This study focused on generality versus specificity of susceptibility of effects of eight family and child-care exposures measured between 3 and 54 months of age (e.g., sensitive parenting, child-care quality) on five child development outcomes assessed at age 4.5 years (e.g. behavior problems, preacademic skill), using data from The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1,364, boys = 705; White = 1,097, Black = 176, other = 91), while applying a novel influence-statistics method. Results indicated that susceptibility across the environment-predictor:child-outcome associations is normally rather than bimodally (i.e., orchid–dandelion) distributed. Analysis of susceptibility documents both domain generality and specificity of developmental plasticity, with effect sizes proving small in the former case. As predicted, children who as infants had difficult temperaments or who scored higher on a polygenic-plasticity score (serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region [5-HTTLPR], dopamine receptor D4 [DRD4], brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF]) proved somewhat more susceptible to some of the environmental effects investigated. Results lead to the recommendation that two-types-of-individuals vis-a-vis susceptibility to environmental influences be questioned and general-trait conceptions of susceptibility be further investigated.

Maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) have been linked to both child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Theory suggests that child attachment security may be a protective factor against the negative effects of MDS. This study examined child attachment security as a buffer of the link between MDS and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at two time points in a predominantly African American sample. Participants included mothers (N = 164; M age = 29.68 years; 76% African American) and their preschool-aged children (60% girls; M age = 44.67 months) recruited from four Head Start centers in low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. MDS were concurrently associated with child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at both time points. No significant main effects of child attachment security on behavior problems emerged; however, child attachment moderated the association between MDS and child internalizing behavior problems at Time 2, such that MDS predicted greater child internalizing problems when attachment security was low, and the effect was attenuated when attachment security was high. No interaction emerged for child externalizing problems. Findings suggest that secure attachment in early childhood can serve as a protective factor in the context of parental risk. We discuss implications for intervention and the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.

During early life-sensitive periods (i.e., fetal, infancy), the developing stress response system adaptively calibrates to match environmental conditions, whether harsh or supportive. Recent evidence suggests that puberty is another window when the stress system is open to recalibration if environmental conditions have shifted significantly. Whether additional periods of recalibration exist in adulthood remains to be established. The present paper draws parallels between childhood (re)calibration periods and the perinatal period to hypothesize that this phase may be an additional window of stress recalibration in adult life. Specifically, the perinatal period (defined here to include pregnancy, lactation, and early parenthood) is also a developmental switch point characterized by heightened neural plasticity and marked changes in stress system function. After discussing these similarities, lines of empirical evidence needed to substantiate the perinatal stress recalibration hypothesis are proposed, and existing research support is reviewed. Complexities and challenges related to delineating the boundaries of perinatal stress recalibration and empirically testing this hypothesis are discussed, as well as possibilities for future multidisciplinary research. In the theme of this special issue, perinatal stress recalibration may be a mechanism of multilevel, multisystem risk, and resilience, both intra-individually and intergenerationally, with implications for optimizing interventions.

School connectedness, a construct indexing supportive school relationships, has been posited to promote resilience to environmental adversity. Consistent with prominent calls in the field, we examined the protective nature of school connectedness against two dimensions of early adversity that index multiple levels of environmental exposure (violence exposure, social deprivation) when predicting both positive and negative outcomes in longitudinal data from 3,246 youth in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (48% female, 49% African American). Child and adolescent school connectedness were promotive, even when accounting for the detrimental effects of early adversity. Additionally, childhood school connectedness had a protective but reactive association with social deprivation, but not violence exposure, when predicting externalizing symptoms and positive function. Specifically, school connectedness was protective against the negative effects of social deprivation, but the effect diminished as social deprivation became more extreme. These results suggest that social relationships at school may compensate for low levels of social support in the home and neighborhood. Our results highlight the important role that the school environment can play for youth who have been exposed to adversity in other areas of their lives and suggest specific groups that may especially benefit from interventions that boost school connectedness.

