FKBP5 moderation of the relationship between childhood trauma and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in adolescents Thorhildur Halldorsdottir a, ⁎ , Ana Paula Soares de Matos b, ⁎⁎ , Yvonne Awaloff a , Eiríkur Örn Arnarson c , W. Edward Craighead d,1 , Elisabeth B. Binder a,d,1 a Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Germany b Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra, Portugal c Landspitali-University Hospital, University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Reykjavík, Iceland d Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology, Emory University School of Medicine, USA ARTICLE INFO Keywords: FKBP5 Rumination Catastrophizing Childhood trauma Adolescents ABSTRACT Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as rumination and catastrophizing, are transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology. FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP5) has been found to moderate the relationship between stressful life events and various psychiatric disorders. Given the cross-disorder moderation effect of FKBP5 at the diagnostic level, the aim of the current study was to examine whether the relationship between exposure to childhood trauma and transdiagnostic maladaptive emotion regulation processes would also be moderated by genetic FKBP5 variation in a community sample of adolescents. We hypothesized that adolescent carriers of the FKBP5 CATT haplotype composed of rs9296158, rs3800373, rs1360780, and rs9470080, that has been associated with increased risk for psychiatric disorders in adulthood, would also show higher levels of rumination and catastrophizing. Participants included 1345 genotyped adolescents (M age = 13.95, 64.2% fe- male; 100% European Caucasians of Portuguese descent) who completed self-report measures on exposure to childhood trauma and emotion regulation strategies. Genotypes of rs9296158, rs3800373, rs1360780, and rs9470080 were used to estimate the CATT haplotype (carriers versus non-carriers). Consistent with our hy- potheses and previous findings, adolescent CATT haplotype carriers with higher levels of childhood trauma endorsed higher levels of both rumination and catastrophizing compared to non-carriers. Given the association of these maladaptive emotion regulation processes and psychiatric disorders, the findings suggest possible psychological mechanisms why FKBP5 haplotype carriers exposed to childhood trauma are more vulnerable to developing a psychiatric disorder later in life. 1. Introduction Due to the rising prevalence of depression and anxiety (Mathers and Loncar, 2006), investigating factors associated with increased risk of these disorders in premorbid adolescent populations is important. Adolescence is a high-risk period for the onset of psychiatric disorders due to the accelerated psychological, biological and endocrine devel- opment occuring during this time in the lifespan, which interacts with the intensified stress and emotional responsiveness to the social en- vironment (Paus et al., 2008). Accordingly, an increased understanding of risk and resilience factors during this sensitive developmental stage may be crucial in developing effective preventative interventions. Maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as rumination and catastrophizing, have been identified as transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology (Gellatly and Beck, 2016; Ottaviani et al., 2016). Rumination refers to the tendency to perseverate on negative cognitions and the potential causes and consequences of distress (Nolen- Hoeksema, 2000; Ottaviani et al., 2016). Catastrophizing, on the other hand, is the tendency to overestimate negative consequences associated with an event (Gellatly and Beck, 2016). Both rumination and cata- strophizing have been associated with the onset, maintenance, and re- currence of mood and anxiety disorders (Gellatly and Beck, 2016; Ottaviani et al., 2016). Overall, risk for psychiatric disorders is associated with ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, Munich, 80804, Germany. ⁎⁎ Corresponding author at: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Coimbra, 3001-802, Portugal. E-mail addresses: halldorsdottir@psych.mpg.de (T. Halldorsdottir), apmatos@fpce.uc.pt (A.P.S. de Matos), yvonne_awaloff@psych.mpg.de (Y. Awaloff), eirikur@landspitali.is (E.Ö. Arnarson), ecraigh@emory.edu (W.E. Craighead), binder@psych.mpg.de (E.B. Binder). 1 These authors contributed equally to the project. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.06.012 MARK