Psychological medicine
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Psychological medicine · Jan 2013
Comparative Study'The risks of playing it safe': a prospective longitudinal study of response to reward in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents.
Alterations in reward processing may represent an early vulnerability factor for the development of depressive disorder. Depression in adults is associated with reward hyposensitivity and diminished reward seeking may also be a feature of depression in children and adolescents. We examined the role of reward responding in predicting depressive symptoms, functional impairment and new-onset depressive disorder over time in the adolescent offspring of depressed parents. In addition, we examined group differences in reward responding between currently depressed adolescents, psychiatric and healthy controls, and also cross-sectional associations between reward responding and measures of positive social/environmental functioning. Method We conducted a 1-year longitudinal study of adolescents at familial risk for depression (n = 197; age range 10-18 years). Reward responding and self-reported social/environmental functioning were assessed at baseline. Clinical interviews determined diagnostic status at baseline and at follow-up. Reports of depressive symptoms and functional impairment were also obtained. ⋯ Reward seeking predicts depression severity and onset in adolescents at elevated risk of depression. Adaptive reward responses may be amenable to change through modification of existing preventive psychological interventions.
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Psychological medicine · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyAdverse childhood experiences in relation to mood and anxiety disorders in a population-based sample of active military personnel.
Although it has been posited that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increases vulnerability to deployment stress, previous literature in this area has demonstrated conflicting results. Using a cross-sectional population-based sample of active military personnel, the present study examined the relationship between ACEs, deployment related stressors and mood and anxiety disorders. ⋯ ACEs are associated with several mood and anxiety disorders among active military personnel. Intervention strategies to prevent mental health problems should consider the utility of targeting soldiers with exposure to ACEs.