Predictors and outcomes of joint trajectories of callous–unemotional traits and conduct problems in childhood.

Callous–unemotional (CU) traits are associated with antisocial and delinquent behaviors in children and represent a potential risk factor for adult psychopathy. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal research that explores the development of these traits, their longitudinal association with conduct problems (CP), and their psychosocial predictors and outcomes. Using a large sample of children followed longitudinally from the Twins Early Development Study (N = 9,578), we described the joint developmental trajectories of CU traits and CP during childhood (between ages 7 and 12) and examined the child- and family-level predictors (4 years old) and concomitant outcomes (12 years old) associated with the trajectories. The developmental trajectories were characterized with teachers' ratings of CU traits and CP from ages 7 to 12. Using general growth mixture modeling, we identified four trajectories of CU traits (stable high, increasing, decreasing, and stable low) and two trajectories of CP (high and low). Compared with the children who followed a low trajectory of CU traits and CP, those who followed a high trajectory of CU traits and CP had more negative child- and family-level predictors at 4 years (including CP, hyperactivity, negative parental discipline, and chaos in the home). Children with high or increasing levels of CU traits and concomitant high levels of CP presented the most negative outcomes at 12 years (including hyperactivity, peer problems, emotional problems, and negative parental feelings). Children with high CU traits and concomitant high levels of CP in childhood should be prioritized for targeted intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicidality as a function of impulsivity, callous–unemotional traits, and depressive symptoms in youth.

Suicidality represents one of the most important areas of risk for adolescents, with both internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing–antisocial (e.g., substance use, conduct) disorders conferring risk for suicidal ideation and attempts (e.g., Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, 2006). However, no study has attended to gender differences in relationships between suicidality and different facets of psychopathic tendencies in youth. Further, very little research has focused on disentangling the multiple manifestations of suicide risk in the same study, including behaviors (suicide attempts with intent to die, self-injurious behavior) and general suicide risk marked by suicidal ideation and plans. To better understand these relationships, we recruited 184 adolescents from the community and in treatment. As predicted, psychopathic traits and depressive symptoms in youth showed differential associations with components of suicidality. Specifically, impulsive traits uniquely contributed to suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviors, above the influence of depression. Indeed, once psychopathic tendencies were entered in the model, depressive symptoms only explained general suicide risk marked by ideation or plans but not behaviors. Further, callous–unemotional traits conferred protection from suicide attempts selectively in girls. These findings have important implications for developing integrative models that incorporate differential relationships between (a) depressed mood and (b) personality risk factors (i.e., impulsivity and callous–unemotional traits) for suicidality in youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

ODD dimensions, ADHD, and callous–unemotional traits as predictors of treatment response in children with disruptive behavior disorders.

To answer several questions pertinent to DSM–V, the authors examined the predictive validity of pretreatment oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) dimensions, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and callous–unemotional (CU) traits in relation to several treatment outcomes in 177 children diagnosed with ODD or conduct disorder (CD). Multiple informants completed diagnostic interviews and rating scales at 6 assessment points (pretreatment to 3-year follow-up) to document emotional and behavioral outcomes. After controlling for pretreatment CD, the ODD dimension of hurtfulness was related to treatment-resistant CD, delinquent behaviors, and externalizing problems. In contrast, the ODD dimension tapping irritability was associated with treatment-resistant ODD, internalizing problems, and global functional impairment following treatment. Whereas pretreatment ADHD was associated with posttreatment ODD and social problems, it was unrelated to posttreatment CD symptoms and diagnosis. Contrary to predictions, CU traits were unrelated to any posttreatment outcomes after controlling for other covariates. These findings remained after controlling for measures of pretreatment global functional impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in offending patterns between adolescent sex offenders high or low in callous—unemotional traits.

In the present study, the authors investigated whether callous and unemotional (CU) traits designated a distinct and important group of adolescent sex offender. A sample of 150 detained adolescents (mean age = 15.89, SD = 1.53) with a current sexual offense disposition was assessed with a self-report measure of CU traits and through extensive assessments of the characteristics of their sexual offending behaviors using self-report interviews and file review. Results indicated that after controlling for the severity of their history of impulsive/antisocial behaviors, offenders high on CU traits had a greater number of sexual offense victims, used more violence with their victims, and engaged in more sexual offense planning than those low on these traits. The 2 groups did not differ greatly on the age of, gender of, or relationship with their victims. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal stability of temperamental exuberance and social–emotional outcomes in early childhood.

