Concepts of human differences: A comparison of American, Japanese, and Chinese children and adolescents.

Concepts of human differences were studied among 5th and 11th graders in the United States (n?=?175), Japan (n?=?256), and the People's Republic of China (n?=?160). Relative to their peers in the other 2 cultures, more American students noted differences in appearance and attractiveness and material resources; more Japanese students noted various physical features, and more Chinese students noted specific behaviors. On the whole, Japanese responses resembled those of the American students more closely than those of the Chinese students. With increasing age, American students reported a larger number, whereas Asian students tended to report a smaller number of distinct categories of human differences. Results are discussed in terms of cultural construals of self and theories of cognitive development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child-rearing attitudes and behavioral inhibition in Chinese and Canadian toddlers: a cross-cultural study

Behavioral inhibition data were collected from samples of 2-year-olds from the People's Republic of China and Canada. Information on child-rearing attitudes and beliefs was obtained from mothers of the children. Chinese toddlers were significantly more inhibited than their Canadian counterparts. Inhibition was associated positively with mothers' punishment orientation and negatively with mothers' acceptance and encouragement of achievement in the Canadian sample. However, the directions of the relations were opposite in the Chinese sample; child inhibition was associated positively with mothers' warm and accepting attitudes and negatively with rejection and punishment orientation. The results indicated different adaptational meanings of behavioral inhibition across cultures.     

Behavioral symptoms of children and adolescents in Germany, the Netherlands and USA. A cross-cultural study with the Child Behavior Checklist

The goal of the study was a cross-cultural comparison of the parent ratings of behavior problems of children and adolescents aged 4-18 years in Germany, The Netherlands and the United States using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The analyses were undertaken in a German community sample (n = 1622) and a Dutch community sample (n = 2076). The results were compared with the data published by Achenbach for the national US sample. The analyses were based on the scales of the 1991 CBCL version and were performed for four age and sex groups (4- to 11-year-old boys/girls and 12- to 18-year-old boys/girls). In general, relatively minor differences could be detected between the three random samples. The range in the different samples was between -0.04 and 0.35, which is in line with other cross-cultural analyses using the CBCL. As long as no representative norms for Germany are available, the American norms can serve as an orientation for German studies using the CBCL.     

Fears of death in suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents.

Suicidal, psychiatric, and normal adolescent girls and boys, ages 15–17 yrs, participated in a study on five types of death fears. A mixed within-between multivariate analysis of variance (5 factors?×?3 groups) yielded significant interactive effects indicating that there were different profiles of fears among the three groups: Relative to the other groups, suicidal adolescents displayed little differentiation between facets of fear, with differences in the magnitude of fear limited to the intrapersonal facets. Correlates of fear varied between groups: Fear was positively correlated with suicidality in normal Ss, negatively correlated with suicidality among suicidal ones, and unrelated to suicidality in the psychiatric group. It is suggested that fear of death is processed and experienced differently by suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents to serve as a facilitator or inhibitor of suicidal behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial functioning of children, adolescents, and adults following hypospadias surgery: a comparative study

Used standardized questionnaires to compare psychosocial functioning of 116 children and adolescents (9 to 18 years) and 73 adults (18 to 38 years) operated on for hypospadias, a congenital penile anomaly, with that of 88 and 50 age-matched comparison males, respectively, treated for an inguinal hernia. The relationships of coping with penile appearance, subject age, severity of hypospadias, number of operations, age at final surgery, and type of surgical procedure with psychosocial functioning were also investigated. Hypospadias patients did not exhibit a poorer psychosocial functioning and no significant relationships of various medical characteristics with psychosocial functioning could be discerned. Genital/body perception of hypospadias patients ages 9 to 18 years correlated positively with psychosocial functioning, albeit with low values. These findings are important for psychologists and specialists in the counseling process of hypospadias patients and their parents.     

Development of social-moral reasoning among Kibbutz adolescents: A longitudinal cross-cultural study.

