A Multifaceted Investigation of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: The Influence of Childhood Maltreatment, Neuroendocrine Stress Response, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) refers to a group of symptoms characterized by excessive daydreaming, inactivity, and mental fogginess. Research examining the construct has evolved rapidly in the last decade; however, little work has examined how psychosocial adversity contributes to SCT. This dissertation covers four different but linked investigations on SCT and psychosocial stressors. All studies draw from data collected at multiple timepoints as part of a large, multi-site longitudinal study of children, adolescents, and young adults oversampled to be at-risk for life stress. Our first study aims to validate the distinction between SCT and ADHD through confirmatory factors analysis. The second study examines adolescent reports of childhood maltreatment to examine whether early stress is linked to greater SCT symptoms in adolescence. The third study uses an in-laboratory cold-pressor stress task to examine the association between SCT and altered neuroendocrine stress responses. Finally, the fourth study prospectively assesses the influence of SCT on mental health during a period of significant life stress—the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the four investigations delve into the psychosocial and biological foundations of SCT by examining its validity in population-based samples, the impact of life stress on SCT, and the effects of SCT in the context of laboratory-based and real-world stressors.