Dimensions Of Threat Research Articles

Regional Multidimensional Attitudes Towards Immigration: Evidence from the European Social Survey Using Small Area Estimation

The present article is the first empirical investigation of attitudes towards immigration in Europe via small area estimation providing reliable regional estimates across European regions. Four dimensions of regional attitudes are considered, i.e., restrictive attitudes towards specific groups, restrictive attitudes towards acquired criteria, threat, and restrictive attitudes towards ascribed criteria. We produce maps of these, as well as validation outputs, demonstrating that our estimates are reliable, hence, have a strong potential in informing policy makers. We show that, although there is a large between-country variation of these attitudes, there are also large spatial differences between-region in some countries. Overall, Swedish public attitudes tend to be quite homogeneous across regions, and located towards the positive side, whereas Eastern European countries tend to show negative attitudes across all the dimensions apart from the acquired criteria. However, in these countries, we can see larger spatial differences across regions, especially in the ascribed criteria and attitudes towards specific groups indicator. In general, the threat dimension does not show a large between-region variability, compared to the other three dimensions.

Enhancing Economic Security through Intellectual Property

Intellectual property has a key role in ensuring national economic security. It is being constantly challenged and multiple risks affect its adequate application. Intellectual property threats need to be addressed on government, company and individual level to tackle serious security risks and prevent damages. The article reviews relevant policies and strategies, which need to be put in place, in view of the adoption of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence. It also discusses the elements of a robust and systemic economic model, which would enable monitoring and assessing the risks and multiple dimensions of IP threats in their interaction with the digital environment and infrastructure. Such a model could form and objective basis for evidence-based policy making to enhance national security through intellectual property.

Examination of the relationship between peer bullying and cyber violence in university students

Peer bullying, encountered by individuals globally at an early age, necessitates a deep understanding of its underlying causes and associated elements for effective intervention strategies. The integration of digital technologies as tools has introduced the dimension of cyber violence to the discourse on peer bullying. This research aims to explore the relationship between peer bullying and cyber violence in a specific age group. Globally, 10-15% of children and adolescents experience peer bullying lasting over six months. Recognized as a global health issue by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, research indicates varying risks of exposure in different countries, such as 30% in Australia, 20% in Portugal, and 10% in the United States. The study investigates the connection between the violent behaviors adopted by individuals who have experienced peer bullying and their efforts to overcome the associated sense of worthlessness. Data were collected through an online survey utilizing the "Cyberbullying Scale" by Arıcak et al. and the Turkish-adapted "Adolescent Peer Relationships" scale by Seçer. The sample comprises 260 university students aged 18-24. Findings reveal that 53.8% of participants scoring high on the cyberbullying scale also exhibit elevated scores on the bully form of the adolescent peer relationships scale. Notably, 10% of those scoring highest on the bully form relate to participants who scored high on the threat dimension. In conclusion, the research highlights the need for additional studies to address cyberbullying and underscores the necessity for the development of diverse strategies. This study may establish a foundational framework for future research, contributing to the formulation of more effective approaches in combating cyberbullying.

Securing the virtual marketplace: Navigating the landscape of security and privacy challenges in E-Commerce

This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the evolving challenges and critical considerations surrounding security and privacy within the realm of e-commerce. As the digital marketplace continues to expand, the significance of safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring user privacy has become paramount. This paper explores various dimensions of security threats, including data breaches, phishing attacks, and vulnerabilities associated with payment gateways, shedding light on the potential repercussions for businesses and consumers alike. Additionally, it delves into emerging technologies and innovative solutions aimed at fortifying e-commerce platforms against evolving cyber threats. The paper not only identifies the existing vulnerabilities but also proposes proactive strategies and future directions for research and implementation. Topics such as biometric authentication, post-quantum cryptography, and privacy-preserving technologies are explored as potential avenues for enhancing the security posture of e-commerce systems. The research presented emphasizes the critical intersection of technology, regulation, and user awareness in fostering a secure and trustworthy online shopping environment. By offering insights into both the current state of e-commerce security and promising avenues for future exploration, this paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on fortifying the digital marketplace against the challenges posed by an ever-evolving cyber landscape.

