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Omega 3s Reduce Children’s Disruptive Behavior

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Giving children omega-3 fatty acid supplements reduces disruptive behavior, which in turn had a positive effect on their parents, making them less likely to argue with each other and engage in other verbal abuse, finds new randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial.
“Something as simple as a dietary supplement could reduce disruptive, even abusive behavior, according to newly released research by a team led by a UMass Lowell criminal justice professor.
Giving children omega-3 fatty acid supplements reduces disruptive behavior, which in turn had a positive effect on their parents, making them less likely to argue with each other and engage in other verbal abuse, according to Jill Portnoy, an assistant professor in UMass Lowell’s School of Criminology and Justice Studies.
“This is a promising line of research because omega-3 fatty acids are thought to improve brain health in children and adults. There is more to be learned about the benefits, but if we can improve people’s brain health and behavior in the process, that’s a really big plus,” said Portnoy, noting that a recent research review found that omega-3 supplements do not affect cardiovascular health.
The new research, published in the scholarly journal Aggressive Behavior, is just one example of how Portnoy is studying biological and social factors that can help explain and predict impulsive and risky behavior. The goal is to help determine effective ways to intervene before anti-social behavior escalates into crime.
That work takes Portnoy into the heart of the “nature versus nurture” debate – whether people who commit crimes have something in their physiological makeup that predisposes them to doing so or if social factors like abusive family situations lead them to it.
“Of course, it’s both,” she said, but exactly how is still to be determined. “Biology and social environment interact in complex ways that we’re just beginning to figure out. Before we can design effective interventions, we need to do research to understand what’s happening.”
Portnoy is exploring such a connection through another research project that is looking at how a low resting heart rate may lead to anti-social behavior.
“My theory is that a low resting heart rate might be an acquired, adaptive trait: If you are subjected to chronic or frequent stress as a child, you adapt by lowering your heart rate. The lower heart rate protects you by blunting your reaction to stressful events, but it can also lead to stimulation-seeking behavior. In other words, a stressful environment may cause physiological changes that lead to an increase in aggressive and impulsive behavior, in addition to causing the behavior directly,” she said.
Working with a counterpart at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Ph.D. and taught before coming to UMass Lowell, Portnoy studied hundreds of youths in Pittsburgh, where she grew up. The researchers found that the youths with lower resting heart rates were more likely to act out as a form of sensation-seeking, including anti-social behavior, which can be especially problematic for individuals living where there are few options for positive forms of stimulation.
Portnoy, who now lives in Portsmouth, N.H., will continue her research on this topic this fall with the help of a dozen UMass Lowell undergrads who will intern with her on the Health, Stress and Behavior Study, researching the connection between stress, heart rate and behavior.
Through this study, Portnoy and her team will examine what she describes as a continuum of criminal behavior with the goal of finding new ways to prevent it.
“Many people break the law in small ways; for example, by driving a few miles over the speed limit. I’m interested in people who are behaving aggressively but not yet reaching the level of criminal behavior or maybe they’re committing more serious crimes like theft or assault, but haven’t been caught. They’re still exacting a toll on society. And if we want to design more general social interventions, like teaching people healthier ways to adapt to stress, then we shouldn’t just study those who get caught,” said Portnoy.”  Source

Journal Reference: Jill Portnoy, Adrian Raine, Jianghong Liu, Joseph R. Hibbeln.

Reductions of intimate partner violence resulting from supplementing children with omega-3 fatty acids: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, stratified, parallel-group trial.

Aggressive Behavior, 2018

Abstract

Omega‐3 supplementation has been found to reduce externalizing behavior in children. Reciprocal models of parent‐child behavior suggest that improving child behavior could lead to improvements in parent behavior, however no study has examined whether omega‐3 supplementation in children could reduce intimate partner violence or child maltreatment by their adult caregivers. In this randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, stratified, parallel group trial, a community sample of children were randomized to receive either a fruit drink containing 1 gm of omega‐3 fats (Smartfish Recharge; Omega‐3 group, n = 100) or the same fruit drink without omega‐3’s (Placebo group, n = 100). Child participants, adult caregivers, and research staff were blinded to group assignment. Adult caregivers reported inter‐partner and child‐directed physical assault and psychological aggression at baseline, 6 months (end of treatment) and 12 months (6 months post‐treatment) using the Conflicts Tactics Scale. Caregivers of children in the omega‐3 group reported long‐term reductions in psychological aggression in a group × time interaction. Improvements in adult psychological aggression were correlated with improvements in child externalizing behavior scores. No differences were reported for child maltreatment. This study is the first to show that omega‐3 supplementation in children can reduce inter‐partner psychological aggression among adult caregivers not receiving supplements. Findings suggest that improving child behavior through omega‐3 supplementation could have long‐term benefits to the family system as a whole.

Capt Joseph Hibbeln, MD  who is one of the authors of this study was also the doctor that oversaw the First Apraxia Conference hosted by Cherab for the therapeutic use of fish oils for apraxia.   Dr. Joe Hibblen is widely known in Omega 3 research one of the world’s top researchers in the world and an investigator many similar studies including prisoners and aggression and Omega 3 levels. Here are some of his other studies

LISA GENG

Author, Founder and President of The Cherab Foundation
Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor, and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of her young children, he entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies, and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation, co-author of the acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and is instrumental in the development of IQed, a patented nutritional composition. Lisa recently served as a parent advocate on an AAN board for vaccines and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.