Associations between childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and past-year drug use disorders in the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

Stress sensitization, whereby CA lowers tolerance to later stressors, has been proposed as a potential mechanism explaining the association between exposure to childhood adversities (CA) and drug use disorders in adulthood. However, this mechanism remains untested. This paper begins to address this gap through exploring associations between CA exposure and stressful events in adulthood for predicting drug use disorders.

Stressful life events, sexual orientation, and cardiometabolic risk among young adults in the United States.

Objective: The goal of the present study was to examine whether sexual minority young adults are more vulnerable to developing cardiometabolic risk following exposure to stressful life events than heterosexual young adults.

Method: Data came from the National Longitudinal Study for Adolescent Health (Shin, Edwards, & Heeren, 2009; Brummett et al., 2013), a prospective nationally representative study of U.

Developmental trajectories of anxiety and depression in early adolescence.

Adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability for the onset of internalizing psychopathology. Characterizing developmental patterns of symptom stability, progression, and co-occurrence is important in order to identify adolescents most at risk for persistent problems. We use latent growth curve modeling to characterize developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms and four classes of anxiety symptoms (GAD, physical symptoms, separation anxiety, and social anxiety) across early adolescence, prospective associations of depression and anxiety trajectories with one another, and variation in trajectories by gender.

Amygdala response to negative stimuli predicts PTSD symptom onset following a terrorist attack.

Objective: Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit heightened amygdala reactivity and atypical activation patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in response to negative emotional information. It is unknown whether these aspects of neural function are risk factors for PTSD or consequences of either trauma exposure or onset of the disorder. We had a unique opportunity to investigate this issue following the terrorist attacks at the 2013 Boston Marathon and the ensuing manhunt and shelter in place order.

Media exposure and sympathetic nervous system reactivity predict PTSD symptoms after the Boston marathon bombings.

Background: Terrorist attacks have been shown to precipitate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in children and adolescents, particularly among youths with high exposure to media coverage surrounding such events. Media exposure may be particularly likely to trigger PTSD symptoms in youths with high physiological reactivity to stress or with prior psychopathology or exposure to violence. We examined the interplay between media exposure, preattack psychopathology, autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity, and prior violence exposure in predicting PTSD symptom onset following the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

DSM-5 and ICD-11 definitions of posttraumatic stress disorder: investigating "narrow" and "broad" approaches.

Background: The development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) and ICD-11 has led to reconsideration of diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys allow investigation of the implications of the changing criteria compared to DSM-IV and ICD-10.

Methods: WMH Surveys in 13 countries asked respondents to enumerate all their lifetime traumatic events (TEs) and randomly selected one TE per respondent for PTSD assessment.

Subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder in the world health organization world mental health surveys.

Background: Although only a few people exposed to a traumatic event (TE) develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), symptoms that do not meet full PTSD criteria are common and often clinically significant. Individuals with these symptoms sometimes have been characterized as having subthreshold PTSD, but no consensus exists on the optimal definition of this term. Data from a large cross-national epidemiologic survey are used in this study to provide a principled basis for such a definition.

The burden of loss: unexpected death of a loved one and psychiatric disorders across the life course in a national study.

Objective: Unexpected death of a loved one is common and associated with subsequent elevations in symptoms of multiple forms of psychopathology. Determining whether this experience predicts novel onset of psychiatric disorders and whether these associations vary across the life course has important clinical implications. The authors examined associations of a loved one's unexpected death with first onset of common anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in a population-based sample.

Neighborhood sociodemographic predictors of Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) in schools: demonstrating a small area estimation method in the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS-A) Adolescent Supplement.

We evaluate the precision of a model estimating school prevalence of SED using a small area estimation method based on readily-available predictors from area-level census block data and school principal questionnaires. Adolescents at 314 schools participated in the National Comorbidity Supplement, a national survey of DSM-IV disorders among adolescents. A multilevel model indicated that predictors accounted for under half of the variance in school-level SED and even less when considering block-group predictors or principal report alone.

CRHR1 genotype and history of maltreatment predict cortisol reactivity to stress in adolescents.

This study examined the contributions of a polymorphism of the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type I (CRHR1) gene (rs110402) and a history of child maltreatment--alone and in interaction--to patterns of cortisol reactivity in adolescents. Adolescents between the age of 13 and 17 years with (n=61) and without (n=97) a history of child maltreatment were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol was assessed at baseline, and 15 and 30 min after the start of the speech portion of the TSST.

Rumination as a transdiagnostic factor underlying transitions between internalizing symptoms and aggressive behavior in early adolescents.

The high degree of comorbidity among mental disorders has generated interest in identifying transdiagnostic processes associated with multiple types of psychopathology. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema conceptualized rumination as one such transdiagnostic process associated with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, binge eating, and self-injurious behavior. The degree to which rumination accounts for the co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, however, has never been tested.

