More Like this

1. Association of white matter hyperintensities and clinical vascular burden with depressive symptoms in Black older adults

   https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.6052  

   Bogoian, Hannah R; Barber, Sarah J; Carter, Sierra E; Mingo, Chivon; Rosano, Caterina; Dotson, Vonetta M (January 2024, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry)

   Abstract ObjectivesBlack older adults have a higher vascular burden compared to non‐Hispanic White (NHW) older adults, which may put them at risk for a form of depression known as vascular depression (VaDep). The literature examining VaDep in Black older adults is sparse. The current study addressed this important gap by examining whether vascular burden was associated with depressive symptoms in Black older adults. MethodsParticipants included 113 Black older adults from the Healthy Brain Project, a substudy of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study. In multiple regression analyses, clinical vascular burden (sum of vascular conditions) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume predicted depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, controlling for demographic variables. Follow‐up analyses compared the associations in the Black subsample and in 179 NHW older adults. ResultsHigher total WMH volume, but not clinically‐defined vascular burden, predicted higher concurrent depressive symptoms and higher average depressive symptoms over 4 years. Similar associations were found between uncinate fasciculus (UF) WMHs and concurrent depressive symptoms and between superior longitudinal fasciculus WMHs and average depressive symptoms. The association between depressive symptoms and UF WMH was stronger in Black compared to NHW individuals. ConclusionThis research is consistent with the VaDep hypothesis and extends it to Black older adults, a group that has historically been underrepresented in the literature. Results highlight WMH in the UF as particularly relevant to depressive symptoms in Black older adults and suggest this group may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of WMH. 

   more » « less
2. Ethnic-racial discrimination experiences and ethnic-racial identity predict adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment: Evidence for a compensatory risk-resilience model

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025420912013  

   Sladek, Michael R.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.; Oh, Grace; Spang, Mary Beth; Tirado, Liliana M.; Vega, Luz M.; McDermott, Elana R.; Wantchekon, Kristia A. (March 2020, International Journal of Behavioral Development)

   Theory and empirical evidence indicate that ethnic-racial discrimination serves as a risk factor for adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment, whereas ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development promotes positive youth adjustment and can mitigate the negative outcomes of discrimination-related risk. In Colombia, the legacies of an ethnic-racial hierarchy, mestizaje ideology (i.e., the assumption that everyone is racially mixed), and contemporary multiculturalism education reforms create a unique context for understanding adolescents’ experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination, ERI development, and their implications for psychosocial adjustment. In this study of Colombian adolescents (N = 462; Mage = 15.90 years; 47.3% female), almost 40% of participants reported experiencing ethnic-racial-based discrimination. Experiencing more frequent ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with lower self-esteem and higher depressive symptoms, whereas higher ERI resolution (i.e., gaining sense of clarity about ethnic-racial group membership) and affirmation (i.e., feeling positively about ethnic-racial group membership) were associated with higher self-esteem and lower depressive symptoms. ERI exploration (i.e., learning history and gaining knowledge about ethnic-racial group membership) was also associated with higher self-esteem and moderated the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms, such that this association was stronger at higher compared to lower levels of ERI exploration. Findings provide novel evidence for ethnic-racial-related risk and resilience processes among Colombian youth. 

   more » « less
3. Linking ADHD to Depression in Adolescents: the Mediating Role of Social Skills

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-026-01430-5  

   Loomis, Allison M; Hightower-Henson, Sierra R; Evans, Steven W; DuPaul, George J (April 2026, Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology)

   Abstract Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at a higher risk for developing depression than their peers. One potential explanation for this increased risk is that adolescents with ADHD often have impaired social skills, which may interfere with successful social interactions and connections, and subsequently lead to low self-worth and depression. We hypothesized that global social skills and social skill factors most related to friendships (communication, cooperation, engagement, and empathy) would mediate the positive relation between ADHD symptom severity and depression. Additionally, we investigated whether global social skills would mediate the relations between ADHD symptom severity and four facets of depression (negative self-evaluation, anhedonia, dysphoric mood, and somatic complaints). Our sample included 335 adolescents with ADHD in grades 6–11 who participated in an intervention study. Parent-reported ADHD symptoms were measured at or before baseline, parent-reported social skills (global and several subscales) were measured one year later, and self-reported depression was measured 1.5 years after baseline. Global social skills mediated (1) the relation between ADHD and depression and (2) the relation between ADHD and negative self-evaluation. Cooperation, communication, empathy, and responsibility individually mediated the relation between ADHD and depression, and assertion, self-control, and engagement did not. 

   more » « less
4. 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. 

   more » « less
5. Reactive, Agentic, Apathetic, or Challenged? Aging, Emotion, and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic

   https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa196  

   Young, Nathaniel A; Waugh, Christian E; Minton, Alyssa R; Charles, Susan T; Haase, Claudia M; Mikels, Joseph A (December 2020, The Gerontologist)

   Meeks, Suzanne (Ed.)

   Abstract Background and Objectives Advanced age is generally associated with improved emotional well-being, but the coronavirus 2019 pandemic unleashed a global stressor that gravely threatened the physical well-being and ostensibly challenged the emotional well-being of older adults disproportionately. The current study investigated differences in emotional experiences and coping strategies between younger and older adults during the pandemic, and whether these differences were accounted for by age differences in appraisal of the pandemic. Research Design and Methods We asked younger (n = 181) and older (n = 176) adult participants to report their stress, appraisals of the pandemic, emotions, and the ways in which they were coping with the pandemic. Results Results indicated that older adults experienced less stress and less negative affect and used greater problem-focused coping and less avoidant coping in response to the pandemic than younger adults. Furthermore, age differences in affect and coping were partially accounted for by age differences in appraisals of the pandemic. Discussion and Implications Despite their objectively higher risk of illness and death due to the pandemic, older adults experienced less negative affect and used more agentic coping strategies than younger adults. 

   more » « less