Strengthening through adversity: The hormesis model in developmental psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Employing a developmental psychopathology framework, we tested the utility of the hormesis model in examining the strengthening of children and youth through limited levels of adversity in relation to internalizing and externalizing outcomes within a brain-by-development context. METHODS: Analyzing data from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study (N = 11,878), we formed latent factors of threat, deprivation, and unpredictability. We examined linear and nonlinear associations between adversity dimensions and youth psychopathology symptoms and how change of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the default mode network (DMN) from Time 1 to Time 5 moderates these associations. RESULTS: A cubic association was found between threat and youth internalizing problems; low-to-moderate family conflict levels reduced these problems. Deprivation also displayed a cubic relation with youth externalizing problems, with moderate deprivation levels associated with fewer problems. Unpredictability linearly increased both problem types. Change in DMN rsFC significantly moderated the cubic link between threat levels and internalizing problems, with declining DMN rsFC levels from Time 1 to Time 5 facilitating hormesis. Hormetic effects peaked earlier, emphasizing the importance of sensitive periods and developmental timing of outcomes related to earlier experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Strengthening through limited environmental adversity is crucial for developing human resilience. Understanding this process requires considering both linear and nonlinear adversity-psychopathology associations. Testing individual differences by brain and developmental context will inform preventive intervention programming.

'Steeling' effects in the association between psychological resilience and cancer treatment in prostate cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: To test the 'buffering' effect of psychological resilience (PR) upon depression in prostate cancer patients and to also investigate any effects that past or current treatment may have had upon patients' PR as a test of the 'steeling' hypothesis of past adversity upon future resilience. METHODS: A total of 576 volunteer prostate cancer patients completed questionnaires about their demographic and treatment variables, and their psychological resilience and depression. Factor analysis was used to identify the underlying components of the resilience measure. RESULTS: PR was confirmed as an inverse correlate of depression in these men. Additionally, some past and current treatments were found to be significantly associated with patients' psychological resilience in a way suggestive of 'steeling' effects. CONCLUSION: These data provide support for the model of PR as being influenced by past experiences of adversity and demonstrate that association for prostate cancer patients.

Steeling in Later Life: Exploring Age-Specific Effects of Varying Levels of Stress on Psychological Resilience.

The steeling effect suggests that "optimal" stress positively affects well-being by enhancing resilience. However, there is lack of longitudinal investigations in diverse age groups. The aim was to explore steeling in later life and potential predictors. The sample consisted of N = 195 participants. A 1-year longitudinal survey study was conducted. Sociodemographics, experienced stress, resilience resources, and satisfaction with life were assessed. Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles that differ in the change of resilience resources over time and to examine differences between the profiles across the other study variables. Three profiles emerged: decreased resources (Decrease), stability of resources (Maintenance), and increased resources (Increase). "Decrease" was characterized by low, Maintenance by moderate, and Increase by high stress. Age influenced profile membership. While the results failed to support the classic steeling effect, with high stress associated with increased resilience resources, optimal stress was associated with the maintenance of resilience resources.

Does Exposure to a Traumatic Event Make Organizations Resilient?

Why do some organizations bounce-back from traumatic events more quickly than others? While the research on organizations offers extensive insights on recovery from economic or technological shocks, there is limited understanding of how organizations recover from life-threatening events such as terrorist attacks. In this study, we build on the research on resilience and argue that organizational recovery from a traumatic event is informed by the perception of threat. Higher perception of threat increases inter-organizational collaboration and the care associated with the deployment of slack as well as to learning. We tested our arguments with a sample of US and non-US firms before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and found that, due to spatial proximity, US firms' higher perception of threat led to a larger increase in the frequency of inter-organizational alliances than that of non-US firms. This preference was more frequently directed towards local partners and demonstrated a distinct emphasis on slack and learning. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our findings suggest that organizational resilience in the face of a traumatic event benefits not from immunity but from spatial proximity to the threat. Proximity increases the perception of threat, and with it, the impetus for adaptation.

The curvilinear relationship of early-life adversity and successful aging: the mediating role of mental health.

