Reward Processing and Childhood Abuse - V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Reward Processing in Adolescents with a History of Childhood Abuse
IRAS ID
150989
Contact name
Pia Pechtel
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter, Research Ethics and Governance Manager
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Childhood abuse (CA) is experienced by 1 in 4 individuals (25.3%) in the UK (NSPCC, 2013) can include physical abuse, sexual abuse or emotional abuse. Chronic stress associated with CA can disturb the developmental trajectory of brain regions (e.g., striatum), and affect mental health (e.g., major depressive disorder; MDD).
During adolescence, individuals with a history of CA are also more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors including substance use, self-harm and unsafe sexual behavior. Although high-risk behaviours may initially relieve CA-related distress, they are primary predictors for continuous harm to a young person’s well-being. Identifying functional mechanisms that drive high-risk behavior is paramount to develop interventions to prevent high-risk behavior and to promote resilient functioning across the life span.
To this end, the study will examine if (1) CA is associated with disruptions in reward processing and (2) if disrupted reward processing is linked to higher frequency of high-risk behaviors. Forty-eight female adolescents (13-19 years) will be recruited: 16 females with a history of CA and current MDD (MDD+CA), 16 females with current MDD but no CA (MDD), and 16 healthy controls with no history of trauma (Controls).
In the first session, participants will complete a diagnostic clinical interview and six self-report questionnaires on their current well-being. To examine reward processing, participants will complete the Probabilistic Stimulus Selection Task (PSST; Frank et al., 2004) while non-invasive Electroencephalogram (EEG) data will be recorded. The second session involves a structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging scan during which adolescents complete the Card-Guessing Paradigm (Delgado et al., 2000) to assess brain reactivity to reward.
Participants will be reimbursed for their time and travel using gift vouchers (£20 Session 1; £26 Session 2) and receive a picture of their brain. Participants will receive this token appreciation even if they did not complete a session.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SW/0022
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion