Fig. 2: Developmental stage and individual profile of early-life stress exposure and protective factors shape stress response and mental health in the context of a stressor.

The general framework of developmental and individual differences in stress responding can be applied flexibly to many specifics of developmental timing and individual factors. Here we illustrate one example of variability in exposure to early-life stress and protective factors (e.g., supportive caregiving). For a given adolescent, developmental stage, early-life stress history, and protective factors contribute meaningful information about a probable response to a current stressor. On average, an adolescent with substantial early-life stress exposure and fewer protective factors will be at higher risk for psychopathology (top panel) than an adolescent with similarly high early-life stress exposure but more protective factors (bottom panel).