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Summary: The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis is a central component of the body''s neuroendocrine response to stress. Its major end-product cortisol has profound effects on mood and behavior. Although it has often been suggested, it remains unknown whether differences in HPA-axis physiology are part of an individual''s vulnerability to psychopathology, and constitute a causal factor in its development. In order to study the contribution of HPA-axis physiology to the development of psychopathology, we measured HPA-axis physiology in a community-cohort of 1768 10–12 year-old children. The aims of the here presented study were twofold: (1) to obtain data on HPA-axis function in a large cohort of pre- and early-adolescent children, both in terms of total hormonal output and in terms of the dynamics of cortisol secretion (by means of the cortisol awakening response); and (2) to study potential confounders of the cortisol-psychopathology relationship in this age group, such as season of sampling, age, gender, pubertal development, perinatal variables and BMI. We found a wide interindividual variability in HPA-axis function. An increase in cortisol in the first 30min after awakening was present in 70.7% of children, but the increase appears lower in children than in adults. In addition, this study suggests that season of sampling and gender may act as potential confounders in the cortisol-psychopathology relationship. We will follow these children longitudinally for the development of psychopathology in the period from childhood into adulthood. This period covers adolescence, which is a critical time for the appearance and development of psychiatric disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Episode duration in non-psychotic mental illness is associated with personal characteristics of patients, like age or personality. Part of these links may be mediated by life change, a predictor of episode duration in its own right. Methods: In 170 primary care patients who suffered 4171 person-months of non-psychotic mental illness diagnosed according to Bedford College Criteria, we examined to what extent associations with episode duration of nine person-linked variables including personal vulnerability, coping styles and social support, are mediated by their effects on the occurrence, during episodes, of positive life changes (PLC) assessed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule. Cox regression for competing endpoints was used to analyse the simultaneous effects of baseline variables on PLC and on remission, whether spontaneous or not. Results: Irrespective of diagnosis and symptom intensity, PLC during episodes increases remission rates 2.9-fold (P<0.001). Remission rates are higher in patients with larger social networks and who seek more help but this is partly because such persons experience more PLC earlier during episodes. Lower neuroticism is also linked with shorter episode duration but this effect is unmediated by PLC. Limitations: Mental state may bias dating and reporting of life change. Treatment aspects were not recorded. Elderly subjects were not included. Conclusion: PLC occurrence during common mental illness is associated with psychosocial variables which are also overall predictors of episode remission. Thus, PLC mediates between patients’ psychosocial make-up and their chances of speedy recovery. This has implications for the management of non-psychotic mental illness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The clinical staging model acknowledges the gradual development of psychosis. • Psychosis prediction is complex and other approaches may improve on this. • The added value of 90-day daily diary data was tested. • Simple diary metrics improve psychopathology and psychotic experiences prediction. • Network density doesn't improve psychopathology and psychotic experiences prediction. This study aimed to assess whether adding information on psychological experiences derived from a daily diary to baseline cross-sectional data could improve short- (1-year) and long-term (3-years) prediction of psychopathology and positive psychotic experiences (PEs). We used 90-day daily diary data from 96 individuals in early subclinical risk stages for psychosis. Stepwise linear regression models were built for psychopathology and PEs at 1- and 3-years follow-up, adding: (1) baseline questionnaires, (2) the mean and variance of daily psychological experiences, and (3) individual symptom network density. We assessed whether similar results could be achieved with a subset of the data (7–14- and 30-days). The mean and variance of the diary improved model prediction of short- and long-term psychopathology and PEs, compared to prediction based on baseline questionnaires solely. Similar results were achieved with 7–14- and 30-day subsets. Symptom network density did not improve model prediction except for short-term prediction of PEs. Simple metrics, i.e., the mean and variance from 7 to 14 days of daily psychological experiences assessments, can improve short- and long-term prediction of both psychopathology and PEs in individuals in early subclinical stages for psychosis. Diary data could be a valuable addition to clinical risk prediction models for psychopathology development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many longitudinal studies have investigated whether self‐esteem predicts depressive symptoms (vulnerability model) or the other way around (scar model) in adolescents. The most common method of analysis has been the cross‐lagged panel model (CLPM). The CLPM does not separate between‐person effects from within‐person effects, making it unclear whether the results from previous studies actually reflect the within‐person effects or whether they reflect differences between people. We investigated the associations between self‐esteem and depressive symptoms at the within‐person level, using random intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPMs). To get an impression of the magnitude of possible differences between the RI‐CLPM and the CLPM, we compared the