Reward Sensitivity, Cognitive Response Style, and Inflammatory Response to an Acute Stressor in Adolescents.

Inflammation is gaining support as a biological mediator between stress and many negative outcomes that have heightened risk during adolescence (e.g., mood disorders). Thus, an important line of inquiry is evaluating whether risk factors for mood psychopathology also are associated with heightened inflammatory responses to stress during this developmental period. Two prominent risk factors that interact to predict mood psychopathology are reward sensitivity and perseverative cognitive response styles, which also have been associated with heightened inflammatory proteins. These factors could influence inflammation by synergistically amplifying stress reactivity. Ninety-nine late adolescents (Mage = 18.3 years, range = 15.6-21.9 years) completed measures of reward sensitivity, cognitive response style, and blood draws before and 60-min after a modified Trier Social Stress Task to determine levels of inflammation. Higher reward drive interacted with more perseverative response style ratios (rumination relative to distraction + problem-solving) to predict larger increases in interleukin-6 (a proinflammatory protein). Follow-up analyses found that reward drive interacted with all three components of the ratio to predict change in interleukin-6. Thus, these results suggest that high reward drive and perseverative cognitive response styles are associated with increased inflammatory response to social stress in adolescents, a potential physiological mechanism linking these risk factors to mood psychopathology during this developmental period.

Latent classes of trait affect and cognitive affective regulation strategies are associated with depression, non-suicidal self-injury, and well-being.

BACKGROUND: The present study sought to better understand the unique profiles of late adolescents' affective functioning by exploring patterns of trait affect and cognitive affective regulation strategies. The study also examined whether these unique profiles significantly predicted depressive symptoms, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and well-being outcomes. METHODS: Data from a sample of 590 late adolescents were examined (M = 19.14 years, SD = 1.41, 63% Female, 62% Caucasian, 38% African American/Biracial). Participants were followed for an average of 14 months (SD = 2.53) and completed measures of trait affect, cognitive affective regulation, depression, NSSI, and well-being. Data were examined using latent class analysis. RESULTS: Five subgroups with unique patterns of affective functioning were identified. Late adolescents who reported above average levels of negative affect, dampening of positive affect, brooding, and reflection, coupled with below average levels of positive affect and positive rumination, were more likely to report having higher levels of depressive symptoms and greater engagement in NSSI during the one-year period prior to baseline. Similarly, the late adolescents fitting this profile also reported lower levels of well-being and were more likely to report engaging in NSSI at the follow-up. LIMITATIONS: Limitations include a narrow exploration of affective regulation strategies and the addition of key variables after the initiation of the larger study. CONCLUSIONS: These findings shed light on affective regulation factors relevant to the experience of depressive symptoms and NSSI, and the promotion of well-being.