Adverse experiences and adolescents’ physiological and mental health: The protective effects of resources

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Research has documented the wide-ranging, long-lasting impact of adverse experiences on youth development across physical, psychological, and behavioral domains (see Hughes et al., 2017 for a review). Theories of adversity and psychopathology underscore the importance of examining adversity exposure during childhood and adolescence, given the vulnerability and plasticity of people at these developmental stages (Koss & Gunnar, 2018). Drawing on objectively measured biomarkers and self-reported mental health, this symposium examines the associations between multiple forms of adverse experiences and physiological and mental health among children, adolescents and emerging adults in China, with a specific focus on the buffering effects of protective factors.

The first paper examined how prolonged parent-child separation “got under the skin” by altering the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis functioning of left-behind children in rural China, observing distinct diurnal cortisol rhythms across groups of children with high-risk, low-risk, or no left-behind experiences. The second paper examined different dimensions adversity, finding the potentially distinct effects of abuse versus neglect on baseline and change in diurnal cortisol and the protective role of resilience. The third paper focused on the impact of cumulative life stress, observing that more life stress was associated with more blunted cortisol slope and higher bedtime cortisol levels among college students, and that general trust buffered the associations. Finally, the fourth paper examined developmental trajectories of peer victimization, identifying four trajectory profiles and the role of positive school climate in sheltering the negative effects of peer victimization. Implications for improving adolescents’ physiological and mental health will be discussed.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Chairs

• Danhua Lin, Beijing Normal University

• Shaobing Su, Boston College

Individual Presentations

• Parent-child separation and diurnal cortisol rhythms: Evidence from left-behind children and adolescents in rural China - Presenting Author: Mingjun Xie, Beijing Normal University; Yanping Jiang; Samuele Zilioli, Wayne State University; Shiyuan Xiang, Beijing Normal University; SHAN ZHAO; Danhua Lin, Beijing Normal University

• Dimensions of Child Maltreatment and Longitudinal Diurnal Cortisol Patterns: The Roles of Resilience and Sex - Presenting Author: Jianing Sun, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Erika S. Lunkenheimer, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• General Trust Buffers the Effects of Stressful Life Events on College Students' Diurnal Cortisol Profiles - Presenting Author: Lihua Chen; Hongfei Du, Beijing Normal University; Peilian Chi, University of Macau

• Trajectories of Peer Victimization among Left-behind Children in Rural China: The Role of School Climate - Presenting Author: Jiale Xiao, Beijing Normal University; Shaobing Su, Boston College