ECOWAS Protocol on Migration, Porous Borders and Dynamics of Armed Banditry in Nigeria

The dialectics that have led to an explosion of free movement of persons within ECOWAS borders largely constitute a new dimension of security threats in the region. The security threats emanating from incessant human migration within the region have predictably distorted the security architecture of Nigeria, thereby posing colossal pressures on the Nigerian armed forces, as well as leading to the loss of human lives, properties, and financial resources. The study investigated how ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons and porous borders in the West African region orchestrate armed banditry in Nigeria. The work was anchored on the Qualitative-Descriptive method of analysis, and ‘inelastic political will’ was adopted as an analytical construct that explains the inability of ECOWAS member governments as well as the Nigerian government to employ sustainable strategies in tackling the ever-changing security threat dimensions within the region. It was revealed that chaotic and explosive cross-border migration of persons in West Africa has a relationship with the new dimension of armed banditry in Nigeria. The study recommended that the ECOWAS framework that promotes the free movement of people be reviewed and amended to address current security crises in the region. Also, there is a need for the Nigerian government to reinforce viable and strong diplomatic ties with the neighboring countries such as Benin, Chat, Niger, and Cameroon regarding border infrastructure development and security enhancement mechanisms to cover ungoverned spaces in the Chad Basin Region.

Cybersecurity education for South African school children through the action Cybercrime Prevention Programme: A systematic literature review

Cybertechnologies have become so important to human daily engagements that society can hardly do anything outside these ubiquitous technologies. These technologies have a great impact on the economy, as well as the social well-being of citizens in developed and third world countries. The dependence on digital technologies is useful in every sector of society. The consistent call for the adoption of digital technologies in education has seen different governments in advanced and developing nations of the world introducing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) at the different facets of education. This introduction of ICT has brought in the use of the Internet in education which in turn has exposed the learners to the various threats that come with exposure to the Internet or cybertechnology. The internet is believed to have played a prominent role in facilitating the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the different sectors of the world economy, most especially education. However, cybertechnology has brought a new dimension of threats ranging from cyber-bullying, identity theft, scamming, advanced fee fraud, and so many other dangers to humans’ daily existence. None of the citizens in the developed and developing nations of the world is immune from these crimes committed in cyberspace; therefore, there is a need to introduce school children to cybersecurity education as early as possible. It is in light of the foregoing that this systematic review proposes the Action Cybercrime Prevention Programme to equip school children with knowledge and skills that would minimise their exposure to dangers inherent in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and the Internet for education and social purposes. This systematic review discusses the intergenerational effects of the proposed Action Cybercrime Prevention Programme on young learners to educate their parents or grandparents from falling victim to cybercrimes.

EXPORT SAGA AT THE SEA

The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the stages of country's export saga. The country is an island, Iceland, a remote island in the north. The export saga spans more than a thousand years, from Viking settlement to the present day. The introduction provides an overview, followed by a story about the generation born a few years before World War II and what life was like before and after the start of significant fish exports. Secondly, it discusses the evolution of exports from Iceland in terms of the goods that dominate exports. Thirdly, it analyses whether the nature of exports has changed in response to the significant export opportunities that have opened up to the US and, subsequently, to Europe with the formation of the EU, EFTA and NAFTA. For a long time, the export of goods in the form of fish has been important for Iceland. In this context, two export stories from Iceland can be told. The export of services in the form of tourism has become more important than the export of goods in recent years. This development is in line with the theory that the more a country develops, the more it shifts its exports from goods to services - which is visible in Iceland's exports, as tourism is classified as a service export in the national accounts, the international standard. The country's export story can be seen as a twilight saga in the stormy seas of international development. The methodology used is based on the popular business SWOT analysis, which allows to assess the benefits of exporting over time. This method helps to assess the following factors: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The results of a SWOT analysis depend on the factor being assessed: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities or Threats. The matrix approach to SWOT analysis has been structured to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The method has been highly regarded by business researchers. There are several practical implications, and they relate to all dimensions of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Last but not least, the study includes several factors related to value/originality in the industry, which implies issues that exporters should bear in mind and take into account if they start any international activity in the form of exporting fish cargo to other countries.

