Ecological stress, amygdala reactivity, and internalizing symptoms in preadolescence: Is parenting a buffer?

Ecological stress during adolescent development may increase the sensitivity to negative emotional processes that can contribute to the onset and progression of internalizing behaviors during preadolescence. Although a small number of studies have considered the link among the complex relations in ecological stress, amygdala reactivity and internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence, these studies have largely been small, cross-sectional, and often do not consider unique roles of parenting or sex. In the current study, we evaluated the interrelations among ecological stress, amygdala functioning, subsequent internalizing symptoms, and the moderating roles of parenting and sex, 9- and 10-year old preadolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD). A subset of participants who met a priori quality control criteria for bilateral amygdala during the N-back faces versus places contrast (N = 7,385; Mean Age = 120 months, SD = 7.52; 49.5% Female) were included in the study. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to create a latent variable of ecological stress, and multiple Structural Equation Model (SEM) models were conducted to evaluate the association among baseline ecological stress and internalizing symptoms one year later, the mediating role of amygdala activity, and moderating effects of parental acceptance and sex. The results revealed a significant association among ecological stress and subsequent internalizing symptoms, which was greater in males than females. There was no association between amygdala activity and ecological stress or subsequent internalizing symptoms, and no mediating role of amygdala, or moderating effect of parental acceptance, on the association between ecological stress and internalizing symptoms. An alternative mediation model was tested and revealed that parental acceptance mediated the association between ecological stress and internalizing symptoms, demonstrating lower internalizing symptoms among preadolescents one year later. Given the lack of association in brain function, ecological stress and internalizing symptoms in this registered report, effects from small studies should be reconsidered in larger samples.