Holistic frameworks of mental health outline that a focus on psychopathology does not represent an optimal approach to defining, measuring and treating mental health. Rather, theoretical, empirical, and applied psychological efforts should incorporate psychological well-being (PWB). Studies of PWB have overwhelmingly focused on adult populations, rendering a translation down to adolescence difficult. The current study explores the between-person, as well as within-person short-term, prospective relations between psychopathology and wellbeing within a community sample of adolescents (i.e., 553 youth aged 12 – 18, mean age: 14.97 years, 51.2% Male, 40.7% of participants identified as Hispanic (225 individuals), 38.5% identified as White (213 individuals), and 35.6% identified as Black (197 individuals), 3-wave, 1-year survey). Results demonstrated significant, negative between-person relations between psychopathology and PWB (bPHQ = −0.25, SE = 0.11, p = 0.021, bVDS = −0.39, SE = 0.15, p = 0.011). At the within-person level, consistent positive prospective relations were identified for violent-delinquent behaviors and PWB, such that increases in individual levels of violent-delinquent behaviors tended to forecast higher levels of PWB at the next follow-up (bPWBW2 = 0.21, SEPWBW2 = 0.076, p < 0.01; bPWBW3 = 0.14, SEPWBW3 = 0.051, p < 0.01). At the within-person level, prospective relations between depressive and PWB were not identified. Gender and racial/ethnic identities did not moderate findings.

Eating disorders (EDs) are particularly prevalent among young adult females. Previous research has shown that childhood trauma and reduced mentalizing abilities are involved in ED symptoms. The current study was aimed at testing the mediating effects of failures in mentalizing on the relationship between childhood trauma and ED risk among young adult females. The sample consisted of 409 Caucasian young adult females, aged between 18 and 30 years old (M = 23.45, SD = 2.76). The reported mean body mass index was within the normal range (M = 22.62; SD = 4.35). Self-report instruments were administered to assess the variables of interest. Structural equation modeling revealed that childhood trauma predicted increased failures in mentalizing (β = .36) and ED risk (β = .30), that failures in mentalizing predicted an increased ED risk (β = .35), and that the positive association between childhood trauma and ED risk was partially mediated by failures in mentalizing (indirect effect: β = .13). These findings suggest that ED symptoms might result from unprocessed and painful feelings embedded in child abuse and neglect. Clinical interventions focused at improving mentalizing abilities might reduce the ED risk among young adult females who have been exposed to childhood trauma.

The role of the gut microbiome in infant development has gained increasing interest in recent years. Most research on this topic has focused on the first three to four years of life because this is a critical period for developing gut-brain connections. Prior studies have identified associations between the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome in infancy and markers of temperament, including negative affect. However, the specific microbes affected, and the directionality of these associations have differed between studies, likely due to differences in the developmental period of focus and assessment approaches. In the current preregistered study, we examined connections between the gut microbiome, assessed at two time points in infancy (2 weeks and 18 months), and negative affect measured at 30 months of age in a longitudinal study of infants and their caregivers. We found that infants with higher gut microbiome diversity at 2 weeks showed more observed negative affect during a study visit at 30 months. We also found evidence for associations between specific genera of bacteria in infancy and negative affect. These results suggest associations between specific features of the gut microbiome and child behavior may differ based on timing of gut microbiome measurement.

Disruptive behavior increases the risk of developing more severe behavior problems later in life, including antisocial and criminal behavior. Parents behavior, and possibly their genetic makeup as well, plays a key role in shaping their children’s disruptive behavior. We examined gene-environment (parenting) correlations as underlying mechanisms for disruptive child behavior in a cross-sectional study. Polygenic scores for disruptive and externalizing behavior (PGS-DB and PGS-EXT) and parent-reported harsh and warm-supportive parenting were measured in 288 Dutch parent-child pairs (Child Mage = 6.26, SD = 1.31, 48% girls) with above-average parent-reported disruptive behavior. Harsh and warm-supportive parenting and children’s PGS-DB were associated with disruptive child behavior (β = .23, .10 and .15, respectively), but no evidence emerged for gene-environment correlations or genetic nurture. However, harsh parenting was found to partially mediate the link between parental PGS-EXT and disruptive child behavior (β = .04). These findings suggest that the choice of polygenic scores may influence the ability to detect genetic nurture as a relevant mechanism underlying disruptive child behavior.

