Thesis advisor: Karen Rosen / Thesis advisor: Daniel Bowles / Transgender individuals in the twenty-first century face stigmatization across the globe. Discrimination contributes to the development of early life stress (ELS), and this may lead to depression, anxiety, and social and developmental problems as individuals enter adulthood. Suicide rates in transgender populations in Western countries peak above 41%, compared to 4.6% in the general population (Haas, Rodgers, & Herman, 2014). Though medical and social efforts to treat suicide in the community are being developed, existing measures have been unable to effect significant change regarding these disproportionately-high suicide rates. Some parts of the world are drawing ahead of others in this respect. As one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world (Rand, 2013), for example, Germany is making progress medically and legally, including recently having introduced a third gender option into legal documents and opened new discussions on depathologizing transgender identity in medical care. Germany has been able to build on its early history as the first country to publicly tolerate and provide healthcare to transgender individuals. This has fostered transgender activism from the postwar period to today and may contribute to lowered suicide rates among transgender Germans. This thesis aims to use Germany’s early history of transgender rights to contextualize the state of the transgender population there today. Using an analysis of existing literature, it looks at the effects of stigmatization on suicide rates in the transgender population. Positive and negative aspects of Germany’s LGBTQ+ and transgender culture are evaluated for their impact on neurological development and the perpetuation of suicidal behavior. The thesis concludes with proposals for improved social, legal, and medical practices regarding transgender health in Germany, with a particular focus on the development of cultural understanding of transgender identity. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology. / Discipline: German Studies.

Early life stress is a prevalent problem affecting many worldwide and can be experienced in a variety of ways, including limited access to resources as in many low socioeconomic status households. In humans, exposure to stress early in life is linked to various psychiatric conditions such as substance use disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and gambling. One characteristic that these disorders share is elevated impulsivity. Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct and often behaviors are classified as either an impulsive choice (e.g., inability to delay gratification) or an impulsive action (e.g., inability to inhibit premature responses). In the first set of experiments presented here, we characterize the limited bedding and nesting model (LBN) of early life adversity in rodents, in which rat dams and their pups are housed in a limited resource environment from postnatal day (PND) 2 through 9. This model works by inducing stress in the dams, which alters their maternal care behaviors towards pups. As a result, this altered care can be stressful for the developing pups. We have found that LBN exposure promoted resilience to addiction-related phenotypes in adult male, but not female rats. Specifically, LBN reduced impulsive choice, morphine self-administration, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) glutamate transmission in males, effects not seen in females. Additionally, changes in NAc gene transcription unique to LBN males may contribute to resilience. We build on these findings in the second set of experiments, which explores whether LBN alters impulsive action, risky decision-making, and the gene transcriptome of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). We found that LBN increased impulsive action in males. Additionally, we found LBN exposure in rats across sex reduces risky choice. These changes in behavior were accompanied by highly specific changes in gene transcription in the OFC, which is a brain region that mediates both impulsive and risky decision-making behaviors. The identification of genes and signaling pathways that are altered by LBN in the male OFC lays the groundwork for future studies investigating the mechanisms by which early life stress alters addiction-related phenotypes. / Psychology

