Adolescence has been described as a period of storm and stress since the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, this transitional period between childhood and adulthood is characterized by an increased exposure to social stressors, fundamental changes in various biological systems (e.g. immune maturation) and elevated psychopathological burden. Although adolescence is considered a critical window for mental health, the developmental relationship between social stressors, biological dysregulations and psychopathology during this period are poorly understood. Better knowledge about the interaction of these processes is needed, in order to identify promising targets for interventions designed to support adolescents at risk of mental health problems.
The aim of this project is to investigate the co-development of social stressors exposure (e.g., victimization experiences) and biological stress embedding (e.g. systemic inflammation) from late childhood to late adolescence and early adulthood, and their associations with psychopathology (e.g. transdiagnostic symptoms in the realm of self-harm).
The findings will provide novel insights into the developmental precursors of adolescent psychopathology and help improve prevention and intervention programs.