Documentation of commercial and subsistence hunting of Critically Endangered black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in northeastern Madagascar

Hunting of wild animals for meat and habitat loss are the main drivers of wildlife population decline around the world, and in tropical regions in particular. While Madagascar is a hotspot for biodiversity, hunting is widespread, mostly in form of subsistence hunting, while hunting for the pet trade is less often reported.We studied hunting of the Critically Endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) in northeastern Madagascar. Using lemur surveys (102.7 km survey effort) and 54 semi-structured and seven key informant interviews, we assessed the local knowledge, hunting pressure, and the perceived and actual abundances of V. variegata in two hunting and two non-hunting villages.V. variegata was well known (> 83%) by the respondents but abundance estimates differed significantly between hunting and non-hunting villages, with 26% and 77% of respondents, respectively, estimating a high abundance of ruffed lemurs in the adjacent forests of the villages. Actual observations of V. variegata also differed strongly, in accordance to perceived abundances. Hunting was either done by trapping animals or by pursuit hunts. In both hunting villages, adult lemurs were used for direct meat consumption and juveniles for rearing for the later trade. Hand-raised V. variegata were reported to be sold for 38–71 USD on regional markets or ‘delivered’ directly to buyers.While wildlife hunting has been widely reported from all over Madagascar, commercial hunting, hand-rearing and trading adds a new dimension of threat towards these Critically Endangered lemurs. As such, the extent of the trade is a priority for future studies.

Childhood Neglect rather than Abuse Is More Strongly Associated with Anhedonia across Major Depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients and University Students

Background. According to the dimensional model of adversity, the deprivation and threat dimensions of CT influence distinct neural circuits and have different developmental outcomes. The present study compared neglect and abuse subtypes which are representative of deprivation and threat dimensions of CT prediction of anhedonia in MDD and OCD patients and university students. Methods. A total of 305 patients with MDD, 152 patients with OCD, and 2110 university students fulfilled the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire to identify neglect and abuse subtypes of CT. Different aspects of anhedonia were measured. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to identify subtypes of trauma as predictors of different aspects of anhedonia in MDD and OCD patients and university students, respectively. Results. Childhood neglect, not abuse, showed association with anticipatory and state anhedonia in OCD patients and anticipatory, consummatory, physical, and state anhedonia in MDD patients and university students. Both childhood neglect and abuse were associated with social anhedonia in university students, but the neglect type showed greater magnitude. In terms of more specific categories, emotional neglect was the type of CT demonstrating strongest magnitude of association with most of the anhedonia aspects. Conclusions. Findings revealed that deprivation, rather than threat, was the more influential adversity dimension for the individuals’ anhedonia presentations.

The COVID-19 pandemic as an existential threat: Evidence on young people's psychological vulnerability using a Multifaceted Threat Scale.

Research offers evidence that younger generations suffered the most psychologically from the COVID-19 crisis. In this article, we look at the onset of the pandemic to understand the reasons for this increased vulnerability. We use the COVID-19 Multifaceted Threat Scale to explore potential mechanisms underlying generational differences in psychological well-being. In a sample of 994 individuals (+18) obtained in the USA and India, we first assess levels of perceived psychological well-being across the generations. Thus, we measure cross-generational differences in the perceived levels of financial, relational, existential, health and lifestyle threats experienced by respondents seven months after the pandemic broke out. In accordance with earlier findings, the results confirm that people from Generation Z and Generation Y reported worse levels of psychological well-being than older adults. Our results suggest that the heightened existential threat, as reflected in a loss of meaning and feelings of being "trapped", mediate the association between younger generations and worse psychological well-being. No substantial intergenerational differences were found for other threat dimensions. The observed effects were consistent across both national contexts, hence stressing the importance of existential concerns as a mechanism underlying the psychological vulnerability of younger people in the historical contingencies of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nigerian Military Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) Operation in Internal Security Management in Plateau State: Challenges and Prospects

