Risk and Resilience Measures Related to Psychopathology in Youth

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2023 Aug;54(4):961-972. doi: 10.1007/s10578-021-01296-2. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Abstract

Childhood adversity places youth at risk for multiple negative outcomes. The current study aimed to understand how a constellation of risk and resilience factors influenced mental health outcomes as a function of adversities: socioeconomic status (SES) and traumatic stressful events (TSEs). Specifically, we examined outcomes related to psychosis and mood disorders, as well as global clinical functioning. The current study is a longitudinal follow up of 140 participants from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) assessed for adversities at Time 1 (Mean age: 14.11 years) and risk, resilience, and clinical outcomes at Time 2 (mean age: 21.54 years). In the context of TSE, a limited set of predictors emerged as important; a more diverse set of moderators emerged in the context of SES. Across adversities, social support was a unique predictor of psychosis spectrum diagnoses and global functioning; emotion dysregulation was an important predictor for mood diagnoses. The current findings underscore the importance of understanding effects of childhood adversity on maladaptive outcomes within a resilience framework.

Keywords: Childhood adversity; Psychopathology; Resilience; Risk.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Mood Disorders
  • Psychopathology
  • Psychotic Disorders*
  • Young Adult