Events In Adolescents Research Articles

Coping strategies to stressful events in adolescents with migraine

ObjectiveSeveral studies examined stress factors in both adult and pediatric patients with migraine, but few of them have analyzed coping strategies adopted to deal with stressful events in pediatric age. In particular, some of these studies have focused on specific migraine populations or have not employed standardized instruments. Our study used a standardized tool to investigate the coping strategies adopted by patients with primary migraine in dealing with stressful events.We aimed at exploring: 1) Coping responses to stressful events and their possible association with migraine characteristics such as headache frequency, pain intensity and use of prophylactic treatment; (2) Potential differences in anxiety and depression symptoms based on migraine characteristics, and (3) Association between migraine characteristics, coping strategies, and psychological aspects.MethodsWe studied 81 adolescents (mean age 13.8 ± 1.6 years; 18 M and 63 F). They were divided into: (1) high frequency (weekly to daily episodes) and low frequency (≤ 4 episodes per month); (2) mild and severe pain; (3) need for prophylactic treatment or not. To evaluate patients’ anxiety, depression and coping strategies we used respectively SAFA-A, SAFA-D and CRI-Y questionnaires.ResultsSchool and socialization represent the most commonly reported stressful events among our patients with migraine. Patients with high frequency of headache tend to adopt maladaptive coping strategies in “Logical Analysis” (p = 0.012), “Positive Reappraisal” (p = 0.002) and “Total Approach” (p = < 0.001). Moreover, patients with a high frequency of headache showed higher anxiety and depression scores (p = < 0.050). On the other hand, lower scores in some subscales of anxiety and depression emerged in high frequency patients who used “Logical Analysis” maladaptively (p = < 0.050).ConclusionAdolescents with a more disabling migraine pattern tend to employ maladaptive coping strategies focused on active behavioral responses to the stressful events.

Parental Monitoring, Parental Knowledge, and the Occurrence of Potentially Traumatic Events in Adolescence.

Parental monitoring and knowledge of their teens' activities might enable parents to keep teens safe, reducing the risk of potentially traumatic events. This paper investigated that possibility using a large, nationwide sample of 11,880 early adolescent teens followed longitudinally from ages 10-11 to 13-14years old. At annual assessments, teens completed measures of parental monitoring/knowledge and of potentially traumatic events. Data were analyzed using multilevel models to separate between- and within-family associations. Because within-family associations cannot be explained by the many systematic differences between families with low vs. high monitoring, they comprise more rigorous evidence of a potential causal relationship. We tested both concurrent associations between monitoring/knowledge and PTEs and prospective associations over 12months. At the between-family level, every tested association was significant (p < .001): greater monitoringand/orknowledge predicted fewer PTEs. However, at the within-family level, few associations were significant. Greater knowledge (p = 0.005) or combined monitoring/knowledge (p = 0.01) predicted fewer PTEs concurrently, but greater monitoring alone did not (p = 0.14). No prospective within-family associations were statistically significant. We replicated this pattern of findings in a different set of observations from the same sample, using different measures of each construct. We conclude that most of the apparent association between parental monitoring/knowledge and PTEs is explained by confounding factors, rather than a causal relationship. However, we found some evidence supporting a causal link in models of concurrent associations, suggesting any causal relationship between monitoring/knowledge and PTEs may unfold over shorter timescales.

Parent and adolescent perspectives on family problems during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Implications for family resilience

