Evidence of Differential Prediction of Anxiety and Depression by Diurnal Alpha-Amylase and Cortisol in Development.

Research and theory suggest an important role of neuroendocrine function in emotional development, particularly under conditions of elevated stress. We provide empirical data to clarify associations between alpha-amylase (AA) and cortisol as well as test the differential linkages among AA, cortisol, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress in children. Children recruited from a low-income elevated violence community (n = 100; mean age = 10, SD = 0.

COVID-19 and Family Distancing Efforts: Contextual Demographic and Family Conflict Correlates.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, family members have spent more time together at home. This study introduces the concept of "family distancing"-the efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to family members. We explore which demographic characteristics are associated with family distancing efforts and how the family distancing efforts are associated with family conflicts.

Program evaluation of a school-based mental health and wellness curriculum featuring yoga and mindfulness.

Background: Interest in the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions such as yoga in primary schools has grown. Evidence shows promise, as youth who engage in yoga to promote mindfulness show improved coping skills, increased socio-emotional competence and prosocial skills, academic performance, attention span, and ability to deal with stress.

Objective: This study reports the results of a program evaluation of a universal health and wellness curriculum, Pure Power, designed to teach youth yoga techniques, mindfulness, and emotion regulation.

Therapist use of cognitive behavior therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing components for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in practice settings.

Introduction: Treatment practice guidelines for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recommend both Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT); however, implementation in practice setting remains challenging. Here we aim to foster implementation efforts for PTSD by identifying the relative use of the various components of empirically supported treatments by therapists and the characteristics that predict their use.

Methods: Surveyed 346 therapists (84.

Cortical activation predicts posttraumatic improvement in youth treated with TF-CBT or CCT.

Background: Identifying neural activation patterns that predict youths' treatment response may aid in the development of imaging-based assessment of emotion dysregulation following trauma and foster tailored intervention. Changes in cortical hemodynamic activity measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) may provide a time and cost-effective option for such work. We examined youths' PTSD symptom change following treatment and tested if previously identified activation patterns would predict treatment response.

Impact of anxiety and depression on academic achievement among underserved school children: evidence of suppressor effects.

Anxiety and depression symptoms may leave children at risk for lower academic scores, though this unique linkage to academic achievement in underserved youth is less well established. This study aimed to examine how anxiety and depression are uniquely related to spelling and math achievement beyond attention and hyperactivity deficits in children in underserved schools. Children aged 8 to 11 ( = 1085, 47.

Toward a Developmental Model of Continuity and Change in PTSD Symptoms following Exposure to Traumatic and Adverse Experiences.

A developmental understanding of the expression of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms following trauma in childhood requires identifying continuity and change in not just overall symptoms but in the individual symptoms as well. Such models of change also require understanding multiple dimensions of time. That is, longitudinal change-the passage of time-may have different effects on symptom expression depending on when in time an individual entered the study - such as what age they were when first assessed.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy brain imaging predicts symptom severity in youth exposed to traumatic stress.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique with the potential to enable the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brain biomarkers in an affordable and portable manner. Consistent with biological models of PTSD, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and fNIRS studies of adults with trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms suggest increased activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventrolateral PFC (vlPFC) in response to negative emotion stimuli. We tested this theory with fNIRS assessment among youth exposed to traumatic stress and experiencing PTSD symptoms (PTSS).

Changes in Anxiety Control Beliefs Following a Brief CBT Treatment and Their Association With Anxiety Symptom Reduction.

Anxiety control beliefs (i.e., beliefs regarding one's ability to cope with external, fear-inducing threats and internal reactions to those perceived threats) have been found to negatively predict anxiety symptoms in children and adults and to be modifiable by cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders.

Developmental Differences in Child and Adolescent Reasoning about Anxiety Sensations.

Background: The development of reasoning as to the potential negative consequences of emotional sensations is a critical aspect of emotion knowledge and central to cognitive risk for anxiety disorders. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasoning children and adolescents give for negative interpretations of anxiety sensations, testing a priori hypotheses quantitatively and exploring the content of the reasons qualitatively.

Methods: This study used a cross sectional design with interviews as well as cognitive and emotional assessments in a sample of 227 youth aged 6-17 years.

Translating the neuroscience of adverse childhood experiences to inform policy and foster population-level resilience.

