Social cognition and adjustment in children at risk for psychopathology.

This study tested two models of how social cognition affects the link between child adjustment and two family risk factors, maltreatment and parental psychopathology. The mediation model proposed that social cognition mediates the link between the risk factors and maladjustment. The compensation model proposed that social cognition compensates for the risk factors. Social cognitive measures were social problem-solving competency and hostile attributional and response biases. In 83 Ss (7 to 14 years of age), maltreatment, but not parental psychopathology, predicted aggression and peer rejection. The adjustment of Ss with a disturbed parent depended on maltreatment status. Risk status did not predict social cognition, so the mediation model was not supported. Consistent with the compensation model, Ss with high social cognitive skills were better adjusted regardless of risk status. Implications for high-risk research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological characteristics of subjects identified by platelet MAO activity and evoked potentials as biologically at risk for psychopathology.

Using a biological high-risk paradigm, "at risk" Ss were chosen from 375 college students on the basis of extremely low blood platelet MAO activity levels. The sample comprised 19 low and 17 high MAO males and 17 low and 15 high MAO females. These groups were further subdivided on the basis of their augmenting/reducing evoked potentials (EPs). Psychological tests assessing dimensions relevant to schizophrenia and affective illness were administered (e.g., thought process, relation to reality, sense of identity, interpersonal relations, affect, and stress), and the scores were factor analyzed. As expected, low MAO males scored significantly higher on a General Psychopathology factor. Moreover, the subgroup of males who theoretically would be at risk for schizophrenia (low MAO with reducing EPs) gave significantly more remote word associations than the high MAO augmenters. This interaction effect of MAO and EPs was also significant for females. Significant sex differences were found on the Mania factor (the males were more active) and Remote Associations factor (males gave more remote associations). In addition, a significant interaction of sex and MAO on the General Psychopathology factor was found, with the low MAO males and high MAO females scoring in the more pathological direction. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological evaluation at juvenile court disposition.

Do psychologists' evaluations of juvenile offenders prior to dispositional placement have a measurable effect on judges' decision making? Is the nature of any such influence best explained by the quality of the written report, the relationship between the psychologist and the judge, or a combination of these and other factors? The current study attempted to address these issues by investigating the quality of 172 predisposition psychological evaluation reports from a Philadelphia-area juvenile court jurisdiction and the association between report quality and judges' recommendation acceptance. Results point to the need for practicing psychologists and judges to become more aware of the relevant domains of assessment for this type of evaluation and of what constitutes quality reporting within each domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention-related effects on somatosensory evoked potentials in college students at high risk for psychopathology.

Determined whether a deviation from normal amplitude in the evoked potential in response to attention directed to a stimulus would occur in 10 undergraduates with high scores on a measure of physical anhedonia (AN) and 9 undergraduates with a high score on a measure of perceptual aberration (PA). Ss were compared with 10 control undergraduates and 7 schizophrenics (mean age 25.6 yrs). Previous studies have shown low amplitudes for schizophrenics. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were recorded from 5 scalp locations while Ss counted stimuli to 1 of 4 randomly stimulated fingers; SEPs to counted stimuli contained the attention-related late positive wave (P400). P400 amplitudes of AN Ss were lower than those of normal controls, whereas P400 amplitudes of PA Ss and their matched controls did not differ. P400 amplitudes of AN Ss did not differ significantly from those of schizophrenics, although AN means were somewhat higher. P400 amplitude may provide information that is different from the associated behavioral response and a more sensitive indication of central mechanism dysfunction. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Familial risk for alcoholism and self-reported psychopathology.

Three groups of young men varying in familial alcoholism risk (high density, high risk [HDHR]; low density, high risk [LDHR]; and low risk [LR]) were compared on the 11 clinical scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory. Significant group differences were found on 9 scales, with scores of the HDHR group exceeding those of the other 2 groups. No differences were found between the LDHR and LR groups. When the proportion with pathological scores per scale was examined, significant group differences were still revealed on 7 scales. The HDHR group exceeded the other 2 groups, but the LDHR group also exceeded the LR group on several scales. These findings support the need to more finely characterize familial alcoholism risk than is provided by the typical high-risk-low-risk dichotomy. Finally, statistically controlling for normal variations in response style reduced the number of group differences, although the same patterns persisted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distractibility in children vulnerable to psychopathology.

Evaluated children (mean age 15.25 yrs) of schizophrenics (n?=?36), unipolars (n?=?57), bipolars (n?=?60), and normals (n?=?65) on a digit span measure of distractibility with the distraction and nondistraction conditions matched for discrimination power. Whereas there were no between-groups differences in performance in the nondistraction condition, children of schizophrenics and unipolars performed more poorly than children of normal parents in the distraction condition. Analyses of serial position curves revealed that children of schizophrenics performed more poorly on primacy as compared to recency portions of distraction trials. This finding differentiated children with a schizophrenic parent from children in each of the other groups. Results indicate that children of schizophrenics have a deficit in controlled information processing. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental psychopathology in children of depressed mothers.

