Executive Function and Epigenetic Markers in Youth Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Childhood.

Overview

Authors: Renata Queiroz Ramos^1,2, Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos da Silva³, Adriane Feijó Evangelista⁴, Fernanda Serpeloni¹, Natasha Reis Lacerda¹, Joviana Quintes Avanci¹, Simone Gonçalves de Assis¹

ORCID iDs: Renata Queiroz Ramos, Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos da Silva, Adriane Feijó Evangelista, Fernanda Serpeloni, Natasha Reis Lacerda, Joviana Quintes Avanci, Simone Gonçalves de Assis

Department of Violence and Health Studies Jorge Careli National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Epidemiology in Public Health Postgraduate Program National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Department of Epidemiology and Quantitative Methods in Health National School of Public Health Sergio Arouca, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
Institute for Cancer Research Guarapuava Paraná Brazil

Institutions: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (Brazil); Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Brazil)

Journal: Developmental psychobiology, volume 68, issue 5, article e70183

Dates: received 1 September 2025; accepted 25 June 2026; published online 2 August 2026; in print September 2026

Type: Research article · Language: English

License: CC BY

Identifiers: DOI 10.1002/dev.70183 · PMID 42543904 · PMCID PMC13430299 · OpenAlex W7172347776

Open access: hybrid, a free copy (OpenAlex)

Status: code on request

Categories: genetics / omics (modality), human (organism)

Methods: Statistics, Connectivity

Keywords: community violence, DNA methylation, executive function, family violence, physical violence, psychological violence, youth

MeSH: Adverse Childhood Experiences*, DNA Methylation*, Domestic Violence*, Epigenesis, Genetic*, Executive Function*, Exposure to Violence*, Adolescent, Female, Humans, Male (* major topic)

Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma (Clinical Psychology, Psychology), according to OpenAlex

Funding: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (407977/2021‐0); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (E‐26/204.258/2024); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (001)

Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 122 references in the paper

Abstract

Although exposure to violence has been linked to executive functioning impairments, the biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. This study examined CpG sites associated with executive functions in 78 young adults and their links to family (psychological and physical) and community violence during childhood. The scales used were Conflict Tactics (family violence); Things I Have Seen and Heard (community violence); Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning. Mean differences (Mann–Whitney‐U/Kruskal–Wallis) and Spearman correlations were assessed. An epigenome‐wide association study identified differentially methylated CpGs, and linear regressions examined associations with violence exposures. Girls reported more family and psychological violence. Black participants experienced higher family violence. Executive dysfunction (ED) correlated with psychological family and community violence, and family violence forms were interrelated. Differentially methylated positions highlighted genes tied to key biological processes: MRGPRD (sensory neurons development); DPPA3 (germ‐cell development); UNKL (cell differentiation); GPR6 (learning and memory); DUSP5 (cell proliferation and differentiation); and CAPN13 (signal transduction, cytoskeletal remodeling and cell differentiation). Candidate gene analysis found associations between executive dysfunction and methylation levels in these genes. Exploratory pathway analysis suggested enrichment of neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity, intracellular trafficking and cytoskeletal remodeling, genome stability and cellular stress responses, and neuroimmune and inflammatory signaling. These findings suggest associations between ED, childhood violence exposure, and differential DNA methylation in cognition‐ and health‐related genes, suggesting that epigenetic markers may be associated with pathways linking early adversity to later outcomes, although no causal inference can be drawn.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Data

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Data Availability Statement

The data and code supporting this study are available upon reasonable request, with measures in place to preserve personally identifiable information.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Version 3, 28 September 2026

Publisher: — → Wiley

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 7 authors, 7 keywords, 10 MeSH terms, 3 funders, 103 references.

Cite

This paper

Ramos, R. Q., da Silva, C. M. F. P., Evangelista, A. F., Serpeloni, F., Lacerda, N. R., Avanci, J. Q., & de Assis, S. G. (2026). Executive Function and Epigenetic Markers in Youth Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Childhood. Developmental psychobiology, 68(5), e70183. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70183

BibTeX

@article{ramos2026executive, author = {Ramos, Renata Queiroz and da Silva, Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos and Evangelista, Adriane Feijó and Serpeloni, Fernanda and Lacerda, Natasha Reis and Avanci, Joviana Quintes and de Assis, Simone Gonçalves}, title = {{Executive Function and Epigenetic Markers in Youth Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Childhood}}, journal = {Developmental psychobiology}, year = {2026}, month = sep, volume = {68}, number = {5}, pages = {e70183}, publisher = {Wiley}, issn = {0012-1630}, doi = {10.1002/dev.70183}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70183}, pmid = {42543904}, pmcid = {PMC13430299} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Ramos, Renata Queiroz AU - da Silva, Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos AU - Evangelista, Adriane Feijó AU - Serpeloni, Fernanda AU - Lacerda, Natasha Reis AU - Avanci, Joviana Quintes AU - de Assis, Simone Gonçalves TI - Executive Function and Epigenetic Markers in Youth Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Childhood T2 - Developmental psychobiology J2 - Dev Psychobiol PY - 2026 DA - 2026/09/01 VL - 68 IS - 5 SP - e70183 SN - 0012-1630 PB - Wiley DO - 10.1002/dev.70183 UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.70183 LA - en ER -

CSL-JSON

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