The goals of the current study were to investigate the stability of temperamental exuberance across infancy and toddlerhood and to examine the associations between exuberance and social–emotional outcomes in early childhood. The sample consisted of 291 4-month-olds followed at 9, 24, and 36 months and again at 5 years of age. Behavioral measures of exuberance were collected at 9, 24, and 36 months. At 36 months, frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry was assessed. At 5 years, maternal reports of temperament and behavior problems were collected, as were observational measures of social behavior during an interaction with an unfamiliar peer in the laboratory. Latent profile analysis revealed a high, stable exuberance profile that was associated with greater ratings of 5-year externalizing behavior and surgency, as well as observed disruptive behavior and social competence with unfamiliar peers. These associations were particularly true for children who displayed left frontal EEG asymmetry. Multiple factors supported an approach bias for exuberant temperament but did not differentiate between adaptive and maladaptive social–emotional outcomes at 5 years of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do core interpersonal and affective traits of PCL-R psychopathy interact with antisocial behavior and disinhibition to predict violence?

The utility of psychopathy measures in predicting violence is largely explained by their assessment of social deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior; disinhibition). A key question is whether social deviance interacts with the core interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy to predict violence. Do core psychopathic traits multiply the (already high) risk of violence among disinhibited individuals with a dense history of misbehavior? This meta-analysis of 32 effect sizes (N = 10,555) tested whether an interaction between the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 2003) Interpersonal-Affective and Social Deviance scales predicted violence beyond the simple additive effects of each scale. Results indicate that Social Deviance is more uniquely predictive of violence (d = .40) than Interpersonal-Affective traits (d = .11), and these two scales do not interact (d = .00) to increase power in predicting violence. In fact, Social Deviance alone would predict better than the Interpersonal-Affective scale and any interaction in 81% and 96% of studies, respectively. These findings have fundamental practical implications for risk assessment and theoretical implications for some conceptualizations of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive–linguistic foundations of early spelling development in bilinguals.

Developing spelling skills in English is a particularly demanding task for Chinese speakers because, unlike many other bilinguals learning English as a second language, they must learn two languages with different orthography as well as phonology. To disentangle socioeconomic and pedagogical factors from the underlying cognitive–linguistic processes that predict the development of spelling, we used a 6-month longitudinal design and compared children with English as their first language (English-L1; n = 50) and children with Mandarin as their first language (Mandarin-L1; n = 50) from the same kindergarten. Both groups were tested on parallel versions of English and Mandarin tasks as predictors at Time 1, and their spelling sophistication scores were then computed from a 52-item experimental task administered at Time 2. After we controlled for nonverbal IQ, age, vocabulary, and spelling achievement on Wide Range Achievement Test 4 at Time 1, regression analyses showed that phoneme awareness was the strongest predictor of spelling sophistication for English-L1 children, but syllable awareness and letter-sound knowledge were also important for Mandarin-L1 children. The implications of these differences in the cognitive–linguistic processing of bilingual children learning two dissimilar languages are briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuity and change in early school engagement: Predictive of children's achievement trajectories from first to eighth grade?

Premises about the effects of early engagement on achievement were investigated with 383 children who were followed from ages 5.5 to 13.5. Change and continuity in behavioral (cooperative-resistant classroom participation) and emotional (school liking-avoidance) engagement were assessed during Grades 1-3 and were examined within variable- and person-oriented analyses as antecedents of scholastic progress from Grades 1 to 8. Findings corroborated the premises that change as well as continuity in early school engagement is predictive of children's long-term scholastic growth. Compared to children who participated cooperatively in classrooms, those who became increasingly resistant across the primary grades displayed lesser scholastic growth. Among children who manifested enduring engagement patterns, those who exhibited a combination of higher behavioral and emotional engagement across the primary grades made greater academic progress than those who displayed lower levels of these two forms of engagement. Overall, the results of this investigation were consistent with the school engagement hypothesis and extend what is known about the predictive contributions of early school engagement to children's achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of word frequency and spelling–to–sound regularity in naming with and without preceding lexical decision.

The effects of word frequency and spelling-to-sound regularity were examined using standard naming, standard lexical-decision, go/no-go naming, and go/no-go lexical-decision tasks. In both the standard and go/no-go naming tasks, tasks requiring phonological coding, a significant Frequency?×?Regularity interaction was observed. That is, the regularity effect was limited to low-frequency words. In the standard and go/no-go lexical-decision tasks, tasks not requiring phonological coding, no Frequency?×?Regularity interaction was observed. These results indicate not only that the Frequency?×?Regularity interaction is a product of phonological coding processes but also that these processes are similar in the standard and go/no-go naming tasks. Results are discussed in terms of the dual-route and the parallel distributed processing frameworks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP–118) in adolescents: Reliability and validity.