AbstractObjectiveTo understand how parents and adolescents perceive the major family problems they faced during a global pandemic, focusing on implications for family resilience.BackgroundFamilies are challenged by the upheaval in contemporary life due to a global health pandemic and unrelenting changes to work, school, civic, and home routines. Family resilience theory guided our understanding of how families perceive and understand the problems they faced during a major disruption in their lives.MethodA diverse sample of parent–adolescent pairs was surveyed at two points in time. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze open‐ended questions asking about family members' perceptions of the major problems they faced as a family during the pandemic.ResultsMost participants reported a major family problem during the pandemic (e.g., unemployment, online learning, isolation, fear of COVID‐19), with financial issues being the most prevalent problem. Parents were more likely to identify a major family tension, compared with adolescents, who were more likely to say they were unaware of any major family problems.ConclusionParents and adolescents reported substantial family stress and tension, especially around financial strain and social isolation, indicating their heightened awareness of the new risks they were facing. Both parents and adolescents also described a willingness to pull together on behalf of family well‐being and adaptation.ImplicationsSupport mechanisms through public policy and from family life practitioners can help families navigate pandemic‐related stressors, assess adverse events in adolescence, promote new pathways in navigating disrupted routines, and enhance family resilience.

Examining stress in adolescents' daily lives: Feasibility of triadic paradigms.

How adolescents and their parents cope with adolescent stress is relevant for child well-being. (In)congruencies between parent and child perceptions of child stress may be important sources of information for understanding family functioning. However, research assessing the occurrence of stressful events in adolescents' daily lives from the perspective of both adolescents and their parents is lacking, likely because this type of research comes with numerous challenges. Therefore, this pilot study examined the feasibility of two different paradigms, daily diary and the experience sampling method (ESM), for triadic (child-mother-father) assessment of adolescent stress in daily life. Twenty family triads participated either in the diary paradigm (receiving one survey per day) or the ESM paradigm (receiving multiple surveys per day). Results indicated that both paradigms seemed doable to participants in terms of experienced burden, and individual compliance to the paradigms was sufficient. The absolute number of reported stressors was similar across paradigms. In addition, both paradigms captured convergence and divergence in the family members' reports of adolescent stress and between- and within-family differences therein. However, diary participants experienced lower burden and missed relatively less assessments (higher individual and triadic compliance) than ESM participants, suggesting higher data quality. In all, these findings suggest that although both paradigms may be feasible, a diary paradigm may be preferred to capture triadic family reports of adolescent stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-cultural translation and validation of the Chinese version Distress Tolerance Scale for adolescents with chronic physical disease.

Chronic physical disease (CPD) makes life filled with many negative events in adolescents, but not all adolescents experiencing negative life events proceed to develop emotional distress, only those with low emotional distress tolerance (EDT). A valid and reliable scale to measure EDT in CPD adolescents is important for caring for their emotional distress. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to translate the 15-item English version Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) into a Chinese version and then validate the scale for measuring EDT of adolescents with CPD. The 15-item English version DTS was translated into a Chinese version using the translation guidelines for cross-cultural research. Two cohorts of adolescents with CPD were recruited from four hospitals in southern Taiwan, with the first cohort including 124 adolescents with CPD employed to conduct exploratory factor analysis, corrected item-total correlation and reliability testing, while the second cohort, consisting of 238 adolescents with CPD, was utilized to examine confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity. The two-factor nine-item Chinese version DTS for Adolescents with CPD (C-DTS-A) was developed. Lower scores of the C-DTS-A were significantly associated with higher diabetes distress, poorer self-management, and worse glycaemic control; their correlation coefficients sequentially were -.40, .17 and -.23. Cronbach's α and the test-retest reliability of the two-factor C-DTS-A ranged from .81 to .87 and from .79 to .89, respectively. The two-factor nine-item C-DTS-A with good cross-cultural translation quality was a reliable and valid scale to assess EDT for adolescents with CPD.

Family dysfunction, stressful life events, and mental health problems across development in the offspring of parents with an affective disorder.

