New research by scientists from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and elsewhere shows how omega 3-rich diet can prevent disruptive, even abusive behavior.

“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,” said University of Massachusetts Lowell’s assistant professor Jill Portnoy, lead author of the study.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, Dr. Portnoy and collaborators examined whether omega-3 supplementation in children could reduce intimate partner violence or child maltreatment by their adult caregivers.

Participants consisted of 139 adult caregivers of 200 children; 52 parents had more than one child participating in the study.

The researchers gave children either a fruit drink containing 1 gm of omega-3 fats or the same fruit drink without omega-3’s.

“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),” they said.

“Caregivers of children in the omega-3 group reported long-term reductions in psychological aggression in a group x time interaction.”

“Improvements in adult psychological aggression were correlated with improvements in child externalizing behavior scores. No differences were reported for child maltreatment.”

“This is a promising line of research because omega-3 fatty acids are thought to improve brain health in children and adults,” Dr. Portnoy said.

“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.”

The study is published in the journal Aggressive Behavior.

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Jill Portnoy et al. 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, published online May 20, 2018; doi: 10.1002/ab.21769