Child maltreatment is a global phenomenon that affects the lives of millions of children. Worldwide, as many as one in three to six children encounter physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their caregivers. Children who experience abuse often show alterations in stress reactivity. Although this alteration may reflect a physiological survival response, it can nevertheless be harmful in the long run-increasing children's disruptive behavior and jeopardizing their development in multiple domains. But can we undo this process in at-risk children? Based on several lines of pioneering research, we hypothesize that we indeed can. Specifically, we hypothesize that highly dysfunctional parenting leads to an epigenetic pattern in children's glucocorticoid genes that contributes to stress dysregulation and disruptive behavior. However, we also hypothesize that it is possible to "flip the methylation switch" by improving parenting with known-effective parenting interventions in at-risk families. We predict that improved parenting will change methylation in genes in the glucocorticoid pathway, leading to improved stress reactivity and decreased disruptive behavior in children. Future research testing this theory may transform developmental and intervention science, demonstrating how parents can get under their children's skins-and how this mechanism can be reversed.

中文翻译：

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当妈妈和爸爸进入你的皮肤时：重新审视父母如何影响孩子的DNA甲基化，压力反应性和破坏性行为

虐待儿童是一种全球性现象，影响着数百万儿童的生活。在全球范围内，多达三分之一至六分之一的儿童会受到照顾者的身体，性或情感虐待。遭受虐待的儿童经常表现出压力反应能力的改变。尽管这种改变可能反映出生理上的生存反应，但从长远来看，可能增加儿童的破坏性行为并危害他们在多个领域的发育，这可能是有害的。但是，我们可以取消处于危险中的儿童的这一过程吗？基于开创性研究的几条线，我们假设我们确实可以做到。具体来说，我们假设父母的高度机能障碍会导致儿童糖皮质激素基因的表观遗传模式，从而导致压力失调和破坏行为。然而，我们还假设有可能通过高风险家庭中已知有效的育儿干预措施来改善育儿，从而“翻转甲基化开关”。我们预测改善的育儿将改变糖皮质激素途径中基因的甲基化，从而改善儿童的应激反应性和破坏性行为。未来对该理论进行测试的研究可能会改变发展和干预科学，说明父母如何才能在孩子的皮肤下生皮，以及如何逆转这种机理。导致改善的压力反应性并减少儿童的破坏行为。未来对该理论进行测试的研究可能会改变发展和干预科学，说明父母如何才能在孩子的皮肤下生皮，以及如何逆转这种机理。导致改善的压力反应性并减少儿童的破坏行为。未来对该理论进行测试的研究可能会改变发展和干预科学，说明父母如何才能在孩子的皮肤下生皮，以及如何逆转这种机理。