Abnormal Child Psychology

Protective Factors Buffer Life Stress and Behavioral Health Outcomes among High-Risk Youth Abstract This study investigated internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and polydrug use among African-American youth residing in high-poverty neighborhoods, and tested the potential protective effects of religiosity, parental monitoring, and neighborhood collective efficacy on life stress and behavioral health outcomes (N = 576; 307 females; Mage = 16 years, SD = 1.44 years). A cumulative risk index reflected the combined effects of past year exposure to stressful life events, racial discrimination, and exposure to violence along with poor neighborhood ecology. Structural equation modeling revealed that cumulative risk significantly predicted internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and polydrug use. Interaction tests showed that the association of cumulative risk with internalizing problems was buffered by adolescent religiosity and neighborhood collective efficacy. The association of cumulative risk with externalizing problems was buffered by parental monitoring and collective efficacy. Adolescent sex further moderated these effects. The findings of the present study collectively highlight potential for protective factors to buffer effects of cumulative risk on behavioral health outcomes among youth residing in high-risk neighborhoods.

The Relation between Specific Parenting Behaviors and Toddlers’ Early Anxious Behaviors is Moderated by Toddler Cortisol Reactivity Abstract Differential susceptibility theory posits that neurobiological reactivity (e.g., cortisol levels) should be considered as an individual index of susceptibility to both positive and negative environments. The current investigation separately examines cortisol reactivity and total concentration in toddlerhood as moderators of the longitudinal relation between maternal protection and encouragement of independence and increases or decreases in observed anxious behaviors, respectively. A total of 119 mother-toddler dyads participated in a laboratory visit when toddlers were 12- to 18-months-old. Mothers reported on their parenting behaviors and toddlers participated in a novelty episode from which their anxious behaviors were coded. Toddlers provided three saliva samples, yielding measures of cortisol reactivity and total cortisol concentration. One year later, dyads returned to the laboratory where toddlers participated in another novelty episode to observationally assess anxious behaviors. Results revealed that maternal protection tended to relate to greater increases in anxious behaviors one year later only for toddlers who displayed high cortisol reactivity. Cortisol reactivity also moderated the relation between maternal encouragement of independence and change in toddler anxious behaviors, with this parenting behavior relating to greater decreases in anxious behaviors only for toddlers with high cortisol reactivity. Results examining total cortisol concentration as a moderator were not significant. Results suggest the importance of considering toddler cortisol reactivity a context of susceptibility when examining the longitudinal relation between parenting behaviors and the development of anxious behaviors in toddlerhood.

Family Burden of Raising a Child with ADHD Abstract The purpose of the study was to estimate the burden to families of raising a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Data were drawn from a longitudinal sample recruited in western Pennsylvania. When participants were between 14 and 17 years old, parents completed a questionnaire assessing economic burden over the course of raising their children. Domains of economic burden to families included direct costs related to child’s behaviors (excluding treatment expenses) and indirect costs related to caregiver strain. On average, participants with ADHD incurred a total economic burden over the course of child development that was more than five times greater compared to youths without ADHD (ADHD = $15,036 per child, Control = $2,848 per child), and this difference remained significant after controlling for intellectual functioning, oppositional defiant symptoms, or conduct problems. Parents of participants with ADHD were more likely to have changed their job responsibilities or been fired and reported lower work efficiency. The current evaluation of economic burden to individual families extends previous estimates of annual societal cost of illness (COI) of ADHD. Our rough annual estimate of COI for ADHD in children and adolescents is $124.5 billion (2017 US Dollars). Findings underscore the need for interventions to reduce the costly dysfunctional outcomes in families of children with ADHD.