results of both models. We used data from three longitudinal adolescent samples (age range: 7–18 years; study 1: N = 1948; study 2: N = 1455; study 3: N = 316). Intervals between the measurements were 1–1.5 years. Single‐paper meta‐analyses showed support for small within‐person associations from self‐esteem to depressive symptoms, but not the other way around, thus only providing some support for the vulnerability model. The cross‐lagged associations in the aggregated RI‐CLPM and CLPM showed similar effect sizes. Overall, our results show that over 1‐ to 1.5‐year time intervals, low self‐esteem may negatively influence depressive symptoms over time within adolescents, but only weakly so. © 2018 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anhedonia, the decreased interest and pleasure, is often described as 'flat' or 'blunted' positive affect (PA). Yet, little is known about PA functioning in anhedonic individuals' daily lives. The current study investigates PA reactivity to pleasurable experiences in anhedonia together with its relevant temporal dynamics (i.e., variability, instability, and inertia), and expands current knowledge by exploring the role of arousal therein.Methods: Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), we collected 90 assessments of real-life PA experiences across 30 days in 18-24 year old individuals with anhedonia (N=69) and without anhedonia (N=69).Results: Multilevel analyses showed that anhedonia was associated with less intense pleasure experience, and lower levels of PA. Contrary to predictions from laboratory research and depression theory, individuals with anhedonia showed more variability and less stability in PA, and no signs of blunted PA reactivity. In fact, when exploring high and low arousal PA, individuals with anhedonia showed a slightly stronger reactivity to pleasurable experiences in high-arousal PA but not low-arousal PA.Limitations: We did not control for previous pleasure experiences and, instead of the last positive event, accumulation of positive events may have determined the change in high-arousal PA.Conclusions: Individuals with anhedonia are likely less 'flat' or 'blunted' than generally thought. Although replication is warranted, impairments in high-arousal positive emotions may be of particular interest in the clinical treatment of anhedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Increased intra-subject reaction time variability (RT-ISV) as coarsely measured by the standard deviation (RT-SD) has been associated with many forms of psychopathology. Low-frequency RT fluctuations, which have been associated with intrinsic brain rhythms occurring approximately every 15–40 s, have been shown to add unique information for ADHD. In this study, we investigated whether these fluctuations also relate to attentional problems in the general population, and contribute to the two major domains of psychopathology: externalizing and internalizing problems. Methods RT was monitored throughout a self-paced sustained attention task (duration: 9.1 ± 1.2 min) in a Dutch population cohort of young adults ( n = 1455, mean age: 19.0 ± 0.6 years, 55.1% girls). To characterize temporal fluctuations in RT, we performed direct Fourier Transform on externally validated frequency bands based on frequency ranges of neuronal oscillations: Slow-5 (0.010–0.027 Hz), Slow-4 (0.027–0.073 Hz), and three additional higher frequency bands. Relative magnitude of Slow-4 fluctuations was the primary predictor in regression models for attentional, internalizing and externalizing problems (measured by the Adult Self-Report questionnaire). Additionally, stepwise regression models were created to investigate (a) whether Slow-4 significantly improved the prediction of problem behaviors beyond the RT-SD and (b) whether the other frequency bands provided important additional information. Results The magnitude of Slow-4 fluctuations significantly predicted attentional and externalizing problems and even improved model fit after modeling RT-SD first ( R 2 change = 0.6%, P < .01). Subsequently, adding Slow-5 explained additional variance for externalizing problems ( R 2 change = 0.4%, P < .05). For internalizing problems, only RT-SD made a significant contribution to the regression model ( R 2 = 0.5%, P < .01), that is, none of the frequency bands provided additional information. Conclusions Low-frequency RT fluctuations have added predictive value for attentional and externalizing, but not internalizing problems beyond global differences in variability. This study extends previous findings in clinical samples of children with ADHD to adolescents from the general population and demonstrates that deconstructing RT-ISV into temporal components can provide more distinctive information for different domains of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although it has often been suggested that physical activity and depression are intertwined, only few studies have investigated whether specific aspects of physical activity predict the incidence of major depression in adolescents from the general population. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of nature, frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity during early adolescence on the onset of a major depressive episode in early adulthood. In a population sample of adolescents (N = 1396), various aspects of physical activity were assessed at early adolescence (mean age 13.02, SD = 0.61). Major depressive episode onset was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. A Cox regression model was performed to investigate whether physical activity characteristics and their interactions with gender predicted a major depressive episode onset up until mean age 18.5 (SD = 0.61). The individual characteristics of physical activity (nature, frequency, duration and intensity) or their interactions with gender did not predict a major depressive episode onset (p values >0.05). So far, there is no prospective evidence that physical activity protects against the development of adolescent depressive episodes in either boys or girls. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]