Children adopted from public care are more likely to experience mental health problems associated with their histories of early life adversity and instability, but few studies have investigated children’s mental health longitudinally across developmental turning points. We followed a sample of N = 92 UK domestically adopted children and their families at six time points over eight years post-placement (children’s ages ranged from 2 to 15 years). We used multilevel growth curve analysis to model time-related changes in children’s internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems and spline models to investigate patterns of change before and after school entry. Children’s internalizing symptoms followed a linear increasing trajectory, and externalizing problems followed a quadradic pattern where problems accelerated in early childhood and decelerated in late childhood. Spline models indicated an elevation in internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems as children started school. Internalizing symptoms continued to increase over time after school started and externalizing problems plateaued after the first years in school. Children adopted close in time to school entry displayed more problems when they started school. The transition to school represents a time of vulnerability for adopted children, especially for those who are adopted close in time to this transition, underscoring the need for ongoing support for their mental health across childhood.

The association between low household income and adolescent mental health causes continuing concern. We examined the relation between household income and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems, and explored individual, parental, and neighborhood characteristics. The sample included 872 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 14.93 years) oversampled on risk of psychopathology. Low income was defined as parent-reported net monthly household income below the 20th percentile (<€2000). Internalizing and externalizing problems were examined using the Youth Self-Report and Child Behavior Checklist. Covariates included sex, age, ethnic background, IQ, perceived social support, adverse life events, physical health, parental psychopathology, parental IQ, parent-child interaction, neighborhood unemployment rate, and neighborhood violence. Low household income was associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems. These associations were explained by more physical health concerns, increased parental psychopathology, more parent-child interaction problems, more adverse life events, lower perceived social support, and lower adolescent IQ. For all, except for mother-child interaction, a mediating role was suggested. This indicates a complex interplay between household income, individual, social, and parental factors affecting adolescent mental health. This study accentuates the necessity for a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to address the negative effects of poverty on adolescent mental health, targeting these influences for preventive measures.

As youth transition into adolescence, their desire for autonomy leads to changes in the family dynamic, resulting in increased family conflict and possible disruptions to children’s psychological health. Previous literature, however, has largely neglected to consider whether the association between family conflict and child behavioral difficulties is uni- or bi-directional. The current study used latent curve growth models with structured residuals (LCMs-SR) to investigate this question in the Adolescent Brain & Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. At four annual waves (baseline through 3-year follow-up), youth (N = 11,868; Mage at Time 1 = 9.48 years; 48% female; 50% White) reported on family conflict while parents reported on youths’ internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Youth reported family conflict levels as increasing over four years. Furthermore, family conflict was bidirectionally associated with externalizing behavior, in that families with greater than expected conflict had children with more externalizing behaviors, and youth with more externalizing behaviors reported greater than expected conflict at home. Internalizing behavior, however, did not predict later family conflict, though family conflict predicted deviations in later internalizing behavior. These findings add to the literature by demonstrating bidirectional influences between children’s behavior and family functioning across emerging adolescence.

The first year of university is a developmentally significant transition that involves substantial stressor exposure and, for some, heightened anxiety. Parenting may influence the association between stressor exposure and anxiety symptoms, with some research showing that parental care and overprotection throughout childhood and adolescence are associated with the experience of anxiety. However, how these factors interact and relate to anxiety symptoms in early adulthood is not clear. To address this issue, we examined interactions between parenting characteristics (care and overprotection) and stressors experienced during the transition to university, and how they relate to anxiety symptoms in 240 first-year undergraduates (Mage = 18.2, SD = 1.18, 75% female, 51.7% White). Results revealed a significant interaction between parental overprotection and stressor exposure, such that higher parental overprotection and higher levels of recent stressor exposure were associated with more anxiety symptoms (β = 0.52, p = .008). These findings demonstrate continued evidence for associations between experiences of parenting and psychopathology in emerging adulthood and suggest that overprotective parenting behaviors may exacerbate effects of stress exposure.

