Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Radically Reframing Studies On Neurobiology And Socioeconomic Circumstances: A Call For Social Justice-Oriented Neuroscience, Elisabeth Kathleen Webb, Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez, Robyn Douglas

Psychology Faculty Articles

Socioeconomic circumstances are associated with symptoms and diagnostic status of nearly all mental health conditions. Given these robust relationships, neuroscientists have attempted to elucidate how socioeconomic-based adversity “gets under the skin.” Historically, this work emphasized individual proxies of socioeconomic position (e.g., income, education), ignoring the effects of broader socioeconomic contexts (e.g., neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage) which may uniquely contribute to chronic stress. This omission represented a disconnect between neuroscience and other allied fields that have recognized health is undeniably linked to interactions between systems of power and individual characteristics. More recently, neuroscience work has considered how sociopolitical context affects brain structure …

Longitudinal Impact Of Childhood Adversity On Early Adolescent Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic In The Abcd Study Cohort: Does Race Or Ethnicity Moderate Findings?, Elizabeth A. Stinson, Ryan Michael Sullivan, Susan Tapert, Fiona Baker, Florence Breslin, Anthony Dick, Marybel Gonzalez, Mathieu Guillaume, Andrew Marshall, Connor Mccabe, William Pelham Iii, Amandine Van Rinsveld, Chandni Sheth, Elizabeth Sowell, Natasha Wade, Alexander L. Wallace, Krista M. Lisdahl

Psychology Faculty Articles

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, mental health among youth has been negatively affected. Youth with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), as well as youth from minoritized racial-ethnic backgrounds, may be especially vulnerable to experiencing COVID-19–related distress. The aims of this study are to examine whether exposure to pre-pandemic ACEs predicts mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in youth and whether racial-ethnic background moderates these effects.

Methods

From May to August 2020, 7983 youths (mean age, 12.5 years; range, 10.6–14.6 years) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study completed at least one of three …

Acute Posterior Cingulum Integrity Post-Trauma Prospectively Predicts Depression But Not Ptsd Symptoms, Carissa N. Weiss, Ashley A. Huggins, Tara A. Miskovich, Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald, Kenneth P. Bennett, Jessica L. Krukowski, E Kate Webb, Terri A. Deroon-Cassini, Christine L. Larson

Psychology Faculty Articles

Background: Little is known about what distinguishes those who are resilient after trauma from those at risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous work indicates white matter integrity may be a useful biomarker in predicting PTSD. Research has shown changes in the integrity of three white matter tracts—the cingulum bundle, corpus callosum (CC), and uncinate fasciculus (UNC)—in the aftermath of trauma relate to PTSD symptoms. However, few have examined the predictive utility of white matter integrity in the acute aftermath of trauma to predict prospective PTSD symptom severity in a mixed traumatic injury sample.

Method: Thus, the …

Evaluating The Role Of Approach-Avoidance Training On Action-Tendencies In Individuals With Skin-Picking Disorder: A Preliminary Randomized Experiment, Abel S. Mathew, Madeline A. Rech, Han-Joo Lee

Psychology Faculty Articles

Background and Aims: Pathological skin-picking (PSP) or excoriation disorder is a destructive behavior that affects 1-2% of the general population. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of a computerized behavior modification task on action-tendencies (i.e., approach or avoidance) in adults with PSP. We aimed to modify these action-tendencies by having participants with PSP complete the Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT) task, using a joystick to simulate an approach (=pull) or avoidance (=push) response.

Method: Forty-five participants diagnosed with PSP were randomized to one of three training conditions: (1) Avoidance Training (AvT; n=15), (2) Approach Training (ApT; n=15), …

Adolescent Experiences With Self-Asphyxial Behaviors And Problematic Drinking In Emerging Adulthood, Jillian Emily Austin, Amy Coral Lang, Anna M. Nacker, Alexander L. Wallace, David C. Schwebel, B. Bradford Brown, W. Hobart Davies

Psychology Faculty Articles

Self-asphyxial behavior to achieve a euphoric high (The Choking Game; TCG), occurs most often during early adolescence. Participants in TCG often engage in other risky behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between prior experience with TCG and problematic drinking behaviors in emerging adulthood. Emerging adults, 18 to 25 years old (N = 1248), 56% female, and 78% Caucasian completed an online survey regarding knowledge of and prior engagement in TCG and current drinking behaviors. Participants who personally engaged in TCG during childhood/adolescence or were familiar with TCG reported significantly more problematic drinking behaviors during emerging adulthood. Those present when others …

