Publications by Year: 2017

2017
McLaughlin, K. A., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2017). Sex, Sexual Orientation, and Depression. In The Oxford Handbook of Mood Disorders (pp. 49-59) . Oxford University Press.Abstract
The most comprehensive volume of its kind, The Oxford Handbook of Mood Disorders provides detailed coverage of the characterization, understanding, and treatment of mood disorders. Chapters are written by the world's leading experts in their respective areas. The Handbook provides coverage of unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, and variants of these disorders. Current approaches to classifying the mood disorders are reviewed and contemporary controversies are placed in historical context. Chapter authors offer a variety of approaches to understanding the heterogeneity of the experiences of those who meet criteria for mood disorders, both within and across cultures. The role of genetic and environmental risk factors as well as premorbid personality and cognitive processes in the development of mood pathology are detailed. Interpersonal, neurobiological, and psychological factors also receive detailed consideration. The volume reviews mood disorders in special populations (e.g., postpartum and seasonal mood disorders) as well as common comorbidities (e.g., anxiety, substance use disorders). Somatic and psychosocial treatment approaches receive in-depth coverage with chapters that describe and review empirical evidence regarding each of the most influential treatment approaches. The depth and breadth offered by this Handbook make it an invaluable resource for clinicians and researchers, as well as scholars and students.
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Mclaughlin, K. (2017). Future directions in childhood adversity and youth psychopathology. In M. Prinstein (Ed.), Future Work in Child and Adolescent Psychology . Routledge.Abstract

Despite long-standing interest in the influence of adverse early experiences on mental health, systematic scientific inquiry into childhood adversity and developmental outcomes has emerged only recently. Existing research has amply demonstrated that exposure to childhood adversity is associated with elevated risk for multiple forms of youth psychopathology. In contrast, knowledge of developmental mechanisms linking childhood adversity to the onset of psychopathology—and whether those mechanisms are general or specific to particular kinds of adversity—remains cursory. Greater understanding of these pathways and identification of protective factors that buffer children from developmental disruptions following exposure to adversity is essential to guide the development of interventions to prevent the onset of psychopathology following adverse childhood experiences. This article provides recommendations for future research in this area. In particular, use of a consistent definition of childhood adversity, integration of studies of typical development with those focused on childhood adversity, and identification of distinct dimensions of environmental experience that differentially influence development are required to uncover mechanisms that explain how childhood adversity is associated with numerous psychopathology outcomes (i.e., multifinality) and identify moderators that shape divergent trajectories following adverse childhood experiences. A transdiagnostic model that highlights disruptions in emotional processing and poor executive functioning as key mechanisms linking childhood adversity with multiple forms of psychopathology is presented as a starting point in this endeavour. Distinguishing between general and specific mechanisms linking childhood adversity with psy- chopathology is needed to generate empirically informed interventions to prevent the long-term consequences of adverse early environments on children’s development.

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Peverill, M., & Mclaughlin, K. (2017). Harnessing the Neuroscience Revolution to Enhance Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. In J. Weisz & A. Kazdin (Ed.), Evidence Based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents (pp. 520-536) . Guilford Press.Abstract

 

Interest in the field of clinical neuroscience has exploded in the past decade (Weingarten & Strauman, 2015). However, direct contributions of neuroscience to clinical assessment and treatment are rare. It is natural and appropriate for clini- cians and policymakers to ask where and when translational gains from neurosci- ence will emerge in clinical practice. In this chapter we identify a number of paths through which neuroscience might inform superior assessment and treatment of children and adolescents in the future. We focus on three potential contributions that neuroscience can make to clinical assessment and treatment. First, neurosci- ence might be used to identify individuals who are more or less likely to respond to specific psychosocial treatments. Given that a substantial minority of people fail to improve in treatment, even with our most empirically supported approaches, identifying people who are likely to fail and why might point us toward innova- tive new approaches for improving clinical outcomes. Second, neuroscience might facilitate the process of matching individuals to treatments from which they are most likely to benefit, in part by identifying clinically meaningful subgroups within specific diagnoses. Finally, neuroscience can potentially identify mechanisms of effective clinical change, allowing for the development of more efficient evidence- based treatments. We use the term “neuroscience” throughout the chapter to refer to the application of neuroscience to study cognitive and affective processes, and their development in humans.

