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1. Emotion regulation strategy usage explains links between institutional caregiving and elevated internalizing symptoms

   https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.22078  

   Waizman, Yael H.; Méndez Leal, Adriana S.; Guassi Moreira, João F.; Saragosa‐Harris, Natalie M.; Ninova, Emilia; Silvers, Jennifer A. (January 2021, Developmental Psychobiology)

   null (Ed.)

   Early adversity, including institutional orphanage care, is associated with the development of internalizing disorders. Previous research suggests that institutionalization can disrupt emotion regulation processes, which contribute to internalizing symptoms. However, no prior work has investigated how early orphanage care shapes emotion regulation strategy usage (e.g., cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) and whether the said strategy usage contributes to internalizing symptoms. This study probed emotion regulation strategy usage and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 36 previously institutionalized and 58 comparison youth. As hypothesized, previously institutionalized youth exhibited higher rates of internalizing symptoms than comparison youth, and more frequent use of suppression partially accounted for the relationship between early institutional care and elevated internalizing symptoms. Contrary to our initial hypotheses, reappraisal use did not buffer previously institutionalized or comparison youth against internalizing symptoms. Our findings highlight the potential utility of targeting emotion regulation strategy usage in adversity‐exposed youth in future intervention work. 

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2. Mental health and music engagement: review, framework, and guidelines for future studies

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01483-8  

   Gustavson, Daniel E.; Coleman, Peyton L.; Iversen, John R.; Maes, Hermine H.; Gordon, Reyna L.; Lense, Miriam D. (June 2021, Translational Psychiatry)

   Abstract Is engaging with music good for your mental health? This question has long been the topic of empirical clinical and nonclinical investigations, with studies indicating positive associations between music engagement and quality of life, reduced depression or anxiety symptoms, and less frequent substance use. However, many earlier investigations were limited by small populations and methodological limitations, and it has also been suggested that aspects of music engagement may even be associated with worse mental health outcomes. The purpose of this scoping review is first to summarize the existing state of music engagement and mental health studies, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. We focus on broad domains of mental health diagnoses including internalizing psychopathology (e.g., depression and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses), externalizing psychopathology (e.g., substance use), and thought disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). Second, we propose a theoretical model to inform future work that describes the importance of simultaneously considering music-mental health associations at the levels of (1) correlated genetic and/or environmental influences vs. (bi)directional associations, (2) interactions with genetic risk factors, (3) treatment efficacy, and (4) mediation through brain structure and function. Finally, we describe how recent advances in large-scale data collection, including genetic, neuroimaging, and electronic health record studies, allow for a more rigorous examination of these associations that can also elucidate their neurobiological substrates. 

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3. Pre-pandemic mental health and brain characteristics predict adolescent stress and emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0334028  

   Risner, Matthew; Hu, Linfeng; Stamoulis, Catherine (October 2025, PLOS One)

   Seyedmirzaei, Homa (Ed.)

   The COVID-19 pandemic had profound effects on developing adolescents that, to date, remain incompletely understood. Youth with preexisting mental health problems and associated brain alterations were at increased risk for higher stress and poor mental health. This study investigated impacts of adolescent pre-pandemic mental health problems and their neural correlates on stress, negative emotions and poor mental health during the first 15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. N = 2,641 adolescents (median age = 12.0 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort were studied, who had pre-pandemic data on anxiety, depression, and behavioral (attention, aggression, social withdrawal, internalizing, externalizing) problems, longitudinal survey data on mental health, stress and emotions during the first 15 months following the outbreak, structural MRI, and resting-state fMRI. Data were analyzed using mixed effects mediation and moderation models. Preexisting mental health and behavioral problems predicted higher stress, negative affect and negative emotions (β = 0.09–0.21, CI=[0.03,0.32]), and lower positive affect (β = −0.21 to −0.09, CI=[−0.31,-0.01]) during the first ~6 months of the outbreak. Pre-pandemic structural characteristics of brain regions supporting social function and emotional processing (insula, superior temporal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, and the cerebellum) mediated some of these relationships (β = 0.10–0.15, CI=[0.01,0.24]). The organization of pre-pandemic brain circuits moderated (attenuated) associations between preexisting mental health and pandemic stress and negative emotions (β = −0.17 to −0.06, CI=[−0.27,-0.01]). Preexisting mental health problems and their structural brain correlates were risk factors for youth stress and negative emotions during the early months of the outbreak. In addition, the organization of some brain circuits was protective and attenuated the effects of preexisting mental health issues on youth responses to the pandemic’s stressors. 

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4. Developmental trajectories of internalizing distress among ethnic minoritized mothers following childbirth: Associations with early child psychological adjustment

   https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579422001031  

   Osornio, Alisha C; Lane, Sean P; Urizar, Guido G; Gonzalez, Araceli; Halim, May_Ling D (February 2024, Development and Psychopathology)

   Abstract A substantial body of work has established that mothers’ internalizing distress can negatively affect children’s socioemotional development. Yet few studies have examined how distinct patterns of mothers’ distress over time differentially impact child behaviors across early childhood. To address this gap, the current study explored developmental trajectories of mothers’ internalizing distress and examined the associations of these patterns with child adjustment outcomes. Mexican immigrant, Dominican immigrant, and African American mothers (N= 272) were annually assessed for internalizing distress over the first 6 years following childbirth. Children’s psychological adjustment (internalizing, externalizing, and hyperactivity behaviors) was measured at the last yearly assessment in first grade. A growth mixture model revealed two distinct classes of distress where mothers were classified as having low stable distress (82.4%) or moderate distress that began as stable then declined when their children were 64 months old (17.6%). Children of mothers in themoderate, late declineclass showed greater internalizing, externalizing, and hyperactivity behaviors in the first grade compared to children of mothers in thelow stableclass. Findings highlight the necessity of supporting the mental health of ethnic minoritized mothers following childbirth and further expand our knowledge of family psychopathology to promote healthy psychological adjustment in children. 

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5. Neural correlates of social withdrawal and preference for solitude in adolescence

   https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf260  

   Risner, Matthew; Stamoulis, Catherine (October 2025, Cerebral Cortex)

   Abstract Social isolation during development, especially in adolescence, has detrimental but incompletely understood effects on the brain. This study investigated the neural correlates of preference for solitude and social withdrawal in a sample of 2809 youth [median (IQR) age = 12.0 (1.1) years, 1440 (51.26%) females] from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. Older youth whose parents had mental health issues more frequently preferred solitude and/or were socially withdrawn (β = 0.04 to 0.14, CI = [0.002, 0.19], P < 0.05), both of which were associated with internalizing and externalizing behaviors, depression, and anxiety (β = 0.25 to 0.45, CI = [0.20, 0.49], P < 0.05). Youth who preferred solitude and/or were socially withdrawn had lower cortical thickness in regions involved in social function (cuneus, insula, anterior cingulate, and superior temporal gyri) and/or mental health (β = −0.09 to −0.02, CI = [−0.14, −0.003], P < 0.05), and higher amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and basal ganglia volume (β = 2.62 to 668.10, CI = [0.13, 668.10], P < 0.05). Youth who often preferred solitude had more topologically segregated dorsal attention, temporoparietal, and social networks (β = 0.07 to 0.10, CI = [0.02, 0.14], P ≤ 0.03). Socially withdrawn youth had a less topologically robust and efficient (β = −0.05 to −0.80, CI = [−1.34,−0.01], P < 0.03) and more fragile cerebellum (β = 0.04, CI = [0.01, 0.07], P < 0.05). These findings suggest that social isolation in adolescence may be a risk factor for widespread alterations in brain regions supporting social function and mental health. 

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