Moderating Effects Of Harm Avoidance On Resting State Functional Connectivity Of The Anterior Insula, Ashley A. Huggins, Emily Louise Belleau, Tara A. Miskovich, Walker Scott Pedersen, Christine L. Larson

Psychology Faculty Articles

As an index of behavioral inhibition and an individual’s propensity to avoid, rather than seek, potentially dangerous situations, harm avoidance has been linked to internalizing psychopathology. Altered connectivity within intrinsic functional neural networks (i.e., default mode [DMN], central executive [CEN] and salience networks [SN]) has been related to internalizing psychopathology; however, less is known about the effects of harm avoidance on functional connectivity within and between these networks. Importantly, harm avoidance may be distinguishable from trait anxiety and have clinical relevance as a risk factor for internalizing psychopathology. A sample of young adults (n = 99) completed a resting …

Prevention Messages In Parent-Infant Bed-Sharing: Message Source, Credibility, And Effectiveness, Jillian Emily Austin, Chad J. Nashban, Jennifer J. Doering, W. Hobart Davies

Psychology Faculty Articles

Objective. Despite educational outreach, bed-sharing prevalence is rising. Mothers’ and fathers’ bed-sharing practices, prevention message source, perceived source credibility, and the effectiveness of the prevention message were evaluated. Methods. Data were collected from 678 community parents via an online survey. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and phi tests. Results. Bed-sharing reasons focused on comfort and ease. Mothers were more likely to receive prevention messages from individual professionals or organizations, whereas fathers were more likely to hear prevention messages from spouses/coparents and grandfathers. Physicians were the most common source, and physicians and grandmothers were rated as the …

Neural Circuitry Governing Anxious Individuals’ Mis-Allocation Of Working Memory To Threat, Daniel M. Stout, Alexander J. Shackman, Walker S. Pedersen, Tara A. Miskovich, Christine L. Larson

Psychology Faculty Articles

Dispositional anxiety is a trait-like phenotype that confers increased risk for a range of debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders. Like many patients with anxiety disorders, individuals with elevated levels of dispositional anxiety are prone to intrusive and distressing thoughts in the absence of immediate threat. Recent electrophysiological research suggests that these symptoms are rooted in the misallocation of working memory (WM) resources to threat-related information. Here, functional MRI was used to identify the network of brain regions that support WM for faces and to quantify the allocation of neural resources to threat-related distracters in 81 young adults. Results revealed widespread evidence of …

Marijuana Use Is Associated With Behavioral Approach And Depressive Symptoms In Adolescents And Emerging Adults, Natasha E. Wright, Danny Scerpella, Krista M. Lisdahl

Psychology Faculty Articles

Background

Repeated CB1 binding due to THC results in downregulation of the endocannabinoid system in cortex and limbic regions, perhaps disrupting frontolimbic functioning. This is particularly a concern in young adults who are still undergoing neurodevelopment in frontal and limbic regions. Such disruptions may be linked to increased depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and executive dysfunction, and decreased behavioral approach.

Objectives

Here we examine the influence of young adult marijuana use on anxiety, depressive symptoms, behavioral approach, and executive dysfunction. The influence of alcohol and gender were also assessed.

Methods

84 participants (42 MJ, 42 controls) aged 18–25 were balanced for …

Social Cognition In Williams Syndrome: Relations Between Performance On The Social Attribution Task And Cognitive And Behavioral Characteristics, Faye Van Der Fluit, Michael S. Gaffrey, Bonita P. Klein-Tasman

Psychology Faculty Articles

Williams syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder of genetic origin, with characteristic cognitive and personality profiles. Studies of WS point to an outgoing and gregarious personality style, often contrasted with autism spectrum disorders; however, recent research has uncovered underlying social reciprocity difficulties in people with WS. Social information processing difficulties that underlie these social reciprocity difficulties have been sparsely examined. Participants in the current study included 24 children with WS ages 8 through 15. A lab-based measure of social perception and social cognition was administered (Social Attribution Test), as well as an intellectual functioning measure (KBIT-II) and parent reports of …