Child / Adolescent - Trauma / Maltreatment
Kristen A. Chu, B.A.
PhD student
UCLA
Torrance, California
Allison V. Metts, M.A. (she/her/hers)
Doctoral Candidate
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Robin Nusslock, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
Richard E Zinbarg, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Professor
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
Michelle G. Craske, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Background: Although early life adversity (ELA) and life stress (LS) are robust predictors of mental and physical health conditions in later life, it is possible to experience significant stressors without developing psychological or functional impairment. Stress resilience is the dynamic process of successfully adapting to stressors, or the maintenance or quick recovery of mental health during and following adversity. One mechanism implicated in the development of mood and anxiety disorders is reward hyposensitivity; alterations in reward processing due to ELA exposure and LS may increase susceptibility to the development of psychopathology. However, the relationship among ELA, LS, and reward behaviors has yet to be explored in the context of stress resilience. Given the potential beneficial effects of stress resilience in providing protection from lasting dysfunction, it is important to explore this relationship beyond risk implications.
Method: The current study tested the relationship between resilience to ELA and LS and a behavioral measure of social reward processing in a sample of 288 young adults aged 18-19. ELA was assessed using the Child Trauma Interview (CTI) and LS was assessed using the chronic stress ratings from the Life Stress Interview (LSI). Mental health was operationalized using interviewer ratings of severity for depressive disorders and anxiety disorders from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V. A residualization-based metric of resilience was calculated by regressing stress (an ELA and LS composite) on mental health: individuals who scored better than expected in mental health outcomes accounting for ELA and LS were categorized as higher in resilience as compared to individuals who scored lower on mental health outcomes relative to their ELA and LS. Reward sensitivity was captured using a social reward behavioral task, in which neutral facial stimuli are repeatedly paired with either positive or negative social feedback. Participants rate reward valuation (i.e., wanting or expending effort to view rewards and liking or appraisal of rewards) and valence (i.e., perceived emotional content) of facial expressions, before and after the task.
Results: We found that higher stress resilience was significantly associated with a greater increase in liking (Β=0.25, p=0.035) and valence (Β=0.31, p=0.004) from before to after the social reward task. There were no changes in reward valuation as measured by wanting to view the faces for longer (Β=24.08, p=0.213).
Discussion: Results highlight individuals with higher stress resilience are more likely to be responsive to reward learning feedback as shown by significant positive changes in reward valuation (i.e., liking) and perceived emotional content (i.e., valence). These findings also suggest that strategies to specifically target the improvement of reward sensitivity, such as Positive Affect Treatment which targets reward systems, could mitigate such depressive and anxiety disorders.