Social and economic inequality are chronic stressors that continually erode the mental and physical health of marginalized groups, undermining overall societal resilience. In this comprehensive review, we synthesize evidence of greater increases in mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among socially or economically marginalized groups in the United States, including (a) people who are low income or experiencing homelessness, (b) racial and ethnic minorities, (c) women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) communities, (d) immigrants and migrants, (e) children and people with a history of childhood adversity, and (f) the socially isolated and lonely. Based on this evidence, we propose that reducing social and economic inequality would promote population mental health and societal resilience to future crises. Specifically, we propose concrete, actionable recommendations for policy, intervention, and practice that would bolster five “pillars” of societal resilience: (1) economic safety and equity, (2) accessible healthcare, including mental health services, (3) combating racial injustice and promoting respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion, (4) child and family protection services, and (5) social cohesion. Although the recent pandemic exposed and accentuated steep inequalities within our society, efforts to rebuild offer the opportunity to re-envision societal resilience and policy to reduce multiple forms of inequality for our collective benefit.

Children with aggressive behavior problems may aggress for different reasons, requiring tailored assessment and treatment. The aim of this study was to test whether it is possible to detect distinct social information processing (SIP) profiles among boys with aggressive behavior problems. We therefore conducted Latent Profile Analyses on boys’ SIP patterns assessed in interactive virtual reality. Additionally, we examined the discriminant validity of these SIP profiles by comparing them on theoretically relevant child characteristics (i.e., temperament, executive functioning, aggressive belief systems, punishment insensitivity, sensation seeking). We presented boys (N = 181; ages 7–13) with a virtual classroom where they could play games with virtual peers. They reported on their SIP in four virtual reality scenarios, designed to assess reactive and proactive aggressive SIP. Results revealed four distinct SIP profiles: a general reactive SIP profile, a situation-specific reactive SIP profile, a mixed reactive-proactive SIP profile, and a nonaggressive SIP profile. Planned contrasts revealed that boys with these SIP profiles differed in temperament, aggressive belief systems, and punishment insensitivity, but not in executive functioning and sensation seeking. Overall, findings suggest that boys differ in the exact SIP patterns underlying their aggressive behavior, providing inroads to tailor interventions to children’s individual needs.

Previous studies have established that individual characteristics such as violent behavior, substance use, and high-risk sexual behavior, as well as negative relationships with parents and friends, are all risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). In this longitudinal prospective study, we investigated whether violent behavior, substance use, and high-risk sexual behavior in early adulthood (ages 22–23 years) mediated the link between family conflict and coercive relationship talk with friends in adolescence (ages 16–17 years) and dyadic IPV in adulthood (ages 28–30 years). A total of 998 individuals participated in multimethod assessments, including observations of interactions with parents and friends. Data from multiple reporters were used for variables of interest including court records, parental and self-reports of violence, self-reports of high-sexual-risk behaviors and substance use, and self- and romantic partner-reports of IPV. Longitudinal mediation analyses showed that violent behavior during early adulthood mediated the link between coercive relationship talk with friends in adolescence and dyadic IPV in adulthood. No other mediation paths were found and there was no evidence of gender differences. Results are discussed with attention to the interpersonal socialization processes by which IPV emerges relative to individual risk factors.

Childhood adversity is common and associated with elevated risk for transdiagnostic psychopathology. Reward processing has been implicated in the link between adversity and psychopathology, but whether it serves as a mediator or moderator is unclear. This study examined whether alterations in behavioral and neural reward processing function as a mechanism or moderator of psychopathology outcomes following adversity experiences, including threat (i.e., trauma) and deprivation. A longitudinal community sample of 10–15-year-old youths was assessed across two waves (Wave 1: n = 228; Wave 2: n = 206). Wave 1 assessed adverse experiences, psychopathology symptoms, reward processing on a monetary incentive delay task, and resting-state fMRI. At Wave 2, psychopathology symptoms were reassessed. Greater threat experiences were associated with blunted behavioral reward sensitivity, which, in turn, predicted increases in depression symptoms over time and mediated the prospective association between threat and depression symptoms. In contrast, reward sensitivity moderated the association between deprivation experiences and prospective externalizing symptoms such that the positive association of deprivation with increasing externalizing symptoms was absent for children with high levels of reward sensitivity.

