Bosmans G, Houbrechts M, Weyn S
… +5 more, Goossens L, Van Leeuwen K, Bijttebier P, Van den Noortgate W, Lionetti F
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41147251
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Supportive parenting experiences link to secure attachment development, and secure attachment in turn links to children's emotional well-being. However, little is known whether child-factors, like their environmental sen...Supportive parenting experiences link to secure attachment development, and secure attachment in turn links to children's emotional well-being. However, little is known whether child-factors, like their environmental sensitivity, moderate these associations for better or for worse. We used longitudinal data (three data waves spanning two years) from 614 children (Wave 1: = 10.28; = 0.58; 44% boys). At all waves, attachment was operationalized as children's knowledge of the Secure Base Script with a coded narrative task. Children filled out questionnaires on supportive parenting, their environmental sensitivity and their depressive symptoms. Parents filled out questionnaires on children's internalizing problems. Results: environmental sensitivity moderated the link between supportive parenting and attachment. More sensitive children that perceived their parents as less supportive less likely developed SBS knowledge. Further, environmental sensitivity moderated the link between SBS knowledge and the development of internalizing problems. More sensitive children with less SBS knowledge developed more internalizing problems. The findings support the importance of accounting for environmental sensitivity in attachment research.
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41131889
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Traditionally, early life adversity research has focused on negative outcomes. Contrastingly, the hidden talents framework asserts that many individuals develop specialized abilities as a direct result of their adversity...Traditionally, early life adversity research has focused on negative outcomes. Contrastingly, the hidden talents framework asserts that many individuals develop specialized abilities as a direct result of their adversity exposure. This framework serves as the foundation for the current study, which systematically reviews extant empirical studies investigating hidden talents or stress-adapted skills in individuals who have experienced early adversity. Synthesizing data through a developmental lens, this review examines how these skills manifest at different stages of development. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, we searched four databases and identified 45 eligible studies. Data on country of origin, sample size, predictor and outcome themes, and participant characteristics were extracted. Categorized into cognitive, social, and physiological domains, findings reveal that early adversity was associated with adaptive skills aligned with environmental demands (e.g., heightened emotional awareness, intuitive decision-making, empathy). While cognitive adaptations were the most studied, social and physiological adaptations remain underexplored. Some studies also reported null effects. Future directions include calls for examination of developmental pathways, longitudinal designs, diverse sampling, and culturally responsive approaches to better understand hidden talents and inform strength-based interventions.
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41131884
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Early deprivation holds far-reaching implications for academic performance in adolescence. Yet, the implicated cascading mechanisms remain under-delineated, and little is known about why children may display diverse patt...Early deprivation holds far-reaching implications for academic performance in adolescence. Yet, the implicated cascading mechanisms remain under-delineated, and little is known about why children may display diverse patterns of cognitive development. To address such gaps, we leveraged long-term longitudinal data derived from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( = 2,085). Results indicated that early deprivation (age 3, caregivers' reports and observers' ratings; controlling for early threat and unpredictability) was negatively associated with adolescent academic performance (age 15, adolescents' reports) indirectly through a negative association with cognitive ability in middle childhood (age 9, standardized tests). Furthermore, such an indirect effect was less pronounced among children with higher (versus lower) negative emotionality (age 1, mothers' ratings), given that the negative link between early deprivation and subsequent cognitive ability was weaker among children with higher (versus lower) negative emotionality. Breaking down cognitive ability into sub-components (i.e., working memory, language ability, reading comprehension, and problem-solving), both language ability and applied problem-solving were involved in the deprivation-emotionality interaction. These findings highlight the critical role of cognitive ability in accounting for the long-term academic consequences of early deprivation and the key role of negative emotionality in shaping heterogeneity in such pathways.
