Social and Neurobiological Mechanisms of Risk and Resilience in Young People: The Longitudinal THRIVE-study

More than half of the children and adolescents worldwide experience at least one form of childhood adversity (e.g., abuse, neglect or bullying) whilst growing up. Childhood adversity is among the strongest predictors of mental health problems in adolescence and adulthood. Yet, some individuals show resilient functioning, meaning they have good mental health and well-being despite their exposure to childhood adversity. Childhood adversity is thought to affect mental health through its impact on neurocognitive functioning, for example through blunted social feedback learning and biased emotion and threat processing. The neurocognitive social transactional model suggests that such childhood adversity related neurocognitive functioning may ultimately lead to reductions in the quality and quantity of social relations and increases in stressful experiences with peers over time, increasing the risk for mental health problems. However, empirical evidence to support this theoretical framework is scarce. Therefore, the longitudinal Towards Health and Resilience in Volatile Environments (THRIVE) study is set out to investigate the dynamics of psychological, social, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying mental health functioning in adolescents aged 18-24 years with a history of childhood adversity.The ongoing THRIVE study aims to recruit 288 participants aged 18-24 years who retrospectively self-report childhood adversity (current N=220). This longitudinal neuroimaging study consists of 6 sessions including an in-unit session, during which participants undergo extensive testing including salivary cortisol measures, emotion labelling measures, as well as functional neuroimaging (whilst completing the Montreal Imaging Stress Task and the Social Feedback Learning Task). In the longitudinal part of the study, participants fill out online questionnaires at 5 time points (i.e. every three months) to map the dynamics and associations of social support, mental health, and stressful events, over time. Using the data collected at the in-unit session, we aim to test whether childhood adversity is associated with biased emotion processing, blunted feedback learning and enhanced stress responses, while social support may moderate these effects (i.e. ‘social stress buffering’). The longitudinal component of the THRIVE study allows us to test our hypothesis that mental health problems arise because childhood adversity shapes neurocognitive functioning in a way that, over time, reduces social support and increases social stress. By unravelling how social functioning contributes to resilient functioning after childhood adversity, the THRIVE study will aid crucial knowledge and ultimately help intervention and prevention efforts.The THRIVE study has been approved by The Medical Ethics Committee Leiden - The Hague - Delft (NL80017.058.21) on July 5th, 2022 and has been co-created with the Augeo Youth Task Force (a panel of young adults with childhood adversity, https://www.augeo.nl/jongerentaskforce). The Augeo Youth Task Force is involved in every step of the empirical cycle to make sure the perspective and knowledge of young people with childhood adversity are incorporated. The results of the THRIVE study will be disseminated through preprints, peer-reviewed scientific publications, scientific presentations, media and public outreach.