to each other in this kind of
situation, but many of these topics were hot and within five minutes some of our
subjects were arguing with each other," Beauchaine said.
He said most of the teenage participants in the study were girls because
self-inflicted injuries are far more common among girls. Mothers, rather than
fathers, were chosen because research has shown that the relationship between
girls and mothers is usually closer than it is between daughters and fathers.
Beauchaine believes finding the underlying causes of self-inflicted injuries and
developing prevention programs should be a national priority because
self-harming behavior can lead to suicide which is a leading cause of death
among American adolescents and young adults.
"Once self-harming behavior starts it is difficult to stop. Over time, with
something such as cutting, children's bodies react to it in a way that helps
reduce biological and psychological pain. They essentially become addicted to
this behavior. So you want to prevent this behavior before it starts," he
said.
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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The National Institute of Mental Health, Seattle Children's
Hospital Research Institute and the National Foundation for Suicide Prevention
funded the research. Co-authors of the study are Elizabeth McCauley, UW
professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; Christina Vasilev, former UW
undergraduate student who is now a research study coordinator at Harborview
Medical Center in Seattle; Adrianne Stevens, a UW psychology doctoral student;
and Dr. Cindy Smith, formerly with Trillium Family Services.
Source: Joel Schwarz
University of
Washington
Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com
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