This study investigated the Nigerian Military Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) in the internal security management in Plateau state, Nigeria from 2010 to 2021. Primary data utilised for this study include a structured set of questionnaires and a key informant interview. The sampling technique adopted for the study was the purposive sampling method, hence only those with adequate knowledge of the subject matter were interviewed. Three senatorial zones were purposively selected for detailed investigation and generalisation. These include the South senatorial zone, Central senatorial zone and North senatorial zone. Also, the Headquarters (HQs) OPSH, Sectors and Forward Operation Basaa (FOBs) were selected in each senatorial zone for detailed investigation and these include; Wase FOB, Shendam FOB (South senatorial Zone), Barkin Ladi (Sector 4), Bassa (Sector 3) (North senatorial zone) and Bokkos (sector 5), Mangu (FOB) (Central senatorial zone). 400 copies of structured questionnaires were administered but 395 copies were retrieved and were used for analysis using SPSS. Analysis of data were both quantitative and qualitative. Findings from the study revealed that the State is bedevilled with new dimension of security threats which were not experienced in the past such as banditry, armed robbery, selective killings, kidnappings, farmers-herders clashes and raiding of towns and villages. Findings from the study also revealed that the Nigerian Military OPSH is responsive to the current security threats bedevilling the State. The study also revealed that the Nigerian military OPSH is faced with lots of challenges such as lack of manpower, logistics and modern equipment to ease their operations. The study recommended that the Nigerian Military OPSH should secure modern day equipment in order to withstand the challenges of modern security threats confronting Plateau State.

Disaster Risk Perception Regarding Culture and Personality

Disasters appear in different ways as a result of dangerous and risky situations. The impact of events that may lead to disasters differs according to societies' risk reduction and preparedness levels. In order for societies to attach importance to risk management activities, it is important that they first perceive the hazards and risks that may lead to disasters in their regions. In this framework firstly, the disaster risk perception scale was developed and then it was tried to reveal whether it is related to culture and personality. The survey was limited to 900 people aged 18 and over living in Muğla and Van provinces in Türkiye. The data were analyzed in LISREL software. It was found that the agreeableness dimension of the personality scale was positively related to all dimensions of disaster risk perception. The conscientiousness dimension of the personality scale was found to be negatively related to the threat dimension of disaster risk perception, and the openness to experience was found to be negatively related to the fatalism dimension of disaster risk perception. No relationship was found between the extraversion dimension of personality and the perception of disaster risk. The uncertainty avoidance dimension of the culture scale was found to be positively correlated with the anxiety and controllability dimensions of disaster risk perception. No relationship was found between the collectivism dimension of culture and the perception of disaster risk.

Understanding the impacts of childhood adversity on sleep problems in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A comparison of cumulative and dimensional approaches.

The developmental impacts of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and postnatal exposure to adversity are typically considered in isolation. However, both contribute independently to sleep problems. Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have PAE and significant sleep disturbances. What is not clear is the relative contribution to these disturbances of exposure to early life adversity. This study examined how exposure to such adversity impacts frequent insomnia symptoms and nightmares in children with FASD and "At Risk" designations. We compared two approaches to modeling adversity in children who had undergone a diagnostic assessment for FASD: a cumulative risk approach that sums adversities to create a total score and an approach that treats exposure to threat and deprivation as independent dimensions. Data on caregiver-reported exposure to adversity and sleep problems for 63 children (aged 3 years 4 months to 7 years 8 months) were extracted from clinical archives. Cumulative risk, threat exposure, and deprivation exposure scores were computed and were tested as predictors of insomnia symptoms and nightmares. All analyses controlled for age and gender. There were high rates of caregiver-reported sleep problems with 60.3% (n = 38) of children having nightmares and 44.4% (n = 28) having a frequent insomnia symptom. The cumulative risk analysis showed that for every additional exposure to adversity, the odds of having a caregiver-reported insomnia symptom increased by 38%. The dimensional analysis showed no relationship between deprivation and sleep problems. However, every additional exposure to threat increased the odds of nightmares by 93%. Exposure to postnatal adversity contributes to sleep disturbances in children with FASD, with unique roles for cumulative risk and the threat dimension of adversity. The implications of these findings for the etiology and treatment of sleep disturbances in children with FASD are discussed.