Offspring of parents with affective disorders (OAD) are at risk of developing a wide range of mental disorders. Deficits in the rearing environment and high levels of stress are well-known risk factors for negative outcomes in OAD. Building on prior research, we aim to examine the longitudinal relationships between family dysfunction, stressful life events, and mental health in OAD and control offspring of parents with no affective disorder. In the present study, we hypothesized that high levels of family dysfunction would be associated with more internalizing and externalizing problems across time in OAD than in controls, and that family dysfunction would mediate the relationship between stressful life events in adolescence and poor mental health in adulthood, particularly in OAD. As part of the TRacking Adolescents' Lives Survey (TRAILS), 2230 participants (51% female, Mage = 11.1 years, SD = 0.6, at baseline) and their parents completed measures across six time points, spanning 15 years. Mental health, family dysfunction, and stressful life events were assessed with the Youth and Adult Self-Report, Family Assessment Device, and an in-house measure, respectively. Multi-group structured equation modeling revealed that family dysfunction was linked to internalizing and externalizing problems in OAD, but not controls, across time. Risk status did not moderate family dysfunction's mediation of the relationship between stressful life events and negative outcomes in adulthood. OAD show high sensitivity to dysfunction in the rearing environment across childhood and adolescence, which supports the use of family based interventions to prevent the development of mental disorders in high-risk youth.

Factors Associated With the Severity of Suicide Attempts by Poisoning in Adolescents

ObjectiveTo analyze factors associated with more severe outcomes of suicide attempt due to toxicological events in adolescents. MethodsA cross-sectional study involving adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age treated due to attempted suicide from 2017 to 2020. The dependent variable was the final severity, divided into two categories: asymptomatic or mild and moderate, severe or fatal, and the independent variables were those related to patients, exposure, and clinical conditions. For association analyses, logistic regression was used, with the calculation of the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). ResultsA total of 1462 suicide attempts in adolescents were evaluated, and 21.1% (N=306) were classified moderate, severe or fatal outcome. Suicide attempts due to toxicological events in adolescents showed a higher prevalence of the moderate, severe or fatal outcome in males (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.11–2.07), in the summer months (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.31–2.48) and in cases whose time until attendance was equal to or greater than 300min (OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.29–2.29), with evidence of increasing severity of cases over the years (2019: OR 1.87; 95% CI 1.21–2.98; 2020: OR 2.80; 95% CI 1.31–2.48). ConclusionsSince adolescents need a more rigorous psychosocial follow-up due to the adversities inherent to the age group, there is a clear need for better identification of striking prodromal signs of suicide attempts in order to develop therapeutic interventions and preventive strategies.

The quality of life of Hungarian adolescents in the light of their emotions

Introduction Mental health professionals pay particular attention to adolescents, as many psychiatric disorders begin at this age, and the mental state of adolescents has been deteriorating worldwide in the last decade. Based on previous international research, the ability to regulate negative emotions and mentalizing - that is, the ability to identify the thoughts and emotions behind one’s own and others’ behaviour - mediate the negative effects of attachment difficulties experienced in close relationships on the quality of life. This relationship has not yet been investigated among Hungarian adolescents. Adolescent events can have a long-term effect on a person’s mental health, so it is very important to examine the factors that influence the quality of life.ObjectivesThis research aimed to examine the relationship between attachment, mentalizing, emotion regulation and quality of life among adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age.Methods In our non-clinical cross-sectional research, 141 adolescents filled out the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire and the Quality of Life Scale after informed consent. We tested two mediator models, in which emotion regulation and mentalizing were the mediating variables in the relationship between attachment difficulty and quality of life.Results In our analyses, attachment difficulties (c’ = -1,87, p &lt; .001, β = -0.41) and emotion regulation problems (b = -0.08, p &lt; .001, β = -0.39) also predicted a reduced quality of life. Attachment problems also reduce the quality of life of young people through emotional regulation difficulties (∑ab = -0,81 [-1,21 – -0,45], β = -0.17). However, mentalizing was not significantly related to the adolescents’ quality of life (b = -0,05, p = .10, β = -0,11). Mentalizing also did not mediate the relationship between attachment and quality of life (∑ab = -0.09 [-0.27 – -0.02], β = -0.02).Conclusions Our results suggest that adolescents’ emotion regulation has a prominent role in their quality of life in addition to attachment styles. To improve the quality of life among adolescents, we recommend using techniques that develop emotion regulation.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Factor analysis and evaluation of one-year test-retest reliability of the 33-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in Chinese adolescents.