After a brief review of common neuroscience methods, we discuss existing research within these three broad themes. Clinical applications of neuroscience remain limited, particularly with children and adolescents. Thus, we focus primarily on what is possible in terms of these applications (for additional review, see Fournier & Price, 2014; Weingarten & Strauman, 2015). At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the current practical constraints of integrating neuroscience methods into clinical practice. Accordingly, we end with a discussion of obstacles, limitations, and future directions that might facilitate the application of neuroscience to clini- cal intervention for children and adolescents. As translational research in children is still limited, we discuss relevant research on children and adolescents where pos- sible and highlight examples from research with adults when pediatric research is not available. Many of the reviewed neuroimaging studies focus on neural networks involved in salience and reward processing. The primary brain regions in each of these networks are depicted in Figures 30.1 and 30.2, respectively. We focus on incorporating neuroscience methods into the evaluation of evidence-based treat- ments. We do not cover treatments that are not empirically supported.

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Troller-Renfree, S., McLaughlin, K. A., Sheridan, M. A., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Fox, N. A. (2017). The beneficial effects of a positive attention bias amongst children with a history of psychosocial deprivation. Biological Psychology , 122, 110–120.Abstract
Children raised in institutions experience psychosocial deprivation that has detrimental influences on attention and mental health. The current study examined patterns of attention biases in children from institutions who were randomized at approximately 21.6 months to receive either a high-quality foster care intervention or care-as-usual. At age 12, children performed a dot-probe task and indices of attention bias were calculated. Additionally, children completed a social stress paradigm and cortisol reactivity was computed. Children randomized into foster care (N=40) exhibited an attention bias toward positive stimuli but not threat, whereas children who received care-as-usual (N=40) and a never-institutionalized comparison group (N=47) showed no bias. Stability of foster care placement was related to positive bias, while instability of foster care placement was related to threat bias. The magnitude of the positive bias was associated with fewer internalizing problems and better coping mechanisms. Within the foster care group, positive attention bias was related to less blunted cortisol reactivity.
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Busso, D. S., McLaughlin, K. A., & Sheridan, M. A. (2017). Dimensions of Adversity, Physiological Reactivity, and Externalizing Psychopathology in Adolescence: Deprivation and Threat. Psychosomatic Medicine , 79 (2), 162–171.Abstract
{OBJECTIVE: Dysregulation of autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function is a putative intermediate phenotype linking childhood adversity (CA) with later psychopathology. However, associations of CAs with autonomic nervous system and HPA-axis function vary widely across studies. Here, we test a novel conceptual model discriminating between distinct forms of CA (deprivation and threat) and examine their independent associations with physiological reactivity and psychopathology. METHODS: Adolescents (N = 169; mean [SD] age, 14.9 [1.4] years) with a range of interpersonal violence (e.g., maltreatment, community violence) and poverty exposure participated in the Trier Social Stress test (TSST). During the TSST, electrocardiogram, impedance cardiograph, salivary cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate data were collected. We compared the associations of poverty (an indicator of deprivation) and interpersonal violence (an indicator of threat) on sympathetic, parasympathetic, and HPA-axis reactivity to the TSST, and assessed whether these differences mediated the association of adversity with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. RESULTS: Exposure to poverty and interpersonal violence was associated with psychopathology. Interpersonal violence, adjusting for poverty, was associated with blunted sympathetic (b = 1.44
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Sheridan, M. A., Peverill, M., Finn, A. S., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2017). Dimensions of childhood adversity have distinct associations with neural systems underlying executive functioning. Development and Psychopathology , 29 (5), 1777–1794.Abstract
Childhood adversity is associated with increased risk for psychopathology. Neurodevelopmental pathways underlying this risk remain poorly understood. A recent conceptual model posits that childhood adversity can be deconstructed into at least two underlying dimensions, deprivation and threat, that are associated with distinct neurocognitive consequences. This model argues that deprivation (i.e., a lack of cognitive stimulation and learning opportunities) is associated with poor executive function (EF), whereas threat is not. We examine this hypothesis in two studies measuring EF at multiple levels: performance on EF tasks, neural recruitment during EF, and problems with EF in daily life. In Study 1, deprivation (low parental education and child neglect) was associated with greater parent-reported problems with EF in adolescents (N = 169; 13-17 years) after adjustment for levels of threat (community violence and abuse), which were unrelated to EF. In Study 2, low parental education was associated with poor working memory (WM) performance and inefficient neural recruitment in the parietal and prefrontal cortex during high WM load among adolescents (N = 51, 13-20 years) after adjusting for abuse, which was unrelated to WM task performance and neural recruitment during WM. These findings constitute strong preliminary evidence for a novel model of the neurodevelopmental consequences of childhood adversity.
