Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to detrimental mental health outcomes in adulthood. This study investigates a potential neurodevelopmental pathway between adversity and mental health outcomes: brain connectivity.This study used data from the prospective, longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD, N ≈ 12.000, participants aged 9-13, male and female) and assessed structural brain connectivity using fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter tracts. The adverse experiences modelled included family conflict and traumatic experiences. K-Means clustering, and Latent Basis Growth Models (LBGM), were used to determine subgroups based on total levels and trajectories of brain connectivity. Multinomial regression was used to determine associations between cluster membership and adverse experiences.Results showed that higher family conflict was associated with higher FA levels across brain tracts (e.g., t(3) = -3.81, β = -0.09, pbonf = .003) and within the corpus callosum (CC), Fornix and anterior thalamic radiations (ATR). A decreasing FA trajectory across two brain imaging timepoints was linked to lower socioeconomic status and neighbourhood safety. Socioeconomic status was related to FA across brain tracts (e.g., t(3) = 3.44, β = 0.10, pbonf = .01), the CC and the ATR. Neighbourhood safety was associated with FA in the Fornix and ATR (e.g., t(1) = 3.48, β = 0.09, pbonf = .01). There is a complex and multifaceted relationship between adverse experiences and brain development, where adverse experiences during early adolescence are related to brain connectivity. These findings underscore the importance of studying adverse experiences beyond early childhood to understand lifespan developmental outcomes.
Working at home, rather than in the workplace, has been suggested to affect office-based workers' health and wellbeing. This exploratory, cross-sectional study sought to identify discrete psychological responses to home-working practices and investigate their relationship with engagement in health-related behaviours and wellbeing. A sample of 491 home-workers completed a survey assessing ten psychological responses to home-working (e.g., the ability to 'switch off' from work), ten health behaviour indices (e.g., sleep trouble), and seven wellbeing indices. Network Analysis modelled relationships between these variables. Results showed four clusters of psychological responses to home-working practices (representing 'home-working independence', 'home-work transition', 'daily work pressure', and 'work-day forecasting'). Variables within these clusters linked to health behaviour and wellbeing: perceptions of workload manageability, ability to switch off from work, homeworking autonomy, and planning and organising a home-working day had cascading influences on indicators of health, health behaviours, and wellbeing. The findings point to a complex system of potential health and wellbeing consequences of working from home. Further evidence is needed to establish truly causal relationships; nonetheless, our findings call for the development of public health initiatives and organisational policies to support the adoption of home-working practices to benefit the health and wellbeing of home-workers.
Early adolescence is a dynamic period of social and cortical development amidst rapid hormonal and puberty changes. We examined how differences and changes in positive social experiences and cortical thickness co-develop from age 9-11 and 11-13 years in the ABCD cohort (N~12,000). We used Bivariate Latent Change Score Models to capture cortical development (modelling mean whole-brain cortical thickness) and positive social experiences (modelling caregiver monitoring, family cohesion, prosocial behaviour, number of friends, school engagement, school involvement, and neighborhood safety). We found that positive social experiences decreased between age 9-11 years (baseline) and 11-13 years (2-year-follow-up), indicating that social experiences were perceived as less positive over time. We found evidence for correlated change, such that a greater reduction in positive social experiences was associated with a greater reduction in cortical thickness (est=5.23, SE=1.31, p<.001, standardized coefficient=.08), which did not differ between males and females in early and late puberty stages. We found mixed evidence for sex-specific relationships between puberty stage and social experiences. The evidence supports a transactional model of development, in that positive social experiences and cortical thickness change together throughout early adolescence. The findings also highlight the importance of supporting youth in early adolescence through school transitions.
Adverse events before the age of eighteen are common and include diverse experiences ranging from sexual abuse to parental divorce. These stressful events have been linked to physical and mental health issues. Previous research has focused mainly on childhood adversity, such as experiences in the family environment. Little consideration has been given to adversities that may be particularly harmful in adolescence. To understand adolescents' adverse experiences, this project used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, total N = 14,901, N ≈ 1,200-10,000 per measure). We modelled interrelations of adversities in childhood (1-11 years) and adolescence (11-23 years) and examined adversity clusters using network analysis. We found two similar clusters in the childhood and adolescence networks: (1) direct abuse and (2) adverse family factors. We identified a third cluster of (3) educational and social adversities for adolescence. For both age groups, emotional abuse in the family environment was closely linked to mental health in early adulthood and most adversities were linked with depression in early adulthood. In adolescence, housing and academic issues and abuse by a romantic partner were particularly central to the network of adversities. Thus, we found commonalities and differences in the relevance of adverse experiences at different developmental stages. These findings highlight the need to develop age-dependent frameworks for adversity research and policymaking.