The Social Services Risk Index at Local Level: A Tool for Diagnosis and Decision Making

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a decisive impact on our society, generating both direct and indirect effects in a multitude of dimensions, beyond the purely health-related, which have conditioned people’s well-being and quality of life. The social services system has played an essential role in absorbing the consequences of these impacts on the most socially vulnerable population. Analysing the social impacts and monitoring the risks derived from the pandemic can favour the prevention of risk situations, adjust the resources of the social services system to changing social realities and facilitate the strategic decision-making process to mitigate or minimise the impacts of potential socio-annual crises or catastrophes. This article presents a methodological process, based on the HCVRA (Hazards, Capacity Building, Vulnerability, Risk Assessment) disaster management models, designed ad hoc with the aim of identifying, on the one hand, the social impacts of COVID-19 and, on the other hand, the areas with the highest social risk in the post-COVID scenario. The application of this methodological process has made it possible to configure a set of indicators based on public databases, defined by consulting experts and weighted by a panel of stakeholders through a multi-criteria method to obtain a territorialised risk index at the highest level of disaggregation of the available data, based on the dimensions of vulnerability, threat and resilience.

Domestic Violence Against Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Domestic violence against women is an important public health problem worldwide and in Türkiye. This study aimed to analyze participants' demographic characteristics, violence levels, and relations between the two.
 
 Materials and Methods: 308 women participated in the study online via “Google Forms”. Participants answered "Sociodemographic Characteristics and Data Form" and “The Severity of Violence Against Women Scale”. As a method inside SPSS, descriptive statistical analysis and nonparametric tests were used in analysis of the data.
 
 Results: It has been determined that demographic characteristics of participants are better than average for Türkiye. Proportion of women who have been subjected to violence in at least one sub-category by not answering "never" to all questions is 43.8%. 41.6% of participating women did not answer "never" to all questions about the threat dimension, 14% about the actual violence dimension, and 7.5% about the sexual violence dimension. In comparative analyzes, a significant difference or a significant correlation couldn’t be detected for most part.
 
 Conclusion: Frequency of not answering "never" to all questions in the violence dimensions except the "threat dimension" was low. Level of violence was found low in all sizes. It is recommended that the study be repeated under better conditions.

Appraisal of male privilege: On the dual role of identity threat and shame in response to confrontations with male privilege

Interventions that confront men with male privilege can threaten their social identity. Past research on White privilege confrontations has suggested group-image threat is a positive predictor of positive privilege attitudes. However, research on emotional appraisals of ingroup transgressions demonstrates that feelings of shame elicited by the ingroup's negative image lead to less constructive responses while feelings of shame elicited by the ingroup's moral failure motivate more positive reactions. To reconcile these different predictions, we examined how relevant dimensions of threat (to the ingroup's image or to moral values of the group) and subsequent experiences of shame (image shame, moral shame) affect men's privilege attitudes in response to male privilege confrontations. Across three preregistered experiments (N = 1463 men), we found that male confronters were evaluated more positively, which was explained through lower levels of image concerns toward male confronters. We also found evidence that morality concerns are related to more positive responses. Although the total effects on privilege attitudes were small, our findings highlight the importance for future research and practice to distinguish between the positive effects of moral threat through moral shame and the negative effects of group-image threat through image shame in privilege interventions.

ФІНАНСОВО-ЕКОНОМІЧНА БЕЗПЕКА ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ВНУТРІШНЬОЇ ТОРГІВЛІ В УМОВАХ ВІЙНИ ТА ПІСЛЯВОЄННОЇ ВІДБУДОВИ ЕКОНОМІКИ УКРАЇНИ

The study is dedicated to the identification of factors for ensuring the financial and economic security of domestic trade in the conditions of challenges and threats of war and post-war recovery of the economy of Ukraine. The objective function of investment activity is implemented by strengthening competitive positions and reducing vulnerability to adverse financial factors, which actualizes the identification of factors of financial and economic security of investment development of domestic trade. Solving problems in the spheres of management of trade and technological processes and development of trade infrastructure require a reduction of investment and business risks. It has been found that the investment goals of restoring domestic trade in terms of modernizing the management of the development of business entities are complicated in the conditions of military challenges and threats inherited from pre-war times. The identified cause-and-effect relationships between the categories of financial and economic and investment security allow the simultaneous consideration of the interests of the state and subjects of trade activity. It is proved that the exogenous dimension of the eco-state of the post-war recovery of Ukraine causes changes in the perception of the investment component of the financial and economic security of internal trade, supplementing it with the dimension of opportunities and threats of investment interaction. The proposed approach allows you to move away from the linear progression of the usual extrapolation methods and take into account assumptions about different future scenarios, developing a consensus on the innovative transformation of domestic trade despite the regional unevenness of the post-war preservation of trade infrastructure and different dynamics of innovative shifts. It is proposed to supplement the static characteristics of the achieved level of financial and economic security with the dynamic characteristics of investment performance, which will allow more effectively to generate areas of innovative use of available finances. It is advisable to carry out further studies of the eco-state of the post-war recovery of domestic trade in the direction of clarifying the indicative parameters of the assessment and developing countermeasures against systemic investment risks.

