Growth patterns of future orientation among maltreated youth: A prospective examination of the emergence of resilience

Developmental Trajectories of Mental Health in Chinese Early Adolescents: School Climate and Future Orientation as Predictors

There is growing support for the dual-continua model of mental health, which emphasizes psychopathology and well-being as related but distinct dimensions. Yet, little is known about how these dimensions co-develop from childhood to early adolescence and what factors predict their different trajectories. The current study aimed to identify distinct patterns of mental health in Chinese early adolescents, focusing on both psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms and self-harm behaviors) and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and affect balance). This study also examined the contributions of school climate and future orientation to these trajectories. A total of 1,057 students (Mage = 11.88, SDage = 1.67; 62.1% boys) completed four assessments over two years, with six-month intervals. Using parallel-process latent class growth modeling, we identified four groups: Flourishing (32.5%), Languishing (43.8%), Troubled with Stable Depressive Symptoms (16.1%), and Troubled with Increasing Self-Harm Risk (7.6%). Furthermore, school climate and future orientation contributed to adolescents' membership in these trajectories, either independently or jointly. Specifically, higher levels of future orientation combined with higher school climate were associated with a lower likelihood of belonging to the Troubled with Increasing Self-Harm Risk trajectory, compared to the Flourishing group. Our findings identified four distinct mental health trajectories consistent with the dual-continua model, and demonstrated that the development of psychopathology and well-being were not always inversely related (e.g., the Languishing group). Adolescents with unique developmental profiles may benefit from tailored intervention strategies that build on the personal and environmental assets of the adolescent.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Social Mobility Beliefs among Chinese Adolescents: The Protective Roles of Parental Academic Involvement and Adolescent Future Orientation

Social mobility beliefs play a significant role in shaping adolescents' adaptive developmental outcomes, including well-being and academic functioning. Nevertheless, existing research may not cast light on the distinct trajectories and potential protective factors of social mobility beliefs. The present study aims to identify heterogeneity in trajectory patterns of social mobility beliefs among Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.45, SDage = 2.60; 55.1% boys; 40.0% rural adolescents) in a four-wave (i.e., fall 2017, fall 2018, spring 2019, and fall 2019) longitudinal design, and examines the protective roles of parental academic involvement and adolescent future orientation. Three distinct trajectories of social mobility beliefs were identified: high-increasing (35.1%; a positive trajectory with the best developmental outcomes, including the lowest problem behaviors and depression symptoms, and the highest life satisfaction and academic competence), moderate-stable (49.8%), and low-decreasing (15.1%; a negative trajectory with the worst developmental outcomes, including the highest problem behaviors and depression symptoms, and the lowest life satisfaction and academic competence). Apart from the main effects of parental academic involvement and future orientation, a significant interaction effect of these two protective factors and adolescent group was detected, and only rural adolescents who reported both high levels of parental academic involvement and future orientation have a greater chance of being placed in the high-increasing trajectory than the low-decreasing trajectory. These findings highlight the significance of clarifying individual differences in the dynamic process of social mobility beliefs during adolescence, and elucidate rural-urban disparities in the influences of protective factors on social mobility beliefs trajectories, and inform individualized intervention strategies.

Facilitating the coping and development of college students with mental disorders: a positive clinical psychology approach

In serving college students with mental disorders, on-campus mental health professionals have been lacking integrative theoretical frameworks to guide their missions of prevention, remedy, and development facilitation. In the current paper, we propose the positive clinical psychology as a theoretically and practically valuable framework for these missions by narratively reviewing the preventive, remedial, and developmental mechanisms derived from the theory and summarizing the most recent empirical evidence that supports each mechanism. We further discuss why and how these mechanisms and findings can be applied to on-campus mental health services to facilitate the resilience and optimal development of college students with mental disorders. Particularly, the use of resilience-focused and strength-based intervention strategies are promoted for services.

Protective Factors in the Context of Childhood Bereavement: Youth Gratitude, Future Orientation, and Purpose in Life

The objective of the study was to examine potential associations between positive youth development constructs (gratitude, future orientation, purpose in life) and psychological functioning (posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, maladaptive grief reactions) among bereaved youth and test whether these associations vary by age. A diverse sample of 197 clinic-referred bereaved youth (56.2% female; M = 12.36, SD = 3.18; 36.1% Hispanic, 23.7% White, 20.1% Black, 11.9% Multiracial, and 8.2% another race/ethnicity) completed self-report measures of psychological functioning and positive youth development constructs. Linear regression models indicated that gratitude and purpose were associated with lower posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms among bereaved youth. Future orientation was associated with higher posttraumatic stress symptoms. Results were consistent across age. If replicated longitudinally, gratitude and purpose may be important protective factors against negative mental health outcomes in the aftermath of losing a loved one.