Background: Around half of young people aged 10-24 years in the United Kingdom report feeling lonely “often” or “some of the time”, with similar rates in other countries. These experiences of loneliness are linked to well-being and a wide range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes. However, our understanding of the aetiology and sequelae of youth loneliness, as well as the development of preventative measures and interventions, has been hampered by a lack of scales that can accurately capture the authentic experiences of young people.Methods: Here, we provide a protocol for developing and validating an age-sensitive loneliness scale for young people aged 10-24 years: the Youth Loneliness Scale (YLS). The scale will be designed to measure loneliness in the general population of young people in the United Kingdom. The scale development process will follow a multi-step approach, going from item generation to psychometric evaluation. Item generation will include a combination of verbal and non-verbal techniques to enable broad expression of what it means to be lonely as a young person. The scale has been and will be co-produced with young people from design to dissemination.Discussion: The protocol provided here allows researchers to evaluate the final scale generated against the plans set out here. We also encourage the use and adaptation of the protocol to develop age-sensitive loneliness scales in other cultural contexts and for other populations.
Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to detrimental mental health outcomes in adulthood. This study investigates a potential neurodevelopmental pathway between adversity and mental health outcomes: brain connectivity. This study used data from the prospective, longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD, N ≈ 12.000, participants aged 9-13, male and female) and assessed structural brain connectivity using fractional anisotropy (FA) of white matter tracts. The adverse experiences modelled included family conflict and traumatic experiences. K-Means clustering, and Latent Basis Growth Models (LBGM), were used to determine subgroups based on total levels and trajectories of brain connectivity. Multinomial regression was used to determine associations between cluster membership and adverse experiences. Results showed that higher family conflict was associated with higher FA levels across brain tracts (e.g., t (3) = -3.81, β = -0.09, p bonf = .003) and within the corpus callosum (CC), Fornix and anterior thalamic radiations (ATR). A decreasing FA trajectory across two brain imaging timepoints was linked to lower socioeconomic status and neighbourhood safety. Socioeconomic status was related to FA across brain tracts (e.g., t (3) = 3.44, β = 0.10, p bonf = .01), the CC and the ATR. Neighbourhood safety was associated with FA in the Fornix and ATR (e.g., t (1) = 3.48, β = 0.09, p bonf = .01). There is a complex and multifaceted relationship between adverse experiences and brain development, where adverse experiences during early adolescence are related to brain connectivity. These findings underscore the importance of studying adverse experiences beyond early childhood to understand lifespan developmental outcomes. Significance statement There is a compelling link between youth adversity and various detrimental outcomes, including reduced mental health, socioeconomic status, and even life expectancy. One potential pathway for the lifelong consequences of adversity could be neurodevelopment in adolescence, but few studies have tested this directly. This study investigates a potential neurodevelopmental pathway between adversity and mental health outcomes: brain connectivity. We explored the relationship between adverse experiences during early adolescence (ages 9-13) and individual differences in neurodevelopmental trajectories. Our results provide novel evidence demonstrating that adverse experiences during adolescence are related to changes in brain connectivity. They highlight the need to consider environmental influences on development during adolescence, a unique period of protracted biological, social, and cognitive changes.
Adverse experiences before the age of eighteen are common and include diverse events ranging from sexual abuse to parental divorce. These stressful experiences have been linked to physical and mental health issues. Previous research has focused mainly on childhood adversity, such as experiences in the family environment. Little consideration has been given to adversities that may be particularly harmful in adolescence. To understand adolescents' adverse experiences, this project used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, total N = 14,901, N ≈ 1,200 - 10,000 per measure). We modelled interrelations of adversities in childhood (1-11 years) and adolescence (11-23 years) and examined adversity clusters using network analysis. We found two similar clusters in the childhood and adolescence networks: (1) direct abuse and (2) adverse family factors. We identified a third cluster of (3) educational and social adversities for adolescence. For both age groups, emotional abuse in the family environment was closely linked to mental health in early adulthood and most adversities were linked with depression in early adulthood. In adolescence, housing and academic issues and abuse by a romantic partner were particularly central to the network of adversities. Thus, we found commonalities and differences in the relevance of adverse experiences at different developmental stages. These findings highlight the need to develop age-dependent frameworks for adversity research and policymaking.
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