The 33-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-33) is a recently developed tool expanded from the 28-item Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28) to assess childhood trauma events, which showed good test-retest reliability over 2 weeks. However, little is known regarding the factor structure and long-term test-retest reliability of the CTQ-33. To fill such a gap, this study investigated the factorial validity of the CTQ-33 and test-retest reliability of the scale over a relatively long interval of 1 year. Data on demographics, the CTQ-33 scores, and mental health statuses such as depressive/anxiety symptoms were collected in Chinese adolescents (n = 188) twice across a one-year period. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the Chinese version of CTQ-33 has close factor validity when compared to the original CTQ-28 in college students. Furthermore, the total and most subscale scores of the CTQ-33 have fair to good test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients >0.6 for the total score, and > 0.4 for most subscales), except for the physical abuse subscale. Moreover, we replicated previous findings of significant positive relationships between levels of different childhood trauma subtypes using the CTQ-33. These findings provide initial evidence supporting that the CTQ-33 is overall reliable to assess childhood traumatic events in adolescents over relatively long intervals.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY ROLES AND PREVENTION AND RISK OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN ADOLESCENTS

Adolescence is a period of searching for identity and if it fails it will cause various problems such as an unhealthy lifestyle, especially during this pandemic, many teenagers are at home, physical activity is decreasing, they are at risk of experiencing non-communicable diseases (PTM) and PTM development in Indonesia continues to increase due to unhealthy lifestyles, so it takes the role of the family to be the first and main protector that is good in supporting the growth and health of adolescents. This study's objective was to determine the relationship between Family role and the prevention and risk of PTM in adolescents. This research is analytic with a cross sectional design, carried out on 19 to 23 September 2022. The population and sample are all students in first semester, a total of 90 students. The results showed that students who had a good family role, the prevention efforts of students were in the good category as many as 19 (39.6%)and students who had sufficient family roles, the risk of PTM events in adolescents was in the high risk category as many as 11 (26.2%). The results of the statistical chi-square test yielded a value of p=0.012 it can be concluded that there is a relationship between family role and efforts to prevent non-communicable diseases and the results of the statistical chi-square test yielded a value of p= 0.039, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between the role of the family and the risk of non-communicable diseases in adolescents in Makassar. This demonstrates that the family is crucial in efforts to prevent PTM in adolescents as soon as possible.

Efficacy and safety of ritlecitinib in adolescents with alopecia areata: Results from the ALLEGRO phase 2b/3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

This subgroup analysis of the ALLEGRO phase 2b/3 trial (NCT03732807) evaluated the efficacy and safety of ritlecitinib, an oral, selective dual JAK3/TEC family kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of alopecia areata (AA) in patients aged 12-17 years. In ALLEGRO-2b/3, patients aged ≥12 years with AA and ≥50% scalp hair loss received once-daily ritlecitinib 50 or 30 mg (±4-week 200-mg loading dose) or 10 mg or placebo for 24 weeks. In a subsequent 24-week extension period, ritlecitinib groups continued their doses, and patients initially assigned to placebo switched to 200/50 or 50 mg daily. Clinician- and patient-reported hair regrowth outcomes and safety were assessed. In total, 105 adolescents were randomized. At Week 24, 17%-28% of adolescents achieved a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score ≤20 (≤20% scalp without hair) in the ritlecitinib 30 mg and higher treatment groups versus 0% for placebo. At Week 48, 25%-50% of patients had a SALT score ≤20 across ritlecitinib treatment groups (30 mg and higher). Adolescents reporting that their AA "moderately" or "greatly" improved were 45%-61% in the ritlecitinib groups (30 mg and higher) (vs. 10%-22% for placebo) at Week 24 and 44%-80% at Week 48. The most common adverse events in adolescents were headache, acne, and nasopharyngitis. No deaths, major adverse cardiovascular events, malignancies, pulmonary embolisms, opportunistic infections, or herpes zoster infections were reported. Ritlecitinib treatment demonstrated clinician-reported efficacy, patient-reported improvement, and an acceptable safety profile through Week 48 in adolescents with AA with ≥50% scalp hair loss.