Estudos recentes associaram fortemente a fisiopatologia da Depressão ao estresse crônico e suas conseqüências, desde o comportamento alterado até a disrupção do eixo HPA e mudanças na expressão gênica. A depressão é uma doença que afeta milhões de pessoas ao redor do mundo, causando um grande impacto na qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Evidências sugerem o papel contributivo do stress de início da vida (ELS) para Depressão Maior (MD). O paradigma do estresse crônico variável é amplamente utilizado, mas seus impactos não foram estudados no início da vida. Portanto, para entender melhor esta condição, os filhotes de ratos Wistar machos (P1-P21) foram expostos ao paradigma Multimodal ELS. Foram avaliados os níveis plasmáticos de corticosterona (cort) e os órgãos relacionados ao eixo HPA. Adicionalmente, estes foram avaliados durante a idade adulta no teste de consumo de sacarose (TCS), no teste de nado forçado (TNF) e no teste da caixa claro-escuro (TCE). Os resultados indicam que os filhotes não se habituaram ao ELS multimodal. Em P21, o peso das glândulas adrenais dos animais ELS é significantivamente maior, e o timo e o peso corporal diminuíram, quando comparados com o grupo controle. O timo também se mantém significativamente reduzido quando comparado ao grupo controle em P90. Além disso, os ratos adultos submetidos ao protocolo ELS apresentaram menor ingestão de sacarose e maior latência para o compartimento claro na TCE, quando comparados ao grupo controle. Um outro modelo animal que apresenta estresse intermitente e tem sido amplamente utilizado é o modelo da restrição do material de ninho. Neste modelo a redução do material do ninho promove uma disrupção no cuidado materno, e gera alterações no desenvolvimento encefálico e comportamental da prole. O ELS leva a um surgimento precoce da inibição do medo contextual e à maturação acelerada do hipocampo. Nós postulamos que a corticosterona desempenha um papel funcional na regulação do tempo de maturação das regiões subjacentes à aprendizagem e expressão de ameaças, incluindo o hipocampo e a amígdala. Nossa hipótese é que alterações nos níveis plasmáticos de corticosterona podem afetar o tempo de processos de maturação cerebral e comportamental. Portanto nosso objetivo foi avaliar como um bloqueador da síntese de corticosterona altera o comportamento de medo condicionado e expressão de BDNF em animais controle ou submetidos ao modelo ELS de redução de material do ninho. Tanto nos grupos controle como ELS utilizamos animais Naïve, ou que receberam Veículo ou Metirapona (MET; 50mg/kg) em P12. Em P18, P21 ou P28 grupos independentes de camundongos foram expostos a uma única sessão de condicionamento do medo, seguido 24 h depois por um único teste de contexto. A análise do comportamento de congelamento no teste de contexto revelou que o tratamento com MET bloqueou a aceleração na inibição do medo contextual em camundongos fêmeas submetidos ao ELS. Curiosamente, em filhotes machos controles tratados com MET, houve um atraso na curva de desenvolvimento de medo contextual. Observamos que houve um correlato do efeito do tratamento com Metirapona na expressão do BDNF em regiões límbicas (hipocampo ventral e amígdala basolateral). Com base nos presentes resultados, a CORT provavelmente desempenha um papel importante no momento do desenvolvimento típico e das mudanças associadas ao ELS no comportamento e na maturação do cérebro. A epilepsia é uma condição neurológica crônica caracterizada pela predisposição persistente a gerar crises epilépticas, e pelas consequências neurobiológicas, cognitivas, psicológicas e sociais desta condição. A depressão é uma comorbidade psiquiátrica muito comum em pacientes com epilepsia. Cada vez mais dados sugerem que a epilepsia, depressão e outros possíveis distúrbios psiquiátricos como a ansiedade compartilham mecanismos patogênicos. Nesse sentido, foram encontradas anormalidades na linhagem WAR (Wistar Audiogenic Rat) que a tornam um modelo interessante para o estudo do estresse, a Epilepsia e as comorbidades neuropsiquiátricas envolvidas. Com base nisso, o presente estudo teve comoxiv Godoy, L.D. objetivo avaliar na linhagem WAR: 1. Cuidados maternos na linhagem WAR nas condições controle e sob estresse 2. Comportamentos de tipo depressivo basal e após o kindling audiogênico (crises convulsivas crônicas- KAu). Não houve diferença no tempo em postura de amamentação ativa, licking/grooming ou tempo da mãe no ninho, e no número de ataques e comportamentos agressivos. Observamos um aumento na latência de ratas WAR para recuperar os filhotes após separação materna, e enquanto 100% das ratas Wistar agruparam toda a ninhada, nas fêmeas WAR foi observado apenas 40%. 