Early Environments, Parental Overprotection, and Susceptibility to the Common Cold

Childhood stressors influence mental and physical health outcomes across the lifespan. Researchers have identified various mechanisms that explain these associations, such as increased engagement in poor health behaviors and biological embedding. However, many people who experience childhood adversity remain healthy in adulthood due to numerous protective factors. The current study examined whether parental overprotection throughout childhood influenced the associations among recalled neighborhood environments, cold susceptibility, and trait-level depression in adulthood. Results indicated that for individuals who reported greater perceived parental overprotection, neighborhood risk was suggestive for being negatively associated with the probability of developing a clinical cold and nasal proinflammatory cytokine production. Further, for those who reported lower levels of parental overprotection, neighborhood risk was positively associated with mucus production and depression scores. Study findings suggest that perceived parental overprotection throughout childhood may benefit or be a detriment to adult physical and mental health depending on recalled neighborhood environments.