Experiences of childhood adversity are adverse experiences during childhood, such as abuse, neglect, poverty, and family dysfunction. These adverse experiences might make individuals vulnerable to...Show moreExperiences of childhood adversity are adverse experiences during childhood, such as abuse, neglect, poverty, and family dysfunction. These adverse experiences might make individuals vulnerable to mental health problems through their effect on brain development and brain functioning. Different dimensions of childhood adversity could have different effects on the brain and mental health. The exact mechanisms through which childhood adversity is related to the brain are not clear yet. The current study investigated the role of total childhood adversity, threat, and deprivation on anterior cingulate cortex-activity in response to stress in young people of age 16-26 (N=60). A cumulative approach was used to look at the role of total childhood adversity on anterior cingulate cortex-activity, a dimensional approach investigated the separate roles of the two dimensions threat and deprivation. Participants filled out a retrospective questionnaire about childhood adversity experiences (CTQ) and underwent a stressful fMRI task (MIST). Childhood adversity, threat and deprivation were expected to show a negative relationship with anterior cingulate cortex-activity in response to stress. The current study showed no evidence for a relationship between total childhood adversity and anterior cingulate cortex-activity in response to stress, nor for a relationship between the separate dimensions of threat and deprivation and anterior cingulate cortex-activity in response to stress. More research is needed to further study the underlying mechanisms by which childhood adversity is associated with brain development to help improve mental health in young people.Show less
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions may have far-reaching consequences for mental health among adolescents with experiences of childhood adversities (CA). Exposure to CA...Show moreIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions may have far-reaching consequences for mental health among adolescents with experiences of childhood adversities (CA). Exposure to CA influences information processing such as threat processing and reward processing and is therefore associated with elevated risk for psychopathology partly due to altered patterns of social functioning. We propose that adolescents with CA may experience loneliness due to the COVID-19 restrictions and that experiencing loneliness can depend on exposure to deprivation and threat because of its distinct effects on neurological development. Methods: We recruited adolescents (N = 79, ππππ= 22,4, SD = 2,645) from the Resilience after Individual Stress Exposure (RAISE) who filled in a questionnaire of experienced Childhood Adversities before the lockdown. We measured loneliness during the first lockdown (April 2020), the relaxation of restrictions (July 2020) and the reintroduced restrictions (October 2020). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) measured Childhood adversities and the Revised University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (R-UCLA) measured loneliness. Results: The findings showed that loneliness in April, July and October did not change (F(1.906, 131.508) = .187, p > .05). Loneliness and experiences of threat did not interact with each other; reported loneliness was not influenced by experiences of threat (F(1.906, 131.508) = .282, p > .05). Loneliness and experiences of deprivation did not interact with each other; loneliness was not influenced by experiences of deprivation (F(1.906, 131.508) = .237, p > .05). There was an association between loneliness (April) and neglect (Ξ² = .1.18 (t (74) = 3.73; p < .001, r=.56), but no association between loneliness and threat (Ξ² = .005 (t) (74) = .017; p > .05). Discussion: The corona pandemic is characterized by an unpredictable situation, which may have caused feelings of fear and anxiety for the entire population which resulted in solidarity; the virus could affect anyone. This could explain the absence of association between threat and loneliness as well as the absence of difference in loneliness in April, July and October.Show less