2. Para avaliar os comportamentos de tipo depressivo, os ratos foram submetidos a 20 estímulos acústicos duas vezes ao dia (KAu) (Wistar-KAu, WAR-KAu), enquanto os respectivos grupos controle permaneceram sem estímulo (Wistar, WAR). Posteriormente, os grupos foram submetidos ao TCS e TNF Não houve diferença entre o grupo WAR e Wistar no TCS , porém o grupo WAR-KAu grupo apresentou um aumento significativo em relação aos grupos controles. No TNF ambos os grupos WAR e WAR-KAu apresentaram redução significativa de escalada na sessão teste quando comparados ao Wistar. Tomados em conjunto, esses achados indicam que o ELS pode gerar suceptibilidade às comorbidades psiquiátricas associadas ao estresse, e que os modelos experimentais em questão permitem investigar como os efeitos dos glicocorticoies se relacionam com o neurodesenvolvimento, especificamente na maturação do comportamento de medo e de estruturas límbicas. Além disso, dados preliminares indicam que, embora a linhagem WAR não apresente diferenças comportamentais maternas em condições basais, pode apresentar alterações sob o efeito de eventos estressantes. Também, com base nos achados, a susceptibilidade de crises convulsivas pode estar relacionada às alterações nas estratégias comportamentais em situações estressantes na vida adulta, que também pode constituir vulnerabilidade às comorbidades psiquiátricas. / Recent studies have strongly associated the pathophysiology of depression with chronic stress and its consequences, from altered behavior to HPA axis disruption and changes in gene expression. Depression is a disease that affects millions of people around the world, causing a major impact on the quality of life of patients. Evidence suggests the contributory role of early life stress (ELS) for Major Depression (MD). The variable chronic stress paradigm is widely used, but its impacts were not studied early in life. Therefore, to better understand this condition, male Wistar rat pups (P1-P21) were exposed to the Multimodal ELS paradigm. Plasma levels of corticosterone (CORT) and organs related to the HPA axis were evaluated. Additionally, these were evaluated during adulthood in the sucrose consumption test (SCT), the forced swimming test (FST) and the light-dark box test (LDT). The results indicate that pups did not habituate to multimodal ELS. In P21, the weight of the adrenal glands of the ELS animals is significantly greater, and the thymus and body weight decreased, when compared with the control group. The thymus also remains significantly reduced when compared to the control group in P90. In addition, adult rats submitted to the ELS protocol presented lower intake of sucrose and greater latency to light compartment in the LDT when compared to the control group. Another animal model that presents intermittent stress and has been widely used is the constraint model of nest material. In this model, the reduction of nest material promotes disruption in maternal care and causes changes in the encephalic and behavioral development of offspring. ELS leads to an early onset of contextual fear inhibition and accelerated maturation of the hippocampus. We postulate that CORT plays a functional role in regulating the maturation time of the regions underlying the learning and expression of threats, including the hippocampus and amygdala. Our hypothesis is that changes in plasma CORT levels may affect the timed brain and behavioral maturation processes. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate how a CORT synthesis blocker (Metyrapone; MET) alters conditioned fear behavior and BDNF expression in animals reared under control conditions or submitted to the ELS model of limited nesting bed. Both in control and ELS groups included Naïve animals or animals that received vehicle or MET; 50 mg/kg in P12. In P18, P21 or P28 independent groups of mice were exposed to a single session of fear conditioning, followed 24 hours later by a single context test. Analysis of the freezing behavior in the context test revealed that MET treatment blocked the acceleration of contextual fear suppression at P22 induced by ELS, with no difference between the P19 or P29 groups. This effect was observed mainly in female mice. Interestingly, in control male pups treated with MET, there was an altered contextual fear developmental curve. MET showed significant reduction in freezing in PND22, increase in freezing in PND29 followed by delayed suppression in P39. We observed that MET behavioural data were further supported by BDNF expression in limbic regions (ventral hippocampal and basolateral amygdala). Based on the current results, CORT probably plays an important role at the time of typical development and changes associated with ELS in the behavior and maturation of the brain. Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by a persistent predisposition to epileptic seizures, and by neurobiological, cognitive, psychological and social consequences. Depression is a very common psychiatric comorbidity in patients with epilepsy. Increasingly data suggest that epilepsy, depression and other possible psychiatric disorders such as anxiety share pathogenic mechanisms. In this sense, abnormalities in the WAR strain (Wistar Audiogenic Rat) have been found that make it an interesting model for the study of stress, Epilepsy and neuropsychiatric comorbidities involved. Based on this, the present study aimed to evaluate in the WAR strain: 1. Maternal care under control and under stress conditions 2. Basal depressive type behaviors and after audiogenic kindling (chronic seizures-KAu).xvi Godoy, L.D. There was no difference for active breastfeeding posture, licking/grooming or time of mother in the nest and in the number of attacks and aggressive behaviors in maternal aggression test. WAR rats showed a higher latency to recover pup in pup retrieval test, whereas 100% of the Wistar rats grouped the entire litter, and in WAR it was only 40%. 