Ouellet-Morin I, Geoffroy MC, Louis P
… +11 more, Voronin I, Morneau-Vaillancourt G, Langevin R, Collin-Vézina D, Giguère CE, Bouliane M, Petitclerc A, Brendgen M, Vitaro F, Tremblay RE, Boivin M
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41111315
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BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment is a robust predictor of aggression. Research indicates that both maltreatment experiences and aggression are moderately heritable. It has been hypothesized that gene-environment correl...BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment is a robust predictor of aggression. Research indicates that both maltreatment experiences and aggression are moderately heritable. It has been hypothesized that gene-environment correlation may be at play, whereby genetic predispositions to aggression in parents and children may be confounded with family environments conducive to its expression. Building on this framework, we tested whether maltreatment mediates the association between a polygenic score for aggression (PGS) and school-age aggression, and whether this varied for reactive and proactive aggression. METHODS: The sample comprised 721 participants (44.9% males; 99.0% White) with prospective assessments of maltreatment from 5 months to 12 years (10 assessments;1998-2010), and teachers-reported aggression from ages 6 to 13 (6 assessments; 2004-2011). The PGS was derived using a Bayesian estimation method (PRS-CS). RESULTS: PGS was associated with most aggression measures across specific ages and trajectories. Maltreatment experiences partially mediated the association between PGS and the Childhood-Limited trajectory of reactive - but not proactive - aggression. CONCLUSION: Children with higher genetic propensities for aggression were more likely to experience maltreatment, which partly explained the association between PGS and a Childhood-Limited trajectory of reactive aggression during elementary school. This finding reinforces the possibility of confounding influences between genetic liability for aggression and maltreatment experiences.
Xu H, Jarrett MA, Boxmeyer CL
… +6 more, Xiong Y, Bui C, Powell NP, Ward VR, Gifford O, White BA
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41098147
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Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, characterized by lack of empathy, guilt, and deficient affect, are linked to facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits in children. While anxiety is also associated with FER anomalies, th...Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, characterized by lack of empathy, guilt, and deficient affect, are linked to facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits in children. While anxiety is also associated with FER anomalies, these relationships are often examined in isolation despite co-occurrence. This study aims to concurrently investigate unique contributions of CU traits and anxiety on children's FER patterns. We recruited 107 children aged 6 to 11 from community settings, assessing CU traits through caregiver reports and anxiety via caregiver and child reports. FER performance was evaluated using a computer-based task. Results indicate that CU traits negatively impact overall FER accuracy, particularly when controlling for parent-reported anxiety. CU traits were inversely related to total FER accuracy for children self-reporting high anxiety levels. These findings enhance our understanding of how CU traits and anxiety interact to influence FER deficits, suggesting that interventions targeting CU traits should consider anxiety symptoms as a critical factor in emotional processing challenges among children.
Elam KK, Shaw D, Westling E
… +2 more, Brown-Iannuzzi J, Lemery-Chalfant K
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41084149
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Research finds genetic predisposition for depression is associated with increases in depression across adolescence and adulthood. In turn, depressive symptoms in adolescence are associated with substance use. However, th...Research finds genetic predisposition for depression is associated with increases in depression across adolescence and adulthood. In turn, depressive symptoms in adolescence are associated with substance use. However, there has been modest examination of genetic predisposition for depression, growth in depressive symptoms, and substance use from late childhood through adolescence, and mostly in White samples. Also, psychosocial interventions can attenuate associations between genetic predisposition and psychopathology, a genotype by intervention (GxI) effect. We examined associations among polygenic risk for depression, growth in depressive symptoms from age 7 to 16, and substance use at age 16, as well as moderation by a family-based preventive intervention. Participants were African-ancestry ( = 154) and European-ancestry ( = 219) youth from the Early Steps Multisite Study, half of whom participated in the Family Check-Up intervention. A small polygenic by intervention effect was found on reductions in depressive symptoms for African-ancestry youth, and growth in depressive symptoms was positively associated with substance use at age 16. In sensitivity analyses, a small GxI effect was detected in European-ancestry youth on reductions in depressive symptom slopes from age 10 to 16. These findings highlight how early intervention can buffer genetic effects on depressive symptoms over time.
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41070449
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Theoretical perspectives propose that positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are associated with adult mental health symptoms. The aim of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlations betwe...Theoretical perspectives propose that positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are associated with adult mental health symptoms. The aim of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlations between PCEs and adult mental health symptoms. 41 unique studies ( = 74,492) were included. Significant, negative, medium-to-large, effects were observed between PCEs and each mental health symptom (medium-to-large for overall mental health: = -.268; and depression: = -.273; for anxiety: = -.246; and PTSD: = -.243), indicating that higher levels of PCEs are linked to fewer mental health difficulties in adulthood. Meta-regression analyses identified current age at the time of mental health assessment and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as significant moderators. Specifically, the promotive effects of PCEs were stronger among younger adults and weakened with higher ACEs exposure, particularly in relation to overall adult mental health symptoms, depression, PTSD, and anxiety. In contrast, no significant moderation effects were found for sex or the type of PCEs measurement tool used. Integrated prevention frameworks that combine ACEs prevention with PCEs promotion can enhance mental health across the lifespan by addressing both risk and promotive pathways and providing developmentally tailored support.
