Objective: The stress reactivity hypothesis (SRH) posits that stressful early environments contribute to exaggerated stress responses, which increase risk for later cardiovascular (CV) disease. However, recent studies have revealed conflicting associations. The current study examined whether the biological sensitivity to context theory (BSCT) or SRH is a more accurate description of associations between early stress and CV reactivity and recovery, and determine which framework best explains sleep outcomes. This is the first article to conceptually link these theories and empirically examine competing hypotheses. Method: Participants were 213 adults who participated in the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3. Early environment stress was assessed by four self-report measures consistent with operationalizations of the BSCT. Average heart rate and mean arterial pressure reactivity to the trier social stress test were assessed on two occasions, and sleep parameters were assessed using wrist-worn actigraphy over 7 days. Results: Results generally did not support the SRH; little evidence that high-stress early environments were reliably associated with exaggerated CV reactivity or slower CV recovery, and little evidence that these CV stress responses were consistently associated with poor sleep. However, there was some support for the BSCT; both high-stress and low-stress early environments were associated with exaggerated CV reactivity, the combination of high-stress and high CV reactivity was associated with poor sleep, and the combination of low-stress and high CV reactivity was associated with better sleep. Conclusions: Associations proposed by the BSCT persist into adulthood and may help explain associations with poor health outcomes.

Adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect, are associated with poor health outcomes. This association may be partially explained by differences in stress physiology. Though most early adverse experiences occur within the context of interpersonal relationships, stress exposures manipulated in the laboratory rarely involve interpersonal interactions beyond the mere presence of others. This study examines whether adverse childhood experiences are associated with differences in affective and cortisol reactivity to two stressors which may more closely resemble the powerlessness and the lack of control characteristic of many adverse childhood experiences: a dominant (vs. submissive) interaction partner and lower (vs. higher) social status. We also manipulate social-evaluative threat as a test of whether these interpersonal stressors are more germane to stress reactivity associated with early adversity than the performance anxiety evoked by more traditional laboratory stressors, such as the Trier Social Stress Test. The results partially support the hypothesis that participants with greater early adversity may be more reactive to interpersonal stressors reminiscent of early adverse experience. Given the interpersonal nature of most adverse childhood experiences, conceptualizing and measuring associations with stress physiology in an interpersonal context may more closely capture the psychological and biological embedding of these early experiences.

Affective states alter the perception of how quickly time is passing. However, previous studies have not examined the independent and interactive effects of emotion and time perception on behavioral outcomes. The current study sought to better understand the relationships between affect, time perception, and reported engagement in COVID-19 pathogen avoidance behaviors (e.g., social distancing, wearing a mask) over 1 year. The study sample was comprised of American adults (n = 1,000) recruited using Prolific. The majority of participants in the final sample (50.1% male, 46.8% female, 3.1% nonbinary/other) identified as White/Caucasian (78.9%) or Black/African American (11.9%). The average age in the sample was 34.4 years (SD = 11.3). Consistent with study hypotheses, approach-motivated affective states (happiness) were associated with time flying, and avoidance-motivated affective states (nervous, lack of control) were associated with time dragging. Moderation analyses revealed that reports of greater avoidance-motivated affect and time dragging, and reports of greater approach-motivated affect and time flying interacted to predict more frequent engagement in pathogen avoidance behaviors. These results contribute to the existing literature describing the affective and behavioral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by suggesting both approach- and avoidance-motivated affective states have important implications for engagement in pathogen avoidance behaviors.

Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes and occur predominantly within the family. Many widely used assessments of early adversities have significant psychometric limitations and have not been adequately integrated with established theories relating parent-child interactions to similar outcomes. To examine the behaviorally specific ratings of parent-child interactions in early childhood associated with concurrent adverse childhood experiences believed to confer risk for poor health. In total, 180 young adult undergraduates (52% female, M_age = 21, SD = 6.2 years) enrolled at a large public university in the Southwestern United States. The majority of participants identified as White (73.6%; 10.7% Hispanic, and 7.9% Asian American), were full-time students (81.4%), employed (60.3%), and made less than $15,000 annually (66.0%). Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between affiliation-hostility and autonomy-control in interactions between parents and children, and total early adverse experiences, subtypes of early adversity (e.g., abuse, neglect), and individual adverse experiences, separately. Greater hostility in interactions with fathers (β = -0.68, p < .001) and mothers (β = -0.48, p < .001), as well as greater autonomy with mothers (β = 0.14, p = .047) were significantly associated with total early adversities. Similarly, greater hostility was consistently associated with subcategories of adverse experiences (abuse, neglect, and household chaos), while associations with autonomy-control differed by subcategory. Results suggest that hostile and distant interpersonal processes in the early family environment may underlie and contribute to exposure to early adversities and associated outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).