Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology最新文献

Few studies have empirically tested if trait and behavioral impulsivity hinder treatment engagement (TE), which is unfortunate since TE is crucial for treatment success. Therefore, this study collected data from 16- to 17-year-old males (n = 322) and females (n = 110) residing in Flemish youth detention centers or residential (secured) care institutions. Dimensions of TE (i.e., readiness to change, bond with staff, collaboration on goals and tasks, and therapeutic engagement) and trait impulsivity (i.e., positive and negative urgency, sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, and lack of perseverance) were measured through self-report questionnaires, while behavioral impulsivity (i.e., response inhibition, choice impulsivity, and risk-taking) was assessed via computerized tasks. A series of multiple linear regressions was performed, including all facets of trait impulsivity and all indices of behavioral impulsivity as independent variables, and TE dimensions as dependent variables. Self-reported callous-unemotional traits showed a significant negative zero-order correlation with TE and were therefore included as a control variable. Findings showed that various facets of trait impulsivity and indices of behavioral impulsivity were significantly associated with different dimensions of TE in both males and females. Moreover, sex differences were observed in the associations between trait and behavioral impulsivity and TE. The results underscore the need to examine both trait and behavioral impulsivity in future research to clarify how they relate to TE and other treatment outcomes across sex and to inform targeted interventions, thereby potentially enhancing TE and improving treatment success.

Parental rules have been curiously neglected from a conceptual and measurement perspective. The first half of this paper reviews the literature to show that there is no commonly used, standardized measure of rules. Rules are typically measured either with ad hoc unvalidated items or incidentally measured with 1-2 items on multi-item scales assessing a broader parenting construct (e.g., discipline). Construct definitions are rarely stated, often circular, and inconsistent between authors. As a result, the empirical literature on parental rules is difficult to appraise and synthesize. The second half of this paper proposes a new framework for conceptualizing parental rules that includes an explicit, non-circular construct definition and delineates 7 distinct dimensions along which a parental rule can vary. The framework is designed to be universally applicable across youth behaviors and scientific fields and enable a more rigorous empirical science of parental rules.

How people respond when adolescents disclose their suicidal thoughts or behaviors may significantly shape their help-seeking and mental health outcomes. Drawing on the Intimacy Process Model and Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, the present study examined interpersonal needs as mediators of the relationship between adolescents' supportive and unsupportive experiences with suicide-related disclosure and future suicide ideation (SI) and attempts (SAs). Ethnoracially diverse adolescents (n = 119; 78% female), aged 12-19 years (M = 15.2, SD = 1.9), were recruited from hospitals and clinics following SI or SA and interviewed about how others responded to their disclosure of SI/SA. Interpersonal needs (perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness) were measured at one-month follow-up, SI severity was measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up, and SA since baseline was assessed at 1-, 3-, and 12-month follow-up. Thirty-nine percent of adolescents (n = 47) did not disclose their SI/SA, 43% (n = 51) had a supportive disclosure experience, and 18% (n = 21) had an unsupportive disclosure experience. Perceived supportiveness vs. unsupportiveness of responses was not associated with interpersonal needs nor with SI. Only thwarted belongingness predicted SI at 3 months, adjusting for baseline SI, among adolescents who disclosed their SI or SA. However, a perceived supportive (vs. unsupportive) response to disclosure significantly predicted lower odds of making a SA by 12 months. Treatments should address thwarted belongingness to reduce SI severity among adolescents presenting for clinical care following SI or SA. Increasing supportive experiences with suicide-related disclosure may reduce adolescents' risk of SAs.

Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) offers plentiful opportunities for behavioral and mental health assessment and treatment, such as overcoming spatial restrictions, increasing treatment motivation, and reducing participant risk. We examine these opportunities through the lens of 'affordances', which refers to the specific possibilities a technology offers when users interact with it. This lens provides a frame of reference that can help researchers better understand and exploit the opportunities VR offers for the design of assessments and treatments, boost their effectiveness, and provide a shared vocabulary across disciplines. We illustrate the utility of this approach with a scoping review of VR applications in forensic settings. Most of the 25 studies that were included used multiple VR affordances. While all studies employed transportation (100%), i.e., sensory immersion in a virtual environment that differs from the current physical environment, fewer utilized transformation (30%), i.e., user-embodiment in avatars with characteristics that differ from their own. The proposed affordances-based approach offers a transdiagnostic and user-centered approach to guide development and design of VR-based assessment and treatment across diverse mental health domains. It provides a shared conceptual approach for the organization of intervention components as well as for communication between stakeholders, facilitating the conversion of an idea into a full intervention.

Evidence-based mental health services are difficult to access; telehealth and mobile health hold promise by removing barriers to traditional clinic-based interventions and enabling broader access. Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an evidence-based treatment for child disruptive behaviors. This project examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of using a mobile BPT app, Treks, with families as a standalone treatment (Study 1) or in combination with brief clinician consultation (Study 2). Study 1 participants included 20 caregivers of children with challenging behaviors who engaged with Treks for four weeks. Study 2 participants included 26 caregivers of autistic children with behavioral concerns; all parents received a one-session telehealth consultation followed by random assignment to four weeks of Treks engagement (Treks; n = 14) or access to online resources (consultation control: CC; n = 12). Across both studies, Treks was rated positively and was reported by parents as acceptable and appropriate for their concerns, as well as adequately feasible. In Study 1, 60% of participants fully completed Treks and 83% of completers showed reliable improvement in at least one main outcome (parenting stress, parent sense of competence, and child behavior problems). In study 2, there were significant improvements in Treks but not CC participants, showing moderate-to-large decreases in child disruptive behaviors and parent stress and increases in parent-perceived competency. Mobile app-delivered BPT has the capacity to support families as a feasible and acceptable standalone treatment and should be considered as part of a stepped-care approach or for families who cannot access clinician-delivered BPT.

To improve assessment in forensic youth care, a virtual reality (VR) task was developed to assess behavior without the limitations associated with traditional self-report instruments. The aim of the current study was to examine the potential of this task to assess aggression and its origins, with a focus on hostile intent attribution and low self-control, and its predictive validity in explaining violent infractions during the stay in a juvenile detention facility. Participants were juveniles (N = 84; aged 15-23) residing at two all-boys Juvenile Detention Centers in the Netherlands. Responses to four social VR scenarios were observed and, to assess the role of hostile intent attribution (HIA) and low self-control in aggressive responses in these scenarios, participants answered scenario-specific questions about their emotions, thoughts, and motives immediately after each scenario. In addition, self-report questionnaires were used to assess aggression, HIA and self-control. Two months after participation, violent institutional infractions were retrieved from casefiles. Results showed that particularly the more provocative and emotionally engaging scenarios have the potential to elicit aggressive responses. Overall, VR responses and self-report questionnaires showed little convergence, which could not be explained by social desirability nor variation in VR engagement and immersion. Violent institutional infractions were predicted by reactive aggression and low self-control in one of the four scenarios. Concluding, despite little convergence between VR and self-report questionnaires, VR assessment provides potential important information about future violence, which makes it worthwhile to further experiment with and study VR assessment in forensic youth care.

Parental factors have a profound implication on adolescents' depressive symptoms. Parents' adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) shape their parenting, thus predicting the next generation's mental health. This study explored the mediating role of parenting stress and parent-child attachment in the correlation between both paternal and maternal ACEs and adolescents' depressive symptoms. Additionally, the study aimed to explore whether parental ACEs influence both one's own and the partner's parenting stress and attachment, ultimately predicting adolescent depressive symptoms. We recruited 533 Chinese families for this study. Fathers and mothers completed questionnaires assessing ACEs and parenting stress at Time 1. Adolescents (59.8% girls, M_age = 13.45 ± 0.78) completed a questionnaire on parent-child attachment at Time 2 and the questionnaire on depressive symptoms at both Time 2 and Time 3. We did not find the direct relationship between parental ACEs and adolescent depressive symptoms. However, both paternal and maternal ACEs were found to influence mother-child attachment through maternal, but not paternal, parenting stress and subsequently led to depressive symptoms in adolescents. Moreover, some specific pathways exhibited variations between genders. These findings highlight the vital influence of parenting stress and mother-child attachment in breaking the prediction of parental ACEs on adolescents' depressive symptoms and underscore the importance of promoting positive mother-child interactions.