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Dorsey, S., McLaughlin, K. A., Kerns, S. E. U., Harrison, J. P., Lambert, H. K., Briggs, E. C., Revillion Cox, J., et al. (2017). Evidence Base Update for Psychosocial Treatments for Children and Adolescents Exposed to Traumatic Events. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology , 46 (3), 303–330.Abstract
Child and adolescent trauma exposure is prevalent, with trauma exposure-related symptoms, including posttraumatic stress, depressive, and anxiety symptoms often causing substantial impairment. This article updates the evidence base on psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent trauma exposure completed for this journal by Silverman et al. (2008). For this review, we focus on 37 studies conducted during the seven years since the last review. Treatments are grouped by overall treatment family (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy), treatment modality (e.g., individual vs. group), and treatment participants (e.g., child only vs. child and parent). All studies were evaluated for methodological rigor according to Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology evidence-based treatment evaluation criteria (Southam-Gerow & Prinstein, 2014), with cumulative designations for level of support for each treatment family. Individual CBT with parent involvement, individual CBT, and group CBT were deemed well-established; group CBT with parent involvement and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) were deemed probably efficacious; individual integrated therapy for complex trauma and group mind-body skills were deemed possibly efficacious; individual client-centered play therapy, individual mind-body skills, and individual psychoanalysis were deemed experimental; and group creative expressive + CBT was deemed questionable efficacy. Advances in the evidence base, with comparisons to the state of the science at the time of the Silverman et al. (2008) review, are discussed. Finally, we present dissemination and implementation challenges and areas for future research.
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Christensen, K. A., Aldao, A., Sheridan, M. A., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2017). Habitual cognitive reappraisal in context: peer victimization moderates its association with physiological reactivity to social stress. Cognition & Emotion , 31 (2), 384–394.Abstract
Although the emotion regulation strategy of reappraisal has been associated with adaptive outcomes, there is a growing evidence that it may not be adaptive in all contexts. In the present study, adolescents reported their use of habitual reappraisal and their experiences with peer victimisation, a chronic stressor that is associated with reduced well-being in this population. We examined how these variables predicted physiological reactivity (vagal withdrawal and changes in pre-ejection period) during a social stressor (i.e., Trier Social Stress Task). In line with previous research, at high levels of victimisation, habitual reappraisal predicted adaptive physiological reactivity (i.e., greater vagal withdrawal). Conversely, at low levels of victimisation, habitual reappraisal predicted maladaptive physiological reactivity (i.e., blunted vagal withdrawal). These findings were specific to parasympathetic reactivity. They suggest that habitual reappraisal may exert different effects on parasympathetic reactivity depending on the presence of stressors, and highlight the importance of examining the role of contextual factors in determining the adaptiveness of emotion regulation strategies.
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Lambert, H. K., Sheridan, M. A., Sambrook, K. A., Rosen, M. L., Askren, M. K., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2017). Hippocampal Contribution to Context Encoding across Development Is Disrupted following Early-Life Adversity. Journal of Neuroscience , 37 (7), 1925–1934.Abstract
Context can drastically influence responses to environmental stimuli. For example, a gunshot should provoke a different response at a public park than a shooting range. Little is known about how contextual processing and neural correlates change across human development or about individual differences related to early environmental experiences. Children (N = 60; 8-19 years, 24 exposed to interpersonal violence) completed a context encoding task during fMRI scanning using a delayed match-to-sample design with neutral, happy, and angry facial cues embedded in realistic background scenes. Outside the scanner, participants completed a memory test for context-face pairings. Context memory and neural correlates of context encoding did not vary with age. Larger hippocampal volume was associated with better context memory. Posterior hippocampus was recruited during context encoding, and greater activation in this region predicted better memory for contexts paired with angry faces. Children exposed to violence had poor memory of contexts paired with angry faces, reduced hippocampal volume, and atypical neural recruitment on encoding trials with angry faces, including reduced hippocampal activation and greater functional connectivity between hippocampus and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Greater hippocampus-vlPFC connectivity was associated with worse memory for contexts paired with angry faces. Posterior hippocampus appears to support context encoding, a process that does not exhibit age-related variation from middle childhood to late adolescence. Exposure to dangerous environments in childhood is associated with poor context encoding in the presence of threat, likely due to greater vlPFC-dependent attentional narrowing on threat cues at the expense of hippocampus-dependent processing of the broader context.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to use context to guide reactions to environmental stimuli promotes flexible behavior. Remarkably little research has examined how contextual processing changes across development or about influences of the early environment. We provide evidence for posterior hippocampus involvement in context encoding in youth and lack of age-related variation from middle childhood to late adolescence. Children exposed to interpersonal violence exhibited poor memory of contexts paired with angry faces and atypical neural recruitment during context encoding in the presence of threatening facial cues. Heightened attention to threat following violence exposure may come at the expense of encoding contextual information, which may ultimately contribute to pathological fear expressed in safe contexts.
