1. The Role of Early Life Adverse Events, Perceived Stress, Fear, Impulsivity and Aggression in a Serious Mental Illness Population Paul S. Nabity, M.A., Jesse Hochheiser, B.A. and William D. Spaulding, Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Background Conclusions The most notable gender differences in the study were that females reported significantly more stress, anxiety and impulsivity than males. These finding s indicate that there may be different treatment needs within the SMI population between males and females. Connor et al. (2000) found that 79% of those with a score ≥19 on the SPIN met diagnostic criteria for social phobia. Average SPIN scores for females were 26.67 compared to 13.71 for males when controlling for age. BFNE scores for females are similar to those diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (Weeks et al., 2005). Average perceived stress scores were 23.26 for females compared to 16.41 for males when controlling for age. It is possible that females in this population may benefit more than males from interventions aimed at reducing anxiety and stress. According to our results, childhood abuse is linked to higher levels of reported stress, anxiety, aggression and impulsivity. The reasons for these associations are still unclear. It may be due to environmental influence related to abuse or due to the abuse itself. Further research is necessary to better understand these relationships. Figure 1. Results Adverse events in early life have been linked to the development of psychopathology. Research suggests that exposure to multiple traumatic or stressful situations increase the risk for psychosis in adulthood (Galletly, C., Van Hooff, M., & McFarlane, A., 2011) (van Winkel, R., Stefanis, N. C., & Myin- Germeys, I., 2008). There is also an association between childhood traumatic experiences and the development of major depression, anxiety disorders, and borderline personality disorder (Wingenfeld et al., 2011). Method Participants with serious mental illness (n=76) that utilized community mental health services were recruited from Eastern Nebraska. They were asked to fill out a packet of questionnaires which took about one hour to complete. A short questionnaire included questions about whether or not childhood abuse and/or neglect occurred. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), Barratt Impulsivity Scale 15 (BIS15), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE), and Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) were administered as measures of stress, aggression, impulsivity and fear. The Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS) was also given. Fifty-nine percent of the participants were male and the mean age was 48 years. *Main effect of gender for PSS-10 scores F(2, 66)=17.35, p<.0001, but not age; women reported significantly higher perceived stress than men. *Main effect of age for BPAQ scores F(2, 63)=3.90, p=0.0527, but not gender; women reported significantly higher feelings & actions of aggression than men. *Main effect of gender for BFNE scores F(2,67)=5.32, p=0.0242, but not age; women reported significantly higher fear of negative evaluation than men. *Main effect of gender for BIS-15 scores F(2,67)=5.80, p=0.0188, but not age; women reported significantly higher impulsivity behaviors than men. *Main effect of gender for SPIN scores F(2, 67)=14.24, p=0.0003, but not age; women reported significantly higher social phobia than men. Figure 2. Results *Main effect of abuse for PSS-10 scores F(1,71)=12.16, p=0.0008; reported abuse was linked to higher reported perceived stress. *Main effect of abuse for BPAQ scores F(1,68)=20.96, p<0.0001; reported abuse was linked to higher reported aggressive acts & feelings. *Main effect of abuse for BFNE scores F(1,72)=11.39, p=0.0012; reported abuse was linked to higher reported fears of negative evaluation. *Main effect of abuse for BIS-15 scores F(1,72)=5.69, p=0.0197; reported abuse was linked to higher impulsivity. *Main effect of abuse for SPIN scores F(1, 72)=4.53, p=0.0368; reported abuse was linked to higher social phobia.