Although severe life stress frequently precipitates the onset of major depression, little is known about the basic nature of stressors in this general category of adversity and how exposure to different life events might be related to clinical aspects of the disorder. We addressed this issue by introducing, and examining the effects of, targeted rejection (TR), which involves the exclusive, active, and intentional social rejection of an individual by others. Twenty-seven adults with major depressive disorder were administered an interview-based measure of life stress. Severe life events that occurred prior to the onset of depression were subsequently coded as TR or as non-TR. Participants who experienced a pre-onset severe TR event became depressed approximately three times faster than did their non-TR counterparts. These findings highlight the potential importance of TR as a marker of hastened depression onset and demonstrate how refining characterizations of stress may advance our understanding of depression.

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Childhood maltreatment and adolescent substance abuse are important health issues that have been linked by research and theory for at least 50 years. Considering the intricacies of child maltreatment research, this paper aims to answer the question: which models show the most promise to explain why child maltreatment is a risk indicator for adolescent substance abuse? Models of the mechanisms of this association are reviewed and evaluated in the context of the many complexities of defining and measuring child maltreatment. We offer three recommendations for future research in this area: 1) measures of the severity of child maltreatment should be used where possible; 2) positive childhood relationships should be assessed as a potentially important protective factor; 3) more research should involve system-involved children and adolescents.Keywords Child maltreatment . Substance abuse . Adolescent . Review Child maltreatment 1 is a pandemic human rights, public health, and injury prevention issue. A United Kingdom random probability sample of 18-24 year-olds concerning their experiences before the age of 16 years found that 16% had experienced intrafamilial and/or Int

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in predicting substance use and substance-related problems in a sample of older youth and emerging adults involved with child welfare. The sample was drawn from the Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways (MAP) longitudinal study ). Participants were 253 youth and emerging adults (ages 15-20; M=16.87, SD=1.04; 61.4% female and 38.6% male) who were involved with child welfare. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the impact of PTSS using subscales from the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC; Briere 1996). Outcome variables were past year alcohol, marijuana and illicit drug use; as well as alcohol and drug problems. Controlling for gender, age, child welfare status and child maltreatment, both dissociation and anger emerged as significant predictors of substance use and related problems. The implications of these findings for older youth and emerging adults exiting the child welfare system are discussed.The maltreatment of children is an international public health concern, with clear and significant consequences for maltreatment survivors throughout the lifespan. Definitions of Int

Substance abuse is an important health issue facing children involved with child welfare, but little is known about the associated factors. The purpose of this study was to build on findings from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2003 and use a national sample of 10-15 year old children to examine the factors associated with substance abuse for all investigations and substantiated investigations of maltreatment. Our findings showed that almost 14% of all investigated children were abusing substances and that this proportion was even greater among those whose investigation of maltreatment had been substantiated (almost 16%). The severity of the experienced maltreatment, in addition to behavioural factors, was found to be associated with substance abuse. While the pathways to substance abuse are complex, understanding the risk factors associated with substance abuse in this population are important for targeted interventions for prevention and treatment.