Perceived threat in youth’s environments can elevate risk for mental health, social, and neurocognitive difficulties throughout the lifespan. However, few studies examine variability in youth’s perceptions of threat across multiple contexts or evaluate outcomes across multiple domains, ultimately limiting our understanding of specific risks associated with perceived threats in different contexts. This study examined associations between perceived threat in youth’s neighborhood, school, and family contexts at ages 9–10 and mental health, social, and neurocognitive outcomes at ages 11–12 within a large US cohort (N = 5525) enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®). Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct profiles: Low Threat in all contexts, Elevated Family Threat, Elevated Neighborhood Threat, and Elevated Threat in all contexts. Mixed-effect models and post hoc pairwise comparisons showed that youth in Elevated Threat profile had poorer mental health and social outcomes 2 years later. Youth in the Elevated Family Threat profile uniquely showed increased disruptive behavior symptoms, whereas youth in the Elevated Neighborhood Threat profile predominantly displayed increased sleep problems and worse neurocognitive outcomes 2 years later. Together, findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of threat across multiple contexts to achieve a more nuanced developmental picture.

Early life adversity influences the diurnal cortisol rhythm, yet the relative influence of different characteristics of adversity remains unknown. In this study, we examine how developmental timing (childhood vs. adolescence), severity (major vs. minor), and domain of early life adversity relate to diurnal cortisol rhythms in late adolescence. We assessed adversity retrospectively in early adulthood in a subsample of 236 participants from a longitudinal study of a diverse community sample of suburban adolescents oversampled for high neuroticism. We used multilevel modeling to assess associations between our adversity measures and the diurnal cortisol rhythm (waking and bedtime cortisol, awakening response, slope, and average cortisol). Major childhood adversities were associated with flatter daily slope, and minor adolescent adversities were associated with greater average daily cortisol. Examining domains of childhood adversities, major neglect and sexual abuse were associated with flatter slope and lower waking cortisol, with sexual abuse also associated with higher cortisol awakening response. Major physical abuse was associated with higher waking cortisol. Among adolescent adversities domains, minor neglect, emotional abuse, and witnessing violence were associated with greater average cortisol. These results suggest severity, developmental timing, and domain of adversity influence the association of early life adversity with stress response system functioning.

Exposure to early-life adversity (ELA) and iron deficiency early in life are known risk factors for suboptimal brain and socioemotional development. Iron deficiency may arise from and co-occur with ELA, which could negatively affect development. In the present study, we investigated whether ELA is associated with iron deficiency in infants receiving no iron supplementation. This study is a secondary analysis of extant data collected in the 1990s; participants were healthy infants from working-class communities in Santiago, Chile (N = 534, 45.5% female). We measured stressful life events, maternal depression, and low home support for child development during infancy and assessed iron status when the infant was 12 months old. Slightly more than half of the infants were iron-deficient (51%), and 25.8% were iron-deficient anemic at 12 months. Results indicated that ELA was associated with lower iron levels and iron deficiency at 12 months. The findings are consistent with animal and human prenatal models of stress and iron status and provide evidence of the association between postnatal ELA and iron status in humans. The findings also highlight a nutritional pathway by which ELA may impact development and present a nutritionally-focused avenue for future research on ELA and psychopathology.

Child maltreatment is characterized by a harmful relational environment which can have negative cascading consequences for the child’s development. Relationship-based interventions may improve maltreated children’s functioning by addressing key aspects of the parent-child relationship at various stages of development. The objective of the current study was to perform a systematic review on relationship-based interventions for maltreated children and a meta-analysis on the impact of these interventions on observed parent-child relational behavior. Data collection consisted of a comprehensive literature search in six databases and contacting experts in the field and hand searching relevant publications. In total, 5,802 abstracts were screened, of which 81 relevant publications were identified, representing 4,526 participants. The meta-analysis found large improvements in observed parent interactive behavior (g = 0.888), smaller improvements in child attachment (g = 0.403) and child interactive behavior (g = 0.274). The effect on parent interactive behavior was larger in interventions addressing middle childhood. Risk of bias assessments showed that a large number of studies suffer from poor reporting, which limits the conclusions of the findings. Future research should examine parent-child relationship behavior across multiple developmental stages, as well as the impact of developmentally appropriate intervention elements on maltreated children.

