Annual Research Review: Early adversity, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, and child psychopathology

Abstract

<div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S1"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4959468e117">Background</h5> <p id="P1">Research on early adversity, stress biology, and child development has grown exponentially in recent years. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S2"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4959468e122">Findings</h5> <p id="P2">We review the current evidence for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis as a stress-mediating mechanism between various forms of childhood adversity and psychopathology. We begin with a review of the neurobiology of the axis and evidence for relations between early adversity-HPA axis activity and HPA axis activity-psychopathology, as well as discuss the role of regulatory mechanisms and sensitive periods in development. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S3"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d4959468e127">Conclusions</h5> <p id="P3">We call attention to critical gaps in the literature to highlight next steps in this research including focus on developmental timing, sex differences, stress buffering, and epigenetic regulation. A better of understanding of individual differences in the adversity-HPA axis-psychopathology associations will require continued work addressing how multiple biological and behavioral systems work in concert to shape development. </p> </div>