Secondary Traumatic Stress and Alexithymia in High-Risk Professionals

This study investigated the role that cognitive deficits in emotional processing (i.e., alexithymia) play in the development of traumatic responses, such as secondary traumatic stress (STS), following work with clients who have experienced trauma. Using a prospective cohort of novice counselling psychology and pre-service education students, participants were measured for traits of alexithymia and STS before and after their first practicum placements. Elevated rates of STS consistent with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder were identified in participants following initial practicum placement. Correlation analyses demonstrated that alexithymia and alexithymia symptom clusters were significantly, and robustly, associated with STS and STS symptom clusters. Finally, hierarchal multiple regression analysis found that scores of alexithymia, pre-trauma exposure, predicted a significant amount of the variance in post-trauma exposure STS. Implications for identification, prevention, treatment, and destigmatization of negative emotional responses to working with clients who have experienced trauma are discussed along with future directions of study

Neuroimaging Depression Risk in a Sample of Never-Depressed Children

Children of mothers with a history of depression are at significantly higher risk for developing depression themselves. Although numerous mechanisms explaining this relationship have been proposed (Goodman & Gotlib, 1999), relatively little is known about the neural substrates of never-depressed children’s depression risk. Of the few studies that have used neuroimaging techniques to characterize risk-based differences in children’s neural structure, function, and functional connectivity, most have used samples that include participants with a personal history of depression or older samples (i.e., past the typical age of onset for depressive disorders). These approaches limit what can be determined regarding whether findings are true markers of risk (and potential etiological mechanisms) or better reflect resilience to depression or brain-based sequelae of depression. There is a clear need to better characterize children’s neuroimaging-based markers of depression risk by focusing on samples with clear statistical risk (i.e., a maternal history of depression or early emerging depression symptoms) prior to their own onset of disorder. This dissertation addresses this gap in the literature by characterizing the association between a sample (Ns = 80-85) of never-depressed children’s risk for depression and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of children’s brain structure (Study 1), functional response to maternal feedback (Study 2), and resting-state functional connectivity (Study 3). Main findings included never-depressed children’s self-reported depression symptoms being negatively associated with grey matter volume in regions relevant to reward processing (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex; Study 1), functional activity in salience processing regions (i.e., anterior insula) and reward processing (i.e., putamen) during critical maternal feedback (Study 2), and resting-state functional connectivity within the Central Executive Network and Salience Network (Study 3). I also demonstrated that children with high maternal risk for depression (i.e., a maternal history of depression) had significantly increased resting-state functional connectivity within the default mode network. Results indicate that brain-based associates of depression risk (i.e., maternal history of depression and children’s depression symptoms) pre-exist the development of depression, potentially contributing to the etiology of depression. Future directions for the emerging field of neuroimaging children’s risk for depression are discussed

Characterizing and Predicting Canadian Adolescents’ Internalizing Symptoms In The First Year Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

To date, most longitudinal studies of adolescents’ internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic include few time points, limiting knowledge about the long-term course of adolescents’ mental health during the pandemic. Moreover, examining intraindividual variability in symptoms, which may have important implications for adolescents’ adjustment beyond mean or “typical” symptoms, requires multiple time points. We examined the course of internalizing symptoms in 271 Ontario adolescents (mean n = 193 across time points) during the first year of the pandemic (March 2020–April 2021) via mixed-effect location scale models, drawing upon established internalizing symptom risk factors as predictors of mean trends and intraindividual variability. Adolescents’ internalizing symptoms were relatively stable and generally low over the first year of the pandemic, with severity peaking in February and April 2021. Girls showed more symptoms on average and greater intraindividual variability in symptoms. Parents’ depressive symptoms predicted intraindividual variability in adolescents’ anxious and depressive symptoms. Adolescents’ symptoms were stable and generally below clinical cutoffs. However, female adolescents and those whose parents experienced more depressive symptoms were most vulnerable to the stress of the pandemic. Implications for intervention and prevention efforts are discussed

Children\u27s neural reactivity to maternal praise and criticism: Associations with early depressive symptoms and maternal depression

Caregiving experiences are implicated in children\u27s depression risk; however, children\u27s neural reactivity to positive and negative feedback from mothers, a potential mediator of depression risk, is poorly understood. In a sample of 81 children

Shaping a mental health curriculum for Canada\u27s teacher education programs: Rationale and brief overview

It is a well-known and accepted statistic that one in five Canadian children will experience a significant mental health challenge prior to their 18th birthday; this is a conservative estimate given the many who suffer ‘under the radar’ with transient sadness, depression, and anxiety (Flett & Hewitt, 2013). And if we have yet to be sensitized to this critical period of childhood and adolescence, longitudinal studies indicate that 70% of adults who experience an emotional disorder report having their first onset episode prior to the age of 18 (Kessler et al., 2009)

Structural brain correlates of childhood inhibited temperament: an ENIGMA-Anxiety Mega-analysis

NWORubicon 019.201SG.022Pathways through Adolescenc

Structural brain correlates of childhood inhibited temperament: An ENIGMA-anxiety mega-analysis

NWORubicon 019.201SG.022Pathways through Adolescenc