Sellars E, Oliver BR, Leijten P
… +1 more, Bowes L
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41070437
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Child maltreatment increases the risk of emotional and behavioral problems, yet many children demonstrate resilience, functioning better than expected given their level of maltreatment exposure. Although resilience is a...Child maltreatment increases the risk of emotional and behavioral problems, yet many children demonstrate resilience, functioning better than expected given their level of maltreatment exposure. Although resilience is a dynamic process shaped by children's social support, including friendships, how different patterns of resilience and friendship support unfold together across development remains unclear. To better understand this process, we examined how patterns of emotional resilience, behavioral resilience, and friendship support co-develop across childhood and adolescence. We used group-based multi-trajectory modeling with data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children ( = 6, 518, 51% female) to identify distinct patterns of emotional and behavioral resilience (doing better-than-expected given their level of maltreatment exposure) and friendship support, across five timepoints from ages 6 to 17 years. We identified five trajectory groups. Nearly half the sample maintained high emotional and behavioral resilience and friendship support across development. While resilience trajectories varied, friendship support was generally high across groups. Most children followed trajectories of high resilience and perceived friendship support. Even among children with lower emotional and/or behavioral resilience trajectories, friendship support remained high, an encouraging finding. Future research should examine how children's other relationships (e.g., with parents and siblings) unfold alongside resilience.
Lazić M, Adams S, Aritio-Solana R
… +72 more, Aryanto CB, Avsec A, Bakhshi A, Bender M, Berjot S, Betancourth Zambrano S, Brajša-Žganec A, Broche-Pérez Y, Buzea C, Cabello R, Carreca V, Cassibba R, Cavazos-Arroyo J, Daemi F, Díaz-Guerra DD, Džida M, Eidelsburger M, Fernández-Berrocal P, Fernández-Castillo E, Fonseca-Pedrero E, Frackowiak T, Freire T, Gavrilov-Jerković V, Gjoneska B, Guerrero-Alcedo J, Hossain MJ, Hillekens J, Höfer S, Mahmud T, Iqbal N, Jámbori S, Joshanloo M, Kaliterna Lipovčan L, Kavčič T, Kowal M, Krstevska Taseva M, Tong KK, Manrique-Millones D, Misiak M, Musso P, Obradović V, Ortuño-Sierra J, Orzea I, Özaslan A, Park J, Pašić M, Pilkauskaitė Valickienė R, Puente-Díaz R, Puerta-Sierra L, Ristevska Dimitrovska G, Roberts SC, Ronauli PT, Savahl S, Serapinas D, Kuan SI, Sorokowska A, Sorokowski P, Sulejmanović D, Sultana MS, Yuen SM, Szél E, Šakan D, Tilga H, Tomašević A, Unanue W, Unanue J, van Egmond M, Yıldırım M, Zager Kocjan G, Zamarian L, Zotović-Kostić M, Jovanović V
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41054289
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The present study investigated the cross-national measurement invariance of a 10-item Youth Externalizing Problems Screener (YEPS) on a sample of 17,489 adolescents from 32 countries. The original one-factor and two-fact...The present study investigated the cross-national measurement invariance of a 10-item Youth Externalizing Problems Screener (YEPS) on a sample of 17,489 adolescents from 32 countries. The original one-factor and two-factor models of YEPS were found to provide a poor fit to the data in most countries. Following the removal of two semantically overlapping items and the inclusion of correlated error terms, adequate model fit was obtained in 31 of 32 countries. Measurement invariance testing of an abbreviated 8-item YEPS (YEPS-SF) supported configural invariance. Partial scalar invariance was achieved only after freely estimating numerous parameters. The alignment analysis revealed that 22% of parameters were non-invariant across countries. South Africa, Hungary, and India showed the largest number of non-invariant parameters, whereas the lowest number was detected in several European countries. These findings highlight the potential of the YEPS-SF for use within individual countries and the challenge of developing cross-culturally comparable measures, suggesting that cultural adaptations may be necessary.
