Pathways by which maternal physiological arousal (skin conductance level SCL) and regulation (respiratory sinus arrhythmia RSA withdrawal) while parenting are linked with concurrent and subsequent ...maternal sensitivity were examined. Mothers' (N = 259) SCL and RSA were measured during a resting baseline and while interacting with their 6-month-old infants during tasks designed to elicit infant distress. Then, mothers were interviewed about their emotional and cognitive responses to infant cues (i.e., cry processing) while caregiving using a video recall procedure. Maternal sensitivity was observed during the distressing tasks at 6 months and again when children were 1-year-old. Mothers who were well-regulated (higher RSA suppression from baseline to parenting tasks) engaged in less negative and self-focused cry processing while interacting with their infants, which in turn predicted higher maternal sensitivity at both time points. In addition, SCL arousal and RSA regulation interacted such that maternal arousal was associated with more empathic/infant focused cry processing among mothers who were simultaneously well-regulated, which in turn predicted maternal sensitivity, albeit only at 6 months. These effects were independent of a number of covariates demonstrating the unique role of mothers' physiological regulation while caregiving on sensitivity. Implications for intervention are discussed.
College students are at risk for alcohol misuse and those who participate in organized sports are at even higher risk. Family history of alcohol problems (FH) and impulsivity are well-documented risk ...factors for alcohol use outcomes, but no research has examined the role of organized sports participation in moderating these associations. This study examined the associations between FH, alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms, the role of UPPS-P (Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency impulsive behavior scale) impulsivity dimensions in mediating the association between FH and alcohol use outcomes, and whether these associations vary by students' organized sports participation.
Participants (N = 3,959, 64.7% female, 51.8% White; Mean age = 18.48 years, SD = .40) were recruited from a large, public university and completed an online survey in the fall and spring semesters of their first year in college. Path analyses were conducted in Mplus.
FH was associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption and more AUD symptoms. Lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and negative urgency partially mediated the associations between FH and alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms. The association between negative urgency and AUD symptoms was stronger for organized sports participants.
Impulsivity dimensions are risk factors for both alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms and serve as important pathways for the transmission of risk between generations. Prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing problematic alcohol use should target impulsivity generally, and particularly negative urgency among college students who participate in organized sports.
This study evaluated the factor structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) with a diverse sample of 1,248 European American, Latino, Armenian, and Iranian adolescents. Adolescents completed ...the 10-item RSES during school as part of a larger study on parental influences and academic outcomes. Findings suggested that method effects in the RSES are more strongly associated with negatively worded items across three diverse groups but also more pronounced among ethnic minority adolescents. Findings also suggested that accounting for method effects is necessary to avoid biased conclusions regarding cultural differences in self-esteem and how predictors are related to the RSES. Moreover, the two RSES factors (positive self-esteem and negative self-esteem) were differentially predicted by parenting behaviors and academic motivation. Substantive and methodological implications of these findings for cross-cultural research on adolescent self-esteem are discussed.
Genome-wide, polygenic risk scores (PRS) have emerged as a useful way to characterize genetic liability. There is growing evidence that PRS may prove useful for early identification of those at ...increased risk for certain diseases. The current potential of PRS for alcohol use disorders (AUD) remains an open question. Using data from both a population-based sample the FinnTwin12 (FT12) study and a high-risk sample the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), we examined the association between PRSs derived from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of (1) alcohol dependence/alcohol problems, (2) alcohol consumption, and (3) risky behaviors with AUD and other substance use disorder (SUD) criteria. These PRSs explain ~2.5-3.5% of the variance in AUD (across FT12 and COGA) when all PRSs are included in the same model. Calculations of area under the curve (AUC) show PRS provide only a slight improvement over a model with age, sex, and ancestral principal components as covariates. While individuals in the top 20, 10, and 5% of the PRS distribution had greater odds of having an AUD compared to the lower end of the continuum in both COGA and FT12, the point estimates at each threshold were statistically indistinguishable. Those in the top 5% reported greater levels of licit (alcohol and nicotine) and illicit (cannabis and opioid) SUD criteria. PRSs are associated with risk for SUD in independent samples. However, usefulness for identifying those at increased risk in their current form is modest, at best. Improvement in predictive ability will likely be dependent on increasing the size of well-phenotyped discovery samples.
Parents of children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) experience greater stress in parenting and more parental depressive symptoms. The study examined the longitudinal and bidirectional ...associations between three dimensions of parenting stress (i.e., parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction, and difficult child) and parental depressive symptoms from a sample of Chinese parents of children with or without ODD. The sample included 256 parents of children with ODD and 265 parents of children without ODD, along with children’s teachers. Using a three wave, cross-lagged design, results showed that parents of children with ODD suffered higher levels of parenting stress across three dimensions. For both groups, the links between parental depressive symptoms and subsequent parental distress and difficult child were unidirectional, whereas the relation between parental depressive symptoms and parent–child dysfunctional interaction was bidirectional. Multi-group analysis found that there was no significant difference in the relations between parenting stress and depressive symptoms between the ODD and non-ODD groups. The findings indicated that children with ODD require comprehensive services to address the stress of their parents. The study also provided support for the dynamic and longitudinal relations between specific dimensions of parenting stress and depressive symptoms among parents of children with or without ODD.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater depression and anxiety among college students. Social support may alleviate this risk. We examined how social support from family, friends, and romantic ...partners may influence internalizing psychopathology outcomes associated with COVID-19-related stressful events.
