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Past research on emotional clarity (EC), the ability to identify and label one’s own emotions, has illustrated a connection between EC deficits and poor psychosocial outcomes during the adolescent years. For youth ages 12-17, low EC is associated with internalizing problems, dysfunction in peer and parental relationships, and risky behavior such as substance use. Likewise, high EC is linked with positive outcomes, such as psychosocial maturity and adaptive emotion regulation skills. Although past research has connected EC to psychosocial outcomes during adolescence in cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, no studies have traced the trajectory of EC over time to determine the developmental course of the construct during adolescence. Thus, this study investigated how EC developed over five years during adolescence and what factors were associated with the developmental trajectory of emotional clarity. Results indicated that EC tended to decrease over adolescence, and females, on average, had a steeper decline of EC over time than males. The trajectory of EC change predicted psychosocial outcomes, including depression, family functioning, well-being, and the trajectory of peer victimization over time. Results are discussed with the ultimate goal of informing novel prevention and intervention programs to promote adaptive emotional functioning during an influential time in human development. / Psychology

The primary objective of the current study was to propose and test a model for conceptualizing changes that occur as a result of adventure-based therapy (ABT), using self-efficacy theory as the conceptual foundation. Other objectives were to test the effects of ABT on depressive symptomatology and related psychosocial variables (e.g., anxiety, self-esteem). One-hundred and nine college freshmen participated in the screening procedure. Subjects who indicated mild to severe depressive symptomatology on a self-report measure and did not report past history of trauma were invited to participate in the study. Forty-one individuals were randomly assigned to either the adventure-based therapy (ABT) condition (i.e., a one-day ropes course experience) or to a placebo-control condition (i.e., an extended walk outdoors in a group). Subjects were divided into two cohorts, each with treatment and control groups, because of safety requirements related to capacity on the ropes course. Self-report instruments were completed immediately prior to participation (i.e., pretest), immediately following participation (i.e., posttest), and at 2-weeks and 2-months post participation. Primary multivariate analyses of variance performed on state and trait dependent measures did not yield statistically significant interactions; therefore, results indicated that ABT may not significantly decrease depressive and anxious symptomatology in late adolescents with depressive symptomatology. However, data were further analyzed for exploration in light of the generally low statistical power and group differences suggested by graphic displays of data. Exploratory analyses suggested that ABT may increase efficacy for coping with anxiety created by novel situations and efficacy for working and problem-solving in a group. It was therefore suggested that self-efficacy theory warrants further consideration as a theoretical framework for explaining changes that occur as a result of ABT. In addition, exploratory analyses suggested that ABT may also reduce anxiety and general psychological distress. Finally, depressive symptomatology decreased for individuals in the ABT treatment group and the placebo-control group according to exploratory analyses; however, there were no differences between groups. Further exploration of the potential effects of ABT on depressive and anxious symptomatology and general psychological distress is warranted. / Ph. D.

Adverse experiences have long-term consequences for biological, behavioral, and psychosocial adjustment. Adolescents may be particularly susceptible to these effects due to heightened sensitivity to environmental influences, the protracted development of the prefrontal cortex, and risk for psychopathology. We used a person-centered approach to characterize distinct profiles of adversity in early adolescence, and examined associations with later cognitive control and psychopathology. One hundred and sixty-seven adolescents (53% male) and their primary caregivers participated in a longitudinal study, with approximately one year in between each assessment. At Time 1 (Mage = 14.07 years), we collected reports on seven indicators of adversity: socioeconomic disadvantage, abuse, neglect, household chaos, parent substance use, parent depression, and negative life events. At Times 2, 3, and 4, adolescents' behavioral performance and blood-oxygenation-level-dependent response during a cognitive control task were measured. Two years later, at Time 5, adolescents and their caregiver reported on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Using latent profile analysis, we identified three distinct adversity subgroups: a low risk group, a low socioeconomic status (SES)/high parent substance use (SU) group, and a high risk group. Adolescents in the low SES/high parent SU group had the lowest levels of behavioral cognitive control. Furthermore, the low SES/high parent SU group and the high risk group both had significantly higher levels of psychopathology relative to the low risk group. There were no significant group differences with respect to neural cognitive control, and neither neural nor behavioral cognitive control predicted psychopathology. A cumulative risk approach using a mean score of adversity produced a similar general pattern of results, but obscured the unobserved heterogeneity in adverse experiences. These results highlight the utility of a person-centered approach to the characterization of adversity in adolescence and illustrate distinct developmental consequences for cognitive functioning and psychopathology. We expand upon prior empirical work by demonstrating that the co-occurrence of low SES and parent substance use may place adolescents at increased risk for deficits in behavioral cognitive control, which may be an important target for intervention and prevention efforts. / Doctor of Philosophy / During childhood and adolescence, most individuals are exposed to some form of adversity, such as abuse, neglect, poverty, or parent mental illness. These factors can have long-term effects on brain functioning and mental health. Adolescents may be especially affected by adversity because their brain is in an important stage of development and they are also more sensitive to social and environmental influences. The purpose of this study was to better understand if certain patterns of adversity experiences were associated with adolescents' self-regulation abilities and mental health outcomes. We recruited 167 adolescents and their primary caregivers from the community and asked them to report on adolescents' experiences of adversity at age 13-14. Specifically, we asked about socioeconomic status, abuse, neglect, household chaos, parent substance use, parent depression, and negative life events. Once each year for the next three years, adolescents completed a self-regulation task while they were in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. We examined their performance on the task as well as their brain activation. Two years later, at 18-19 years old, adolescents and their caregiver reported on the adolescent's mental health symptoms. Results indicated that there were three groups of adolescents with different combinations of adverse experiences: a low risk group, a low socioeconomic status (SES)/high parent substance use (SU) group, and a high risk group. Adolescents in the low SES/high parent SU group had the worst performance on the self-regulation task. Furthermore, both the low SES/high parent SU group and the high risk group had significantly higher mental health problems relative to the low risk group. There were group differences in terms of brain activation. Finally, neither performance nor brain activation during self-regulation was associated with mental health problems. We also tested these associations by using an average score of adversity, rather than dividing participants into subgroups. When we compared these approaches, the results were generally similar, but the subgroup approach provided more specific information about what types of experiences put adolescents at higher risk for self-regulation and mental health problems. Thus, the subgroup approach may be useful for better understanding the nuanced consequences of adversity. Our findings further show that the co-occurrence of low SES and parent substance use may place adolescents at increased risk for deficits in self-regulation, which may be an important target for intervention and prevention efforts.