Time perspective and significance of life events in adolescence

This article presents the results of a study of the relationship between the time perspective and themes of significant life events in adolescence. The study involved 1,394 boys and girls aged 14 to 23 years. It was revealed that there is an age-related multidirectional dynamics in the representation of the following periods: “studying at school”, “vocational training”, “professional autonomy”, “future”, “open present”. For example, modern youth associate “learning at school” positively with entertainment and negatively with study and work in the past and with communication and contacts in the future. The period of “professional training” is associated with all significant events in their lives except for events related to entertainment in the future. The period of “professional autonomy” is associated with events aimed at business (including both professional activity and study) both in the past and in the future. All important events in the present depend on the desire to possess some qualities, properties, skills. And at the same time, the significance of communication and entertainment in the past and the importance of entertainment and specific activities (educational and professional) in the future are associated with this desire. The results of the study may be of interest for the organization of work with high school students and students on the formation of a time perspective of the future.

Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring Reduced Costly Diabetes-Related Events in Adolescents and Young Adults despite Lack of Short-Term Reduction in Hemoglobin A1c

Real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM) can directly improve patient outcomes, including decreased health care system utilization and associated costs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical benefits of rtCGM use in a high-risk, under-resourced cohort of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who had no prior access to rtCGM. The effects of rtCGM use on hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and the frequency of health care events (i.e., diabetes-related emergency room (ER) visits, hospitalizations, emergency medical services (EMS), and after-hour emergency calls) were evaluated regarding payor costs in 33 AYA with ≥70% rtCGM use. Secondary aims included the evaluation of a phone-based pattern management intervention. The frequency of health care events decreased at 12 and 24 weeks for all participants, and there was no significant difference by treatment group. We estimated that the use of rtCGM in this cohort results in a projected annualized cost-savings of $195,943 to $294,864 or 43–65% per year based on Medicare or list pricing for rtCGM, respectively. Results also revealed improvements in A1c at 12 weeks for all study participants, but this was not maintained at 24 weeks for the phone-based pattern management intervention group. Our findings suggest that rtCGM may be an effective tool for reducing diabetes-related events and underscores the importance of access. Future studies are needed to further examine tailored interventions and support to optimize rtCGM use and glycemic health in high-risk AYA.

Stressful events among adolescents from public schools in a community in Brazil

Introduction Adolescence can be seen as a fundamental stage of life for the construction of the subject, resulting from childhood experiences and decisive for adulthood. It is common stressors to appear during adolescence, due to the lack of necessary resources to deal with a stressful problem or event. In this way, the evaluation of a stressful situation by the adolescent is important, because from it he will develop coping strategies that will help him to deal with the problem. Stressful life experiences, whether important events or even common annoyances, threaten the adolescent’s well-being, in addition to being linked to mental health and behavior problems, both internalizing ones, such as isolation, somatic complaints and anxiety/depression, as well as externalizing factors such as breaking rules and aggressive behavior. Romantic relationships are related to a major source of stress in the lives of these young people when conflicts, jealousy, aggression and infidelity occur, and have a great impact on the mental health of the individuals involved. Breakups, for example, have been linked to the onset of clinical depression in adolescents.There are three categories of concern for adolescents: (a) related to achievements, such as success in school or opportunity for success in the future; (b) relationships with colleagues or family members; and (c) social problems such as the environment, poverty and unemployment.ObjectivesTo identify and describe stressful life events in adolescents from public schools in a poor community in Brazil.MethodsThe study included 64 adolescents, boys (51.56%) and girls (48.43%), aged between 12 and 16 years old (average 13.76%). The Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (APES) was used, which consists of 90 items that correspond to events that may occur in the adolescent’s daily life.ResultsThe most significant stressors for the adolescents in this study were those dealing with the death of close people, such as a friend (100%), a family member (96.29%) and a relative (94.73%). Also appearing as major stressors were “plans that did not work” (91.89%), use of alcohol or drugs by family members (87.5%), loss of a job by parents (75%), imprisonment of a family member (75%), fights with boyfriend or girlfriend (86.66%), breakup (75%) and concern about their own appearance (76.52%).ConclusionsEvents referring to interpersonal relationships were considered the greatest stressors, with percentages above 80%. The present study contributed to the understanding of adolescents’ perceptions of their life events. In this way, we can understand the relationship between stressors and the coping strategies. Furthermore, it allows the proposition of preventive intervention strategies in the school context.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Life Events in the Etiopathogenesis and Maintenance of Restrictive Eating Disorders in Adolescence.

