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Consequences of Developmental Stress in Humans: Adversity Experienced During Childhood and Adolescence

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Adaptive and Maladaptive Aspects of Developmental Stress

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Neurotoxicity ((Current Topics Neurotoxicity,volume 3))

Abstract

Early life stress is a term used to describe adversities which may occur during childhood and adolescence. The majority of human studies focus on negative outcomes resulting from early life stress. There is an emerging research field which aims to investigate possible positive outcomes of early life stress. In this chapter, human studies are reviewed with regard to both maladaptive and adaptive consequences of early life stress. Recent findings suggest that early life stress is associated with central nervous alterations, altered physiological stress responses, impaired cognitive functioning as well as an increased risk of developing behavior problems, and somatic and psychiatric illnesses. Early life stress may also result in posttraumatic growth (PTG) which describes changes in self-perception, interpersonal relationships, and worldview. A psychobiological stress model is proposed to integrate the findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Philipps University of Marburg, Gutenbergstrasse 18, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Urs M. Nater & Nadine Skoluda

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  1. Urs M. Nater
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  2. Nadine Skoluda
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Correspondence to Urs M. Nater .

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  1. Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, Rome, 00161, Italy

    Giovanni Laviola

  2. Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 299 Viale Regina Elena, Rome, 00161, Italy

    Simone Macrì

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Nater, U.M., Skoluda, N. (2013). Consequences of Developmental Stress in Humans: Adversity Experienced During Childhood and Adolescence. In: Laviola, G., Macrì, S. (eds) Adaptive and Maladaptive Aspects of Developmental Stress. Current Topics in Neurotoxicity, vol 3. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5605-6_7

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