With regard to ELS, CTQ total scores in this sample (i.e. mean = 33.46) were comparable to other community (e.g. metropolitan Memphis, Tennessee, area, n = 1.007, mean = 31.7; Scher et al. 2001) and college samples (e.g. UCSD; n = 949, mean = 35.2; Wright et al. 2001), but are considerably lower than those typically observed in clinical samples (e.g. alcohol-dependent inpatients, n = 100, mean = 42.8; Schäfer et al. 2007, and major depression disorder and bipolar outpatients, n = 40, mean = 47.8; Watson et al. 2007). The present results suggest that the moderating effect of reward-related VS reactivity on anhedonia arises at low to moderate levels of ELS (i.e. 41.32, see Johnson–Neyman area of significance in Fig. 2). However, this relatively high-functioning college student population may have had other protective factors that may have counteracted the effects of ELS. Moreover, whether this linear pattern continues at extremely high levels of stress requires further validation by studies with a large number of individuals who have experienced extreme adversity during childhood (Goff et al. 2013).