Trafficking in the Post-Pandemic: Casting Human Security, and Universal Periodical Review in Malaysia

Growing research interest and policymaking over the issue of Malaysian security and the human dimension of threats have brought transdisciplinary and transnational engagements in the problem of trafficking. Unpacking salient rudimentary attributes of trafficking, human protection, and humanitarian and human rights improvement can no longer be treated as ivory tower work per se. There is a continuous need to accommodate constructive space for academics, policymakers, and state and non-state actors in the idea exchange of the input- and output processes of our national security policy. This note provides an overview of our editorial work and selection of articles for the publications of this particular issue. We remained indebted to the relevant ministries, universities, funding bodies and non-governmental organisations involved throughout the research and publication process.

Understanding local actors’ perspective of threats to the sustainable management of communal rangeland and the role of Participatory GIS (PGIS): the case of Vulindlela, South Africa

ABSTRACT Rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions serve as grazing land for domesticated animals and therefore offer livelihood opportunities for most pastoral communities. Thus, the exposure of most rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions to threats that are associated with natural, social, economic, and political processes affects their capacity to provide socioeconomic and environmental support to the immediate and global communities. In spite of the effects of rangeland transformations on both the natural and human environment, the assessment of threats affecting rangeland productivity has often been approached from a conventional scientific perspective. Most existing literature is focused on the assessment of threats to the biophysical environment. As such the social dimension of rangeland threats is not well understood. This research employed participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and PGIS techniques to assess rangeland threats and management actions from a local perspective. The result revealed that local actors prioritize threats to their social and economic needs over threats to the biophysical environment and their preference is informed by the frequency and magnitude of the threats. The outcome of the research demonstrates the need to promote rangeland governance through interdisciplinary and inclusive participation in research and development.

Integrating the pattern of negative emotion processing and acute stress response with childhood stress among healthy young adults

Childhood adversity might impair corticolimbic brain regions, which play a crucial role in emotion processing and the acute stress response. The dimensional model of childhood adversity proposed that deprivation and threat dimensions might associated with individuals’ development through different mechanisms. However, few studies have explored the relationship between different dimensions of childhood stress, emotion processing, and acute stress reactivity despite the overlapping brain regions of the last two. With the aid of the event-related potentials technique, we explore whether negative emotion processing, which might be particularly relevant for adaptive stress responding among individuals with adverse childhood experience, mediates the relationship between dimensional childhood stress and acute stress response. Fifty-one young adults completed a free-viewing task to evaluate neural response to negative stimuli measured by late positive potential (LPP) of ERPs (Event-related potentials). On a separate day, heart rate and salivary cortisol were collected during a social-evaluative stress challenge (i.e. TSST, Trier Social Stress Test). After the TSST, the childhood trauma questionnaire was measured to indicate the level of abuse (as a proxy of threat) and neglect (as a proxy of deprivation) dimensions. Multiple linear regression and mediation analysis were used to explore the relationship among childhood stress, emotion processing, and acute stress response. Higher level of childhood abuse (but not neglect) was distinctly related to smaller LPP amplitudes to negative stimuli, as well as smaller heart rate reactivity to acute stress. For these participants, smaller LPP amplitudes were linked with smaller heart rate reactivity to acute stress. Furthermore, decreased LPP amplitudes to negative stimuli mediated the relationship between higher level of childhood abuse and blunted heart rate reactivity to stress. Consistent with the dimensional model of childhood stress, our study showed that childhood abuse is distinctly associated with neural as well as physiological response to threat. Furthermore, the blunted neural response to negative stimuli might be the underlying mechanism in which childhood abuse leads to the blunted acute stress response. Considering that all the participants are healthy in the present study, the blunted processing of negative stimuli might rather reflect adaptation instead of vulnerability, in order to prevent stress overshooting in the face of early-life threatening experiences.