Maternal Childhood Maltreatment, Development of Amygdala Volume, and Anxiety Symptoms in Offspring.

OBJECTIVE

Exposure to maltreatment in childhood increases risk for mental health difficulties across generations, affecting the development of offspring. In particular, maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment can shape the neurobiological development of offspring, especially in brain regions implicated in emotional health. However, relevant studies are cross-sectional, limiting understanding of how maternal childhood maltreatment might affect offspring neurodevelopment.

METHOD: Using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, the authors investigated whether maternal report of childhood maltreatment was related to the development of offspring amygdala volume across 4 time points (ages 4.5-10.5 years; 1,143 scans from 430 children), how maltreatment-related alterations in amygdala volume development were related to anxiety symptoms in children at age 10.5 years (n = 267), and whether these associations differed by offspring sex.

RESULTS

Greater maternal childhood maltreatment was associated with larger amygdala volume in girls at ages 4.5 to 10.5 years, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of anxiety symptoms at age 10.5 years in girls, but not in boys. Maternal childhood maltreatment was not associated with the development of amygdala volume in boys.

CONCLUSION

These findings support the formulation that maternal childhood maltreatment has a sex-differentiated effect on brain development and mental health outcomes of offspring. These results advance understanding of the effects of maternal childhood maltreatment on children's brain development and risk for psychopathology.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This study examined the effects of maternal childhood maltreatment on the development of the amygdala in their children. Using data from 430 children who participated in the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, the authors found that maternal childhood maltreatment predicted larger amygdala volumes in female children across the ages of 4 to 10 years. Larger amygdala volumes in these girls were associated with fewer anxiety symptoms at age 10. These findings suggest that mothers' own childhood experiences can impact brain development and emotional health of their offspring, particularly in girls.