Participants were first-years (
= 425, 34.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 74.9% female) enrolled in a United States public university.
Participants completed an online survey in Fall of 2020. Linear regression models examined associations between COVID-19 stressors, social support, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and differences between White and Hispanic/Latinx students.
Reported COVID-19 stressors were associated with elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms and higher among Hispanic/Latinx students. Family and friend support were negatively associated with both internalizing outcomes. Partner support was negatively associated with depression and more predictive among White students whereas friend support was for Hispanic/Latinx students' anxiety.
: These findings demonstrate the importance of social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is associated with adaptive outcomes in emerging adulthood, but more research is needed on factors that may inform ERI, such as receiving one’s genetic ancestry results. ...The current study examined changes in ERI using a pre-test post-test design in which 116 emerging adults 18–25 years were randomly assigned to either receiving their genetic ancestry results before the post-test (the testing condition) or after post-test (the control condition). We also tested whether ethnicity/race and gender moderated these associations. Findings indicated that male students of color (SOC) in the testing condition experienced an increase in ERI affirmation from pre-test to post-test, and male SOC in the control condition experienced a decrease in ERI affirmation from pre-test to post-test. There were no significant differences in ERI affirmation change between students in the testing condition and control condition for female SOC, White males, or White females.
•We examine prediction from a genetic score to depression in Mexican youth.•A polygenic risk score for depression predicted phenotypic depression.•The polygenic risk score accounted for 1.5–2.5% of ...the variance in depression.•Gene by environment interactions with adversity were not observed.
Large-scale genome-wide association studies have uncovered genetic variants associated with depression; however, most of this work has been limited to adults of European ancestry. We investigated the ability of depression polygenic risk scores (PRS) to predict both lifetime and past year major depressive disorder (MDD) diagnosis and major depressive episode (MDE) in a sample of adolescents with admixed ancestry from Mexico City, and explored whether adverse life events moderated these relations.
The study sample consisted of adolescents aged 12–17 (N = 1,123) who were interviewed and genotyped as part of a general population survey on adolescent mental health. PRS for depression were derived using summary statistics from a large-scale discovery genome-wide association study conducted on depressive symptoms that included over 800,000 individuals of European ancestry (Howard et al., 2019).
Higher depression PRS were associated with a greater likelihood of both past year MDD and MDE and lifetime MDE, accounting for 1.5–2.5% of the variance in these outcomes. Adversity did not moderate the relationship between depression PRS and lifetime or past year MDD or MDE.
This study is cross-sectional. As such, some participants might have experienced MDD/MDE after the interview. In addition, our sample comprised only Mexican youth and thus, findings may not generalize to other populations.
Our results indicate that depression PRS derived from a European ancestry GWAS are associated with MDD and MDE risk among Mexican adolescents and have the potential to aid in the identification of youth who may be genetically prone to depression.
This study examined the independent and interactive effects of genetic risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD), parenting behaviors, and family environment on childhood impulsivity. Data were drawn from ...White (n = 5,991), Black/African American (n = 1,693), and Hispanic/Latino (n = 2,118) youth who completed the baseline assessment (age 9–10) and had genotypic data available from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Participants completed questionnaires and provided saliva or blood samples for genotyping. Results indicated no significant main effects of AUD genome-wide polygenic scores (AUD-PRS) on childhood impulsivity as measured by the UPPS-P scale across racial/ethnic groups. In general, parental monitoring and parental acceptance were associated with lower impulsivity; family conflict was associated with higher impulsivity. There was an interaction effect between AUD-PRS and family conflict, such that family conflict exacerbated the association between AUD-PRS and positive urgency, only among Black/African American youth. This was the only significant interaction effect detected from a total of 45 tests (five impulsivity dimensions, three subsamples, and three family factors), and thus may be a false positive and needs to be replicated. These findings highlight the important role of parenting behaviors and family conflict in relation to impulsivity among children.
The transition to college is a major socio-contextual shift marked by opportunity and stress. Adolescents who encounter significant stress during this time may experience changes in neuroendocrine ...function, an identified mechanism underlying associations between stress and psychopathology. Latino students may be particularly at-risk for stress exposure, as ethnic/racial minority youth experience both minority-specific and general life stressors. This study employed a “multi-risk model” to examine additive, common, and cumulative effects of various stressors on Latino college students’ diurnal cortisol.
180 Latino college students (Mage=18.95; 64.4% female) provided five saliva samples a day across three weekdays (M=14.88, SD=.95; 2,667 samples) to assess diurnal cortisol patterns (i.e., cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal cortisol slope (DCS)). Participants self-reported on multiple stress forms (general, academic, social, financial, bicultural, discrimination) via online survey and daily diary. Common and cumulative stress were assessed via exploratory factor analysis and cumulative risk index, respectively. Three-level growth curve models were fit using Mplus.
In the additive model, general stress was associated with a flatter DCS (γ=.01, p=.03) and bicultural stress was linked with a steeper DCS (γ=-.07, p=.047). In the common model, college stress was related to a lower CAR (γ=-.09, p=.045). Higher cumulative stress was linked with a lower CAR (γ=-.06, p=.007).
Findings highlight the physiological correlates of various stressors experienced by Latino college students. Results have implications for equity promoting interventions to reduce stress and subsequent physiological processes underlying the development of psychopathology.
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