Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Shelleby, Elizabeth
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased risk of negative psychological and physical health outcomes across the lifespan. Informed by the dimensional model of adversity and psychopathology, the present study used longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS, N = 4,898) to examine associations between ACEs categorized into threat and deprivation dimensions, emotion regulation, executive functioning, body mass index (BMI), and internalizing and externalizing symptomology in adolescence. Structural equation modeling was used to assess direct, mediation, and sequential pathways among variables, while controlling for sociodemographic variables and stability of outcomes over time. Findings indicated threat- and deprivation-ACE scores were directly associated with higher internalizing and externalizing symptomology at age 15. Emotion regulation significantly mediated these associations, while executive functioning unexpectedly mediated the association between threat-ACEs and internalizing symptoms in one set of analyses. Deprivation-ACEs were directly associated with lower BMI in a separate analysis. Sequential mediation pathways involving emotion regulation, executive functioning, and BMI were not supported. Results highlight emotion regulation as a mechanism linking ACEs to psychopathology. Future studies are encouraged to explore multidimensional measures of executive functioning and BMI to better understand their contributions to ACE-related outcomes in adolescence.
Recommended Citation
Larkin, Kaitlyn, "Testing the Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology: Expanded ACEs and the Mechanisms of Executive Functioning, Emotion Regulation, and BMI in the Context of Psychopathology" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8072.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8072
Extent
160 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
