Heightened amygdala reactivity and increased stress generation predict internalizing symptoms in adults following childhood maltreatment

Abstract

Background: Childhood maltreatment is one of the most potent predictors of future psychopathology, including internalizing disorders. It remains unclear whether heightened amygdala reactivity to threat and elevated stress exposure may be implicated in the pathogenesis and maintenance of internalizing disorders among individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Methods: Using data from a sample of 1,144 young adults, we investigated the contribution of baseline threat-related amygdala reactivity and prospective major stressful life events to internalizing symptoms severity 1 year later (on average) in individuals with a history of maltreatment (n = 100) and propensity score matched nonmaltreated peers (n = 96).

Results: Even after stringently matching for several potentially confounding variables - including baseline internalizing symptoms, socioeconomic status and IQ - childhood maltreatment status predicted increased amygdala reactivity at baseline, elevated post-baseline exposure to major stressful life events and internalizing symptoms at follow-up. We also showed, for the first time, that amygdala reactivity at baseline and also post-baseline exposure to major stressful life events mediated the association between a history of maltreatment and future internalizing symptoms.

Conclusions: These findings provide support for the view that maltreatment is a potent developmental insult leading to long-lasting neurocognitive recalibrations of the threat processing system. It is possible that such alterations, over time, may impact mental health functioning by compromising the ability to effectively negotiate everyday challenges (stress susceptibility). These alterations were not, however, found to sensitize an individual to the impact of major stressful life events. The results of this study also lend compelling support to the view that increased psychiatric risk, in the context of childhood maltreatment, follows from an increased propensity to experience major stressful life events (stress generation).

Keywords: Maltreatment; amygdala; child abuse; internalizing disorder; stress.

Figure 1.

Parallel structural equation mediation model depicting how the association between future internalizing symptoms and maltreatment status is partially mediated by both baseline amygdala reactivity to threat and post-baseline exposure to major stressful life events. Note. Coefficient values are standardized; * indicates statistically significant coefficients; the interaction terms (i.e. indirect effects) significance threshold were measured using Monte Carlo test of mediation (MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004)