Behavior problems, social relationships, and adolescents' future orientation. Links from middle to late adolescence

INTRODUCTION

As adolescents leave high school, plans for the future are of great importance. Future orientation reflects positive thoughts regarding further education, employment, and family life. While future orientation has been found to affect behavior problems, the influence of behavior problems on future orientation is mainly unknown. Positive parent-child and peer relations may boost positive outlooks, but the interplay of behavior problems and social relations for future orientation remains to be studied.

METHODS

Participants were 485 adolescents, 54% girls, living in Mid-Sweden. At age 15, parents and adolescents rated ADHD- and internalizing symptoms, parents rated ODD-symptoms, and adolescents rated their relationship with parents and peers. At age 18, adolescents rated future orientation regarding education, employment, and family, and reported on delinquent acts.

RESULTS

Low levels of inattention symptoms and of delinquency were important for all higher future orientation aspects. In contrast, higher levels of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were associated with more positive outlooks on work and family life. Relationships with parents and peers were stronger predictors of future outlooks, compared with behavior problems. There were few interaction effects of behavioral symptoms and social relationship quality.

CONCLUSIONS

Behavior problems in middle adolescence may negatively affect future outlooks. However, positive social relations, especially relations with peers, seem more important for optimistic views than behavior problems and thus may have a compensatory effect. The clinical implications should be to address the young person's social world, in the case of misgivings about the future, also in the presence of problematic behaviors.

Person-centered methods to advance developmental psychopathology

Dante Cicchetti's remarkable contributions to the field of developmental psychopathology include the advancement of key principles such as the interplay of typical and atypical development, multifinality and equifinality, the dynamic processes of resilience, and the integration of multiple levels of analysis into developmental theories. In this paper we assert that person-centered data analytic methods are particularly well-suited to advancing these tenets of developmental psychopathology. We illustrate their utility with a brief novel empirical study focused on underlying patterns of childhood neuroendocrine regulation and prospective links with emerging adult functioning. Results indicate that a childhood neuroendocrine profile marked by high diurnal cortisol paired with low diurnal DHEA was uniquely associated with more adaptive functioning in emerging adulthood. We discuss these findings, and person-centered methods more broadly, within the future of developmental psychopathology.

Relieving the Gambling Itch Through Alcohol Consumption: The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Australian Casino Patrons

This paper extends our understanding of how casino patrons are affected by COVID-19 restrictions and how they cope by substituting gambling with alcohol consumption. We conducted two studies using a nationwide survey sample collected in Australia during the pandemic lockdown. Study 1 compares the casino patrons with two reference groups (other gambling patrons and non-gambling individuals) and investigates the lockdown restrictions on respondents' relational strength, and their potential impact on mental health and future prospects. Study 2 applies the stress-response dampening model (SRD) and tests how respondents used alcohol consumption to cope with the lack of access to casinos during the lockdown. The results from Study 1 suggest that lockdown restrictions on respondents' relational strength have significant negative impacts on anxiety, life satisfaction and post-pandemic outlook. Study 2 finds that casino patrons substituted gambling with alcohol consumption during the lockdown, with increased alcohol consumption negatively related to life satisfaction. Paradoxically, Australian gambling venue owners may not be adversely affected as many also run liquor retail operations.

Child maltreatment and youth suicide risk: A developmental conceptual model and implications for suicide prevention

Experiences of child abuse and neglect are risk factors for youth suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Accordingly, suicide risk may emerge as a developmental process that is heavily influenced by the rearing environment. We argue that a developmental, theoretical framework is needed to guide future research on child maltreatment and youth (i.e., adolescent and emerging adult) suicide, and to subsequently inform suicide prevention efforts. We propose a developmental model that integrates principles of developmental psychopathology and current theories of suicide to explain the association between child maltreatment and youth suicide risk. This model bears significant implications for future research on child maltreatment and youth suicide risk, and for suicide prevention efforts that target youth with child maltreatment experiences.

Profiles and Developmental Transitions of Educational Future Orientation among Senior High School Students in China

Adolescent future orientation is highly relevant to the sociocultural context in which they are situated. However, adolescents in non-Western cultures are underrepresented in literature. This study investigated the profiles and developmental transitions of adolescent educational future orientation, as well as the roles of adolescent academic achievement and perceived parental educational expectations within the context of Chinese culture. The sample was 605 (54.5% boys) urban and rural senior high school students followed for one and a half years. Three distinctive profiles were identified: the concentrated-committed profile characterized by the concentrated goals (i.e., hopes and fears for future education) and the highest level of planning and evaluation components, the low profile scoring the lowest on each component, and the tentative profile characterized by the highest level of hopes and fears density and mean levels of planning and evaluation components. Latent transition analysis revealed high stabilities for the concentrated-committed and the low profiles but very low stabilities for the tentative profile, and transitions were more common in ways from low or tentative profiles to the concentrated-committed profile rather than vice versa. Greater academic achievement predicted the concentrated-committed profile. Perceived parental educational expectations increased adolescent educational future orientation, particularly for urban adolescents or those in the tentative profile. Urban adolescents were more likely to be in or transition into the concentrated-committed profile, particularly for those with higher academic achievement or parental expectations. These findings demonstrate the heterogeneities of adolescent thinking about future education, reveal how the Chinese sociocultural factors contribute to shaping the development of adolescent future orientation, and provide implications for the promotion of adolescent future orientation in education.