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Durwood, L., McLaughlin, K. A., & Olson, K. R. (2017). Mental Health and Self-Worth in Socially Transitioned Transgender Youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 56 (2), 116–132.Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Social transitions are increasingly common for transgender children. A social transition involves a child presenting to other people as a member of the "opposite" gender in all contexts (e.g., wearing clothes and using pronouns of that gender). Little is known about the well-being of socially transitioned transgender children. This study examined self-reported depression, anxiety, and self-worth in socially transitioned transgender children compared with 2 control groups: age- and gender-matched controls and siblings of transgender children. METHOD: As part of a longitudinal study (TransYouth Project), children (9-14 years old) and their parents completed measurements of depression and anxiety (n = 63 transgender children, n = 63 controls, n = 38 siblings). Children (6-14 years old; n = 116 transgender children, n = 122 controls, n = 72 siblings) also reported on their self-worth. Mental health and self-worth were compared across groups. RESULTS: Transgender children reported depression and self-worth that did not differ from their matched-control or sibling peers (p = .311), and they reported marginally higher anxiety (p = .076). Compared with national averages, transgender children showed typical rates of depression (p = .290) and marginally higher rates of anxiety (p = .096). Parents similarly reported that their transgender children experienced more anxiety than children in the control groups (p = .002) and rated their transgender children as having equivalent levels of depression (p = .728). CONCLUSION: These findings are in striking contrast to previous work with gender-nonconforming children who had not socially transitioned, which found very high rates of depression and anxiety. These findings lessen concerns from previous work that parents of socially transitioned children could be systematically underreporting mental health problems.
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McLaughlin, K. A., Sheridan, M. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2017). Neglect as a Violation of Species-Expectant Experience: Neurodevelopmental Consequences. Biological Psychiatry , 82 (7), 462–471.Abstract
The human brain requires a wide variety of experiences and environmental inputs in order to develop normally. Children who are neglected by caregivers or raised in institutional environments are deprived of numerous types of species-expectant environmental experiences. In this review, we articulate a model of how the absence of cognitive stimulation and sensory, motor, linguistic, and social experiences common among children raised in deprived early environments constrains early forms of learning, producing long-term deficits in complex cognitive function and associative learning. Building on evidence from animal models, we propose that deprivation accelerates the neurodevelopmental process of synaptic pruning and limits myelination, resulting in age-specific reductions in cortical thickness and white matter integrity among children raised in deprived early environments. We review evidence linking early experiences of psychosocial deprivation to reductions in cognitive ability, associative and implicit learning, language skills, and executive functions as well as atypical patterns of cortical and white matter development-domains that should be profoundly influenced by deprivation through the learning and neural mechanisms we propose. These patterns of atypical development are difficult to explain with existing models that emphasize stress pathways and accelerated limbic system development. A learning account of how deprived early environments influence cognitive and neural development provides a complementary perspective to stress models and highlights novel pathways through which deprivation might confer risk for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. We end by reviewing evidence for plasticity in cognitive and neural development among children raised in deprived environments following interventions that improve caregiving quality.
