Paternal and Maternal Relationship and C-Reactive Protein and Glucose Levels: Effects and Moderating Factors

Author: Aarti Bhat Title: Paternal and Maternal Relationship and C-Reactive Protein and Glucose Levels: Effects and Moderating Factors Supervising Professor: Aprile D. Benner, Ph.D. Second Reader: Nancy Hazen, Ph.D. The biomarkers of C-reactive protein and glucose are indicative of chronic stress, and consistently high levels of these biomarkers can relate to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions (Ansar & Ghosh, 2016; Collier, Dossett, May, & Diaz, 2008; Logan & Barksdale, 2008). These biomarkers can be influenced by environmental stressors and quality of interpersonal relationships. Previous research has indicated a negative relationship between parental warmth and the presence of proinflammatory biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and glucose levels (Baumeister, Akhtar, Ciufolini, Pariante, & Mondelli, 2015; Carrol et al., 2013; Chen, Miller, Kobor, & Cole, 2010). However, much of this research has focused on the maternal relationship, as mothers have traditionally played a larger role in childrearing. With shifts in childrearing responsibilities over recent decades, there is need for a closer examination of the importance of the paternal relationship for youth’s health outcomes, and how the effects of this relationship compare to those of the maternal relationship. This study compares the influence of paternal and maternal involvement and warmth as related to adolescent C-reactive protein and glucose levels. The study uses parental education as a proxy for socioeconomic status to determine how SES is linked to the relationship between parental care and C-reactive protein and glucose, and also 3 PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND CRP AND GLUCOSE LEVELS examines the roles of race/ethnicity, religious involvement, and community engagement as potential moderators between paternal/maternal warmth and adolescent CRP and glucose levels. Data from Wave I of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) was used to determine relative socioeconomic status, and data from Wave IV of Add Health was used to determine the paternal and maternal overall relationship and biomarker data for C-reactive protein and glucose levels. Analysis shows that neither paternal nor maternal warmth, closeness, nor contact were significant predictors for CRP/glucose levels for the full sample. However, several moderation effects were found. It was observed that higher level of contact with the opposite gender parent was associated with higher youth CRP levels, and that higher levels of parental education tended to relate to lower youth glucose levels. For participants low in civic engagement, higher levels of paternal closeness were related to higher glucose levels, but for those high in civic engagement, paternal closeness was unrelated to glucose levels. The implications of this study indicate there is a need for further research on opposite-gender parent-child relationships, as well as an examination into the impact of civic engagement on the relationship between the parental relationship and stress levels. 4 PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND CRP AND GLUCOSE LEVELS