Life events (traumatic and protective) may be critical factors associated with eating disorders and their severity. To date, there is little literature concerning the role of life events in adolescence. The main goal of this study was to explore in a sample of adolescent patients with restrictive eating disorders (REDs) the presence of life events in the year before enrolment and to characterize them according to timing. Furthermore, we investigated correlations between REDs severity and the presence of life events. In total, 33 adolescents completed the EDI-3 questionnaire to assess RED severity using EDRC (Eating Disorder Risk Composite), GPMC (General Psychological Maladjustment Composite), and the Coddington Life Events Scales-Adolescent (CLES-A) questionnaires to define the presence of life events in the last year. Of these, 87.88% reported a life event in the past year. A significant association emerged between elevated clinical GPMC and the presence of traumatic events: patients who had experienced at least one traumatic life event in the year before enrolment presented higher clinically elevated GPMC compared to patients who had not. These results suggest that obtaining early information about traumatic events in clinical practice may help prevent the occurrence of new events and improve patient outcomes.

EXPLORING ACADEMIC SUPPORT NEEDS FOR TRANSITIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF NEWLY ADMITTED STUDENTS IN CAMEROON STATE UNIVERSITIES

The study was carried out on academic support and its influence on the social adjustment of newly admitted students in Cameroon state Universities. The transition from secondary school to the University is one of the most stressful events in adolescents’ life and can have a negative impact on their social adjustment. The researcher made used of be mixed method with a concurrent nested research design. The instruments used for data collection was questionnaire, interview guide and open group discussion. The sample was made up of 759 students and 13 Guidance counsellors proportionately selected five state Universities (Univerity of Bamenda, University of Buea, University of Maroua and University of Yaounde 1 and university of Betoua). The quantitative data were analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The descriptive statistical tools used are frequency count, percentages and multiple responses set which aimed at calculating the summary of findings for each variable for a quick comprehension of the overall findings. To test the hypotheses of the study, the Spearman rho test was used. In addition to the Spearman’s rho test, the Cox and Snell test was equally computed to explain the explanatory between the variable in the hypothesis in terms of percentage to ease comprehension. On the other hand, the qualitative data derived from open ended questions were analysed using the thematic analysis approach with the aid of themes, groundings/frequency and quotations. Finding showed that academic support (r-value 0.280**, p-value &lt; 0.001) influence the social adjustment of newly admitted University students. The positivity of the influence implied that newly admitted University students are more likely to be socially adjusted when they have good academic support. The implications of this finding is that an increase in academic support will increase the student level of social adjustment in the state Universities in Cameroon. Based on the finding, it was recommended that the guidance counselors, lecturers and the community should help adolescents in their transition process from secondary school to the University so that the can easily adjust in their social and learning environment.

An Overview of Parental Incarceration in African American Students: The Effects on Socioeconomics, Educational Outcomes, School Exclusion, and Juvenile Justice Involvement.

