Developmental mechanisms linking deprivation and threat to psychopathology and school outcomes

Decades of evidence have elucidated associations between early adversity and risk for negative outcomes. However, traditional conceptualizations of the biologic embedding of adversity ignore neuroscientific principles which emphasize developmental plasticity. Dimensional models suggest that separate dimensions of experiences shape behavioral development differentially. We hypothesized that deprivation would be associated with higher psychopathology and lower academic achievement through executive function and effortful control, while threat would do so through observed, and parent reported emotional reactivity.

In this longitudinal study of 206 mother-child dyads, we test these theories across the first 7 years of life. Threat was measured by the presence of domestic violence, and deprivation by the lack of cognitive stimulation within the parent-child interaction. We used path analyses to test associations between deprivation and threat with psychopathology and school outcomes through cognition and emotional reactivity.

We show that children who experienced more deprivation showed poor academic achievement through difficulties with executive function, while children who experienced more threat had higher levels of psychopathology through increased emotional reactivity.

These observations are consistent with work in adolescence and reflect how unique adverse experiences have differential effects on children's behavior and subsequently long-term outcomes.