Fictorie V, Schuengel C, de Moor MHM
… +5 more, Xerxa Y, Tierolf B, Jonkman CS, Visser M, Steketee M
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Oct · PMID 41047908
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Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) have been observed in children exposed to family violence. Although functioning improves for many children after cessation of violence, pathways to recovery are poorly understood. This...Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) have been observed in children exposed to family violence. Although functioning improves for many children after cessation of violence, pathways to recovery are poorly understood. This study tests the mediating pathways between changes in family violence and children's PTS through children's emotional security, parental stress, and parents' PTS. We used longitudinal data of 562 children and their parents who were referred to child protection service. Data included three waves over a one and a half years period. Questionnaire data of both children and parents were analyzed in R Lavaan with Random Intercept Cross Lagged Panel Models to examine intrafamilial associations. Child-reported, but not parent-reported, decreases in family violence predicted decreases in child PTS from the first to the second wave. Changes in parental stress, parent PTS, and emotional security did not mediate the associations between change in family violence and child PTS. We found in exploratory analyses that decreases in parental stress predicted decreases in parent-reported family violence. The results emphasize the importance of reducing family violence for children to recover from PTS. Parental stress may be a factor in restoring safety.
While empathy is often seen as a resilience factor, emotional resonance with others' suffering may increase psychological vulnerability during mass trauma exposure, particularly in youth. Since the role of early empathy...While empathy is often seen as a resilience factor, emotional resonance with others' suffering may increase psychological vulnerability during mass trauma exposure, particularly in youth. Since the role of early empathy as a prospective risk factor remains understudied, we used a decade-long longitudinal design to examine whether empathic reactions in childhood predicted early adolescents' internalizing (depression and anxiety) symptoms following the October 7th attack and the Israel-Hamas war. Empathic distress was assessed at age 1.5 years and age 3 years through observational tasks. Emotional empathy and internalizing symptoms were self-reported at age 11 years, before the war, and reported again after its outbreak. Findings showed substantial internalizing symptoms during the war, with 31% of participants exceeding the clinical cutoff for anxiety and 23% for depression. Non of the empathy measures predicted internalizing symptoms before the war. However, during the war, empathic distress at age 1.5 and emotional empathy at age 11 predicted internalizing symptoms, controlling for negative emotionality and prior internalizing symptoms. Path analysis also linked empathic distress at age 3 to internalizing symptoms during war. Findings suggest that early empathic reactions may increase vulnerability to internalizing symptoms during mass trauma but not in non-traumatic contexts, aligning with a diathesis-stress model. Understanding empathy's role in risk and resilience can inform interventions for youth exposed to war.
Cárdenas SI, Truong V, Flores G
… +3 more, Yeh FC, Saxbe DE, Rajagopalan V
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40977197
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Fathers have a unique and critical role in children's development, but limited empirical studies have examined prenatal predictors of fathers' parenting behaviors. Exposure to early life stressors may alter adult brain w...Fathers have a unique and critical role in children's development, but limited empirical studies have examined prenatal predictors of fathers' parenting behaviors. Exposure to early life stressors may alter adult brain white matter fibers, especially in fibers supporting optimal cognitive and emotional functioning. As such, men with experiences of early life stressors, such as risky family environments, may enter parenthood with neurobiological differences that impact their ability to provide optimal parenting. Few studies focus on early life stressors on men's prenatal neurobiology and subsequent parenting outcomes. This study of first-time fathers ( = 41; = 31.81 years; 32% Hispanic; 32% White; 24% Asian American; 7% Black; 5% Multiracial) investigated whether risky family environments would be associated with prenatal white matter organization and postpartum parenting (infants' = 6.96 months). White matter organization was quantified through fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of the directionality of the fibers within the tissue. Fathers reporting riskier family environments exhibited lower FA in white matter tracts like fornix and cingulum, which support connections between brain areas underlying memory and emotion regulation. Lower FA in these regions predicted less effective parenting postpartum. Findings provide insight into intergenerational transmission of family risk.
Empirical literature on the trajectory of task performance in children is currently scarce. Therefore, this study investigates both the developmental trajectory of flanker task performance in children and the association...Empirical literature on the trajectory of task performance in children is currently scarce. Therefore, this study investigates both the developmental trajectory of flanker task performance in children and the association with the development of teacher-reported problem behavior. Five waves of flanker performance and behavioral and emotional problems were drawn from a large longitudinal sample of elementary school children in the Netherlands (1424 children, ages 7 to 12 years). Latent growth curve modeling (LGM) identified a piecewise decrease in flanker response time: the steepest decline was found from 7 to 9 years old. Boys had lower levels of response time at age 7 than girls. Children showed a linear decrease in behavioral and emotional problems over time. Parallel LGMs revealed that lower levels of initial flanker response time were associated with a stronger decrease in anxiety problems and oppositional defiant-related behavior. A faster decline in response time was associated with a faster decline in depression problems, attention deficit hyperactivity-, and oppositional defiant-related behavior. Results offer insight into the normative development of performance monitoring in childhood and the link between behavioral measures of performance monitoring and behavioral and emotional problems. Future research should focus on the directionality of the association between performance monitoring and psychopathology.