Future orientation in justice-involved youth: The effects of adverse and positive childhood experiences, and being dual-status

BACKGROUND

Justice-involved youth face diverse challenges and are likely to experience more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and fewer positive childhood experiences (PCEs), which can have implications for their orientation toward their future. Future orientation is thought to influence behavior, but little is known about how it is shaped. While future orientation and its correlates likely matter for all justice-involved youth, the recently recognized subcategory of Dual Status Youths (DSYs) might be especially sensitive to influences on future orientation.

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the effects of cumulative adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), cumulative positive childhood experiences (PCEs), and DSY classification on the likelihood of having a positive orientation toward the future.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The researchers analyze a sample of 3604 justice-involved youth on probation in a large metropolitan area in Texas.

METHOD

The sample includes juveniles who received the full Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) risk/needs assessment. The analytical plan included t-tests and two logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Findings were that DSY are exposed to more ACEs and fewer PCEs than non-dual status justice-involved youth. Results indicated that a greater number of PCEs is associated with future orientation, but DSY status and ACEs are not.

CONCLUSIONS

Juvenile justice programming must strive to cultivate PCEs in justice-involved youth prior to the completion of their probation supervision.

Early childhood maltreatment and profiles of resilience among child welfare-involved children

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.

A Systematic Review of Resilience Factors for Psychosocial Outcomes During the Transition to Adulthood Following Childhood Victimisation

Exposure to childhood victimisation (i.e. abuse, neglect, domestic violence or bullying) can detrimentally impact later psychosocial adjustment. However, this is not the case for all victimised children; some do well despite their experiences and are considered to be resilient. Understanding the factors associated with such resilience is important to inform interventions to support better psychosocial outcomes among victimised children. This review provides an overview of the extant research examining resilience factors for psychosocial outcomes during the transition to adulthood following exposure to childhood victimisation. Studies were identified through a systematic literature search of Embase, PsychINFO and Ovid MEDLINE databases. The 26 included studies spanned a range of psychosocial outcomes between ages 18-25, including education and work, housing and independent living, criminal behaviour, victimisation, and social and psychological adjustment. For each outcome, a variety of putative resilience factors had been investigated including those related to the individual, their family and the wider community within which they lived. However, because few studies had comparable resilience factors and psychosocial outcomes, it is difficult to draw conclusions about which factors are consistently associated with resilience to a particular psychosocial outcome. Additionally, this review revealed that the included studies were of variable methodological quality - many were limited by cross-sectional designs with retrospective self-reports of childhood victimisation, and convenience or unrepresentative samples. In this review, we also highlight gaps in knowledge about the co-occurring impact of multiple resilience factors in combination and the need for studies conducted in non-Western and low- and middle-income countries.

Low-to-moderate level of perceived stress strengthens working memory: Testing the hormesis hypothesis through neural activation

The negative impact of stress on neurocognitive functioning is extensively documented by empirical research. However, emerging reports suggest that stress may also confer positive neurocognitive effects. This hypothesis has been advanced by the hormesis model of psychosocial stress, in which low-moderate levels of stress are expected to result in neurocognitive benefits, such as improved working memory (WM), a central executive function. We tested the hormesis hypothesis, purporting an inverted U-shaped relation between stress and neurocognitive performance, in a large sample of young adults from the Human Connectome Project (n = 1000, Mage = 28.74, SD = 3.67, 54.3% female). In particular, we investigated whether neural response during a WM challenge is a potential intermediary through which low-moderate levels of stress confer beneficial effects on WM performance. Further, we tested whether the association between low-moderate prolonged stress and WM-related neural function was stronger in contexts with more psychosocial resources. Findings showed that low-moderate levels of perceived stress were associated with elevated WM-related neural activation, resulting in more optimal WM behavioral performance (α *β = -0.02, p = .046). The strength of this association tapered off at high-stress levels. Finally, we found that the benefit of low-moderate stress was stronger among individuals with access to higher levels of psychosocial resources (β = -0.06, p = .021). By drawing attention to the dose-dependent, nonlinear relation between stress and WM, this study highlights emerging evidence of a process by which mild stress induces neurocognitive benefits, and the psychosocial context under which benefits are most likely to manifest.

