The Unique and Interactive Effects of Threat and Deprivation Adversity on Emerging Adults’ Latent Trait Cortisol (LTC)

Abstract

The mechanisms through which early adversity predicts psychopathology differ for threat (e.g., assault) versus deprivation (e.g., neglect) adversity. Threat, but not deprivation, adversity is linked to hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity, but whether this effect is modified by co-occurring adversities has not been examined. Here we tested whether threat adversity, deprivation adversity, and their interaction were related to latent trait cortisol (LTC), and whether other co-occurring adversities modified effects. Emerging adults (n=90) provided saliva samples 4 times per day during three 3-day sampling waves spanning 13 weeks. Contextual stress interviews assessed early adversity before age 18. An across-wave LTC factor was identified (CFI=.93, RMSEA=.05). Path models revealed that threat, but not deprivation, adversity was related to the across-wave LTC. Specifically, a greater frequency of threat adversity was related to lower across-wave LTC (β= -.40; p=.04), regardless of level of co-occurring deprivation adversity (ps>.05). Greater severity of threat adversity was also related to lower LTC, but only when deprivation adversity was lower in severity (b= -.03; p=.04). Finally, the effect of threat adversity on the across-wave LTC was stronger when co-occurring non-threat adversity was lower in severity (b= -.03; p=.01) and frequency (b= -.03; p=.01). Findings suggest that the impact of threat adversity on LTC depends upon its conceptualization and the context in which it occurs. These results help to identify for whom and under what circumstances threat adversity predicts lower LTC, a potential pathway to later psychopathology.