2. In order to evaluate the depressive type behaviors, the rats were submitted to 20 acoustic stimuli twice a day (AuK) (Wistar-AuK, WAR-AuK), while the respective control groups remained without stimulus (Wistar, WAR). Subsequently, the groups were submitted to sucrose consumption test (SCT) and forced swim test (FST). There was no difference between the WAR and Wistar groups in the SCT, however the WAR-KAu group presented an increase in sucrose consumption in relation to the control groups 3 or 13 dasy after the AuK. In FST, both WAR and WARKAu groups showed a significant decrease in the test session when compared to Wistar. Taken together, these findings indicate that ELS may induce susceptibility to psychiatric comorbidities associated with stress, and that the current experimental models allow investigating how the effects of glucocorticoids are related to neurodevelopment, specifically in the maturation of fear behavior and limbic structures. In addition, preliminary data indicate that, although the WAR strain does not show maternal behavioral differences at baseline, it may present changes under stressful events. Also, based on the findings, the susceptibility of seizures may be related to changes in behavioral strategies in stressful situations in adult life, which may also constitute vulnerability to psychiatric comorbidities.

O desenvolvimento humano, presente desde a formação primária do indivíduo é constituído pelo conjunto das experiências vividas durante infância, incluindo as experiências de estresse precoce. Tais vivências repercutem nas ações do sujeito, podendo ser importante no aparecimento da depressão. Objetivos: explorar e analisar o significado do Estresse Precoce para portadores de depressão e construir um modelo teórico sobre o fenômeno estudado; caracterizar a amostra quanto às características sociodemográficas e de saúde; explorar e analisar, à luz do Interacionismo Simbólico, o significado do estresse precoce entre adultos portadores de depressão. Método: Estudo qualitativo que teve como referencial teórico norteador o Interacionismo Simbólico e como referencial metodológico a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados. Os participantes desse estudo foram portadores de depressão que vivenciaram Estresse Precoce, recrutados no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial - CAPS III do interior paulista. Instrumentos utilizados: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire -CTQ, questionário sociodemográfico e entrevista em profundidade. O número de participantes foi se configurando conforme a análise da teoria emergente (amostragem teórica), totalizando 12 participantes. Resultados: a análise dos dados permitiu identificar o modelo teórico \"Caminhando entre a infância traumática e a vida adulta com depressão\". Sete categorias estruturaram a experiência relatada pelos participantes do estudo: \"Vivenciando o Estresse Precoce\"; \"Sentindo diferenciação de tratamento dentro no núcleo familiar\"; \"Percebendo a distribuição de papeis dentro do núcleo familiar\"; \"Construindo a si próprio\"; \"Aliando-se à passividade frente a incapacidade de decisões\"; \"Percebendo comportamentos nos pais e em si próprio\" e \"Vivenciando a depressão\". Conclusões: o estudo permitiu identificar um modelo teórico que simbolizou a forma como as vivências foram compreendidas pelos próprios sujeitos e como o significado de cada experiência foi se entrelaçando na composição do ser, moldando seu conjunto de símbolos, sendo expresso em sentimentos, percepções e comportamentos. O modelo teórico contribuiu para a compreensão dos significados construídos e as condições que afetam o indivíduo desde a infância traumática até a depressão na idade adulta / Human development, present since the primary formation of the individual, consists of all the lived experiences during childhood, including the early life stress experiences. Such experiences have repercussions on the subject actions, and may be important in the depression onset. Objectives: To explore and to analyze the meaning of early life stress in adulthood with depression and to construct a theoretical model about the phenomenon; To characterize the sample regarding sociodemographic and health characteristics; to explore and to analyze, in the according to Symbolic Interactionism, the meaning of early life stress among adults with depression. Method: Qualitative study that had as a guiding theoretical referential the Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as a methodological referential. The study participants were