Eales L, Wiglesworth A, Cullen KR
… +1 more, Klimes-Dougan B
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40970449
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This study assesses the relation between screen time, problematic media use behaviors, and clinical concerns (internalizing and externalizing problems) and suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury within race/ethni...This study assesses the relation between screen time, problematic media use behaviors, and clinical concerns (internalizing and externalizing problems) and suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury within race/ethnicity and sex in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (youth aged 11 to 12; = 10,052). Understanding behaviors around screens (problematic media use), rather than focusing on screen time alone is useful in guiding clinical recommendations. In this analysis, regression models indicated that problematic media use consistently predicted clinical concerns with a larger effect size than screen media use. When examining how problematic media use and screen media use related to clinical concerns along domains of race/ethnicity and sex, problematic media use was a more consistent predictor of clinical concerns than screen media use for almost every race/ethnicity (except American Indian/Alaska Native participants). Problematic media use was also a consistent predictor of clinical concerns for both males and females, with some difference in screen media use predictors. This study has implications for the utility of assessing screen media use in research on clinical concerns in youth, and further suggests that researchers and clinicians should consider behaviors around screens in addition to screen time itself when assessing for impact on mental health.
Wang FL, Duong S, Joseph HM
… +2 more, Kennedy TM, Hartman C
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40958612
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It is well-established that adolescents' temperament trajectories predict future psychopathology. Less well understood is how temperament traits co-develop from adolescence to young adulthood. We characterized how youths...It is well-established that adolescents' temperament trajectories predict future psychopathology. Less well understood is how temperament traits co-develop from adolescence to young adulthood. We characterized how youths' trajectories of effortful control, frustration, affiliation, and shyness formed multi-trajectory groups and examined their associations with adulthood psychopathology and polygenic risk scores (PRS). Participants were drawn from a larger longitudinal cohort ( = 1412). Effortful control, frustration, affiliation, and shyness were measured four times from ages 10-23. Adulthood internalizing and externalizing problems were measured at ages 24-27. PRS for externalizing problems and major depressive disorder were calculated. Group-based multi-trajectory analyses showed that a five-group model fit best, including " on all temperament traits, and exuberant, on all traits, and inhibited, and groups that differed on both the levels and slopes of temperament traits over time. The group showed the highest, and the lowest, externalizing PRS scores. The group showed heightened scores on the depression PRS. We found specific linkages between the group and withdrawn/depressed symptoms and the and groups with externalizing problems. Findings shed light on developmental patterns of temperament in adolescence-to-adulthood and unique combinations of temperament trajectories with specific linkages to etiologic factors and psychopathology.
Lindenmuth M, Chen YY, Lee TH
… +4 more, Lee J, Ollendick T, Casas B, Kim-Spoon J
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40954989
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It is well established that childhood adversity is associated with both negative physical and mental health outcomes. Recent research posits that 1) there may be developmental periods for which the effects of adversity a...It is well established that childhood adversity is associated with both negative physical and mental health outcomes. Recent research posits that 1) there may be developmental periods for which the effects of adversity are most influential on brain development and 2) abuse and neglect may be associated with different developmental mechanisms linking psychopathology. This study used seven years of longitudinal data to investigate how abuse and neglect during three developmental periods (early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence), as well as chronicity of maltreatment across these developmental periods, are associated with young adult mental health outcomes (ages 20-21), and how changes in adolescent task-based functional connectivity during cognitive control (between ages 14-15 and 18-20 years) may mediate these associations. Hypothesized mediation models were tested via structural equation modeling (SEM). Significant indirect effects indicated that chronic abuse predicted higher depressive symptoms and higher substance use through stronger dACC-insula connectivity. In contrast, significant indirect effects revealed that neglect during adolescence predicted lower substance use and lower depressive symptoms through weaker dACC-insula connectivity. These results suggest that differential patterns of connectivity changes within the salience network during cognitive control may be associated with risk and resilience for future depression and substance use in young adulthood.
