Dr. Michelle Craske and her colleagues are in the fourth year of an eight-year study to identify which factors put teens at risk for adult depression.
At the beginning of the study, the 650 participants were sixteen years old. They receive a mild electric shock when a screen became red, but no shocks when they were before a green screen. Teens with high levels of negative emotions, such as fear, anger, sadness, and shame, were more likely to tense up and have higher startle responses even when their screens were safe or green.
Dr. Craske believes that these teens are at risk for depression and anxiety as adults.
This study appears in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
Labels: depression, anxiety
Posted By: Aspen Education Group