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Editorial: From adolescence into young adulthood – the importance of a longitudinal perspective across development in child and adolescent mental health

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Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Authors:
Julian Koenig at University of Cologne
Julian Koenig
Luis Carlos Farhat at University of São Paulo
Luis Carlos Farhat
Michael H. Bloch
Michael H. Bloch
Michael H. Bloch
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Abstract

The transition from adolescence into adulthood is a pivotal phase in a person's life, marking a period of significant social, psychological, and biological changes that can profoundly impact an individual's well‐being and developmental trajectory. During this period, adolescents and young adults face increasing environmental demands from academic or occupational responsibilities and social interactions, including the pursuit of romantic partners. These changes are inherently related to stress, which is essential for adolescents and young adults to develop their personality and form an identity. Throughout adolescence into young adulthood, the brain undergoes maturational changes as part of the normal development, and it is possible that deviations from the expected developmental trajectories may contribute to the onset of psychiatric disorders in this age group. This editorial highlights recent work published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry that examines important aspects of this developmental period.
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Editorial: From adolescence into young adulthood –
the importance of a longitudinal perspective across
development in child and adolescent mental health
The transition from adolescence into adulthood is a
pivotal phase in a person’s life, marking a period of
significant social, psychological, and biological
changes that can profoundly impact an individual’s
well-being and developmental trajectory. During this
period, adolescents and young adults face increasing
environmental demands from academic or occupa-
tional responsibilities and social interactions, includ-
ing the pursuit of romantic partners. These changes
are inherently related to stress, which is essential for
adolescents and young adults to develop their person-
ality and form an identity. Throughout adolescence
into young adulthood, the brain undergoes matura-
tional changes as part of the normal development, and
it is possible that deviations from the expected
developmental trajectories may contribute to the onset
of psychiatric disorders in this age group. Indeed,
there is a wealth of data consistently showing that
most mental disorders have an onset during adoles-
cence or young adulthood (Caspi et al., 2020; McGrath
et al., 2023), indicating that this period represents a
window of vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.
An understanding of the biological, environmental,
and social vulnerabilities that contribute to this
transitional age period representing such a vulner-
able period for the onset of psychiatric illness is
critical. Once we identify the factors that explain why
adolescents and young adults are at increased risk of
psychiatric disorders, we may be able to develop
tools to facilitate early recognition of at-risk individ-
uals as well as preventative interventions to mini-
mize the burden of mental disorders –and related
somatic conditions –in adulthood. Population-based
strategies, for example, promoting adolescent well-
being, have merits, but it is likely that targeted
prevention strategies will also be required. In this
context, child and adolescent mental health (CAMH)
research faces a key challenge in attempting to
understand how the complexities of childhood drive
the onset of psychiatric disorders in adolescence and
young adulthood. The characterization of the child-
hood psychosocial and neurobiological factors that
contribute to the development of psychiatric disor-
ders during late or post-pubertal development is a
critical step en route to effectively identifying at-risk
youth for early intervention.
In this issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, there are several contributions studying
transitional-age youth. Zorjan, Wolke, Baumann,
Sorg, and Mulej Bratec (2024) report
thought-provoking findings that suggest that early
regulatory problems (RPs) should be considered
potential targets for early intervention or prevention
efforts in future research. The authors investigated
how early RPs, that is, problems with crying,
sleeping, feeding, between 5 and 56 months of age
predicted avoidant personality traits in adulthood,
that is, social withdrawal and anxiety, between 25
and 30 years of age. By analyzing data from 42
adults with RPs and 70 matched controls ascer-
tained as part of a birth cohort study of neonatal
at-risk children born in Southern Bavaria (the
Bavarian Longitudinal Study), the authors reported
that infants with RPs on average reported lower
quality peer relationships in adulthood compared to
infants who had no RPs. Additionally, individuals
with lower reported
quality peer relation-
ships in adulthood
exhibited higher intrin-
sic functional connectiv-
ity (measured through
resting-state functional
magnetic brain imaging
at ages 25–30 years) of
the allostatic interocep-
tive system, and differ-
ences in the functional
connectivity of specific
sub-regions of the allo-
static interoceptive sys-
tem mediated the
association between
multiple and/or persistent RPs in infancy and lower
quality peer relationships in adulthood. These find-
ings point toward long-lasting behavioral and neural
changes associated with early RPs and should guide
future research focusing on early prevention.
On a similar note, Chen et al. (2024) analyzed data
from the Twins Early Development Study, a cohort of
twins born in England and Wales between 1994 and
1996, to provide novel insights into the relationship
between childhood emotional problems and alcohol
use behaviors in young adulthood. The authors
constructed sophisticated structural equation
models using data for over 7,000 twin pairs to
evaluate whether emotional problems, measured at
5 time points between 4 and 16 years with the
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires, were
Conflict of interest statement: See Acknowledgements for full
disclosures.
Throughout adoles-
cence into young
adulthood, the brain
undergoes matura-
tional changes as part
of the normal devel-
opment, and it is pos-
sible that deviations
from the expected
developmental trajec-
tories may contribute
to the onset of psychi-
atric disorders in this
age group.
Ó2024 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 66:1 (2025), pp 1–3 doi:10.1111/jcpp.14094
... utritional, emotional and social demands. Due to rapid body transformations, it is a period of great need for energy and nutrients to promote growth, associated with physical activity and academic performance, and adolescents are considered to be highly vulnerable. Changes or deficiencies occurring at this age can have repercussions on future life (Koenig et. al, 2025, Cheng & Mill, 2024, Park & Lee, 2022. ...
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Ó 2024 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Ó 2024 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. doi:10.1111/jcpp.14094