Mental Health Outcomes in Emerging Adults Exposed to Childhood Maltreatment The Moderating Role of Stress Reactivity

• Published in: Child maltreatment Vol. 19; no. 3-4; pp. 156 - 167
• Main Authors: Hagan, Melissa J., Roubinov, Danielle S., Mistler, Amy Kraft, Luecken, Linda J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2014; Sage Publications
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Childhood; Conflict; Conflict (Psychology); Female; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Life Stage Transitions; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders - etiology; Mental Health; Mental Health Services; Mental Illness; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Role Playing; Saliva - chemistry; Stress; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Symptoms; Treatment Outcomes; Victimology; Young Adult; cortisol; childhood maltreatment; externalizing; internalizing; emerging adulthood; Human; Corticosteroid; Steroid hormone; Antiinflammatory agent; Victimology; Hydrocortisone; Glucocorticoid; Stress; Behavioral disorder; Child abuse; Adrenal hormone; Young adult; Risk factor; Early traumatism; Mental disorder; Antecedent
• ISSN: 1077-5595; 1552-6119
• DOI: 10.1177/1077559514539753

Childhood maltreatment is an established risk factor for varying configurations of psychological problems in emerging adulthood. The current study tested associations between childhood maltreatment, cortisol reactivity, and current mental health symptoms in emerging adulthood. Eighty-eight participants (aged 18–22) completed measures of childhood maltreatment and current internalizing and externalizing symptoms and participated in a 10-min conflict role-play task. Salivary cortisol was sampled throughout the task, and a residualized change score between baseline and peak time points was computed to capture reactivity. Results from robust regression analyses indicated that cortisol reactivity moderated the association between childhood maltreatment and mental health symptoms as hypothesized. Childhood maltreatment was related to greater internalizing problems among participants with higher cortisol reactivity, whereas maltreatment was associated with greater externalizing problems among participants who exhibited lower cortisol reactivity. Results suggest that patterns of cortisol reactivity in emerging adulthood may help elucidate mental health outcomes associated with childhood maltreatment.