Is perceived stress linked to enhanced cognitive functioning and reduced risk for psychopathology? Testing the hormesis hypothesis

Extensive research documents the impact of psychosocial stress on risk for the development of psychiatric symptoms across one's lifespan. Further, evidence exists that cognitive functioning mediates this link. However, a growing body of research suggests that limited stress can result in cognitive benefits that may contribute to resilience. The hypothesis that low-to-moderate levels of stress are linked to more adaptive outcomes has been referred to as hormesis. Using a sample of young adults from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1,206, 54.4% female, M_age = 28.84), the present study aims to test the hormetic effect between low-to-moderate perceived stress and psychopathological symptoms (internalizing and externalizing symptoms), as well as to cross-sectionally explore the intermediate role of cognitive functioning in this effect. Results showed cognitive functioning as a potential intermediating mechanism underlying the curvilinear associations between perceived stress and externalizing, but not internalizing, behaviors. This study provides preliminary support for the benefits of limited stress to the process of human resilience.

Interdependent self-construal moderates the relationship between pro-generation investment and future orientation: A cross-cultural comparison

INTRODUCTION

Cultural orientation and interdependent self-construal can moderate the relationship between perceived pro-generation investment and future orientation of young adults. To test how interdependent self-construal moderate the relationship between pro-generation investment and future orientation of young adults from two different cultural ecologies was the aim of the current study.

METHODS

A cross-cultural comparison was conducted among study participants from China, Germany, and the United States. Interdependent self-construal, perceived pro-generation investment by parents (parental investment), and future orientation were measured. Cross-cultural data were collected from 205 college students in China, a collectivist culture, and 169 college students in Germany (n = 50) and the United States (n = 119), which are individualist cultures. We examined a three-way interaction with cultural orientation and interdependent self-construal as moderators in the relationship between perceived parental investment and future orientation.

RESULTS

In the collectivist cultural context, there appeared no moderating effect of interdependent self-construal on the relationship between perceived parental investment and future orientation, although interdependent self-construal and perceived parental investment predicted future orientation. In the individualistic cultural context, there was a moderating effect. For individuals high in interdependent self-construal, future orientation remained stable as perceived parental investment increased. For individuals low in interdependent self-construal, future orientation decreased as perceived parental investment increased.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings have practical implications in that parents should follow the cultural orientation of their background and provide their children with individualized investment and education to shape the future orientation of their offspring.

Future Orientation Among Children Affected by Parental HIV in China: An Exploratory Analysis of Complex Interactions

We utilized an exploratory analytic approach to examine predictors of children's future beliefs, an internal asset associated with resilience among children affected by HIV, with emphasis on complex interactions among multisystem factors. Children (N = 1221) affected by parental HIV in China reported on psychosocial functioning, as well as internal, familial, and community resilience assets. Exploratory data analysis was conducted using a binary segmentation program. Six binary splits on predictors accounted for 22.78% of the variance in future expectation, suggesting interactions between children's perceived control of their future, loneliness, caregiver trust, and social support. Four binary splits accounted for 23.15% of the variance in future orientation, suggesting multiway interactions between control of the future, loneliness, social support, and perceived stigma. Findings suggest combinations of resilience factors are associated with children's positive future beliefs. Implications for screening, prevention, and intervention among Chinese children affected by parental HIV are discussed.

Exposome and Trans-syndromal Developmental Trajectories Toward Psychosis

The prenatal period, early childhood, and adolescence are considered sensitive periods for brain and behavior development, when environmental exposures may have long-lasting effects on mental health. Psychosis spectrum disorder (PSD) is a developmental disorder that often manifests with nonspecific clinical presentations long before full-blown PSD is diagnosed. Genetic factors only partly explain PSD. Multiple early-life environmental exposures are associated with PSD. In this review, we describe the conceptual framework of the exposome and its relevance to PSD research in developmental cohorts and beyond and discuss key challenges for the field as it attempts to move beyond studying environment (in the sense of "searching under the lamppost because this is where the light is") to a more comprehensive assessment of environment and its contribution to PSD. We then suggest that the field should aspire to studying environmental origins of PSD through a developmental lens focusing on young cohorts and using multilevel phenotyping of environment, adopting an exposome framework that embraces the dynamic complex nature of environment and acknowledges the effect of additive and interactive environmental exposures alongside the genome. Furthermore, we highlight the need for a developmental perspective when studying exposome effects on psychopathology, accepting the nonspecificity of child/adolescent psychopathology and encouraging the study of trans-syndromal manifestations, shifting the research paradigm from categorical outcomes (e.g., schizophrenia) and going beyond clinical settings to investigate trajectories of risk and resilience.

