Project 1: Childhood Maltreatment, Repetitive Negative Thinking, and Mental Health in Adolescence: A 12-Year Longitudinal Study

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PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT COBRE Research Project 1 will enable Project Lead Vergara-Lopez to collect pilot data in support of a competitive R01 application investigating the influence of childhood maltreatment on repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and risk for mental health problems. Early life adversity alters cognitive processes; these effects become more evident as children transition to adolescence. However, the cognitive mechanisms by which childhood adversity confers risk for adolescent psychopathology are not well understood. We propose that cognitive control deficits, specifically poor set-shifting when processing emotional stimuli, leads to difficulty disengaging from negative content and experiences of repetitive negative thinking (RNT). RNT - a recurrent and difficult to control process focused on negative content has been proposed as a transdiagnostic cognitive risk factor across internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing (e.g., substance use, aggression) problems. Yet, there are no studies that examine the role of RNT as it unfolds in vivo among adolescents with exposure to childhood adversity. This is a critical missed clinical opportunity because RNT may serve as a proximal malleable antecedent to a broad range of mental health problems, and thus, a potential transdiagnostic treatment target. Adolescents with comprehensive child protective services verified histories of maltreatment and other adversities (determined by contextual stress interviews, and self/parental report), will be recruited from a 12-year longitudinal study. We will capitalize on the infrastructure of this longitudinal study that has richly characterized maltreatment and other adverse exposures utilizing multi-method, multi-informant assessment of maltreatment in early childhood (ages 3-5) and middle childhood (ages 9-11) across exposure type, chronicity, and severity. We will recruit adolescents between 15-17 years old and a caregiver. Adolescents (N=75), and their caregivers will attend a laboratory visit to assess mental health via diagnostic clinical interviews and self-report measures. The adolescents will complete a cognitive control battery, a RNT induction paired with a free-view eye-tracking paradigm to assesses difficulty disengaging from negative content (i.e., how much participants visually dwell or perseverate on negative stimuli). Leveraging Ilumivu technology from the Technology, Assessment, Data, and Analysis (TADA) Core, adolescents will then complete a short-term EMA burst design with two, 2-week, EMA protocols at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up, assessing “real-time” RNT and cardinal mood symptoms of a broad spectrum of mental health problems (e.g., depressed, anxious, irritable, and angry mood). Finally, participants will complete a second laboratory visit to reassess full spectrum mental health via self-report and interviews. Ultimately, this research will inform the development of technology deployed ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) or just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) that vary based on real-time needs (e.g., in-vivo RNT) and help prevent and curtail mental health problems following childhood adversity.