Studied the development of social-moral judgments in 92 Israeli kibbutz adolescents (64 of whom were interviewed longitudinally over 2–9 yrs from ages 12 yrs to 24–25 yrs) from the perspective of L. Kohlberg's theory (1958, 1981) of moral judgment development. The study evaluated the validity of Kohlberg's model and moral judgment interview in a cross-cultural context. In addition, it assessed the cultural uniqueness of social-moral reasoning among kibbutzniks. Findings support the validity of Kohlberg's structural-developmental understanding of moral judgment. Stage change was found to be upward, gradual, and without significant regressions. Analyses showed internal consistency of the stages as operationally defined in the standardized scoring manual. The distribution of stage scores among Ss, overall, was unusually high when compared to the results of parallel studies in the US and Turkey. The most important cultural variation involved the use of Stages 4/5 and 5 (global stage and postconventional stage). While all the stages were present among Ss, not all elements of kibbutz postconventional reasoning were present in Kohlberg's model or scoring manual (e.g., the communal emphasis and collective moral principles). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rage attacks in children and adolescents with Tourette''s disorder: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Sudden, explosive episodes of rage occur in a significant number of clinically referred children with Tourette's disorder and cause considerable psychosocial morbidity. The etiology of these symptoms is unknown. We conducted a pilot study of 12 consecutive children with Tourette's disorder and rage attacks to determine whether comorbidity of Tourette's-associated disorders is related to these symptoms. METHOD: Twelve consecutive children with Tourette's disorder who presented with rage attacks were evaluated, including 2 females and 10 males. Tourette's disorder diagnosis, presence of comorbid disorders, and tic severity were assessed using DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and standardized rating scales. RESULTS: All 12 children met diagnostic criteria for Tourette's disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Two children were also diagnosed with comorbid oppositional defiant disorder, and 4 children were diagnosed with comorbid conduct disorder. None of the subjects met diagnostic criteria for a mood disorder. All subjects had only mild tic severity. CONCLUSION: The clinical phenomenon of rage attacks in children with Tourette's disorder resembles intermittent explosive disorder and may reflect specific underlying neurologic disturbances. This pilot study suggests that rage attacks in Tourette's disorder may be related to the presence of comorbid disorders.     

Chronic daily headache in children and adolescents: a 2-year prospective study

The newer generation of antifungal agents such as itraconazole and terbinafine are more effective than the older therapies, griseofulvin and ketoconazole, in the treatment of dermatophyte pedal onychomycosis. Itraconazole can be administered as continuous dosing, 200 mg per day for 3 months, or in the form of pulse therapy, 200 mg twice a day for 1 week per month for 3 consecutive months. Terbinafine is given as continuous dosing, 250 mg per day for 3 months.     

A longitudinal study of family obligation and depressive symptoms among Chinese American adolescents.

The purpose of this 2-year, 3-wave longitudinal study of Chinese American adolescents was to examine how family obligation behaviors and attitudes change over time; how gender, nativity, and birth order predict these trajectories; and whether family obligation relates to depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that family obligation behaviors decreased over the 2-year period but that family obligation attitudes were stable. Moreover, foreign-born adolescents reported higher levels of family obligation behavior than U.S.-born adolescents, and firstborn adolescents reported higher family obligation attitudes than laterborn adolescents. There were no gender differences in family obligation behaviors or attitudes. The findings also suggest that initial higher levels of family obligation were associated with subsequently fewer depressive symptoms. Finally, changes in family obligation behaviors related to changes in depressive symptoms over time such that increasing family obligation behaviors related to decreasing depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of understanding the role of family obligation to Chinese American adolescents’ mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to drug trafficking among urban, low-income African American children and adolescents

The American Society of Clinical Pathologists surveyed 136 laboratories actively engaged in performing clinical flow cytometric testing to determine the demographics of these laboratories, the credentials of the personnel involved with testing, the volume and types of tests performed, and how data are analyzed and interpreted. These results are reported with commentary based on previous surveys and recommended practice guidelines.     