Interactive effects of citizen trust and cultural values on pro-environmental behaviors: A time-lag study from Indonesia

Countries that encourage pro-environmental behaviors to safeguard their citizens' health and safety contribute positively towards safeguarding nature and the environment. Therefore, investigating the motivators and triggering factors of people's pro-environmental behaviors is of utmost importance for scholars. Thus, grounded on the bio-spheric value orientation theory, the impact of various cultural values, including collectivism, femininity uncertainty avoidance, and future orientation on the citizens' pro-environmental behavior, has been examined in the current study. Additionally, the moderating role of citizens' trust has also been examined to check the enhanced effect of cultural values on pro-environmental behavior. Surveying 576 citizens of Palangka Raya Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, at two different times with six months gap, results showed that collectivism, femininity uncertainty avoidance, and future orientation positively and significantly influence pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, citizens' trust moderates these associations while depicting that more citizens' trust results in stronger cultural values associations with pro-environmental behavior. Overall, this study is incremental in exploring the interactive effect of citizens' trust with various cultural values to enhance pro-environmental behavior among citizens of Palangka Raya city, Indonesia. Besides, research brings multiple theoretical, managerial, and future research implications.

Family stress during the pandemic worsens the effect of adverse parenting on adolescent sleep quality

BACKGROUND

Adverse parenting is consistently associated with increased sleep problems among adolescents. Shelter-in-Place restrictions and the uncertainty linked to the Covid-19 pandemic have introduced new stressors on parents and families, adding to the risk for youth's sleep problems.

OBJECTIVE

Using multidimensional assessments of child maltreatment (CM; threat vs. deprivation), the present study examined whether parent-report and child-report of Covid-19 related stress potentiated the effect of CM on sleep problems among boys and girls.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The study focused on a sample of 124 dyads of adolescents (M_age = 12.89, SD = 0.79; 52% female) and their primary caregivers (93% mothers) assessed before and during the pandemic (May to October 2020).

METHOD

Data were obtained from both youth and their parents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test all study hypotheses. Simple slopes and Johnson-Neyman plots were generated to probe significant interaction effects.

RESULTS

Deprivation, but not threat, directly predicted increased sleep problems among boys during the pandemic. Additionally, elevation in Covid-19 stress (both parent and child report) intensified the link between CM (threat and deprivation) and sleep problems among boys.

CONCLUSION

Our findings inform prevention and intervention efforts that aim to reduce sleep problems among boys during stressful contexts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Structure and Interrelations of Time-Stable Psychological Resilience, Psychological Vulnerability, and Social Cohesion

The current study explores the relationship between three constructs of high relevance in the context of adversities which have, however, not yet been systematically linked on the level of psychological dispositions: psychological vulnerability, psychological resilience, and social cohesion. Based on previous theoretical and empirical frameworks, a collection of trait questionnaires was assessed in a Berlin sample of 3,522 subjects between 18 and 65 years of age. Using a confirmatory factor analytical approach, we found no support for a simple three-factor structure. Results from exploratory structural analyses suggest that instead of psychological resilience and psychological vulnerability constituting two separate factors, respective indicators load on one bipolar latent factor. Interestingly, some psychological resilience indicators contributed to an additional specific latent factor, which may be interpreted as adaptive capacities, that is, abilities to adapt to changes or adjust to consequences of adversities. Furthermore, instead of evidence for one single social cohesion factor on the psychological level, indicators of perceived social support and loneliness formed another specific factor of social belonging, while indicators of prosocial competencies were found to form yet another distinct factor, which was positively associated to the other social factors, adaptive capacities and social belonging. Our results suggest that social cohesion is composed of different independent psychological components, such as trust, social belonging, and social skills. Furthermore, our findings highlight the importance of social capacities and belonging for psychological resilience and suggest that decreasing loneliness and increasing social skills should therefore represent a valuable intervention strategy to foster adaptive capacities.

Smartphone Time Machine: Tech-Supported Improvements in Time Perspective and Wellbeing Measures

Individuals with a balanced time perspective, which includes good thoughts about the past, awareness of present constraints and adaptive planning for a positive future, are more likely to report optimal wellbeing. However, people who have had traumas such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are likely to have less balanced time perspectives and lower overall wellbeing when compared to those with fewer or no ACEs. Time perspective can be improved via time-travel narratives that support people in feeling connected to a wise and loving future version of themselves, an approach that has until now only been provided in counseling contexts. Our team used an iterative inclusive design process to shape a scalable time-travel narrative tool – a responsive and progressive web application called Time Machine. Among other functionalities, Time Machine allowed people to record and listen to messages as if they were from and to their past and future selves. Using pre-planned as well as post-hoc analyses, we analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from 96 paid design partners (participants) who were taken through a 26-day pilot study of the technology. Among other effects, the results revealed: (1) high engagement throughout the design process, (2) improvements in self-reported time perspective and overall wellbeing scores that were greater for those using Time Machine during an optional-use period, (3) twice as much improvement in overall wellbeing scores for design partners with high ACEs (16%) versus low ACEs (8%), and (4) feelings of unconditional love apparently mediating the relationship between scores on time perspective and overall wellbeing measures. We discuss the limitations of these results as well as implications for the future role of spiritually informed scalable time-travel narrative technologies in healthcare and wellness.