Cross-species evidence suggests that the ability to exert control over a stressor is a key dimension of stress exposure that may sensitize frontostriatal-amygdala circuitry to promote more adaptive responses to subsequent stressors. The present study examined neural correlates of stressor controllability in young adults. Participants (N = 56; M age = 23.74, range = 18–30 years) completed either the controllable or uncontrollable stress condition of the first of two novel stressor controllability tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisition. Participants in the uncontrollable stress condition were yoked to age- and sex-matched participants in the controllable stress condition. All participants were subsequently exposed to uncontrollable stress in the second task, which is the focus of fMRI analyses reported here. A whole-brain searchlight classification analysis revealed that patterns of activity in the right dorsal anterior insula (dAI) during subsequent exposure to uncontrollable stress could be used to classify participants' initial exposure to either controllable or uncontrollable stress with a peak of 73% accuracy. Previous experience of exerting control over a stressor may change the computations performed within the right dAI during subsequent stress exposure, shedding further light on the neural underpinnings of stressor controllability.

Interpretation biases and inflexibility (i.e., difficulties revising interpretations) have been linked to increased internalizing symptoms. Although adolescence is a developmental period characterized by novel social situations and increased vulnerability to internalizing disorders, no studies have examined interpretation inflexibility in adolescents. Additionally, no studies (on adolescents or adults) have examined interpretation flexibility as a protective factor against adverse outcomes of interpersonal events. Using a novel task and a 28-day diary we examined relations among interpretation bias and inflexibility, internalizing symptoms, and negative interpersonal events in a sample of children and adolescents (N = 159, ages 9–18). At baseline, negative interpretation bias was positively correlated with social anxiety symptoms, and positive interpretation bias negatively correlated with social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Inflexible positive interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety and depressive symptoms, while inflexible negative interpretations were correlated with higher social anxiety. Finally, interpretation inflexibility moderated daily associations between negative interpersonal events and depressive symptoms in daily life, such that higher inflexibility was associated with stronger associations between interpersonal events and subsequent depressive symptoms, potentially increasing depressive symptom instability. These results suggest that interpretation biases and inflexibility may act as both risk and protective factors for adolescent anxiety and depression.

Given the high burden of child maltreatment, there is an urgent need to know more about resilient functioning among those who have experienced maltreatment. The aims of the study were to: 1) identify distinct profiles of resilience across cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social domains in young children involved in the child welfare system; and 2) examine maltreatment characteristics and family protective factors in relation to the identified resilience profiles. A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-II). Latent profile analysis was performed on a sample of 827 children aged 3–5 years (46% girls, Mean age = 3.96). Three distinct resilience profiles were identified: 1) low cognitive resilience (24%); 2) low emotional and behavioral resilience (20%); and 3) multidomain resilience (56%). Caregiver cognitive stimulation, no out-of-home placement, higher caregiver education level, older child age, and being a girl were associated with the multidomain resilience profile. The findings provide empirical support for the multifaceted nature of resilience and suggest that practitioners need to help children achieve optimal and balanced development by assessing, identifying, and targeting those domains in which children struggle to obtain competence.

Several studies link adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to delinquency. Yet, developmental sequalae accounting for this association remain unclear, with previous research limited by cross-sectional research designs and investigations of singular mediating processes. To redress these shortcomings, this study examines the longitudinal association between ACEs and delinquency as mediated by both sleep problems and low self-control, two factors which past research implicates as potentially important for understanding how ACEs contribute to antisocial behavior. Data collected from 480 adolescents (71.3% boys; 86.3% White) and their parents participating in the Michigan Longitudinal Study was used to conduct a serial mediation analysis. The association between ACEs (prior to age 11) and delinquency in late adolescence was found to operate indirectly via sleep problems in early adolescence and low self-control in middle adolescence. Nonetheless, a direct association between ACEs and later delinquency remained. Pathways through which ACEs contribute to later delinquency are complex and multiply determined. Findings indicate that early behavioral interventions, including improving sleep and self-control, could reduce later delinquency. Still, more research is needed to identify additional avenues through which the ACEs–delinquency association unfolds across development.