Parental incarceration is a traumatic experience that affects both the parent and their family. It is also a traumatic childhood and adolescent event that plagues students who may already be vulnerable and oppressed. The current study examines parental incarceration and associated factors. African American students (N = 139) from a Texas Independent School District were assessed to determine associations between parental incarceration and socioeconomic status (free/reduced lunch), educational outcomes (being retained in a grade and/or special education placement) school exclusion (suspension and/or expulsion), and juvenile justice involvement (receipt of a criminal ticket in school, ticket in the community, and/or student arrest, and possible interactional effects. Chi-square and binomial logistic regression were used to examine these associations and the likelihood of experiencing these effects from parental incarceration. Findings revealed that parental incarceration was associated with low socioeconomics, being retained, school exclusion, and juvenile justice involvement in this population. Implications for continued research and practice are discussed.

A multivariate genetic analysis of anxiety sensitivity, environmental sensitivity and reported life events in adolescents.

Despite being considered a measure of environmental risk, reported life events are partly heritable. One mechanism that may contribute to this heritability is genetic influences on sensitivity, relating to how individuals process and interpret internal and external signals. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic and environmental overlap between self-reported life events and measures of sensitivity. At age 17, 2,939 individuals from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) completed measures of anxiety sensitivity (Children's Anxiety Sensitivity Index), environmental sensitivity (Highly Sensitive Child Scale) and reported their experience of 20 recent life events. Using multivariate Cholesky decomposition models, we investigated the shared genetic and environmental influences on the associations between these measures of sensitivity and the number of reported life events, as well as both negative and positive ratings of life events. The majority of the associations between anxiety sensitivity, environmental sensitivity and reported life events were explained by shared genetic influences (60%-75%), with the remainder explained by nonshared environmental influences (25%-40%). Environmental sensitivity showed comparable genetic correlations with both negative and positive ratings of life events (rA = .21 and .15), anxiety sensitivity only showed a significant genetic correlation with negative ratings of life events (rA = .33). Approximately 10% of the genetic influences on reported life events were accounted for by influences shared with anxiety sensitivity and environmental sensitivity. Differences in how individuals process the contextual aspects of the environment or interpret their own physical and emotional response to environmental stimuli may be one mechanism through which genetic liability influences the subjective experience of life events.

Adolescents in the Covid Net: What Impact on their Mental Health?

Given the impact of traumatic events in adolescence and early adulthood, the current Covid 19 pandemic poses a high risk to the well-being and mental health of this population. This study aims to shed light on the traumatic impact of Covid-19 on adolescents and young adults, taking into account their personal experiences, with a particular focus on their emotional regulation skills. From May 2021 to May 2022, 216 adolescents and young adults were surveyed using a series of self-report questionnaires to assess the potentially traumatic effects of Covid-19 and its impact on adolescents' and young adults' emotional regulation skills. Analyses revealed a significant traumatic effect of Covid-19 on the adolescents in our sample. Significant correlations also emerged between the impact of the traumatic event and adolescents' emotional regulation skills. Our findings underscore the importance of considering the psychological impact of Covid-19 on adolescents from both a restorative and preventive perspective.

Arterial stiffness precedes hypertension and metabolic risks in youth: a review.

Arterial stiffness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in middle-aged and old adults. Arterial stiffness has been limited to being an intermediate marker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in adolescents and young adult studies. The paucity of normative longitudinal data and repeated gold-standard assessments of arterial stiffness among the young population has occasioned a huge knowledge gap in its clinical utility. This review summarizes recent longitudinal evidence in a large adolescent population, supporting the value of arterial stiffness as a novel risk factor for hypertension, overweight/obesity and insulin resistance. Preventing or decreasing arterial stiffness during adolescence may confer cardiometabolic health benefits in later life, but further pathological and mechanistic research is needed. The review also offers suggestions for incorporating arterial stiffness measures into routine paediatric and young adult clinical practice.