Is Depression Best Viewed as a Continuum or Discrete Category? A Taxometric Analysis of Childhood and Adolescent Depression in a Population-Based Sample.

The authors examined the latent structure of depression in a population-based sample of children and adolescents. Youth's self-reports and parents' reports of the youth's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) major depressive symptoms were assessed via a structured clinical interview. The authors used Meehl's (1995) taxometric procedures to discern whether youth depression is dimensional or categorical. Taxometric analyses that explicitly took into account the skewness of depressive symptoms suggested that depression is a dimensional, not categorical, construct. The dimensional structure of depression was obtained for all of the DSM-IV major depressive symptoms as well as for different domains of depression (emotional distress symptoms and vegetative, involuntary defeat symptoms), youth and parent reports, and different subsamples (i.e., boys vs. girls and younger vs. older youth). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Behavioral Disturbances in Persons With Alzheimer's Disease Predict Caregiver Depression Over Time?

Random effects models were used to examine the association between behavioral disturbances in persons with Alzheimer's disease (N = 90) and caregiver depressive symptoms at 2-month intervals over an 18-month period. There was substantial variability in trajectories of change in caregiver depressive symptoms over time but no systematic increase in distress despite increased severity of dementia symptoms. Total behavioral disturbances were associated with higher levels of caregiver depressive symptoms: this effect was primarily attributable to aggressive behaviors. No consistent departure from linearity was evident in the relationship between behavior and depression over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testosterone and child and adolescent adjustment: The moderating role of parent-child relationships.

In a sample of established middle- and working-class families with normally developing children and adolescents ranging in age from 6 to 18 years, sons' and daughters' testosterone levels showed little direct connection to risk behavior or symptoms of depression. In contrast, testosterone's positive relation with risk behavior and negative relation with depression were conditional on the quality of parent-child relations. As parent-child relationship quality increased, testosterone-related adjustment problems were less evident. When relationship quality decreased, testosterone-linked risk-taking behavior and symptoms of depression were more in evidence. Few relations were found between parents' testosterone and child behavior. Boys' and girls' ages and stages of pubertal development were important for understanding the expression of hormone-related problem behavior in some cases but not in others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of maladaptive personality traits in childhood: A step toward an integrative developmental perspective for DSM-V.

The present study describes the construction of a taxonomy of trait-related symptoms in childhood, the Dimensional Personality Symptom Item Pool (DIPSI), and examines the replicability of the taxonomy's higher order structure across maternal ratings of referred (N = 205) and nonreferred (N = 242) children and self-ratings of adolescents (N = 453). The DIPSI's 4 higher order factors--that is, Emotional Instability, Disagreeableness, Introversion, and Compulsivity--showed clear correspondence with the dimensions of personality pathology found in adulthood (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology-Basic Questionnaire; W. J. Livesley, 1990; Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality; L. A. Clark, 1993). These 4 factors can be further organized into 2 superfactors, representing Internalizing and Externalizing Traits, demonstrating empirical and conceptual relationships with psychopathology models in childhood and adulthood. The implications for the assessment and conceptualization of early trait pathology are discussed in the context of an integrative developmental perspective on the construction of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of meprobamate on fear and palmar sweating.

With a ride on a ferris wheel as an anxiety-provoking situation, Ss were given meprobamate (1600 mg.) and placebo in an a-b, b-a administration. Measures of anxiety were obtained, viz., a direct measure of automatic activity (palmar sweat), an indirect measure of autonomic N.S. activity (reports re: upset stomach, increased heart rate, nervousness, hand tremulation, dizziness, cold sweat), and reports of degree of fear experienced. Meprobamate apparently did not lead to a significant reduction in the symptoms of anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Other Animals as "Psychopaths."

The author describes a female cat that was placed in a private home as a pet instead of being vivisected or extirpated following experimental testing. This cat was the only one that broke through the wind-barrier, showed no nervous symptoms, was generally relaxed and friendly, and was pleasantly responsive to the experimenters. The cat's social, sexual, and maternal behaviors are described. The major point to be made here is that attributes of the human psychopath have been observed in this cat, and that this personality syndrome may represent a dimension of animal behavior that could account for variations in reactions to stress, conflict, and "treatment" in animal experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immune Response among Patients Exposed to Molds

Macrocyclic trichothecenes, mycotoxins produced by Stachybotrys chartarum, have been implicated in adverse reactions in individuals exposed to mold-contaminated environments. Cellular and humoral immune responses and the presence of trichothecenes were evaluated in patients with mold-related health complaints. Patients underwent history, physical examination, skin prick/puncture tests with mold extracts, immunological evaluations and their sera were analyzed for trichothecenes. T-cell proliferation, macrocyclic trichothecenes, and mold specific IgG and IgA levels were not significantly different than controls; however 70% of the patients had positive skin tests to molds. Thus, IgE mediated or other non-immune mechanisms could be the cause of their symptoms.