# Threat-Related Negative Valence Systems, Child Victimization, and Anxiety

> **NIH NIH R01** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $677,260

## Abstract

Interpersonal violence (IPV) exposure affects 1 in 2 youth and levies tremendous physical and mental health
burdens on victims and society. Childhood IPV exposure is a well-established risk factor for anxiety and other
mental health problems across the lifespan. There is great variability among youth in the nature and timing of
IPV exposure and considerable heterogeneity in mental health outcomes. Such heterogeneity in outcomes
may be explained by various Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs, including Negative Valence
Systems (NVS) involving responses to threat. That is, disruptions in the functioning and development of neural
and physiological systems associated with threat processing may account for heightened anxiety symptoms
commonly observed following IPV. A paucity of longitudinal studies assessing multiple threat-related
mechanisms, across multiple units of analysis, and at key times in development has been a critical barrier to
informing the design of personalized treatments to target root causes of post-IPV psychopathology. The
overarching goal of this project is to examine developmental trajectories of threat-related NVS measures into
adolescence, as a function of exposure to IPV, in an effort to better link IPV and anxiety through changes in
these measures. The specific aims of this project are: 1) to identify threat-related NVS constructs that connect
lifetime IPV to anxious symptoms in youth cross-sectionally; 2) to investigate longitudinally the degree to which
IPV sensitizes trajectories of NVS measures over a two-year period across three age cohorts (grades 3, 6, 9 at
baseline); and 3) to investigate the degree to which trajectories of NVS measures predict anxiety symptoms
over a 2-year period after accounting for initial anxiety symptoms and IPV status. An exploratory aim is to
examine how amygdala activity and ACC functioning at baseline and overtime predict changes in other threat-
related NVS measures (ERP, startle, ERN, cortisol reactivity) over time. To accomplish the aims, the approach
involves studying the contributions of three threat-related NVS constructs, including responses to acute threat,
potential threat, and sustained threat. These constructs will be measured across multiple units of analysis
(neural circuitry, physiology, behavior/self-report) and over time using a battery of well-validated translational
neuroscience laboratory paradigms and assessment tools. An accelerated longitudinal cohort design will be
used to test key developmental questions (e.g., whether pubertal status moderates the effect of IPV on
potential threat or sustained threat). Three cohorts of children (total n=360) and their caregivers will be enrolled
and prospectively across 3 annual in-person lab assessments, with phone-based assessments in between. A
community sample representing a broad continuum of IPV experiences and a wide range of anxiety symptoms
will be recruited. By studying multiple NVS constructs over time across multipl...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9859458
- **Project number:** 5R01MH112209-04
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** CARLA KMETT DANIELSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $677,260
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-03 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9859458

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9859458, Threat-Related Negative Valence Systems, Child Victimization, and Anxiety (5R01MH112209-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9859458. Licensed CC0.

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