The Severity Indices of Personality Problems (SIPP–118; Verheul et al., 2008) is a self-report questionnaire focusing on core components of (mal)adaptive personality functioning. The SIPP–118 was developed and validated in an adult population. In adult populations, the 16 facets of the SIPP–118 fit into 5 higher order domains: self-control, identity integration, relational capacities, social concordance, and responsibility. In this study we present the 1st psychometric properties of the SIPP–118 in adolescents. We compared the SIPP–118 scores of a patient and a nonpatient sample of adolescents, and compared personality disordered and non-personality disordered adolescents. In addition, the relationship between scores on the SIPP–118 and other clinical instruments (Symptom Checklist—90–Revised; SCL–90–R; Derogatis, 1975; Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology—Basic Personality; DAPP–BQ; Livesley & Jackson, 2002) was investigated. The questionnaires were completed by 378 adolescent patients and 389 adolescents in the community. Facets appeared to be homogeneous, as alpha coefficients ranged from .62 to .89, indicating moderate to acceptable reliability. Also, more pathological SIPP–118 scores were found in the patient sample, and more specifically in the personality disordered sample, suggesting that the facet scores of the SIPP–118 can discriminate between various populations (divergent validity). Correlation with other clinical instruments was moderate to high (–.82 to .10). Taken together, the SIPP–118 seems to be a promising instrument measuring personality pathology in adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do gender differences in help avoidance vary by ethnicity? An examination of African American and European American students during early adolescence.

The present research examined whether the nature of gender differences varies by race for two types of academic engagement in the classroom (help avoidance and voice with the teacher) in a sample of early adolescents (N = 456; 55% female, 60% African American and 40% European American) making the transition to middle school. Growth curve analyses indicated that help avoidance increased over time, voice remained stable, and achievement declined. In line with hypotheses based on cultural variations in the female role, there were no gender differences in help avoidance for African American students, whereas for European American students, girls were lower in help avoidance than were boys. For African American students, there were no gender differences in voice with the teacher, whereas for European American students, girls were higher than were boys. These group differences were present at all 3 waves. For all students, increases in help avoidance negatively predicted changes in achievement, whereas increases in voice positively predicted achievement. Results underscore the importance of examining gender and ethnicity together to understand academic adjustment during early adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boredom in achievement settings: Exploring control–value antecedents and performance outcomes of a neglected emotion.

The linkages of achievement-related boredom with students' appraisals and performance outcomes were examined in a series of 5 exploratory, cross-sectional, and predictive investigations. Studies 1 and 2 assessed students' boredom in a single achievement episode (i.e., state achievement boredom); Studies 3, 4, and 5 focused on their habitual boredom (i.e., trait achievement boredom). Samples consisted of university students from two different cultural contexts (North America and Germany). In line with hypotheses derived from Pekrun's (2006) control–value theory of achievement emotions, achievement-related subjective control and value negatively predicted boredom. In turn, boredom related positively to attention problems and negatively to intrinsic motivation, effort, use of elaboration strategies, self-regulation, and subsequent academic performance. Findings were consistent across different constructs (state vs. trait achievement boredom), methodologies (qualitative, cross-sectional, and predictive), and cultural contexts. The research is discussed with regard to the underdeveloped literature on achievement emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping and parenting: Mediators of 12-month outcomes of a family group cognitive–behavioral preventive intervention with families of depressed parents.

Objective: In a randomized clinical trial with 111 families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder (86% mothers, 14% fathers; 86% Caucasian, 5% African-American, 3% Hispanic, 1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4% mixed ethnicity), changes in adolescents' (mean age = 11 years; 42% female, 58% male) coping and parents' parenting skills were examined as mediators of the effects of a family group cognitive–behavioral preventive intervention on adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Method: Changes in hypothesized mediators were assessed at 6 months, and changes in adolescents' symptoms were measured at a 12-month follow-up. Results: Significant differences favoring the family intervention compared with a written information comparison condition were found for changes in composite measures of parent–adolescent reports of adolescents' use of secondary control coping skills and direct observations of parents' positive parenting skills. Changes in adolescents' secondary control coping and positive parenting mediated the effects of the intervention on depressive, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms, accounting for approximately half of the effect of the intervention on the outcomes. Further, reciprocal relations between children's internalizing symptoms and parenting were found from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Conclusion: The present study provides the first evidence for specific mediators of a family group cognitive–behavioral preventive intervention for families of parents with a history of major depressive disorder. The identification of both coping and parenting as mediators of children's mental health outcomes suggests that these variables are important active ingredients in the prevention of mental health problems in children of depressed parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activation of the immune–endocrine system with lipopolysaccharide reduces affiliative behaviors in voles.