Imaging methods have elucidated several neurobiological correlates of traumatic and adverse experiences in childhood. This knowledge base may foster the development of programs and policies that aim to build resilience and adaptation in children and youth facing adversity. Translation of this research requires both effective and accurate communication of the science.

Developmental Variation in Amygdala Volumes: Modeling Differences Across Time, Age, and Puberty.

Background: There is evidence that the amygdala undergoes extensive development. The exact nature of this change remains less clear, with evidence suggesting linear, curvilinear, and null effects. The aim of this study was the identification of a normative reference of left and right amygdala development by parceling variance into separate effects of age and longitudinal growth.

Commentary on the Special Issue on Network Analysis: Assessment, Intervention, Theory, and the Nature of Reality: Actualizing the Potential of Network Perspectives on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

This commentary on the Journal of Traumatic Stress special issue on network analysis explores the network perspective on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emphasizing the advances in research made in this collection of articles. The commentary is organized around the following themes related to actualizing the perspective's methodological, assessment, and intervention potential and the potential shift in the theoretical underpinnings of mental disorders that networks models imply. First, extant data using network analysis suggest that reactions to traumatic stress are more complicated than once thought but that this complexity does not mean efficient, relatively simple heuristics to aid assessment and intervention do not exist.

Getting effective intervention to individuals exposed to traumatic stress: Dosage, delivery, packaging, and profiles.

There is strong evidence for the efficacy of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, treatment non-completion remains a considerable problem. Of concern with a high dropout rate is that Holmes et al.

Age Differences in Expression of Generalized and Social Anxiety Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined differences in generalized and social anxiety symptoms across two age groups of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while accounting for overall anxiety level, gender, and intellectual functioning. Older children (12-18 years) expressed more overall and social anxiety symptoms than younger children (6-11 years), and social anxiety symptoms were predominant in the older group. Younger children expressed more generalized anxiety symptoms than the older youth, and there was a trend for generalized anxiety symptoms to be more dominant in the younger group.

Changes in Dosing and Dose Timing of D-Cycloserine Explain Its Apparent Declining Efficacy for Augmenting Exposure Therapy for Anxiety-related Disorders: An Individual Participant-data Meta-analysis.

The apparent efficacy of d-cycloserine (DCS) for enhancing exposure treatment for anxiety disorders appears to have declined over the past 14 years. We examined whether variations in how DCS has been administered can account for this "declining effect". We also investigated the association between DCS administration characteristics and treatment outcome to find optimal dosing parameters.

Heart rate variability and anxious arousal: Unique relations with sleep-related problems in stress-exposed adolescents.

Sleep-related problems (SRPs) among adolescents are a growing concern. Theory and research suggest that emotional arousal may have cyclical relation with SRPs, but whether emotional dysregulation plays a role is not clear. We investigated associations between two physiological indices of emotion regulation (video baseline heart rate variability and change in heart rate variability to a stressor) and SRPs in a sample of 80 adolescents (ages 11-17 years; 51% female; 37.

Susceptibility and resilience to cyber threat: Findings from a scenario decision program to measure secure and insecure computing behavior.

Interest in the individual differences underlying end user computer security behavior has led to the development of a multidisciplinary field of research known as behavioral information security. An important gap in knowledge and the motivation for this research is the development of ways to measure secure and insecure cyber behavior for research and eventually practice. Here we report a study designed to develop a technique for assessing secure and insecure cyber behavior for broad research use.

Annual Research Review: Pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder from a neurodevelopmental network perspective.

Background: Experiencing traumatic stress is common and may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a number of children and adolescents. Research using advanced imaging techniques is beginning to elucidate some of the neurobiological correlates of the traumatic stress response in youth.

Methods: This paper summarizes the emerging network perspective of PTSD symptoms and reviews brain imaging research emphasizing structural and functional connectivity studies that employ magnetic resonance imaging techniques in pediatric samples.

Perceptions of Resilience and Physical Health Symptom Improvement Following Post Disaster Integrated Health Services.

Objective: Theorists and researchers have linked resilience with a host of positive psychological and physical health outcomes. This paper examines perceptions of resilience and physical health symptoms in a sample of individuals exposed to multiple community disasters following involvement in integrated mental health services.

Methods: A multiwave naturalistic design was used to follow 762 adult clinic patients (72% female; 28% minority status), ages 18-92 years (mean age=40 years), who were evaluated for resilience and physical health symptoms prior to receiving services and at 1, 3, and 6 months' follow-up.