depressive individuals who experienced early life stress, recruited at the Center for Psychosocial Care - CAPS III in inner city of São Paulo, Brazil. Instruments: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - CTQ, sociodemographic questionnaire and in-depth interview. The participants number was configured according to the analysis of the emerging theory (theoretical sampling), totaling 12 participants. Results: Data analysis allowed the identification of the theoretical model \"Walking between traumatic childhood and adulthood with depression\". Seven categories structures the experience: \"Experiencing early life stress\"; \"Feeling treatment differentiation within the family nucleus\"; \"Perceiving the distribution of characters within the family\"; \"Building Yourself\"; \"Allying to passivity in the face of inability to make decisions\"; \"Perceiving behaviors in parents and in yorurself\" and \"Experiencing depression\". Conclusions: the study allowed to identify a theoretical model that symbolized the way as the experiences were understood by the individuals and how the meaning of each experience was interlaced in the composition of being, shaping its set of symbols, being expressed in feelings, perceptions and behaviors. The theoretical model contributed to the understanding of the raised meanings and the conditions that affect the individual from traumatic childhood to depression in adulthood

Early experience critically shapes cognitive, affective, and behavioral development, and experiences of early life stress (ELS) have been documented to negatively impact developmental trajectories. An increasing need exists for innovative intervention development to ameliorate negative impacts of ELS. Translational neuroscience approaches hold promise for addressing the needs of individuals who have experienced ELS through the development and testing of targeted intervention strategies grounded in neuroscientific knowledge. The current dissertation work employed a translational neuroscience approach to improve inhibitory control (IC) in a group of adolescents (N=20) exposed to a range of ELS via a brief, computerized training paradigm. Baseline analyses of the association between ELS and IC revealed a positive relationship (i.e., increased ELS, increased IC performance), counter to hypotheses. The IC training did not significantly improve IC in the training group compared to the control group over time, contrary to hypotheses and previous work demonstrating the effectiveness of this IC training in young adults. Transfer of training effects to a non-trained IC task and to real-world risk-taking behavior were limited. ELS demonstrated some moderation of neural effects of IC training. The use of neuroimaging in this dissertation work allowed for further investigation of neural mechanisms even in the absence of significant behavioral training, transfer, and moderation effects. Results are discussed in the context of the utility of such IC training approaches for adolescents with ELS exposure and of translational neuroscience approaches more broadly. Future directions for IC training, translational neuroscience intervention approaches, and the incorporation of neuroimaging in this work are explored. This dissertation includes unpublished co-authored material. / 10000-01-01

Early life stress (ELS) affects the developing brain and impacts capacity for self-regulation and risk for psychopathology. The high spatial resolution of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) confers an advantage for studying specific neural regions posited to link ELS with subsequent functioning. The first chapter in this dissertation reviews the literature establishing the feasibility and utility of fMRI research with infants and young children. This chapter examines methodological issues and outlines the potential for this technique to make unique contributions to understanding how ELS influences brain development. The next two chapters present results from a study that employed a functional activation paradigm and resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) to examine associations between a common source of ELS, non-physical interparental conflict, and neural functioning during infancy. The functional activation paradigm focused on emotional tone of voice as a stimulus relevant to interparental conflict, which is likely salient to infants. Higher levels of interparental conflict (as reported by mothers) were associated with infants (6 to 12 months of age) showing greater reactivity to very angry versus neutral tone of voice in neural regions associated with processing and regulation of stress and emotion (hypothalamus and rostral anterior cingulate cortex). The rs-fcMRI analysis examined coordinated neural functioning in the absence of stimuli, focusing on the amygdala as a key region for understanding the impact of ELS and the posterior cingulate