Lifetime Alcohol Use Influences the Association Between Future-Oriented Thought and White Matter Microstructure in Adolescents

AIMS

Future orientation, or the ability to plan ahead and anticipate consequences, is a capacity that develops during adolescence, yet its underlying neurobiology is unknown. Previous independent reports suggest that reduced future orientation and altered white matter microstructure are associated with greater alcohol use in adolescents; however, these effects have not been studied in conjunction. This study investigated the association between future orientation and white matter microstructure as a function of lifetime alcohol use.

METHODS

Seventy-seven adolescents (46 female; 15-21 years of age) underwent diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and completed a fifteen-item Future Orientation Questionnaire. Regression analyses assessed the association between self-reported lifetime alcohol use and future orientation, and the association between future orientation and white matter microstructure, as a function of lifetime alcohol use.

RESULTS

Adolescents with more lifetime alcohol use demonstrated lower future orientation. Voxel-wise DWI analyses revealed two regions, bilateral posterior corona radiata (PCR), where greater future orientation was associated with lower mean diffusivity in those with little or no history of alcohol use; however, this association was diminished with increasing rates of lifetime alcohol use.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings replicate reports of reduced future orientation as a function of greater lifetime alcohol use and demonstrate an association between future orientation and white matter microstructure, in the PCR, a region containing afferent and efferent fibers connecting the cortex to the brain stem, which depends upon lifetime alcohol use. These findings provide novel information regarding the underlying neurobiology of future-oriented thought and how it relates to alcohol use.

Promoting healthy trajectories for urban middle school youth through county-funded, parks-based after-school programming

Ongoing pressure for public schools to prioritize academics has increased attention on after-school settings as a critical space for social-emotional learning (SEL). After-school programs are uniquely positioned to build protective and promotive factors that contribute to positive future orientation, especially within communities where systemic inequities create barriers to high school graduation, higher education, employment, and earnings. This study examines Fit2Lead Youth Enrichment and Sports (YES), a county-funded, parks-based after-school collaboration for middle schoolers that merges mental health and recreation to promote healthy trajectories. Eight Miami neighborhood parks were selected based on county data indicating high rates of violence. An open trial design (N = 9 parks, 198 youth; ages 9-15; 40.5% female; 66.5% Black/African American, 24.9% Hispanic/Latinx, and 76.3% low-income) tested hypotheses that participation for adolescents exposed to community violence would disrupt a commonly reported decline in self-regulation and self-efficacy, and mitigate risk for anxiety and depression. Youth completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of one school year. Paired t-tests revealed no changes from pre to post, and no differences by baseline levels of youth and parent mental health. Findings highlight the promise of prevention programs to disrupt downward trajectories for youth during the risky time of early adolescence.

Developmental pathways from child maltreatment to adolescent suicide-related behaviors: The internalizing and externalizing comorbidity hypothesis

Child maltreatment is a robust risk factor for suicidal ideation and behaviors during adolescence. Elevations in internalizing and externalizing symptomology have been identified as two distinct developmental pathways linking child maltreatment and adolescent risk for suicide. However, recent research suggests that the co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing symptomology may form a distinct etiological pathway for adolescent risk behaviors. Using the Longitudinal Studies on Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) sample (N = 1,314), the present study employed a person-centered approach to identify patterns of concurrent change in internalizing and externalizing psychopathology over five time points from early childhood to adolescence in relation to previous experiences of child maltreatment and subsequent suicidal ideation and behaviors. Results indicated four distinct bivariate externalizing and internalizing growth trajectories. Group membership in a heightened comorbid internalizing and externalizing symptom trajectory mediated the association between childhood abuse and adolescent suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors. These findings suggest that the concurrent development of externalizing and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence may constitute a unique developmental trajectory that confers risk for suicide-related outcomes.

The Association between Perceived Social Hardship and Future Orientation among Hong Kong Young People: The Mediation Role of Belief in a Just World

A positive future orientation (FO) is associated with a range of positive outcomes. It is a crucial resilience factor that assists individuals to navigate developmental difficulties during the transition to young adulthood and during periods of social adversity. Exposure to negative social context threatens young people’s FO. The social demonstrations and the outbreak of coronavirus disease in Hong Kong over the past year have caused considerable hardship to the local society. Under such circumstance, young people in Hong Kong may develop a negative FO. Scant research has directly examined the relationship between perceived social hardship and FO as well as the underlying mechanism among Hong Kong young people. In this study, we tested the idea that young people’s perceived social hardship would be negatively related to FO via belief in a just world, a well-known foundation for individuals to think, feel, and plan their future. Participants were 554 students recruited from eight universities in Hong Kong. They filled in self-report questionnaires online. Results of structural equation modeling supported our hypothesis. These findings shed light on how to nurture Hong Kong young people to develop a positive mindset during periods of social hardship.