The moderating roles of friendship and contextual variables on associations between social withdrawal and peer exclusion and growth curves of depressed affect were studied with a three-wave multilevel longitudinal design. Participants were 313 boys and girls aged 10–12 from Canada (n = 139), mostly of European and North African descent, and Colombia (n = 174), mostly mestizo, afrocolombian, and European descent. Depressed affect, peer exclusion, social withdrawal and friendship were assessed with peer-reports, and collectivism and individualism with self-reports. Group-level scores included gender, place and means of social withdrawal, peer exclusion, friendship, collectivism and individualism for each child’s same-gender classroom peer-group. Results indicated that being friended weakened associations between peer exclusion and social withdrawal and depressed affect. The strength of this effect varied across peer-group contexts.

The development of externalizing behavior in young children is shaped by the complex interaction of temperament, neural mechanisms, and environmental factors. This study explored how child frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) and child negative affect jointly moderate the relationship between mindful parenting and child externalizing behavior. The sample, drawn from families in the Netherlands, included reports from 128 mothers and 103 partners on mindful parenting, and on children’s negative affect and externalizing behavior. FAA was measured in 95 four-year-old children during an EEG session while they watched an animated video. Results indicated that children with high negative affect and greater left-sided FAA displayed the most externalizing behavior when maternal mindful parenting was low, but the least when mindful parenting was high. In contrast, no significant effects were found for children with lower negative affect or in partner-reported data. These findings suggest that children with both high negative affect and greater left-sided FAA are more sensitive to the quality of mindful parenting, particularly from mothers, aligning with the environmental sensitivity framework. Future research should replicate these findings, ideally in a larger sample, and further examine the long-term, cumulative impact of FAA and negative affect on the development of behavioral problems.

Effects of variations in parents’ control styles, especially the amount of power assertion they deploy, have long been a central question in socialization research. Although severe, harsh control is unanimously considered harmful, research on effects of far more common low-to-moderate power assertion is inconsistent. Drawing from attachment and social cognition traditions, we examined whether children’s representations of parents (Internal Working Models, IWMs) moderated associations between parental power assertion and children’s socialization (violating or embracing rules and values, responsiveness to parents). In two studies of community families (Family Study, FS, N = 102, and Children and Parents Study, CAPS, N = 200), employing observations and reports, we assessed parental power assertion at age 4.5, children’s IWMs at ages 8 in FS and 4.5 in CAPS, and socialization outcomes at ages 10 and 12 in FS and 4.5 in CAPS. In FS, children’s IWMs of the parent moderated effects of parental power assertion on socialization outcomes in mother- and father-child dyads (βs = 0.47, 0.41, respectively): Power assertion had detrimental effects only for children with negative IWMs of their parents. In CAPS, findings were replicated for mother-child dyads (β = 0.24). We highlight origins of multifinality in socialization sequelae of parental control.

One of the most devastating and costly consequences of CM is that it persists across generations. Yet, we know little about whether there is intergenerational continuity of diverse dimensions of CM exposure (e.g., chronicity, multi-subtype) or unique patterns of exposure. This is a critical gap, given evidence that different forms of CM confer unique consequences. To enhance our understanding of intergenerational continuity of CM, the current study applied a multidimensional framework to be the first to investigate whether unique forms of CM exposure (characterized by the subtypes and whether multi-type exposure occurred) exhibited homotypic/heterotypic patterns of intergenerational continuity. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns of CM exposure in mothers and their offspring (aged 8–13) who were part of a high-risk, economically disadvantaged sample of maltreated and nonmaltreated youth (N = 1240). Four distinct classes of CM exposure were identified in both mothers (“Single-Subtype without Sexual Abuse”; “Sexual Abuse”, “Multi-Subtype Exposure”; and “No Maltreatment”) and offspring (“No Maltreatment”; “Single Type-Neglect”; “Single Type-Abuse”; and “Chronic, Multi-type”). Patterns of homotypic and heterotypic intergenerational continuity were identified, with a pattern of multi-type exposure emerging as an enduring form of exposure across generations. Implications for preventive interventions are discussed. Intergenerational continuity of multidimensional patterns of child maltreatment exposure: A person-centered approach