The present study was embedded in an Asian birth cohort to (a) investigate the trajectories of specific anxiety subtypes from middle childhood to early adolescence, (b) compare developmental trajectories by child sex, and (c) examine their associations with caregiving factors including parenting practices and maternal distress. Data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort were analyzed (N = 547; 52.8% boys; 57.3% Chinese, 27.8% Malay, 14.7% Indian, 0.2% other ethnicities). Subtype-specific anxiety symptoms were repeatedly assessed via child-report at ages 8.5, 10, and 13 years. Parenting behaviors and maternal distress levels were measured via observed measures and parental report at age 6 years. We found subtype and sex-specific changes in anxiety symptoms across multiple timepoints using linear mixed effects models. Social anxiety symptoms increased with age, with a greater rate of increase in girls. Obsessive-compulsive and harm avoidance symptoms declined with age, with a slower rate of decrease in girls. Furthermore, parental autonomy support was associated with lower rates of increase in children's social anxiety symptoms while maternal anxiety and stress levels were linked to greater increase in generalized anxiety, physical, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Our findings identify the transition from childhood to adolescence as a vulnerable period for the escalation of social anxiety symptoms, particularly for girls. Additionally, we underscore the significant role of early caregiving practices and maternal mental health for the development of anxiety symptoms into adolescence, identifying focal targets for family-centered intervention programs.

Suicidal ideation is a critical public health concern, particularly during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. This study examined longitudinal trajectories of suicidal ideation and their psychosocial and demographic predictors. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 6,490), we applied latent growth curve modeling to assess overall trends and latent class growth analysis to identify distinct subgroups. The results showed a quadratic decline in suicidal ideation over time and identified four distinct trajectory classes: (1) Stable Low Ideation; (2) Moderate Decline Ideation; (3) High Decline, Ideation; and (4) Severe Decline Ideation. Several predictors-including life satisfaction, school belonging, depression, parental relationships, sex, immigrant status, and socioeconomic status-were significantly associated with both the level and trajectory of suicidal ideation, as well as class membership. These findings underscore the importance of early, targeted interventions tailored to both shared and subgroup-specific risk factors to effectively reduce suicidal ideation across developmental stages.

Anhedonia is a hallmark symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) characterized by diminished ability to experience pleasure, motivation, or interest in usual activities. Anhedonia also is recognized as a transdiagnostic symptom dimension, but its links to other symptom dimensions are not fully elucidated. Given the high rates of depression and anxiety comorbidity in adolescence, we assessed concurrent and longitudinal associations between anhedonia and anxiety symptoms in adolescents diagnosed with MDD. The sample consisted of 157 adolescents with MDD (M_age = 15.54, 71.34% female) who were followed for several years in a research context involving longitudinal observation and, for a portion of the sample, treatment. Participants regularly completed self-report measures of anhedonia and anxiety symptoms across time. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to examine within-person concurrent and temporally lagged effects. Findings indicated that anhedonia was concurrently associated with both social anxiety and generalized anxiety symptoms. Additionally, anhedonia predicted only social anxiety symptoms over time-such that anhedonia at the previous time point predicted subsequent social anxiety but not generalized anxiety. However, neither social anxiety nor generalized anxiety predicted anhedonia temporally. These results suggest that anhedonia may be one driver of comorbid social anxiety symptoms in adolescents with MDD. Putative mechanistic links warrant further investigation, including during transdiagnostic treatments for emotional disorders in adolescents. We highlight avenues for future research and intervention in adolescent MDD.