Culture, ethnicity, and children's facial expressions: A study of European American, mainland Chinese, Chinese American, and adopted Chinese girls.

This investigation extends previous research documenting differences in Chinese and European American infants' facial expressivity. Chinese girls adopted by European American families, nonadopted Mainland Chinese girls, nonadopted Chinese American girls, and nonadopted European American girls responded to emotionally evocative slides and an odor stimulus. European American girls smiled more than Mainland Chinese and Chinese American girls and scored higher than Mainland Chinese girls for disgust-related expressions and overall expressivity. Adopted Chinese girls produced more disgust-related expressions than Mainland Chinese girls. Self-reported maternal strictness, aggravation, positive expressiveness, and cultural identification correlated with children's facial responses, as did number of siblings and adults in the home. Results suggest that culture and family environment influences facial expressivity, creating differences among children of the same ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term prediction of academic achievement of American, Chinese, and Japanese adolescents.

Representative samples of 729 American, Chinese, and Japanese 1st graders were given achievement and cognitive tests. Mothers were interviewed. Ten years later, 475 of the students participated in a follow-up study in which they were interviewed and given achievement tests. Results revealed high stability of achievement relationships within all 3 societies. Measures of early cognitive abilities were consistently related to the families' socioeconomic status and exerted their influence on later achievement either through 1st grade achievement scores or through evaluations made by their mothers. The percentage of variance in achievement scores accounted for by the path models was between 49% and 59% at 1st grade and between 38% and 51% at 11th grade. Despite statistical differences in mean scores on the achievement tests, the associations between early predictors and later achievement were similar in the 3 cultural groups, indicating that differences in mean scores may not be accompanied by differences in interrelationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fears and phobias in women: A community study.

Conducted interviews and administered the Present State Examination to 449 women (aged 18–65 yrs) in Calgary, Canada. Results show a high prevalence of mild fears (244/1,000 population) and phobias (190/1,000 population). Only 3 Ss had a phobia that was incapacitating to any significant degree. Animal fears were the most prevalent, followed by nature, social, mutilation, and separation fears. There were small but significant associations between the occurrence of any one type of fear and the occurrence of other types of fear. The associations between affective intensity of fear, somatic awareness, and avoidance were low, particularly for social fears and separation fears. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plasma GABA in children and adolescents with mood, behavior, and comorbid mood and behavior disorders: a preliminary study

Plasma GABA concentrations (pGABA) were measured in 115 inpatients (aged 7-17) with child psychiatric disorders. Group mean pGABAs were compared for 38 patients with mood disorders only (MOOD), 29 with behavior disorders only (BEH), 48 with comorbid mood and behavior disorders (MOOD + BEH), and 14 normal controls (CON, aged 14-17). The BEH group was characterized by (a) high mean pGABAs (157 vs. 133 pmol/ml), (b) lower mean pGABAs in BEH subjects who had been receiving pharmacotherapy with SSRIs or other medications (p < 0.026), and (c) decreased pGABA with increasing age (p = 0.019). These features were not found in controls or in groups of patients with mood disorders (MOOD or MOOD + BEH). Elevated mean pGABA in the BEH group appeared specifically in patients with comorbid CD and ADHD, not in patients with ADHD or CD alone (p = 0.004). No patient in BEH (or CON) had pGABA below 100 pmol/ml, but low pGABAs were found in 15% of MOOD patients (who had no behavior disorder) and in 16% of MOOD + BEH patients. Pharmacotherapy did not change pGABAs in the MOOD or the MOOD + BEH groups. No pGABA differences were found among the anxiety disorders, either alone or with mood or behavior comorbidity. The finding that plasma GABA levels are elevated in nonmedicated behavior disorders that present in the absence of mood disorders, and appear to lower following medication treatments, merits increased attention to the pharmacological study of nonaffective behavior disorders.     