The perinatal period has gained increasing attention from developmental psychopathologists; however, experiences during birth have been minimally examined using this framework. The current study aimed to evaluate longitudinal associations between childhood maltreatment, negative birth experiences, and postpartum mental health across levels of self-reported emotion dysregulation and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Expectant mothers (N = 223) participated in a longitudinal study from the third trimester of pregnancy to 7 months postpartum. Participants contributed prenatal resting RSA and completed questionnaires prenatally, 24 hours after birth, and 7 months postpartum. Results indicated that more childhood maltreatment was associated with higher birth fear and postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms. Resting RSA moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and birth fear, such that more childhood maltreatment and higher resting RSA were associated with increased birth fear. Additionally, self-reported prenatal emotion dysregulation moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and postpartum depressive symptoms, such that more childhood maltreatment and higher emotion dysregulation were associated with increased depressive symptoms. Emotion dysregulation across multiple levels may amplify vulnerability to negative birth experiences and postpartum psychopathology among individuals with childhood maltreatment histories. Thus, emotion dysregulation in the context of trauma-informed care may be worthwhile intervention targets during the perinatal period.

Adolescents frequently victimized by peers are two to three times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder than their non-victimized peers. However, the fine-grained mechanisms that explain how peer victimization confers risk for anxiety in adolescents’ daily lives are not well-understood. Leveraging an intensive longitudinal design, this study examined same- and cross-day links between peer victimization and anxiety, investigating social threat sensitivity as a potential underlying mechanism. One hundred ninety-five adolescents (Mage = 16.48, SDage = 0.35; 66% female, 27% male, 11% non-binary, identifying with another gender; 48% White, 20% Asian, 15% Black, 17% identifying with another race/ethnicity) completed brief daily assessments of peer victimization, social threat sensitivity, and anxious affect for 14 days. Multilevel analyses indicated that adolescents reported greater anxious affect on days when they experienced peer victimization compared to days without victimization. Although peer victimization did not predict anxious affect the following day, it was associated with increased anxious affect two days later. Social threat sensitivity significantly mediated the same-day, but not cross-day, association between peer victimization and anxious affect, controlling for prior-day threat sensitivity and anxiety. The findings suggest that heightened social vigilance partially accounts for anxious affect in adolescents facing peer victimization in daily life.

When leveraged together, variable-centered and person-centered statistical methods have the potential to illuminate the factors predicting mental health recovery. However, because extant studies have largely relied on only one of these methods, we do not yet understand why some youth demonstrate recovery while others experience chronic symptoms. This omission limits our understanding of trajectories of physical aggression (AGG) in particular, which are frequently characterized by desistance. The present study examined the development of AGG across childhood and adolescence via variable-centered and person-centered modeling, with neighborhood and family characteristics considered as predictors. Variable-centered results indicated a mean-level decline in AGG with age but were more useful for illuminating predictors of AGG at baseline than predictors of declining engagement. Person-centered analyses, by contrast, identified low parent-child conflict and high household income as predictors of desistance. Although variable-centered analyses were integral to modeling the average AGG trajectory and identifying predictors of engagement at baseline, person-centered techniques proved more useful for understanding predictors of desistance.

Children vary in environmental sensitivity, reflecting heightened responsiveness to positive and negative environments. It is commonly measured through the temperament trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS). Currently, no instruments exist in the German language to assess SPS in children. The present study translated the 21-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale (HSC-21) into German and evaluated its psychometric properties using caregiver reports (n = 367) and child self-reports (n = 112). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and three specific subdimensions (i.e., Ease of Excitation, Low Sensory Threshold, Aesthetic Sensitivity). The German HSC-21 demonstrated full configural, metric and scalar measurement invariance across sex and age groups and good to excellent reliability (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, interrater agreement). HSC-21 scores moderately predicted internalizing problems but not externalizing problems. Consistent with environmental sensitivity theory, Ease of Excitation and Low Sensory Threshold were linked to internalizing problems, whereas Aesthetic Sensitivity predicted better school performance, fewer peer problems, and greater prosocial behavior. The HSC-21 demonstrated meaningful correlations with temperament and personality traits, including positive associations with neuroticism, behavioral inhibition, and sensory sensitivity, and negative associations with extraversion and activity level. Thus, the German HSC-21 represents a reliable and valid measure of SPS and environmental sensitivity.