Although indirectly aggressive behavior and anxiety symptoms can co-occur, it is unclear whether anxiety is an antecedent or outcome of indirect aggression at the individual level and whether other personality traits can contribute to these longitudinal associations. Therefore, the between- and within-person associations among indirect aggression, anxiety symptoms, and empathic concern were examined across adolescence from ages 11 to 16 in a cohort of individuals followed annually (N = 700; 52.9% girls; 76.0% White) controlling for direct aggression and demographic variables. Results of autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals supported an acting out model at the within-person level. Specifically, anxiety symptoms positively predicted indirect aggression and indirect aggression negatively predicted empathic concern at each adjacent time point. These findings suggest that methods of reducing worries about the self and increasing healthy self-confidence could prevent indirect aggression and help build concern and compassion toward others.

Childhood trauma is linked to impairments in executive function and working memory, thought to underly psychological disorders including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Research demonstrates that childhood trauma can partially mediate posttraumatic stress disorder in those with executive function deficits. Despite a link with executive function deficit, psychopathy as a consequence of trauma is yet to be studied in this context. The present study investigates the possibility of a relationship between childhood trauma, psychopathic traits, and response inhibition. Eighty participants were tasked to completed the Childhood Traumatic Events Scale (Pennebaker & Susman, 2013), Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (Levenson et al., 1995), and Flanker task of response inhibition (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974). Scores of trauma exposure, psychopathic traits, and reaction times in the Flanker task were measured. Regression analysis revealed no significance for trauma exposure in predicting psychopathic traits (p = .201) and response inhibition (p = .183), indicating that childhood trauma does not strongly predict susceptibility to psychopathic traits or response inhibition deficits. These findings form an important basis on which to build a further understanding of the consequences of childhood trauma exposure, specifically in terms of understanding how specific cognitive functions may be influenced and providing a clearer understanding of how psychopathic traits develop.

In sub-Saharan countries, like South Africa, there is scant understanding of adolescent resilience to depression over time; the multisystemic resource combinations that support such resilience; and whether more diverse resource combinations yield better mental health dividends. In response, we conducted a longitudinal concurrent nested mixed methods study with 223 South African adolescents (mean age: 17.16 years, SD = 1.73; 64.60% girls; 81.60% Black). Using longitudinal mixture modeling, the quantitative study identified trajectories of depression and associations between trajectory membership and resource diversity. Using a draw-and-write methodology and reflexive thematic analyses, the qualitative study explored the resource diversity associated with each trajectory. Taken together, these studies identified four depression trajectories (Stable Low; Declining; Worsening; Chronic High) with varying resource diversity at baseline and over time. Resource diversity was inclusive of personal, relational, contextual, and culturally valued resources in both the Stable Low and Declining trajectories, with emphasis on relational supports. Personal resources were emphasized in the Worsening and Chronic High trajectories, and culturally valued and contextual resources de-emphasized. In summary, resource constellations characterized by within and across system diversity and cultural responsiveness are more protective and will be key to advancing sub-Saharan adolescent mental health.

Early adversity confers risk for depression in part through its association with recent (i.e., proximal) acute stress. However, it remains unresolved whether: a) early adversity predicts increases in recent acute stress over time; b) all – or only certain types – of recent events mediate the relationship between early adversity and depression; and c) early adversity places individuals at greater risk for depression via greater exposure to independent (i.e., fateful) interpersonal events or via greater generation of dependent (i.e., partially self-initiated) interpersonal events (i.e., stress generation) or both. These questions were examined in a 3-wave longitudinal study of early adolescent girls (N = 125; M = 12.35 years [SD = .77]) with no history of diagnosable depression using contextual life stress and diagnostic interviews. Path analyses indicated that increases in past-year acute interpersonal, but not non-interpersonal, stress mediated the link between early adversity and depressive symptoms. The mediating role of interpersonal events was limited to independent ones, suggesting increases in interpersonal event exposure, not interpersonal stress generation, acted as a mediator. Finally, findings support prior evidence that early adversity may not directly predict future depressive symptoms. Implications for understanding the role of recent stress in the association between early adversity and adolescent depression are discussed.