Resilience in adolescence: Prospective Self moderates the association of early life adversity with externalizing problems

INTRODUCTION

Early life adversity (ELA) can result in negative behavioral outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing problems. Evidence suggests that adolescence is a critical developmental period for processing ELA. Identity formation, which is crucial to this developmental period, may moderate the effect between ELA and these problems. One potential moderating variable associated with identity formation is the latent construct Prospective Self, comprised of future-oriented attitudes and behaviors.

METHODS

Participants are from the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal study designed to characterize behavioral and cognitive correlates of risk behavior trajectories. A community sample of 10th and 12th grade adolescents (N = 2017, 55% female) were recruited from nine public school districts across eight Southeastern Michigan counties in the United States. Data were collected in schools during school hours or after school via self-report, computer-administered surveys. Structural equation modeling was utilized to assess Prospective Self as a latent construct and to evaluate the relationship between ELA, internalizing and externalizing problems, and Prospective Self.

RESULTS

Preliminary findings indicated a satisfactory fit for the construct Prospective Self. The predicted negative associations between Prospective Self and internalizing and externalizing problems were found and evidence of moderation was observed for externalizing problems, such that the effects of ELA (i.e., childhood maltreatment) on externalizing problems were lower for individuals with higher levels of Prospective Self.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that Prospective Self may play a role in supporting resilience against externalizing problems associated with ELA among adolescents.

Resilience and mental health: how multisystemic processes contribute to positive outcomes

More is known about the factors that predict mental disorder than about the factors and processes that promote positive development among individuals exposed to atypically high levels of stress or adversity. In this brief Review of the science of resilience, we show that the concept is best understood as the process of multiple biological, psychological, social, and ecological systems interacting in ways that help individuals to regain, sustain, or improve their mental wellbeing when challenged by one or more risk factors. Studies in fields as diverse as genetics, psychology, political science, architecture, and human ecology are showing that resilience depends just as much on the culturally relevant resources available to stressed individuals in their social, built, and natural environments as it does on individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. With growing interest in resilience among mental health-care providers, there is a need to recognise the complex interactions across systems that predict which individuals will do well and to use this insight to advance mental health interventions.

Stigma and psychosocial wellbeing among children affected by parental HIV in China

OBJECTIVES

Parental HIV infection presents unique psychosocial challenges for families. Affected children are vulnerable to stigma-related distress from a parent's HIV status and are more likely to experience symptoms of depression and low self-esteem than unaffected peers. This study examined whether HIV-related stigma predicted poorer mental health among children affected by parental HIV and whether psychosocial assets mediated this relationship.

METHODS

A sample of 790 children (ages 6-17) affected by parental HIV in Henan, China reported on HIV-related stigma, social support, emotional regulation, future outlook, and mental health symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of stigma on mental health.

RESULTS

Results indicated that stigma was associated with psychosocial resources, which in turn were associated with mental health symptoms. The indirect pathways from stigma to mental health symptoms through psychosocial resources were consistent across age and gender.

CONCLUSION

The experience of HIV-related stigma was associated with poorer overall mental health among children affected by parental HIV in China. Children's psychosocial resources, including social support, emotional regulation, and future outlook, mediated the relationship between HIV-related stigma and mental health symptoms. Future interventions may wish to target these modifiable aspects of wellbeing to improve social and behavioral outcomes in this vulnerable population.

The Mediating Role of Neural Activity on the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Impulsivity

Child maltreatment is associated with a variety of risk behaviors in young adulthood; however, the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms of this relation are not well understood. The primary aim of the present study was to examine the direct and indirect effects between maltreatment in childhood and downstream impulsivity via neural activity during a cognitive task. In a sample of emerging adult women from the rural southeastern United States, childhood abuse and neglect were assessed using the childhood trauma questionnaire. Outcome measures of neural activity during a functional magnetic resonance imaging N-back verbal working memory (WM) task and trait impulsivity on the Impulsive Behavior Scale were assessed approximately 1 year later. Results indicate that adults with higher levels of reported childhood maltreatment demonstrate worse behavioral performance and lower neural response during a difficult verbal WM task. Furthermore, neural activity significantly mediated the relation between abuse and neglect in childhood and trait impulsivity. These new findings demonstrate an association between neurocognitive functioning and reported childhood abuse and neglect, and indicate that such changes may underlie the relation between maltreatment and trait-level impulsivity.