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Dunn, E. C., Wang, Y., Tse, J., McLaughlin, K. A., Fitzmaurice, G., Gilman, S. E., & Susser, E. S. (2017). Sensitive periods for the effect of childhood interpersonal violence on psychiatric disorder onset among adolescents. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 211 (6), 365–372.Abstract
BackgroundAlthough childhood adversity is a strong determinant of psychopathology, it remains unclear whether there are 'sensitive periods' when a first episode of adversity is most harmful.AimsTo examine whether variation in the developmental timing of a first episode of interpersonal violence (up to age 18) associates with risk for psychopathology.MethodUsing cross-sectional data, we examined the association between age at first exposure to four types of interpersonal violence (physical abuse by parents, physical abuse by others, rape, and sexual assault/molestation) and onset of four classes of DSM-IV disorders (distress, fear, behaviour, substance use) (n = 9984). Age at exposure was defined as: early childhood (ages 0-5), middle childhood (ages 6-10) and adolescence (ages 11-18).ResultsExposure to interpersonal violence at any age period about doubled the risk of a psychiatric disorder (odds ratios (ORs) = 1.51-2.52). However, few differences in risk were observed based on the timing of first exposure. After conducting 20 tests of association, only three significant differences in risk were observed based on the timing of exposure; these results suggested an elevated risk of behaviour disorder among youth first exposed to any type of interpersonal violence during adolescence (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.69-3.34), especially being beaten by another person (OR = 2.44; 95% CI 1.57-3.79), and an elevated risk of substance use disorder among youth beaten by someone during adolescence (OR = 2.77, 95% CI 1.94-3.96).ConclusionsChildren exposed to interpersonal violence had an elevated risk of psychiatric disorder. However, age at first episode of exposure was largely unassociated with psychopathology risk.
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McGrath, J. J., Saha, S., Lim, C. C. W., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Andrade, L. H., Bromet, E. J., et al. (2017). Trauma and psychotic experiences: transnational data from the World Mental Health Survey. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 211 (6), 373–380.Abstract
BackgroundTraumatic events are associated with increased risk of psychotic experiences, but it is unclear whether this association is explained by mental disorders prior to psychotic experience onset. AimsTo investigate the associations between traumatic events and subsequent psychotic experience onset after adjusting for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders.MethodWe assessed 29 traumatic event types and psychotic experiences from the World Mental Health surveys and examined the associations of traumatic events with subsequent psychotic experience onset with and without adjustments for mental disorders.ResultsRespondents with any traumatic events had three times the odds of other respondents of subsequently developing psychotic experiences (OR = 3.1, 95% CI 2.7-3.7), with variability in strength of association across traumatic event types. These associations persisted after adjustment for mental disorders.ConclusionsExposure to traumatic events predicts subsequent onset of psychotic experiences even after adjusting for comorbid mental disorders.
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Magruder, K. M., McLaughlin, K. A., & Elmore Borbon, D. L. (2017). Trauma is a public health issue. European Journal of Psychotraumatology , 9 (1), 1375338.Abstract
Exposure to trauma is pervasive in societies worldwide and is associated with substantial costs to the individual and society, making it a significant global public health concern. We present evidence for trauma as a public health issue by highlighting the role of characteristics operating at multiple levels of influence - individual, relationship, community, and society - as explanatory factors in both the occurrence of trauma and its sequelae. Within the context of this multi-level framework, we highlight targets for prevention of trauma and its downstream consequences and provide examples of where public health approaches to prevention have met with success. Finally, we describe the essential role of public health policies in addressing trauma as a global public health issue, including key challenges for global mental health and next steps for developing and implementing a trauma-informed public health policy agenda. A public health framework is critical for understanding risk and protective factors for trauma and its aftermath operating at multiple levels of influence and generating opportunities for prevention.
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McGrath, J. J., McLaughlin, K. A., Saha, S., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Bruffaerts, R., et al. (2017). The association between childhood adversities and subsequent first onset of psychotic experiences: a cross-national analysis of 23 998 respondents from 17 countries. Psychological Medicine , 47 (7), 1230–1245.Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although there is robust evidence linking childhood adversities (CAs) and an increased risk for psychotic experiences (PEs), little is known about whether these associations vary across the life-course and whether mental disorders that emerge prior to PEs explain these associations. METHOD: We assessed CAs, PEs and DSM-IV mental disorders in 23 998 adults in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to investigate the associations between CAs and PEs, and the influence of mental disorders on these associations using multivariate logistic models. RESULTS: Exposure to CAs was common, and those who experienced any CAs had increased odds of later PEs [odds ratio (OR) 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-2.6]. CAs reflecting maladaptive family functioning (MFF), including abuse, neglect, and parent maladjustment, exhibited the strongest associations with PE onset in all life-course stages. Sexual abuse exhibited a strong association with PE onset during childhood (OR 8.5, 95% CI 3.6-20.2), whereas Other CA types were associated with PE onset in adolescence. Associations of other CAs with PEs disappeared in adolescence after adjustment for prior-onset mental disorders. The population attributable risk proportion (PARP) for PEs associated with all CAs was 31% (24% for MFF). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to CAs is associated with PE onset throughout the life-course, although sexual abuse is most strongly associated with childhood-onset PEs. The presence of mental disorders prior to the onset of PEs does not fully explain these associations. The large PARPs suggest that preventing CAs could lead to a meaningful reduction in PEs in the population.
