UC Irvine

This study assessed whether different types of childhood maltreatment (CM) (i.e., abuse vs. neglect) had differential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), two established markers of autonomic functioning. Additionally, this study used a moderated mediation model to investigate the potentially mediating role of HRV in the relationship between CM subtypes and adult psychopathology, and whether these relationships differed in those with high vs. low resting HRV. Secondary analysis was performed using the MIDUS II Biomarker Project dataset. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships between key variables at baseline, as well as reactivity and recovery to stressor tasks. Baseline pathways from abuse and neglect to BRS were nonsignificant, as was the pathway from HRV to psychopathology. Notably, greater abuse was significantly predictive of lower HRV (standardized ß = -.42, p<.01) while greater neglect was significantly predictive of higher HRV (standardized ß = .32, p<.05). Additionally, higher childhood abuse was significantly predictive of greater adult psychopathology (standardized ß = .39, p<.001), but childhood neglect was not found to be related to adult psychopathology in this sample. Significant relationships between target variables were only found in those with low HRV. Our findings suggest that greater differentiation between abuse and neglect are appropriate in investigations of the impact of CM on adult physical and mental health outcomes. Additionally, our findings contribute further evidence that low HRV may be a transdiagnostic endophenotype for mood-related pathology.