Exploring the Variability in Reaction Times of Preschoolers at Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: an ex-Gaussian Analysis Abstract Reaction times (RTs) are typically slower and more variable in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Analysis of the ex-Gaussian RT distribution, which is described by mu, sigma (mean and standard deviation, respectively, of the normal distribution) and tau (that of exponential distribution), reveals that individuals with ADHD do not display overall slower RTs but have a high proportion of extremely slow RTs, represented by a high tau value. Although this is a vital component for describing ADHD-related RT variability in school-aged children, adolescents, and adults, it has not been thoroughly studied at the preschool age. We assessed 65 preschoolers at risk of ADHD and 98 typically developing preschoolers with the Conners’ Kiddie Continuous Performance Test (K-CPT) and parental and teacher reports of ADHD symptoms. We found that preschoolers at risk of ADHD had greater values for RT standard deviation, sigma, and tau than typically developing preschoolers at long inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) (3 s), but not at short ISIs (1.5 s). This suggests that attention problems in preschool children may only be apparent in the tasks with a relatively slow event rate. Our study demonstrates that the ex-Gaussian tau value is essential for describing the inattentive component of task performance in preschoolers with heightened ADHD symptoms. Furthermore, the fact that the tau effect was modulated by ISI suggests that the longer duration (3 s vs. 1.5 s) is a non-optimal energetic state in preschoolers at risk of ADHD, and that this might account for the subtle attentional flaw in task performance.

A Population-Based Study of the Behavioral and Emotional Adjustment of Older Siblings of Children with and without Intellectual Disability Abstract This is the first study on the behavioral and emotional adjustment of siblings of children with intellectual disabilities (ID) to use a population-based sample, from the third wave of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS); a UK longitudinal birth cohort study. We examined differences between nearest-in-age older siblings (age 5–15) of MCS children (likely mainly with mild to moderate ID) identified with ID (n = 257 siblings) or not (n = 7246 siblings). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) measured all children’s adjustment. For SDQ total problems, 13.9% of siblings of children with ID and 8.9% of siblings of children without had elevated scores (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.04, 2.62; p = 0.031). Similar group differences were found for SDQ peer and conduct problems. In logistic regression models, variables consistently associated with older sibling adjustment were: adjustment of the MCS cohort child, older sibling being male, family socio-economic position, primary carer psychological distress, and being from a single parent household. The ID grouping variable was no longer associated with adjustment for all SDQ domains, except siblings of children with ID were less likely to be identified as hyperactive (OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.10, 0.87; p = 0.027). Some older siblings of children with ID may be at additional risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Group differences were related mainly to social and family contextual factors. Future longitudinal research should address developmental pathways by which children with ID may affect sibling adjustment.

Peer Victimization and Selective Attention in Adolescence: Evidence from a Monozygotic Twin Difference Design Abstract Peer victimization impacts 13% of adolescents worldwide (Currie et al. 2012). Despite its prevalence and associated adverse outcomes, global cognitive processes that could be affected by peer victimization have not been thoroughly investigated. Using a monozygotic (MZ) twin difference design that rigorously controls for the influence of genetic and familial level confounders, we examined the relation between peer victimization exposure and selective attention processes during an affective go/no go task. Twins who experienced more severe peer victimization were biased towards detecting goal relevant stimuli during the task. Our findings suggest an environmentally salient relation between peer victimization and goal oriented selective attention. Future work should investigate how this process might serve to enhance or buffer risk of peer victimization exposure for developing later adverse outcomes.

Disengaging from Evil: Longitudinal Associations Between the Dark Triad, Moral Disengagement, and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence Abstract Previous work has identified important correlational linkages between the dark triad of personality (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and antisocial behavior in adolescence. However, little is known about the longitudinal associations between these personality characteristics and antisocial behavior, and the processes underlying these linkages. We hypothesized positive bidirectional associations between the dark triad and antisocial behavior, and that increases in moral disengagement would underlie these longitudinal associations. In the current study, we examined these hypotheses in 502 Dutch adolescents (51.8% boys, Mage = 13.57, SD = 1.07) across three annual waves. Path models showed that antisocial behavior was positively associated with relative increases in moral disengagement, a general dark personality factor, and Machiavellianism specifically, but not the other way around. These paths were only observed in boys and more pronounced during the first year of the study. Finally, antisocial behavior was partly indirectly associated to psychopathy across time via antisocial behavior and moral disengagement at a later time point. Together, these findings suggest that dark personality characteristics and moral disengagement development are more likely to be the result of changes in antisocial behavior than the other way around.