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Keyes, K. M., Platt, J., Kaufman, A. S., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2017). Association of Fluid Intelligence and Psychiatric Disorders in a Population-Representative Sample of Adolescents. JAMA Psychiatry , 74 (2), 179–188. Publisher's VersionAbstract
\textlessh3\textgreaterImportance\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterDespite long-standing interest in the association of psychiatric disorders with intelligence, few population-based studies of psychiatric disorders have assessed intelligence.\textless/p\textgreater\textlessh3\textgreaterObjective\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterTo investigate the association of fluid intelligence with past-year and lifetime psychiatric disorders, disorder age at onset, and disorder severity in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents.\textless/p\textgreater\textlessh3\textgreaterDesign, Setting, and Participants\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterNational sample of adolescents ascertained from schools and households from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement, collected 2001 through 2004. Face-to-face household interviews with adolescents and questionnaires from parents were obtained. The data were analyzed from February to December 2016.\textitDSM-IVmental disorders were assessed with the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview, and included a broad range of fear, distress, behavior, substance use, and other disorders. Disorder severity was measured with the Sheehan Disability Scale.\textless/p\textgreater\textlessh3\textgreaterMain Outcomes and Measures\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterFluid IQ measured with the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, normed within the sample by 6-month age groups.\textless/p\textgreater\textlessh3\textgreaterResults\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterThe sample included 10 073 adolescents (mean [SD] age, 15.2 [1.50] years; 49.0% female) with valid data on fluid intelligence. Lower mean (SE) IQ was observed among adolescents with past-year bipolar disorder (94.2 [1.69];\textitP = .004), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (96.3 [0.91];\textitP = .002), oppositional defiant disorder (97.3 [0.66];\textitP = .007), conduct disorder (97.1 [0.82];\textitP = .02), substance use disorders (alcohol abuse, 96.5 [0.67];\textitP < .001; drug abuse, 97.6 [0.64];\textitP = .02), and specific phobia (97.1 [0.39];\textitP = .001) after adjustment for a wide range of potential confounders. Intelligence was not associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders other than specific phobia, and was positively associated with past-year major depression (mean [SE], 100 [0.5];\textitP = .01). Associations of fluid intelligence with lifetime disorders that had remitted were attenuated compared with past-year disorders, with the exception of separation anxiety disorder. Multiple past-year disorders had a larger proportion of adolescents less than 1 SD below the mean IQ range than those without a disorder. Across disorders, higher disorder severity was associated with lower fluid intelligence. For example, among adolescents with specific phobia, those with severe disorder had a mean (SE) of 4.4 (0.72) points lower IQ than those without severe disorder (\textitP < .001), and those with alcohol abuse had a mean (SE) of 5.6 (1.2) points lower IQ than those without severe disorder (\textitP < .001).\textless/p\textgreater\textlessh3\textgreaterConclusions and Relevance\textless/h3\textgreater\textlessp\textgreaterNumerous psychiatric disorders were associated with reductions in fluid intelligence; associations were generally small in magnitude. Stronger associations of current than past disorders with intelligence suggest that active symptoms of psychiatric disorders interfere with cognitive functioning. Early identification and treatment of children with mental disorders in school settings is critical to promote academic achievement and long-term success.\textless/p\textgreater
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Jenness, J. L., Witt, C. E., Quistberg, D. A., Johnston, B. D., Rowhani-Rahbar, A., Mackelprang, J. L., McLaughlin, K. A., et al. (2017). Association of physical injury and mental health: Results from the national comorbidity survey- adolescent supplement. Journal of Psychiatric Research , 92, 101–107. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Nonfatal injury is common among adolescents in the U.S., but little is known about the bi-directional associations between injury and mental health. Utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, we examined 1) associations between lifetime mental health history and subsequent injury; 2) concurrent associations between injury and mental health; and 3) associations between injury and subsequent mental disorders. Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a national survey of adolescents aged 13 through 17 years (N = 10,123). Twelve-month prevalence of nonfatal injury requiring medical attention was assessed along with lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day prevalence of DSM-IV depressive, anxiety, behavior, substance use, and bipolar disorders. We used Poisson regression to examine associations between 1) lifetime history of mental disorders and 12-month exposure to injury; 2) concurrent associations between 12-month exposure to injury and 12-month prevalence of mental disorders; and 3) 12-month exposure to injury and 30-day prevalence of mental disorders. A total of 11.6% of adolescents experienced an injury requiring medical attention in the year before the survey. Lifetime history of mental disorders was not associated with past-year injury. Behavior and bipolar disorders were concurrently associated with past-year injury. Past-year injury occurrence predicted increased risk for past-month anxiety disorders and decreased risk of past-month depressive disorders. Our findings reveal reciprocal associations between injury and mental disorders and highlight the need for systematic assessment, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders among injured youth.
