Corporal Punishment Is Uniquely Associated With a Greater Neural Response to Errors and Blunted Neural Response to Rewards in Adolescence

Understanding Adult Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment in Honduras: The Role of Sex, Gender Roles, Education, Childhood Experiences, and Psychopathy

Corporal punishment (CP) remains a contentious issue in child-rearing debates, with varying opinions influenced by cultural, educational, and personal experiences. This study investigates the impact of sex, educational level, witnessing domestic violence, and experiencing physical and psychological abuse during childhood on adults' attitudes toward CP. In addition, it explores the mediating roles of stereotypical gender roles and psychopathy in these relationships. Four hundred fifty Honduran adults completed an online survey. Of the total sample, 66.67% were female. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used. Data was collected through self-reported questionnaires previously validated. 49.78% of participants reject slapping as a necessary disciplinary method, and 50.67% oppose legalizing parental use of force. However, a minority still considers spanking effective (24.66%). Mediation analysis shows that childhood psychological abuse significantly reduces support for CP, while psychopathy and stereotypical gender roles increase it. Females exhibit lower levels of psychopathy and adherence to traditional gender roles, which mediates their reduced support for CP. In addition, childhood physical abuse indirectly decreases CP endorsement through its influence on gender role beliefs. Educational level does not, directly or indirectly, predict attitudes toward CP. However, despite its medium effect size, the model only accounts for 16.7% of the variance in CP attitudes. Overall, being female and reporting childhood physical and psychological abuse significantly reduce support for CP, whereas witnessing domestic violence increases it. Despite the influence of these factors, other unexamined variables may also play a role.

The Go/No-Go P3 and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Trial-Level Change and Mean Amplitude Relate Differently to Anhedonic Versus Negative Mood Symptoms

Prior studies have found an association between reduced P3 brain responses-a neural marker of task engagement-and increased depressive symptoms during adolescence. However, it is unclear whether P3 correlates with depression globally, or with certain facets. Existing depression studies have also typically quantified P3 as a cross-trial average, neglecting possible trial-by-trial effects. Among 72 adolescents (44% female), the current study evaluated relations of distinct depression symptom facets-anhedonia and negative mood-with P3s from a three-stimulus go/no-go task, quantified both in average- and trial-level terms. Although no relationship was evident between overall depressive symptoms and average P3 amplitudes, opposing relations were found for each symptom facet with P3 to frequent and infrequent 'go' stimuli: higher anhedonia predicted smaller P3, whereas increased negative mood predicted larger P3. Single-trial, multilevel modeling analyses clarified these effects by showing reduced P3 across stimuli types at task outset, along with greater trial-to-trial attenuation of P3 to infrequent-go stimuli, for adolescents experiencing greater anhedonia. Conversely, increased negative mood was distinctly related to larger P3 at task onset but was unrelated to amplitude change across trials. Results demonstrate differential relations for anhedonic and negative mood symptoms with P3-indicative of task disengagement versus heightened vigilance, respectively-that may be obscured in analyses focusing on overall depressive symptoms. The divergent associations for anhedonia and negative mood with P3 underscore the need to consider these distinct symptom facets in research aimed at clarifying the nature of neural-circuitry dysfunction in depression.

Beyond the Score: Exploring the Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Electrophysiological Responses to Errors

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have diverse effects on physical development and mental health. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the quantity of ACE exposure, type of ACE exposure, and subjective level of stress felt, correlated with event-related potential activity across the scalp, while controlling for relevant confounding variables. Fifty-three participants aged 18-32 years completed questionnaires assessing their current mental health, self-regulation, childhood socioeconomic status, and history of traumatic events. Electroencephalographic activity was recorded while participants completed the Combined Attention Systems Task, a modified flanker task. Using cluster-corrected robust statistical approaches, significant relationships existed between the total number of ACEs, ACE type, the subjective impact of trauma, and amplitudes during the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) at various scalp locations. In the ERN time window, greater error-correct differences were associated with greater total ACEs, abuse, and other ACEs at C5, P9, and TP10/C1 clusters, respectively. In addition, reduced error-correct differences at cluster-maximal C2 during the timing of the Pe were related to experiencing greater numbers of total ACEs while increased error-correct differences at cluster-maximal FPz during the timing of the Pe were associated with greater numbers of other ACEs. The subjective impact of total number of ACEs was not associated with error-correct differences, however, the subjective impact of household dysfunction, abuse, and 'other' ACE types were linked to error-correct differences at various scalp locations and timings. Notably, increased, rather than decreased, subjective impact of household dysfunction was related to greater error-correct differentiation during the timing of the ERN, maximal at Cz. These results suggest that both ACE type and subjective rating are relevant to future outcomes. The effects extended beyond the ERN-affecting error-related positivity and later event-related potentials-indicating associations with the number, type, and subjective impact of ACEs across a larger time window and scalp topography.

[Research advances in reward positivity and internalizing and externalizing problems in children and adolescents]

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of the reward circuit, and reward positivity (RewP) is one of the electrophysiological indicators reflecting reward processing. Many studies have shown that abnormalities in RewP is closely associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in children and adolescents. In addition, factors such as stressful life events and sleep disorders can affect reward-related brain activity and increase the risk of various psychopathological problems in this population. The article reviews the characteristics of changes in RewP among children and adolescents with various internalizing and externalizing problems in recent years, aiming to provide a reference for the basic research on the pathogenesis of these issues and to identify new targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Acute stress-induced reductions in neural response to reward are related to acute stress-related increases in cortisol

Stressors and blunted reward processing are implicated in depression. The current study simultaneously examined the impact of an acute stressor on cortisol and reward processing, measured using the reward positivity (RewP) in 66 participants. Participants completed a reward task during a stressor and a control condition, counterbalanced, and separated by 1 week, while saliva samples were collected before, immediately following, and 25 min after the reward task. Participants reported that the stressor condition was more stressful than the control condition. Cortisol levels did not differ before the reward task; however, cortisol levels were higher both immediately and 25 min after the task. The RewP was blunted during the stressor compared to the control condition, and participants with a larger stress-induced increase in cortisol had greater reductions in their RewP. The current study provides evidence that stress-induced changes in HPA-axis functioning relate to reductions in neural correlates of reward processing.

Relations Between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Electrocortical Reward Processing in Youth at High and Low Risk for Depression

Neighborhood-level disadvantage during childhood is a determinant of health that is hypothesized to confer risk for psychopathology via alterations in neuro-affective processing, including reward responsiveness. However, little research has examined the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage assessed at the community-level on reward processing, which may have important implications for targeted dissemination efforts. Furthermore, not all youth exposed to neighborhood disadvantage may exhibit alterations in reward reactivity, highlighting the need to consider factors that may exacerbate risk for blunted reward reactivity. The current study examined associations between geocoded indices of neighborhood disadvantage and electrocortical reward responsivity in youth and tested whether findings were moderated by maternal history of depression. The sample included 137 youth recruited for studies on the intergenerational transmission of depression. Neighborhood disadvantage was assessed using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) while the reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential, indexed reward response. Results revealed a significant interaction between ADI and maternal history of depression on youth RewP, such that greater neighborhood disadvantage was significantly associated with lower reward responsiveness, but only for youth with a maternal history of depression. Results were maintained controlling for youth internalizing symptoms and individual-level socioeconomic factors. Findings suggest that neighborhood disadvantage may impact youth neural reward processing, at least partially independently of individual risk factors, for youth with a maternal history of depression. If replicated, results suggest intervention efforts may be implemented at the community level to enhance reward responsiveness, specifically for youth living in low-resourced neighborhoods with a maternal history of depression.