It is suggested that the tripartite model by R. D. Parke et al (1988) of the ways that parents influence their child's social development might be used to organize the study of abnormal development in children of depressed mothers. Parents influence their child through dyadic interaction, coaching and teaching practices, and managing their child's social environment. Disruption in each of these areas has been associated with parental psychopathology and has been implicated in the development of deviant child outcomes. The components of a theoretical model of developmental psychopathology are outlined, as well as theoretical and methodological problems that have yet to be resolved. Issues of concern include the heterogeneity of maternal diagnoses; distinguishing among genetic, parenting, and environmental effects; matching the level of behavioral analysis with the question being answered; the heterogeneity of child outcomes; age-related effects; bidirectional influences; and the role of paternal psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal associative disturbances in children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Analyzed single-word and continuous association test behaviors of children at high (207 Ss) and low (104 Ss) risk for schizophrenia. A comparison was also made between test scores of those high-risk Ss who later became schizophrenic and scores of others who did not. Although high-risk Ss exhibited more deviant associations than low-risk Ss, premorbid associative disturbance did not characterize those who later became schizophrenic. These findings are not supportive of learning theories of associative disturbance. When combined with recent evidence showing that degree of associative disturbance at initial breakdown is not predictive of chronicity or outcome, these findings call for a reevaluation of the central character of associative disturbance in schizophrenia. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent psychopathology: II. Psychosocial risk factors for depression.

In a prospective study of adolescent depression, adolescents (N?=?1,508) were assessed at Time 1 and after 1 yr (Time 2) on psychosocial variables hypothesized to be associated with depression. Most psychosocial variables were associated with current (n?=?45) depression. Formerly depressed adolescents (n?=?217) continued to differ from never depressed controls on many of the psychosocial variables. Many of the depression-related measures also acted as risk factors for future depression (n?=?112), especially past depression, current other mental disorders, past suicide attempt, internalizing behavior problems, and physical symptoms. Young women were more likely to be, to become, and to have been depressed. Controlling for the psychosocial variables eliminated the gender difference for current and future but not for past depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth in literacy and cognition in bilingual children at risk or not at risk for reading disabilities.

This study investigated growth in reading, vocabulary, and memory in children (ages 5 to 10) learning English as a second language identified at risk for reading disabilities (RD). A growth curve analysis showed that RD children were significantly below children not at risk in English and Spanish reading, Spanish short-term memory (STM), Spanish comprehension, and English and Spanish working memory (WM). RD children were also inferior on growth measures of English and Spanish WM and Spanish STM. Growth on measures of Spanish vocabulary, reading, STM, and WM accounted for 12% of the variance in predicting growth in English reading. However, only Spanish measures of WM growth contributed unique variance. The results show that growth in WM in the primary language predicts growth in second-language reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological assessment of sexually abused children for legal evaluation and expert witness testimony.

This article presents the theory and practice behind the psychological assessment of sexually abused children using the posttraumatic stress disorder subcategories for abused children. Measurement of cognitive disturbances including intrusive recollections of the trauma, affective disturbances by simultaneously experienced high arousal and high avoidance symptoms, and observable behavioral changes are described, and practical approaches including case examples are presented. Included in this article is a discussion about the different standards of legal proof that psychologists must meet in the various kinds of child sexual abuse cases that they might be called upon to consult. Psychologists need to know basic child development and have the assessment skills to measure it as well as specialized training in the field of child abuse to avoid the perils of becoming overinvolved in these emotional cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for psychopathology in the clinical practice

Different instruments are used in clinical practice to assess comorbid psychopathology in addicted individuals. This study is aimed at comparing two of those instruments. In total, 327 heroin- and methadone-addicted individuals were interviewed in three treatment settings and outside treatment. Instruments used are the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). The former instrument results in a general measure of severity of psychopathology, while the latter results in categorical DSM-III-R diagnoses. A comparison of the results show, however, that the two types of data do not agree to a large extent. By using the DSM-III-R data as golden standard, it appeared that a part of the psychopathology cases was missed out by the ASI severity measures. The results, that are especially of interest for clinicians using the ASI, are presented for various disorders.     

The promise of multimedia stories for kindergarten children at risk.

This research focuses on the ability of book-based animated stories, when well designed and produced, to have positive effects on young viewers' narrative comprehension and language skills. Sixty 5-year-olds, learning Dutch as a 2nd language, were randomly assigned to 4 experimental and 2 control conditions. The children profited to some extent from repeated encounters with a storybook with static pictures but more from repeated encounters with the animated form of the story. Both story formats were presented on a computer screen; both included the same oral text spoken in the same voice but the animated story was supplemented with multimedia features (video, sounds, and music) dramatizing the events. Multimedia additions were especially effective for gaining knowledge of implied elements of stories that refer to goals or motives of main characters, and in expanding vocabulary and syntax. The added value of multimedia books was strengthened over sessions. In a group from families with low educational levels who were lagging in language and literacy skills, multimedia storybooks seem to provide a framework for understanding stories and remembering linguistic information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attentional assessment of foster children at risk for schizophrenia.