In Experiment 1, individually housed male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and exhibited the expected decrease in testosterone and increase in corticosterone and interleukin- 1β concentrations 3 hr later, indicating activation of the endocrine and immune systems. In Experiment 2, LPS- and saline-injected males were tethered in a 3-chamber partner preference apparatus. The time females spent in each chamber with a male, as well as the amount of time spent in social contact, was monitored. Female prairie voles, but not meadow voles, spent more time in the chamber with saline- than with LPS-injected males. LPS-injected male prairie and meadow voles engaged in less social contact with female conspecifics than did saline-injected males. These data suggest that LPS modifies physiology and behavior in male voles and that females may use these changes to discriminate healthy from potentially infected males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The utility of placing recollection in opposition to familiarity in early discrimination of healthy aging and very mild dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.

This study explored the ability to control familiarity-based information in a memory exclusion paradigm in healthy young, older adults, and early stage DAT individuals. We compared the predictive power of memory exclusion performance to standard psychometric performance in discriminating between aging and the earliest stage of DAT and between APOe4-present and APOe4-absent genotype in healthy control individuals. Participants responded “yes” to words that were previously semantically encoded, and “no” to words that were previously read aloud and to new words. The number of targets and distractors on the read “distractor” list was manipulated to investigate the degree to which aging and DAT influence the ability to recollect in the face of distractor familiarity due to repetition. Memory exclusion performance was better for healthy older adults than very mild DAT individuals and better for healthy control individuals with APOe4 allele than those without APOe4 allele even after controlling for standard psychometric performance. Discussion focuses on the importance of attentional control systems in memory retrieval and the utility of the opposition paradigm for discriminating healthy versus pathological aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations.

A literature review of studies analyzing work–family conflict and its consequences was conducted, and 427 effect sizes were analyzed meta-analytically. Work–family conflict was analyzed bidirectionally in terms of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). We assessed 3 categories of potential outcomes: work-related outcomes, family-related outcomes, and domain-unspecific outcomes. Results show that WIF and FIW are consistently related to all 3 types of outcomes. Both types of interrole conflict showed stronger relationships to same-domain outcomes than to cross-domain outcomes. Thus, WIF was more strongly associated with work-related than with family-related outcomes, and FIW was more strongly associated with family-related than with work-related outcomes. In moderator analyses, parenthood could not explain variability in effect sizes. However, time spent at work did moderate the relationships between WIF and family-related outcomes, as well as FIW and domain-unspecific outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Co–Ni–Zr Phase Diagram in the Zr–ZrCo–ZrNi Region II. Liquidus Surface of the Phase Diagram. Interaction of Alloys with Hydrogen

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - The results of microstructural, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal, and electron microprobe analyses of Zr–ZrCo–ZrNi cast alloys were used to...     

Assessing posttraumatic disorder with the MMPI–2 in a sample of workplace accident victims.

In this study, the predictive capacity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder–Keane (MMPI–2 PK) scale was examined in a sample of trauma victims who experienced a serious workplace-related accident and subsequent injury. In keeping with a number of previous investigations, the PK scale was largely ineffective in identifying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) beyond overall symptom and functional severity. In contrast, sets of clinical and content scales proved to be significant predictors of PTSD. These findings suggest that the PK scale is not particularly useful in detecting PTSD in civilian trauma samples. Clinicians might be best advised to use the MMPI–2 clinical and content scales in their assessment of PTSD in civilian patients presenting with a history of trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent–child attitude congruence on type and intensity of physical activity: Testing multiple mediators of sedentary behavior in older children.

Objective: This study examined parent–child attitudes on value of specific types and intensities of physical activity, which may explain gender differences in child activity, and evaluated physical activity as a mechanism to reduce time spent in sedentary behaviors. Design: A community sample of 681 parents and 433 children (mean age 9.9 years) reported attitudes on importance of vigorous and moderate intensity team and individually performed sports/activities, as well as household chores. Separate structural models (LISREL 8.7) for girls and boys tested whether parental attitudes were related to child TV and computer via child attitudes, sport team participation, and physical activity, controlling for demographic factors. Main Outcome Measures: Child 7-day physical activity, sport teams, weekly TV, computer. Results: Parent–child attitude congruence was more prevalent among boys, and attitudes varied by ethnicity, parent education, and number of children. Positive parent–child attitudes for vigorous team sports were related to increased team participation and physical activity, as well as reduced TV and computer in boys and girls. Value of moderate intensity household chores, such as cleaning house and doing laundry, was related to decreased team participation and increased TV in boys. Only organized team sports, not general physical activity, was related to reduced TV and computer. Conclusion: Results support parents’ role in socializing children’s achievement task values, affecting child activity by transferring specific attitudes. Value of vigorous intensity sports provided the most benefits to activity and reduction of sedentary behavior, while valuing household chores had unexpected negative effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)