A window to future social interactions: Evidence for association, but not for interaction, of childhood adversity and identity development with threat anticipation in adolescence

Introduction: Childhood adversity may result in a negative expectation of future interactions with others, also referred to as ‘threat anticipation’. It may also negatively impact on identity development, which subsequently may influence how individuals deal with their environment. Here, we examine the hypotheses that 1) identity development is associated with threat anticipation, and 2) that identity confusion, in the presence of childhood adversity, has a synergistic effect on the development of threat anticipation. Methods: 1913 adolescents from the general population (mean age = 13.8 years, SD = 1.86, range = 11-20) completed self-report questionnaires assessing exposure to childhood adversity, identity development and threat anticipation. Results: Identity development was significantly associated with threat anticipation in the expected direction: identity synthesis was associated with reduced anticipation of threat (β = -.0013, p < .001), whereas identity confusion was association with increased threat anticipation (β = .0017, p < .001). Furthermore, childhood adversity was positively associated with threat anticipation (β = .0018, p < .001). However, no evidence for an interaction effect of identity on the association between childhood adversity and threat anticipation was found. Conclusion: The current study illustrates the importance of exposure to childhood adversity and identity development for the anticipation of threat. Identity development however did not moderate the association between childhood adversity and threat anticipation, suggesting childhood adversity and identity development have an additive rather than synergistic effect on threat anticipation. Further research is needed to clarify how both factors influence each other within a developmental framework.