Investigated whether processes observed in adult schizophrenics could be detected in children who were not schizophrenic but were at heightened risk for the disorder. A battery of 8 attention-demanding tasks was administered to (a) 9 foster children at heightened risk for schizophrenia by virtue of having a schizophrenic biological mother, (b) 10 foster children without a family history of psychiatric disorder, and (c) 10 children living with their biological parents, none of whom had a history of psychiatric disorder. The tasks included in the battery had been demonstrated in previous research to be sensitive discriminators of adult schizophrenic pathology. Results indicate the presence of attentional dysfunction in high-risk children prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. The high-risk group showed significantly lower levels of performance on certain tasks, notably the complex versions of the span-of-apprehension and Spokes tests from the Halstead-Reitan Test Battery, and the simple conditions of the concept attainment task. Examination of low-scoring Ss, intercorrelations between tasks, and the results of a cluster analysis revealed that within the high-risk group there was a subset of Ss who showed impairment across these tasks to produce the overall low group means. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kindergarten performance of children born at risk.

Conducted a longitudinal study of 20 children born with medical complications and 15 normal children to assess the effects of home environment on development in high-risk Ss. Ss were studied from birth to completion of kindergarten. Pre- and postkindergarten Ss completed the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), the Peabody Individual Achievement Test, 2 vocabulary and 2 syntax batteries, and an adaptive behavior scale. Data indicate that high-risk Ss exhibited early deficiencies in social, emotional, and cognitive functioning that decreased during kindergarten. It is suggested that adequate home environment may minimize impairment for high-risk Ss. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Registered criminality in families with children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Describes a project in which 207 Danish children (mean age 15.1 yrs in 1962) with schizophrenic mothers have been periodically assessed and followed since 1962. 104 children matched in age, whose parents and grandparents had never been psychiatrically hospitalized, served as controls. The number of registered criminal offenses in the Ss, their schizophrenic mothers, and their fathers was found to be higher than for controls. Implications for high-risk research and hypotheses on the relation of schizophrenia and criminality are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral and electrographic measures of attention in children at risk for schizophrenia.

A previous study by H. Grunebaum et al (see record 1975-00816-001) found that 5-yr-old children of schizophrenic mothers were impaired on visual attention tasks as compared with controls. No difference was observed in 6-yr-olds, however. This study reexamined the attentive behavior of 12 of these children 3 yrs later. In addition, evoked potentials to various visual stimuli were obtained. Group differences could no longer be found in visual attentive behavior; however, the risk group had evoked potentials of significantly higher amplitude and, under certain conditions, of longer latency than the controls. These findings suggest a maturational lag in visual stimulus processing in these children at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschool children at risk for repeat injuries

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide (NO) is cytostatic for proliferating cells, inhibits microbial growth, and down-regulates the synthesis of specific proteins. Studies were undertaken to determine the mechanism by which NO inhibits total protein synthesis and whether the inhibition correlates with established cytostatic activities of NO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In in vitro experiments, various cell types were exposed to NO using either donors or expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS). The capacity of NO to suppress total protein synthesis, measured by incorporation of 35S-methionine into protein, was correlated with the capacity of NO to suppress cell proliferation, viral replication, or iNOS expression. Phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha was examined as a possible mechanism for the suppressed protein synthesis by NO. RESULTS: Both NO donors and expression of the iNOS suppressed total protein synthesis in L929 cells and A2008 human ovarian tumor cells in parallel with decreased cell proliferation. Suppressed protein synthesis was also shown to correlate with decreased vaccinia virus proliferation in murine peritoneal macrophages in an iNOS-dependent manner. Furthermore, iNOS expression in pancreatic islets or RAW264.7 cells almost completely inhibited total protein synthesis, suggesting that nonspecific inhibition of protein synthesis may be the mechanism by which NO inhibited the synthesis of specific proteins such as insulin or iNOS itself. This possibility was confirmed in RAW264.7 cells where the inhibition of total protein synthesis correlated with the decreased iNOS protein. The decrease in protein levels occurred without changes in iNOS mRNA levels, implicating an inhibition of translation. Mechanistic studies revealed that iNOS expression in RAW264.7 cells resulted in the phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha and inhibition of the 80S ribosomal complex formation. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that NO suppresses protein synthesis by stimulating the phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha. Furthermore, our observations indicate that nonspecific inhibition of protein synthesis may be a generalized response of cells exposed to high levels of NO and that inhibition of protein synthesis may contribute to many of the described cytostatic actions of NO.     

Effects of a preschool plus follow-on intervention for children at risk.

The effects of the Chicago Child Parent Center and Expansion Program were investigated for 6 social competence outcomes up to 2 yrs postprogram. A total of 1,106 low-income Black children were differentially exposed to school-based, comprehensive-service components for up to 5 or 6 yrs of intervention (preschool to Grade 3). Results indicated that the duration of intervention was significantly associated, in the expected direction, with reading and mathematics achievement, teacher ratings of school adjustment, parental involvement in school activities, grade retention, and special education placement. Analysis of 7 intervention and comparison groups revealed that participation in the follow-on intervention for 2 or 3 yrs significantly contributed to children's adjustment above and beyond preschool intervention and background factors. Both preschool and follow-on intervention meaningfully contributed to the cumulative effect of intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)