The long-term goal of this project is to identify early temperamental/emotional precursors of major depressive disorder (MDD) and to trace the pathways from early temperamental emotionality to the development of MDD in order to provide a basis for the early identification of children at risk and for understanding how and when to intervene to prevent the onset or escalation of the disorder. This is a continuation of a longitudinal study of a large community sample of children (N = 559) who completed intensive assessments at ages 3 and 6, and whom we seek to re-evaluate at age 9. The goal of the current proposal is to map the pathways from early low positive emotionality (PE) and high negative emotionality (NE) to a set of intermediate outcomes in middle childhood that may serve as more proximal risk factors that set the stage for, and mediate, the surge in depressive disorders expected in adolescence and young adulthood. We hypothesize that low PE and high NE in early childhood will predict abnormalities in three important domains in middle childhood that may constitute intermediate outcomes on pathways to the development of MDD: (1) abnormalities in the processing of emotional information, assessed using behavioral and electrocortical laboratory paradigms;(2) one form of limbic hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation - elevated morning cortisol levels;and (3) subclinical depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms/disorders. In addition, we will explore whether these intermediate outcomes differ as a function of sex and are associated with individual differences in the early phase of pubertal maturation (adrenarche). Finally, we will test the hypothesis that associations of early genetic and familial risk factors with emotional processing biases, elevated morning cortisol, and depressive and anxiety symptoms in middle childhood are mediated by early temperamental emotionality.

Public Health Relevance

The depressive disorders are highly prevalent and associated with significant mortality, morbidity, and economic costs. This project seeks to identify early behavioral precursors/risk factors for depression and understand the neurobiological and psychosocial processes through which these early manifestations develop into clinically significant disorders. This will contribute to understanding when and how to intervene in order to prevent the disorder and/or its progression.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH069942-09
Application #
8464268
Study Section
Child Psychopathology and Developmental Disabilities Study Section (CPDD)
Program Officer
Garriock, Holly A
Project Start
2003-12-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2013-05-01
Budget End
2014-04-30
Support Year
9
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$688,413
Indirect Cost
$246,012
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Olino, Thomas M; Finsaas, Megan; Dougherty, Lea R et al. (2018) Is Parent-Child Disagreement on Child Anxiety Explained by Differences in Measurement Properties? An Examination of Measurement Invariance Across Informants and Time. Front Psychol 9:1295
Goldstein, Brandon L; Shankman, Stewart A; Kujawa, Autumn et al. (2018) Positive and Negative Emotionality at Age 3 Predicts Change in Frontal EEG Asymmetry across Early Childhood. J Abnorm Child Psychol :
Black, Sarah R; Lerner, Matthew D; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A et al. (2018) Patterns of neuroendocrine coupling in 9-year-old children: Effects of sex, body-mass index, and life stress. Biol Psychol 132:252-259
Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C; Cyr, Marilyn; Finsaas, Megan C et al. (2018) Early Childhood Parenting Predicts Late Childhood Brain Functional Connectivity During Emotion Perception and Reward Processing. Child Dev :
Meyer, Alexandria; Hajcak, Greg; Hayden, Elizabeth et al. (2018) A genetic variant brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism interacts with hostile parenting to predict error-related brain activity and thereby risk for internalizing disorders in children. Dev Psychopathol 30:125-141
Kryski, Katie R; Olino, Thomas M; Dyson, Margaret W et al. (2018) Associations between observed temperament in preschoolers and parent psychopathology. Personal Ment Health 12:131-144
Carlson, Gabrielle A; Klein, Daniel N (2018) Commentary: Frying pan to fire? Commentary on Stringaris et al. (2018). J Child Psychol Psychiatry 59:740-743
Meyer, Alexandria; Hajcak, Greg; Torpey-Newman, Dana et al. (2018) Early temperamental fearfulness and the developmental trajectory of error-related brain activity. Dev Psychobiol 60:224-231
Frost, Allison; Kessel, Ellen; Black, Sarah et al. (2018) Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of internalizing and externalizing symptoms from ages 3 to 12: The moderating role of diurnal cortisol. Dev Psychopathol :1-10
Finsaas, Megan C; Bufferd, Sara J; Dougherty, Lea R et al. (2018) Preschool psychiatric disorders: homotypic and heterotypic continuity through middle childhood and early adolescence. Psychol Med 48:2159-2168

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