Childhood Experiences Predict in-Vivo Emotional Reactivity in at-Risk Adults: A Study of Active-Duty Firefighters

Early-life experiences influence lifetime psychological risk, but it remains unclear if childhood experiences influence in-vivo emotional reactivity in adulthood. Firefighters reporting aversive early experiences exhibited blunted physiological responses when describing stressful on-duty events; firefighters reporting protective early experiences expressed more positive expressions across contexts, suggesting two distinct pathways of risk.