EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OXYTOCIN, RISK-TAKING, AND CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT

Abstract

Maltreatment in childhood can lead to a vast number of negative outcomes for survivors. Some of these negative outcomes include engagement in risky and impulsive behaviors that can lead to imprisonment, health problems, or early death. A link between oxytocin (OT) and impulsivity has been identified, and administration of OT has shown to decrease impulsive behavior or risk-taking during various tasks. Although there is a link between OT and risk-taking, as well as between childhood maltreatment and OT, there are no studies to date that have analyzed the effect of OT on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and risk-taking. The present study employs simple mediation analyses to explore this relationship among a sample of young adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment (N=97) from two very different backgrounds; 54 of which were active probationers and 47 college students in an introductory psychology course. OT samples were obtained through analyses of donated saliva samples, and risk-taking was measured through participant performance on a computerized card game task. This study proposed four core hypotheses: (1) Individuals who reported higher overall levels of childhood maltreatment would have lower levels of salivary OT and there would be an indirect effect of salivary OT levels on risk-taking; (2) Individuals who experienced more forms of maltreatment would have lower salivary OT and there would be an indirect effect of salivary OT levels on risk-taking; (3) Individuals who experienced more emotional maltreatment would have lower salivary OT and OT levels would have an indirect effect on the relationship between emotional maltreatment and risk-taking; and (4) Individuals who have experienced more emotional abuse would have lower OT levels and OT levels would have an indirect effect on the relationship between emotional abuse and risk-taking. Contrary to these hypotheses, data analyses demonstrated that there were no indirect effects or direct effects of salivary OT levels on risk-taking for any form of neglect or abuse; however, the relationships between OT and overall maltreatment, overall emotional maltreatment (abuse and neglect), and emotional abuse that have been identified in the literature were confirmed.