cortex as part of a group of regions that show higher levels of activity in the absence of stimuli (the default network). The results replicate previous work characterizing the default network in infants and provide novel evidence for the functional connectivity of the amydgala and amygdala subregions during infancy. Interparental conflict was associated with variation in the connectivity of both regions. Thus levels of interparental conflict were associated with neural reactivity to a stressor-relevant stimulus and with patterns of coordinated neural functioning in the absence of such stimuli. These results provide support for the utility of using fMRI with infants to examine early emerging associations between common forms of ELS and brain functioning. This dissertation includes previously published and co-authored material. / 2016-10-17

abstract: Evidence from the 20th century demonstrated that early life stress (ELS) produces long lasting neuroendocrine and behavioral effects related to an increased vulnerability towards psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. Substance use disorders (SUDs) are complex neurological and behavioral psychiatric illnesses. The development, maintenance, and relapse of SUDs involve multiple brain systems and are affected by many variables, including socio-economic and genetic factors. Pre-clinical studies demonstrate that ELS affects many of the same systems, such as the reward circuitry and executive function involved with addiction-like behaviors. Previous research has focused on cocaine, ethanol, opiates, and amphetamine, while few studies have investigated ELS and methamphetamine (METH) vulnerability. METH is a highly addictive psychostimulant that when abused, has deleterious effects on the user and society. However, a critical unanswered question remains; how do early life experiences modulate both neural systems and behavior in adulthood? The emerging field of neuroepigenetics provides a potential answer to this question. Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), an epigenetic tag, has emerged as one possible mediator between initial drug use and the transition to addiction. Additionally, there are various neural systems that undergo long lasting epigenetics changes after ELS, such as the response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to stressors. Despite this, little attention has been given to the interactions between ELS, epigenetics, and addiction vulnerability. The studies described herein investigated the effects of ELS on METH self-administration (SA) in adult male rats. Next, we investigated the effects of ELS and METH SA on MeCP2 expression in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal striatum. Additionally, we investigated the effects of virally-mediated knockdown of MeCP2 expression in the nucleus accumbens core on METH SA, motivation to obtain METH under conditions of increasing behavioral demand, and reinstatement of METH-seeking in rats with and without a history of ELS. The results of these studies provide insights into potential epigenetic mechanisms by which ELS can produce an increased vulnerability to addiction in adulthood. Moreover, these studies shed light on possible novel molecular targets for treating addiction in individuals with a history of ELS. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2015

abstract: The maternal separation (MS) paradigm is an animal model of early life stress. Animals subjected to MS during the first two weeks of life display altered behavioral and neuroendocrinological stress responses as adults. MS also produces altered responsiveness to and self-administration (SA) of various drugs of abuse including cocaine, ethanol, opioids, and amphetamine. Methamphetamine (METH) causes great harm to both the individual user and to society; yet, no studies have examined the effects of MS on METH SA. This study was performed to examine the effects of MS on the acquisition of METH SA, extinction, and reinstatement of METH-seeking behavior in adulthood. Given the known influence of early life stress and drug exposure on epigenetic processes, group differences in levels of the epigenetic marker methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core were also investigated. Long-Evans pups and dams were separated on postnatal days (PND) 2-14 for either 180 (MS180) or 15 min (MS15). Male offspring were allowed to acquire METH SA (0.05 mg/kg/infusion) in 15 2-hr daily sessions starting at PND67, followed by extinction training and cue-induced reinstatement of METH-seeking behavior. Rats were then assessed for MeCP2 levels in the NAc core by immunohistochemistry. The MS180 group self-administered significantly more METH and acquired SA earlier than the MS15 group. No group differences in extinction or cue-induced reinstatement were observed. MS15 rats had significantly elevated MeCP2-immunoreactive cells in the NAc core as compared to MS180 rats. Together, these data suggest that MS has lasting influences on METH SA as well as epigenetic processes in the brain reward circuitry. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2013

