Characterizing the Role of Different Childhood Trauma Subtypes in the Neuroendocrine Functioning of Youth: Implications for Adolescent Depression.

Psychoneuroendocrinology;Developmental Psychopathology;Child Maltreatment;Psychology;Social Sciences;Psychology

Kuhlman, Kate RyanEdelstein, Robin Stacey ;

University of Michigan

关键词: Psychoneuroendocrinology;    Developmental Psychopathology;    Child Maltreatment;    Psychology;    Social Sciences;    Psychology;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/107089/katerk_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Many depressed youth have been exposed to trauma, and these youth are less responsive to standard depression treatments.This suggests that the mechanisms for the development and maintenance of depression in individuals with a history of childhood trauma may differ from those without, however these mechanisms are poorly understood. One neurobiological mechanism associated with the onset, course, and recurrence of depression is functioning of the HPA-axis.The purpose of this study was to characterize the interplay between exposure to childhood trauma and HPA-axis functioning and integrate this interplay into our understanding of adolescent depression. METHODS: Participants in this study were a community sample of 138 youth (aged 9-16). All youth completed a semi-structured diagnostic interview, a standardized laboratory stress protocol, and the SE-CPT.Each participant contributed 2 pre-stress and 5 post-stress salivary cortisol samples, as well as 4 diurnal salivary cortisol samples at home across 2 consecutive weekdays. All parents completed a semi-structured diagnostic interview, the ETI, and the CDI. RESULTS: We found that more reported exposure to general trauma was associated with greater cortisol awakening response and elevated cortisol at bedtime, physical abuse exposure was associated with faster reactivity to acute stress, and emotional abuse was associated with delayed down-regulation of cortisol following acute stress. Additionally, we found that high reported emotional abuse beginning during the school-aged years was associated with elevated diurnal cortisol throughout the day, while the HPA-axis may be more sensitive to physical abuse exposure during early childhood. Youth with a history of exposure to general trauma who also have depression demonstrate elevated cortisol at bedtime, as well as hypersensitivity to novel settings. DISCUSSION: Our findings convey the importance of research incorporating multiple indices of HPA-axis functioning to inform our understanding of stress reactivity. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that different forms of childhood stress may influence the neurobiological system in different ways across development. Ultimately, depressed youth with a history of reported trauma exposure demonstrated distinct patterns of neuroendocrine dysregulation compared with other youth. Overall, this dissertation presents a comprehensive examination of neuroendocrine functioning in youth in the context of childhood trauma exposure and psychopathology.