Hinchey LM, Alahmad R, Gorski K
… +5 more, Jenuwine M, Nugent N, Rosenberg D, Mohiddin T, Javanbakht A
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40948234
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Refugee youth are at high risk for trauma-related disorders - outcomes not only the result of pre-migration trauma, but consequences of diverse post-migration stressors. This study identified individual, parental, and en...Refugee youth are at high risk for trauma-related disorders - outcomes not only the result of pre-migration trauma, but consequences of diverse post-migration stressors. This study identified individual, parental, and environmental factors - some potentially modifiable - associated with trajectories of psychological risk and resilience in 291 Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth during resettlement in the U.S. Data was collected at arrival and at two follow-up visits up to 7 years post-arrival. Linear mixed modeling assessed predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression trajectories. Victimization trauma (i.e., assault) and lower maternal subjective social status predicted more severe PTSD ( = .046, = .07; < .001, = .23) and anxiety ( = .008, = .05; = .002, = .11) trajectories in youth. Paternal unemployment predicted less stable PTSD ( = .009, = .13) and anxiety ( < .001, = .10) trajectories. More severe depression trajectories were associated with female sex ( = .045, = .06) and death threat traumas ( = .014, = .07). Findings identified predictors of long-term risk and resilience for refugee youth, as well as potentially modifiable ecological risk factors. Victimization and death threat trauma exposure could be salient in identifying youth at high risk for trauma-related symptoms early in resettlement. Indicators of financial security were also associated with symptoms, suggesting environmental intervention targets.
Suicide rates are increasing rapidly among Black children and adolescents, calling for novel approaches to understanding their unique risk factors. The Structural Racism and Suicide Prevention Systems Framework offers a...Suicide rates are increasing rapidly among Black children and adolescents, calling for novel approaches to understanding their unique risk factors. The Structural Racism and Suicide Prevention Systems Framework offers a new culturally responsive theory that structural racism is an underlying mechanism for disparities in suicide among ethnoracial marginalized youth. Thus, a deeper analysis of the intersection of racism and systems to better understand suicide risk and create more effective targeted interventions for Black youth is imperative. The current systematic review comprehensively evaluated and synthesized the empirical literature regarding the relationship between structural racism and suicide risk among Black youth. 17 studies from 3 database searches, published between 2013 and 2024 are presented. Results revealed a positive relationship between structural racism and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among Black youth. Systems that particularly facilitate the perpetration of racism toward Black youth include schools, criminal justice, and income inequality. Findings serve as a call to action to incorporate more socioecological models into suicide prevention research focused on Black youth. Understanding the depth and scope of how racism contributes to suicide risk provides key targets for prevention and intervention strategies that are specific to individuals belonging to this group at disparate risk for suicide.
Cortright C, An D, Lansford JE
… +19 more, Bornstein MH, Chang L, Deater-Deckard K, Di Giunta L, Dodge KA, Gurdal S, Junla D, Liu Q, Long Q, Oburu P, Pastorelli C, Skinner AT, Sorbring E, Steinberg L, Uribe Tirado LM, Yotanyamaneewong S, Alampay LP, Al-Hassan SM, Bacchini D
Dev Psychopathol
· 2025 Sep · PMID 40948212
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Previous research has suggested bidirectional relations between depressive symptoms and both internal and external core beliefs (self-esteem and optimism, respectively) in adolescence. However, little work has examined t...Previous research has suggested bidirectional relations between depressive symptoms and both internal and external core beliefs (self-esteem and optimism, respectively) in adolescence. However, little work has examined the cultural commonality versus specificity of these developmental pathways in adolescence across diverse contexts. To address this gap, the current study traced bidirectional associations among depressive symptoms and two forms of core beliefs (self-esteem and optimism) in adolescents from 12 cultural groups in nine countries. Longitudinal data were collected from 1,090 adolescents at ages 15 and 17. Significant associations emerged between age 15 depressive symptoms and both age 17 core beliefs across all cultural groups except Sweden. No significant associations between age 15 core beliefs and age 17 depressive symptoms were found in the multigroup model. However, the pathways from core beliefs to depressive symptoms and from depressive symptoms to core beliefs did not significantly differ in strength. These findings provide cross-cultural evidence for the scar theory (depressive symptoms → core beliefs), but no clear support for the vulnerability theory (core beliefs → depressive symptoms), perhaps due to the measurement and stability of depression. These findings have implications for understanding the adolescent development of psychopathology and cognitions, such as core beliefs, across diverse cultures.