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Busso, D. S., McLaughlin, K. A., Brueck, S., Peverill, M., Gold, A. L., & Sheridan, M. A. (2017). Child Abuse, Neural Structure, and Adolescent Psychopathology: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry , 56 (4), 321–328.Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Child abuse exerts a deleterious impact on a broad array of mental health outcomes. However, the neurobiological mechanisms that mediate this association remain poorly characterized. Here, we use a longitudinal design to prospectively identify neural mediators of the association between child abuse and psychiatric disorders in a community sample of adolescents. METHOD: Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and assessments of mental health were acquired for 51 adolescents (aged 13-20; M=16.96; SD=1.51), 19 of whom were exposed to physical or sexual abuse. Participants were assessed for abuse exposure (time 1), participated in MRI scanning and a diagnostic structured interview (time 2), and 2 years later were followed-up to assess psychopathology (time 3). We examined associations between child abuse and neural structure, and identified whether abuse-related differences in neural structure prospectively predicted psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: Abuse was associated with reduced cortical thickness in medial and lateral prefrontal and temporal lobe regions. Thickness of the left and right parahippocampal gyrus predicted antisocial behavior symptoms, and thickness of the middle temporal gyrus predicted symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Thickness of the left parahippocampal gyrus mediated the longitudinal association of abuse with antisocial behavior. CONCLUSION: Child abuse is associated with widespread disruptions in cortical structure, and these disruptions are selectively associated with increased vulnerability to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Identifying predictive biomarkers of vulnerability following childhood maltreatment may uncover neurodevelopmental mechanisms linking environmental experience with the onset of psychopathology.
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Mclaughlin, K., & Lambert, H. (2017). Child Trauma Exposure and Psychopathology: Mechanisms of Risk and Resilience. Current opinion in psychology , 14, 29–34. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Abstract: Exposure to trauma in childhood is associated with elevated risk for multiple forms of psychopathology. Here we present a biopsychosocial model...
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McLaughlin, K. A., Koenen, K. C., Bromet, E. J., Karam, E. G., Liu, H., Petukhova, M., Ruscio, A. M., et al. (2017). Childhood adversities and post-traumatic stress disorder: evidence for stress sensitisation in the World Mental Health Surveys. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 211, 280-288. Publisher's VersionAbstract
Background Although childhood adversities are known to predict increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic experiences, it is unclear whether this association varies by childhood adversity or traumatic experience types or by age. Aims To examine variation in associations of childhood adversities with PTSD according to childhood adversity types, traumatic experience types and life-course stage. Method Epidemiological data were analysed from the World Mental Health Surveys (n = 27 017). Results Four childhood adversities (physical and sexual abuse, neglect, parent psychopathology) were associated with similarly increased odds of PTSD following traumatic experiences (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8), whereas the other eight childhood adversities assessed did not predict PTSD. Childhood adversity–PTSD associations did not vary across traumatic experience types, but were stronger in childhood–adolescence and early-middle adulthood than later adulthood. Conclusions Childhood adversities are differentially associated with PTSD, with the strongest associations in childhood–adolescence and early-middle adulthood. Consistency of associations across traumatic experience types suggests that childhood adversities are associated with generalised vulnerability to PTSD following traumatic experiences.
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