O desenvolvimento humano, presente desde a formação primária do indivíduo é constituído pelo conjunto das experiências vividas durante infância, incluindo as experiências de estresse precoce. Tais vivências repercutem nas ações do sujeito, podendo ser importante no aparecimento da depressão. Objetivos: explorar e analisar o significado do Estresse Precoce para portadores de depressão e construir um modelo teórico sobre o fenômeno estudado; caracterizar a amostra quanto às características sociodemográficas e de saúde; explorar e analisar, à luz do Interacionismo Simbólico, o significado do estresse precoce entre adultos portadores de depressão. Método: Estudo qualitativo que teve como referencial teórico norteador o Interacionismo Simbólico e como referencial metodológico a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados. Os participantes desse estudo foram portadores de depressão que vivenciaram Estresse Precoce, recrutados no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial - CAPS III do interior paulista. Instrumentos utilizados: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire -CTQ, questionário sociodemográfico e entrevista em profundidade. O número de participantes foi se configurando conforme a análise da teoria emergente (amostragem teórica), totalizando 12 participantes. Resultados: a análise dos dados permitiu identificar o modelo teórico \"Caminhando entre a infância traumática e a vida adulta com depressão\". Sete categorias estruturaram a experiência relatada pelos participantes do estudo: \"Vivenciando o Estresse Precoce\"; \"Sentindo diferenciação de tratamento dentro no núcleo familiar\"; \"Percebendo a distribuição de papeis dentro do núcleo familiar\"; \"Construindo a si próprio\"; \"Aliando-se à passividade frente a incapacidade de decisões\"; \"Percebendo comportamentos nos pais e em si próprio\" e \"Vivenciando a depressão\". Conclusões: o estudo permitiu identificar um modelo teórico que simbolizou a forma como as vivências foram compreendidas pelos próprios sujeitos e como o significado de cada experiência foi se entrelaçando na composição do ser, moldando seu conjunto de símbolos, sendo expresso em sentimentos, percepções e comportamentos. O modelo teórico contribuiu para a compreensão dos significados construídos e as condições que afetam o indivíduo desde a infância traumática até a depressão na idade adulta / Human development, present since the primary formation of the individual, consists of all the lived experiences during childhood, including the early life stress experiences. Such experiences have repercussions on the subject actions, and may be important in the depression onset. Objectives: To explore and to analyze the meaning of early life stress in adulthood with depression and to construct a theoretical model about the phenomenon; To characterize the sample regarding sociodemographic and health characteristics; to explore and to analyze, in the according to Symbolic Interactionism, the meaning of early life stress among adults with depression. Method: Qualitative study that had as a guiding theoretical referential the Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory as a methodological referential. The study participants were depressive individuals who experienced early life stress, recruited at the Center for Psychosocial Care - CAPS III in inner city of São Paulo, Brazil. Instruments: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - CTQ, sociodemographic questionnaire and in-depth interview. The participants number was configured according to the analysis of the emerging theory (theoretical sampling), totaling 12 participants. Results: Data analysis allowed the identification of the theoretical model \"Walking between traumatic childhood and adulthood with depression\". Seven categories structures the experience: \"Experiencing early life stress\"; \"Feeling treatment differentiation within the family nucleus\"; \"Perceiving the distribution of characters within the family\"; \"Building Yourself\"; \"Allying to passivity in the face of inability to make decisions\"; \"Perceiving behaviors in parents and in yorurself\" and \"Experiencing depression\". Conclusions: the study allowed to identify a theoretical model that symbolized the way as the experiences were understood by the individuals and how the meaning of each experience was interlaced in the composition of being, shaping its set of symbols, being expressed in feelings, perceptions and behaviors. The theoretical model contributed to the understanding of the raised meanings and the conditions that affect the individual from traumatic childhood to depression in adulthood

No description available.