The biopsychosocial model of stress in adolescence: self-awareness of performance versus stress reactivity.

Extensive research among adults supports the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat, which describes relationships among stress appraisals, physiological stress reactivity, and performance; however, no previous studies have examined these relationships in adolescents. Perceptions of stressors as well as physiological reactivity to stress increase during adolescence, highlighting the importance of understanding the relationships among stress appraisals, physiological reactivity, and performance during this developmental period. In this study, 79 adolescent participants reported on stress appraisals before and after a Trier Social Stress Test in which they performed a speech task.

Interventions to improve cortisol regulation in children: a systematic review.

Childhood adversity is associated with physiologic dysregulation across multiple biological systems; however, relatively little is known about whether these changes are reversible with intervention. The objective of this review was to examine evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy cortisol regulation in children. We selected articles from English-language publications in PubMed and EBSCO databases through 2012.

The Relationship between Rumination and Affective, Cognitive, and Physiological Responses to Stress in Adolescents.

Although previous studies have established that rumination influences responses to stressful life events, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain inadequately understood. The current study examines the relationship between trait rumination and affective, cognitive, and physiological responses to a standardized laboratory-based stressor in adolescents. A community-based sample of adolescents (N = 157) aged 13-17 completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST).

Sexual orientation and gender differences in markers of inflammation and immune functioning.

Background: Sexual minorities have documented elevated risk factors that can lead to inflammation and poor immune functioning.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate disparities in C-reactive protein (CRP) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by gender and sexual orientation.

Methods: We used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine disparities in CRP (N = 11,462) and EBV (N = 11,812).

Vagal regulation and internalizing psychopathology among adolescents exposed to childhood adversity.

Childhood adversity (CA) is strongly associated with youth psychopathology. Identifying factors that reduce vulnerability following CA is critical for developing preventive interventions. Vagal tone and vagal reactivity following psychosocial stressors might influence psychopathology among youths exposed to CA.

Low vagal tone magnifies the association between psychosocial stress exposure and internalizing psychopathology in adolescents.

Vagal tone is a measure of cardiovascular function that facilitates adaptive responses to environmental challenge. Low vagal tone is associated with poor emotional and attentional regulation in children and has been conceptualized as a marker of sensitivity to stress. We investigated whether the associations of a wide range of psychosocial stressors with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were magnified in adolescents with low vagal tone.

Structural stigma and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis reactivity in lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults.

Background: Youth exposed to extreme adverse life conditions have blunted cortisol responses to stress.

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether growing up in highly stigmatizing environments similarly shapes stigmatized individuals' physiological responses to identity-related stress.

Methods: We recruited 74 lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults (mean age = 23.

Widespread reductions in cortical thickness following severe early-life deprivation: a neurodevelopmental pathway to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Children exposed to early-life psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional rearing are at markedly elevated risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Neurodevelopmental mechanisms that explain the high prevalence of ADHD in children exposed to institutionalization are unknown. We examined whether abnormalities in cortical thickness and subcortical volume were mechanisms explaining elevations in ADHD among children raised in institutional settings.

Cumulative traumas and risk thresholds: 12-month PTSD in the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys.

Background: Clinical research suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients exposed to multiple traumatic events (TEs) rather than a single TE have increased morbidity and dysfunction. Although epidemiological surveys in the United States and Europe also document high rates of multiple TE exposure, no population-based cross-national data have examined this issue.

Methods: Data were analyzed from 20 population surveys in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative (n = 51,295 aged 18+).

Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in a national sample of adolescents.

Objective: Although exposure to potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs) is common among youths in the United States, information on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk associated with PTEs is limited. We estimate lifetime prevalence of exposure to PTEs and PTSD, PTE-specific risk of PTSD, and associations of sociodemographics and temporally prior DSM-IV disorders with PTE exposure, PTSD given exposure, and PTSD recovery among U.S.

Exposure to intimate partner violence and parental depression increases risk of ADHD in preschool children.

Question: Does exposure to parental depression or intimate partner violence (IPV) during the first 3 years of life have an effect on a child's subsequent mental health? A total of 2422 children (52% boys, Hispanic/ Latino 45.5%, Black 40.6%, White 10.

Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in South Africa: analysis from the South African Stress and Health Study.

Background: South Africa's unique history, characterised by apartheid, a form of constitutional racial segregation and exploitation, and a long period of political violence and state-sponsored oppression ending only in 1994, suggests a high level of trauma exposure in the general population. The aim of this study was to document the epidemiology of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the South African general population.

Methods: The South African Stress and Health Study is a nationally representative survey of South African adults using the WHO's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) to assess exposure to trauma and presence of DSM-IV mental disorders.