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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Christopher Trentacosta
Abstract
The current study examined whether a neural indicator of reward sensitivity (the Reward Positivity [RewP]) could be elicited in young children and whether neural responses were associated with risk factors for depression, including child temperamental characteristics and behavioral problems, as well as maternal depressive symptoms. Sixty-seven mother-child dyads, most of whom were Black/African American and living in a large city, were participating in an ongoing, longitudinal study and provided data at two timepoints. During a prenatal visit, mothers self-reported on their own depressive symptoms. During a laboratory visit when the child was age 5, mothers again reported on their own depressive symptoms and also reported on child depressive symptoms, temperament, and emotion regulation skills. Children completed a developmentally informed, computer-based guessing paradigm while electroencephalographic data was collected. During the task, children received either positive or negative feedback based on their responses. Children also self-reported on their emotional state at three points throughout the task. Results indicated a larger neural response (i.e., greater RewP amplitude) when receiving negative feedback. Contrary to expectations, child self-ratings of emotion during the computer task were unrelated to neural indicators of reward sensitivity. RewP was unrelated to measures of child temperament, child emotion regulation abilities, and maternal depressive symptoms (at both prenatal and age 5 timepoints). Enhanced RewP (i.e., a greater difference between amplitude on positive and negative trials) was correlated with greater child depressive symptoms. However, in regression analyses including covariates (household income, child gestational age) and maternal depressive symptoms, associations between RewP and child depressive symptoms were non-significant. The current study is the first, to our knowledge, to explore neural indicators of reward sensitivity in relation to depression symptoms in a community sample of young children. Our findings suggest that individual differences in reward processing can be identified in young children. Future research should continue to explore RewP among young children as well as links between RewP and early indicators of depression.
Recommended Citation
Elezi, Jessica Leigh, "The Reward Positivity: A Potential Neural Indicator Of Reward Sensitivity And Risk For Depression In Young Children" (2023). Wayne State University Theses. 899.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_theses/899