OBJECTIVES: The steeling effect suggests that early-life adversity can have a beneficial impact later in life. However, little is known about its underlying mechanisms and long-term outcomes . The study aimed to examine the role of early-life adversity (ELA) on successful aging, and whether this relationship can be explained by mental and physical health. METHOD: Socio-demographics, early-life adversity (ELA), individual quality of life (iQoL), and mental and physical health of 270 individuals (Mage = 66.82 years, 71.5% female) were assessed. Polynomial regressions and mediation analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Significant inverse U-shaped associations were found between ELA and iQoL (ß = -.59, p = .005) and between ELA and mental health (ß = -.64, p = .002), but not between ELA and physical health. Furthermore, mental health significantly mediated the relationship between ELA and iQoL (b = -.84, BCa CI [-1.66, -.27]). CONCLUSION: Highest level of individual quality of life (i.e. successful aging) was related to a moderate amount of ELA. Additionally, mental health significantly mediated this relationship. These findings suggest that some amount of ELA could be beneficial for successful aging. Resource-focused interventions are needed to improve health and promote successful aging for an underdetected, at-risk subgroup with low early-life adversity.

Examining the Complex (Curvilinear and Contingent) Associations between Social Distancing Compliance and Subjective Health during a Global Health Crisis.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated a potential curvilinear link between social distancing behavior and subjective health in later life. It also evaluated whether food insecurity and community social capital moderated the focal relationship. METHODS: Data were drawn from three waves of the COVID Impact Survey (N = 19,234). Mixed-effects models were fitted. RESULTS: Social distancing has a non-monotonic (U-shaped) relationship with subjective health, i.e., individuals with low and high levels of social distancing show relatively better health. Moreover, the negative linear relationship between social distancing and health is weaker among people suffering from food insecurity as well as those living in communities with lower stocks of social capital. DISCUSSION: This study sheds new light on the health implications of social distancing during the pandemic. Our findings dovetail with the steeling hypothesis, i.e., that social distancing is less harmful for U.S. older adults exposed to prior stressful or vulnerable conditions.

Is perceived stress linked to enhanced cognitive functioning and reduced risk for psychopathology? Testing the hormesis hypothesis.

Extensive research documents the impact of psychosocial stress on risk for the development of psychiatric symptoms across one's lifespan. Further, evidence exists that cognitive functioning mediates this link. However, a growing body of research suggests that limited stress can result in cognitive benefits that may contribute to resilience. The hypothesis that low-to-moderate levels of stress are linked to more adaptive outcomes has been referred to as hormesis. Using a sample of young adults from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1,206, 54.4% female, Mage = 28.84), the present study aims to test the hormetic effect between low-to-moderate perceived stress and psychopathological symptoms (internalizing and externalizing symptoms), as well as to cross-sectionally explore the intermediate role of cognitive functioning in this effect. Results showed cognitive functioning as a potential intermediating mechanism underlying the curvilinear associations between perceived stress and externalizing, but not internalizing, behaviors. This study provides preliminary support for the benefits of limited stress to the process of human resilience.

Moderate Childhood Stress Buffers Against Depressive Response to Proximal Stressors: A Multi-Wave Prospective Study of Early Adolescents.

Although the majority of research in the field has focused on childhood stressors as a risk factor for psychopathology, a burgeoning body of literature has focused on the possible steeling effect of moderate types of stressful events. The current study investigated the effects of proximal life stressors on prospective changes in depressive symptoms, and whether a history of moderate childhood adversity would moderate this relationship in a multi-wave study of a diverse community sample of early adolescents (N = 163, 52 % female, 51 % Caucasian). Hierarchical linear modeling was run with four waves of data. Adolescents with greater moderately severe early life events evinced a blunted depressive symptom response to changes in proximal stressful events in the previous 9 months, compared to those with fewer early moderately severe experiences of adversity. These results held after controlling for between-subject factors such as race, gender, severe early life stress, and average stress over the four waves of data. Findings indicate that greater exposure to moderate childhood stressors may buffer against the negative effects of subsequent stressors, suggesting the importance of a nuanced developmental approach to studying the effects of early life stress.