Patterns of Exposure to Cumulative Risk Through Age 2 and Associations with Problem Behaviors at Age 4.5: Evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand Abstract Exposure to cumulative risk (CR) has important implications for child development, yet little is known about how frequency, persistence, and timing of CR exposure during early childhood predict behavioral problems already before school start. We examine prospective longitudinal associations between patterns of CR exposure from third trimester through 2 years and subsequent behavior problems at 4.5 years. In 6156 diverse children in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study, the presence of 12 risk factors, spanning maternal health, social status, and home and neighborhood environment, defined CR and were assessed at last trimester and 9 months and 2 years of age. At child age 4.5 years, mothers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, where a score ≥ 16 indicated an abnormal level of problem behaviors (ALPB). Children exposed to a CR ≥ 1 at least once in early development, compared to those with consistent CR = 0, showed a significantly higher likelihood of ALPB at 4.5 years. Consistent high exposure to CR ≥ 4 across all three assessments had the highest prevalence (44%) of ALPB at age 4.5. Children with high CR exposure on two of three, compared to on all three, time points in early development did not evidence a significantly reduced prevalence (32%–41%) of ALPB. The common co-occurrence of risk factors and their significant developmental impact when accumulated early in life underscore the need for systematic multisector intervention and policy implementation during pregnancy and shortly after birth to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

Time Spent with Parents Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder Abstract Research with community samples suggests that non-affective features of families, such as the amount of time parents and adolescents spend together, affect depressive symptoms in adolescents. It is possible, however, that spending time with parents not only protects against the onset of depressive symptoms, but also reduces symptoms in adolescents who are already depressed. The current study was designed to test this formulation while also examining whether affective dimensions of family functioning – specifically parental warmth – accounted for or moderated observed associations. Finally, we tested the reverse direction of the associations, examining whether greater severity of depression in adolescents results in parents spending less time with them. Forty-one adolescents (ages 14 to 17 years) who met criteria for a current major depressive episode participated in the present study with one parent. Once each month for six time points, dyads completed reports of depressive symptoms and the amount of time parents and adolescents spent with each other. Participants also completed measures of parental warmth. Results of lagged multilevel modeling indicated that spending more time with a parent predicted fewer depressive symptoms in adolescents at the following assessment relative to their mean; in contrast, greater severity of depressive symptoms did not predict spending less time with a parent at the following assessment. In contrast, parental warmth did not account for or moderate the association between time together and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that non-affective dimensions of family life, specifically spending more time with parents, have beneficial effects on depressive symptoms in adolescents diagnosed with depression.

Emotional Reactivity and Antisocial Behavior Relative to Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Expression: a Latent Profile Analysis Abstract This study examined whether emotional reactivity was associated with violent juvenile offending in a sample of detained boys (N = 198). It was predicted that Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) would reveal a “low reactivity” group, characterized by symptoms of emotional numbing and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and a “high reactivity” group, characterized by symptoms of hyperarousal and emotional dysregulation. It was hypothesized that the low reactivity group would have higher rates of violent offending and proactive aggression than the high reactivity group. Contrary to expectations, results indicated that the presence of both emotional numbing and hyperarousal symptoms, but not hyperarousal symptoms alone, were associated with higher rates of violent offending, CU traits, and proactive aggression. Results indicate that the risk of serious aggressive behavior and violent offending may be highest among youth who are easily provoked to respond aggressively (i.e., hyperarousal symptoms) while simultaneously able to maintain emotional detachment (i.e., elevated emotional numbing symptoms and CU traits).