A longitudinal investigation of protective factors for bereaved maltreated youth

BACKGROUND

Maltreated youth are at an elevated risk for the development of problem behaviors. Coping with the death of a family member or close friend during adolescence, referred to as bereavement, is a stressful event that could potentiate risk linked to maltreatment. However, developmental research suggests that youth adjustment is a product of multiple risk and protective factors. Although maltreated youth who experience loss may be particularly vulnerable to behavior problems, personal and contextual factors may attenuate or exacerbate youths' risk for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE

The overarching goal of this study is to examine individual, family, and community-level protective factors for maltreated youth who experience bereavement. Specifically, we aim to examine the effect of age 12 bereavement on age 16 internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, and to investigate the moderating role of multi-level protective factors at ages 14 and 16.

METHODS

The study consisted of a sample of 800 youth (52.4% female, 45.1% African-American) drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), collected from 1998 to 2011.

RESULTS

Maltreated youth who experienced significant loss were at increased risk for externalizing symptoms, compared to non-bereaved maltreated youth (β = 0.085, p < .05). Individual future orientation (β = 0.103, p < .05) family future orientation (β = -0.120, p < .05), parental monitoring (β = -0.123, p< .01), and neighborhood collective efficacy (β = -0.126, p < .01) each significantly moderated the association between bereavement and externalizing symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

These results have implications for future interventions aimed towards reducing problem behaviors in adolescents with a history of child maltreatment and who experience bereavement.

Bundling the haystack to find the needle: Challenges and opportunities in modeling risk and resilience following early life stress

Various forms of early life adversity (ELA) have been linked with increased risk for negative health outcomes, including neuropsychiatric disorders. Understanding how the complex interplay between types, timing, duration, and severity of ELA, together with individual differences in genetic, socio-cultural, and physiological differences can mediate risk and resilience has proven difficult in population based studies. Use of animal models provides a powerful toolset to isolate key variables underlying risk for altered neural and behavioral maturational trajectories. However, a lack of clarity regarding the unique features of differing forms of adversity, lab differences in the implementation and reporting of methods, and the ability compare across labs and types of ELA has led to some confusion. Here, we highlight the diversity of approaches available, current challenges, and a possible ways forward to increase clarity and drive more meaningful and fruitful implementation and comparison of these approaches.

Socioeconomic hardship and delayed reward discounting: Associations with working memory and emotional reactivity

Prolonged exposure to socioeconomic hardship (SH) is associated with greater delayed reward discounting (DRD), a form of impulsive decision-making that reflects a reduced capacity to delay gratification and a significant correlate of diverse risk behaviors, but the neurobehavioral mechanisms linking SH and DRD are unknown. An emerging hypothesis suggests that cognitive and affective stress associated with poverty may tax neurocognitive functions, such as working memory (WM), and lead to impulsive DRD. Furthermore, research suggests that emotional reactivity (ER) is an important dispositional factor to consider in the link between executive functions and DRD. Thus, we longitudinally examined the indirect effect of SH on impulsive DRD via a network of brain regions associated with WM function in a sample of young adults, and whether that link was moderated by ER. Participants were 119 rural African Americans (aged 19–24 years) assessed behaviorally on four occasions, with fMRI at the last time point. Results showed that, among emerging adults with higher ER, SH severity was predictive of increased DRD via reduced response in brain regions activated during an n-back WM task. These findings reveal both the cognitive and affective mechanisms that underlie the relationship between SH and DRD.

Child Maltreatment, Delayed Reward Discounting, and Alcohol and Other Drug Use Problems: The Moderating Role of Heart Rate Variability

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment (CM) is robustly associated with youth risk for addictive behaviors, and recent findings suggest that this may be mediated through impulsive discounting of future rewards. However, research indicates that youth self-regulation (emotional and cognitive), particularly in peer contexts, is critical to consider in the study of decision making. This study aimed to examine the indirect link between CM and alcohol and other drug use problems, through delayed reward discounting (DRD), among a community sample of emerging adults. Further, this investigation aimed to examine whether this indirect link was moderated by heart rate variability (HRV), a physiological proxy for regulation of stress reactivity.

METHODS

A sample of emerging adults (N = 225; Mage  = 21.56; SDage  = 2.24; 52.9% female) was assessed at 2 time points, with 1 year between assessments. The sample was comprised of rural emerging adults from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. DRD was examined using a monetary choice task, and HRV reactivity was derived during a social stress task.

RESULTS

Increased CM experiences were significantly linked to riskier DRD. HRV reactivity amplified the indirect effect between CM and alcohol use problems via riskier DRD.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate that the connection between CM and alcohol use problems via impulsive decision making is modulated by acute stress response reactivity, as indexed by HRV.