Using data from the ongoing Duke Neurogenetics Study (DNS), which assesses a wide range of behavioral, experiential, and biological phenotypes, the present study examined whether reward-related ventral striatum (VS) reactivity moderates the relationship between retrospectively-reported early life stress (ELS) and anhedonic symptomatology in 820 young adult university students. Further, in light of evidence that deficits in positive affect precede the development of other depressive symptoms (Bijttebier et al. 2012), we assessed whether the interaction between reward related VS reactivity and ELS is indirectly associated with other depressive symptoms via the mediating role of anhedonia. Second, based on a developing literature linking anhedonic symptoms to substance-related coping, which has, in turn, been linked to problematic substance use (Cooper et al. 1995; Grant et al. 2009; Mezquita et al. 2014), we assessed whether the interaction between reward-related VS reactivity and ELS is indirectly associated with self-reported problematic alcohol use via the mediating role of anhedonic symptoms and coping behavior. We hypothesized that individuals with relatively blunted VS reactivity and elevated exposure to ELS would report increased anhedonia. Moreover, we posited that stress-related
