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The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic has been associated with adverse psychological outcomes. This cross-cultural study ( N = 1326, 71% female) aimed to investigate Canadian and Australian adolescents' subjective experiences of COVID-19, gender differences, and psychological implications. Mixed-methods analyses were used to examine differences in COVID-19 experiences and mental health outcomes between country and gender in a Canadian ( N = 913, 78% female) and an Australian sample ( N = 413, 57% female) of adolescents. Canadian adolescents reported increased COVID-19 discussions and more concerns related to their COVID-19 experiences compared to Australian adolescents. Girls consistently reported more concerns related to COVID-19 and poorer psychological outcomes compared to boys. School lockdown for the Canadian sample may have played a role in these country differences. Further, girls might be at significantly more risk for mental health concerns during COVID-19, which should be considered in adolescent mental health initiatives during the pandemic. Although school disruption and separation of peers due to the pandemic likely have a role in adolescent perceived stressors and mental health, the differences between Canadian and Australian adolescents were less clear and future investigations comparing more objective pre-COVID-19 data to current data are needed.

Displacement of people from their homes, families and countries is a current global crisis, with over 70 million people forcibly on the move. A substantial proportion of these people will end up in regions with a different language and culture, where they are registered as refugees or asylum seekers. Due to the underlying reasons for displacement (including conflicts, persecution or violation of human rights), displaced people are severely stress-exposed, which continues into their post-migration life and increases risk for developing psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders and mood disorders. While landmark studies have illustrated the increased prevalence of psychopathology in asylum seeker and refugee populations following pre-/post-displacement stress, few studies add to our understanding of the basic biological mechanisms underpinning risk to psychiatric disorders in these populations. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying resilience despite significant adversity remain unclear. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of psychiatric disorders in refugees can propel treatments (both drug and non-drug) that are capable of influencing biology at the molecular level, and the design of interventions. In the following review, we summarise the status quo of research investigating the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders in refugees, and propose new ways to address gaps in knowledge with multidisciplinary research., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Chronic stress and adversity are associated with poor mental health and are thought to contribute to the existing mental health gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. Hair cortisol and allostatic load (AL) are indices of sustained stress and may be mediators of the effects of stress on health. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between hair cortisol, AL, and depressive symptoms. This cross-sectional study comprised 329 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and adults recruited at two health screening programs operating in three communities in north Queensland. We measured hair cortisol and calculated an AL index from 10 biomarkers. We assessed depressive symptoms with a version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 adapted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (aPHQ-9). We found differences in cortisol and AL between the screening programs and communities, which were not explained by depressive symptoms. Overall aPHQ-9 scores were unrelated to hair cortisol (p = .25 and p = .94) and AL (p = .30 and p = .88) when age, gender and smoking were taken into account. However, anhedonia (p = .007) and insomnia (p = .006) sub-scores were each significantly associated with AL in one study site. Our present data did not demonstrate overall associations of stress biomarkers and multisystem dysregulation with depressive symptoms, which suggests that the relationship between cumulative stress and depression may be better explained by other factors in this population. The specific association between anhedonia and insomnia with AL indicates that chronic multisystem dysregulation plays a role in these features of depression in this population. Lay summary Our study investigated the relationship between symptoms of depression and two biological pathways thought to mediate depression risk - the stress hormone cortisol and allostatic load (AL) - in an Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Overall, cortisol and AL were unrelated to depression. However, AL was selectively associated with anhedonia (lack of motivation or drive) and sleep disturbances. These results suggest that metabolic dysregulation measured as AL may be relevant to the depression risk in this population.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful and/or traumatic experiences associated with an increased lifetime risk of negative health outcomes. The Allostatic Load (AL) is a measure of multisystem dysregulation, resulted by chronic stress. We systematically reviewed the English language literature on the association between ACEs and AL to identify the clinical risk profile, with the exclusion of reviews and preclinical studies. Searches covered the publication period up to the 1st of February 2022 and identified 25 studies in which ACEs such as maltreatment, abuse, poverty, psychological abuse, and discrimination were investigated in the context of AL. The selected studies used different sets of AL biomarkers resulting in substantial heterogenicity of calculating the AL index. Overall, we found that ACEs are associated with elevated AL and poorer health outcomes in adulthood. Furthermore, health risk behaviors, social support, and coping resources either moderate or mediate this association. These findings suggest that targeting individuals at risk and starting interventions early might reduce AL and its deleterious health consequences. • ACEs may contribute to systemic and psychiatric disorders. • Allostatic load reflects the multi-system dysregulation by chronic stress. • Allostatic load may link stress with long-term health outcomes. • ACEs are associated with elevated allostatic load in adulthood. • Targeting individuals at risk early might reduce deleterious health consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]