On developing self-concepts: a controlled study of children and adolescents with autism

This study employed the self-understanding interview of Damon and Hart (1988) to assess the self-concepts of two groups of children and adolescents: a group of individuals with autism and a group of nonautistic mentally retarded individuals who were matched for age and for verbal ability. On the basis of an hypothesis concerning the interpersonal origins of social and psychological self-concepts (Hobson, 1990; Neisser, 1988), it was predicted that the participants with autism would show a relative dearth of such concepts in their talk about themselves. In accordance with our predictions, there was a significant group difference in the number and quality of statements that fell into the social category of self-concept; contrary to our predictions, however, there was no group difference in the number of statements that fell into the psychological category. In addition, although there were not significant group differences in the overall production of verbally expressed concepts concerning self-attributes of a physical, active, or psychological kind, even within these categories individuals with autism made fewer references to social interactions or qualities. These results are discussed with regard to theories of self-concept development in typically developing as well as autistic and mentally retarded individuals, and with reference to the limitations of interpersonal understanding ("theory of mind") in people with autism.     

The efficacy of lamotrigine in children and adolescents with refractory generalized epilepsy: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study

In the 9L rat brain tumour model the damage to tumour and normal brain by photodynamic therapy after intratumoural photosensitizer administration (intratumoural PDT) was studied. Twenty four rats received an intratumoural injection of 4 or 40 mm3 haematoporphyrin derivative (HpD, 5 mg ml-1), followed by interstitial irradiation with 20 Joule (J) (630 nm) 5 h later. For comparison, seven rats were treated with 20 Joule 24 h after an intravenous injection of 10 mg kg-1 HpD (intravenous PDT). With the chosen PDT parameters there was no important difference between the damaged areas produced by intratumoural PDT or intravenous PDT. No selective tumour kill was observed. Even though normal brain tissue was heavily damaged, vital tumour parts were still present. Intravenous PDT caused extensive diffuse damage to small blood vessels in tumour and surrounding normal brain. Intratumoural PDT was characterised by an infiltration of polymorphonuclear cells into damaged tissue, dilatation of larger blood vessels and gross haemorrhage. These results suggest an immediate vascular shutdown in the intravenous approach, while in the intratumoural approach the vasculature remained patent initially. Because of the severe side effects observed, the use of HpD seems not advisable for intratumoural PDT of brain tumours.     

Psychiatric illness and family support in children and adolescents with diabetic ketoacidosis: a controlled study

BACKGROUND: In the adult respiratory distress syndrome, nitric oxide (NO) inhalation improves oxygenation through reducing ventilation-perfusion mismatching, but detailed information on the pulmonary effects of NO inhalation in septic shock is scarce. The present study investigated the effects of inhaled NO on alveolar dead space (Vdalv) and venous admixture as well as on respiratory system compliance (Crs) and respiratory system resistance (Rrs) in a porcine model of septic shock. Protective effects of NO are discussed. METHODS: Thirteen anaesthetised and ventilated pigs were given an infusion of endotoxin for an observation time of 220 min to induce acute lung injury (ALI). In the NO-early group (n=6), an inhalation of 60 ppm NO was started simultaneously with the endotoxin infusion and continued for 190 min. In 7 control/NO-late animals, 60 ppm NO was administered for 30 min following 190 min of endotoxin infusion. Haemodynamics, single-breath CO2-, pressure-, and flow signals were recorded. RESULTS: Endotoxin induced haemoconcentration, pulmonary vasoconstriction, and a decrease in Crs, while venous admixture, Vdalv, and Rrs increased. In the NO-early group, the pulmonary vasoconstriction was attenuated, no increase in pulmonary venous admixture or in Vdalv was seen before cessation of NO, and the improvements in oxygenation outlasted the NO inhalation. In the control/NO-late group, the NO inhalation reversed the changes in dead space and venous admixture. NO had no effect on the changes in respiratory mechanics. CONCLUSION: In porcine ALI, 60 ppm NO diminishes pulmonary vasoconstriction and improves gas exchange by reducing pulmonary venous admixture and alveolar dead space, but does not prevent a fall in Crs. NO inhalation may help prevent long-lasting pulmonary failure.