This study longitudinally examined associations between parent and peer relationships, childhood maltreatment, and adolescents’ psychopathology. We expected lower perceived parental relationship quality to predict greater symptomatology and higher perceived friendship quality to buffer this association, with greater buffering effects for maltreated participants. We assessed 545 participants (295 maltreated, 250 non-maltreated; 60.2% male; 52.8% Black, 27.5% White, 12.8% Bi-racial, 13.4% Latin@) across two timepoints (Wave 1, Mage = 13.8 years, Wave 2, Mage = 16.2 years). Department of Human Services records indicated maltreatment status prior to Wave 1. Adolescents self-reported Wave 1 parental relationship and friendship quality and Wave 2 internalizing/externalizing symptoms. Parental relationship quality did not predict psychopathology, and this association did not differ by maltreatment status. We found a significant three-way interaction between maternal relationship quality, maltreatment, and friendship quality on internalizing (β = .10, p = .037) and externalizing (β = .12, p = .010) symptoms. For non-maltreated adolescents, parental relationships and friendship quality differentially predicted symptomatology. Maltreated adolescents with low maternal relationship and friendship quality exhibited the most symptoms, whereas those with low maternal relationship quality and high friendship quality exhibited the least. Findings invite inquiry into parent and peer relationships’ differential roles in adolescents’ psychopathology.

Parental criminality is a risk factor for crime, but little is known about why some individuals exposed to this risk refrain from crime. We explored associations of resting heart rate (RHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), cognitive ability (CA), and psychological functioning (PF) with criminal convictions among men with a convicted parent, accounting for unmeasured familial factors in sibling analyses. Data were obtained from Swedish registers, including all men born in Sweden between 1958 and 1992 with a convicted parent (N = 495,109), followed for up to 48 years. The potential protective factors were measured at mandatory conscription. Outcomes were conviction of any, violent, and non-violent crime. Survival analyses were used to test for associations, adjusting for measured covariates and unmeasured familial factors. Higher levels of RHR, SBP, CA, and PF were associated with reduced risk of criminality after adjusting for covariates. RHR associations were largely explained by familial factors. CA and PF associations were not due to sibling-shared confounders, in line with a causal interpretation. SBP results, indicating a protective effect against non-violent crime, warrant further investigation.

This study examines how infant temperament, particularly fear, influences physiological improvements in infants following maternal postpartum depression (PPD) treatment. Forty infants of birthing parents with major depressive disorder and 40 healthy controls were recruited. Parents with PPD participated in a nine-week cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention. Infant emotion regulation was assessed using high-frequency heart-rate variability (HF-HRV) and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) at baseline (T1), immediately post-treatment (T2), and three months later (T3). Birthing parents also reported on their infant’s temperamental fear using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Short-Form at these times. A significant increase in HF-HRV was observed immediately after treatment in the PPD group which persisted at T3. While no Group × Visit × Fear interaction emerged from repeated measure models, follow-up regression analyses within the PPD group revealed that higher baseline fear was associated with smaller increases in HF-HRV from T1 to T2 or T3. Although FAA shifted leftward over time, fear did not significantly predict FAA changes. No associations between fear and physiology were observed in the control group. The study suggests that infant fear may reduce the physiological benefits of maternal PPD treatment for infants, underscoring the importance of considering infant characteristics when assessing the impact of maternal PPD interventions.

Anhedonia is a common and impairing symptom of psychopathology that predicts negative outcomes and may undermine peer relationships. Anhedonia comprises both trait (stable, time-invariant) and state (dynamic, time-varying) components. Relative to trait anhedonia, state anhedonia may be more strongly related to proximal risk for deleterious outcomes. Yet, associations between state anhedonia and daily-life socio-affective experiences in adolescence are not well understood. Thus, the present study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine within-person associations between state anhedonia and the quantity and quality of daily-life peer interactions among a sample of adolescents enriched for suicidality risk, a population at high risk for anhedonic and peer problems. Participants included 102 adolescents assigned female at birth (ages 12–18; M[SD] = 15.34[1.50]; 67.6% at elevated risk for suicidality). State anhedonia, as well as being with peers, connectedness with peers, and positive affect with peers, was measured three times per day for 10 days via EMA (n = 30 prompts). Multilevel models demonstrated that within-person fluctuations in state anhedonia relate to reduced odds of being with peers, as well as decreased connectedness and positive affect with peers. Findings suggest that dynamic changes in state anhedonia are related to both the quantity and quality of peer experiences among adolescents.