Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology最新文献

This study examined changes in the agreement, stability, and validity of parent and self-reports of a commonly used measure of youth depression symptoms, the Children's Depression Inventory, from childhood through adolescence. The study consists of 530 families (youth, mothers, and fathers) assessed at ages 9, 12, and 15. Agreement between youth and each parent on youth depression symptoms was modest but significant at age 9, while agreement between mothers and fathers was high. At age 12, agreement between youth and parents increased; agreement between parents was again high. At age 15, mother-youth and father-youth agreement did not change from age 12, but mother-youth agreement was higher than father-youth agreement. Agreement between parents remained high. Stability of youth-reported depression symptoms was low between ages 9 and 12 but high from ages 12 to 15. Parent-reported youth depression symptoms demonstrated greater stability than youth reports from 9 to 12 but similar stability to youth from 12 to 15. At age 9, parent-reported symptoms predicted concurrent and subsequent depressive diagnoses, however the youth reports did not. At age 12, parent-reported symptoms significantly independently predicted concurrent but not subsequent youth depressive diagnoses, whereas youth reports were independently associated with subsequent, but not concurrent, depressive diagnoses. At age 15, youth, but not parent, reports were independently associated with concurrent depressive disorder diagnoses. These findings indicate that although both informants can provide important insights into youth depression, parents' reports should be more heavily weighted in childhood and youth reports should be given increasing credence in adolescence.

Research on Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) has predominantly focused on adulthood, with limited attention to children. However, examining IU during childhood is clinically important, as it can shed light on the development of early-emerging psychopathologies. Valid and reliable tools assessing IU in children are therefore essential. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Parent (IUS-P), a questionnaire for parents to evaluate IU in their children. 796 Italian parents (88.4% mothers) of children aged 4-10 years (51.3% boys) were involved. Other-report tools assessing IU, psychopathological features, and executive functioning impairments (i.e., cognitive inflexibility, impulsivity, difficulties in planning/organization, and emotion dysregulation) were administered. To investigate the IUS-P factor structure, we compared a one-factor model, a two-factor model, and a bifactor model. Measurement invariance across sex and age groups (i.e., 4-6 vs. 7-8 vs. 9-10 years), reliability, and construct validity were evaluated. The bifactor model outperformed competing factor models. Bifactor model indices suggested using a total score instead of separate subscale scores. Measurement invariance by sex and age groups was fully supported. Additionally, the IUS-P total score exhibited excellent one-month test-retest reliability. The total score also showed positive associations with psychopathological features and executive functioning impairments. These findings highlight the IUS-P as a reliable tool to evaluate IU in Italian children. The relations of IU with psychopathological dimensions and difficulties in executive functioning underscore the transdiagnostic nature of IU during childhood. The practical implications of these results are discussed.

Exploring psychiatric antecedents in youths at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) could help understand determinants for early detection and timely care pathways, consequently improving outcomes and prognosis. The aims of this investigation were: (1) to examine the proportion of CHR-P individuals with past contact with mental healthcare services enrolled within a specialized CHR-P service, and (2) to longitudinally compare sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment parameters between CHR-P subjects with and without psychiatric antecedents across 2 years of follow-up. All participants (aged 12-25 years) were recruited within the "Parma At Risk Mental States" (PARMS) program. Across the follow-up, they completed the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS) and the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). A mixed-design ANOVA and a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were also used. Of the 170 CHR-P subjects, 95 (55.9%) had previous contact with mental health services. In 85.2% of cases, a care discontinuity was observed. Main psychiatric antecedents were learning disorders (7.4%), anxiety disorder (23.1%), conduct disorder (22.1%), and depressive disorder (14.7%). CHR-P youths with psychiatric antecedents had longer duration of untreated psychosis and a higher 2-year incidence rate of psychosis transition. Having previous contact with psychiatric services also resulted to be a associated with poorer social functioning over time. Carefully monitor mental health suffering and related help-seeking-behavior in youths typically manifested in their early 20's is crucial, also in terms of psychosis prevention. Moreover, special attention should be given to service engagement as care continuity within adolescent-adult transition.

Research examining the link between emotion dysregulation and youth social impairments has focused almost exclusively on the dysregulation of negative emotions. Yet some youth experience dysregulation of positive emotions, which also may influence social functioning. The present study sought to extend previous research by examining whether negative emotion reactivity and positive emotion reactivity were each uniquely associated with children's social impairments. These effects were examined in a sample of 9-13-year-olds (N = 186; 47% female) enriched for clinical elevations in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, a disorder associated with significant social impairments and emotion dysregulation. Children's negative and positive emotion reactivity were assessed using parent report, ADHD symptoms were assessed with a combined parent and teacher report, and social impairments (social acceptance, aggression, victimization, and prosocial behavior) were assessed using teacher report. Partial correlations indicated that positive emotion reactivity was uniquely associated with greater ADHD symptoms and social impairments even when accounting for overlapping variance with negative emotion reactivity. Additionally, regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptoms moderated the effect of positive emotion reactivity on physical aggression, physical victimization, and social acceptance, with children high in both positive emotion reactivity and ADHD symptoms being the most socially impaired. These results are the first to indicate that especially for youth with elevated ADHD symptoms, positive emotion reactivity may be uniquely associated with social impairment. Results underscore the need for additional research examining positive emotion dysregulation, especially in youth with ADHD.

Callous-unemotional (CU), daring-impulsive (DI), and grandiose-manipulative (GM) specifiers are considered informative for the treatment of youth with conduct disorder (CD), but empirical evidence is limited. This study examined the relationship between the specifiers and treatment engagement (TE) in boys (n = 286) and girls (n = 69) with a CD diagnosis. CD symptoms and diagnosis were assessed via a diagnostic interview and self-report questionnaires were used to assess the specifiers, TE, internalizing problems, and features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine unique associations between the specifiers and TE, after controlling for their overlap and control variables (i.e., number of CD symptoms, internalizing problems, and ADHD and ODD features). At the zero-order level, the three specifiers were negatively correlated to TE in boys, while no significant correlations were found in girls. After controlling for their overlap and control variables, only CU traits were significantly negatively related to TE in boys, while GM traits were unexpectedly but significantly positively related to two TE dimensions in girls. Additional analyses revealed significant sex differences in the associations between TE and GM traits. Results underscore the importance of CU traits in boys and GM traits in girls with CD for understanding individual differences in TE levels. The unexpected positive link between GM traits and TE in girls warrants replication, though further investigation is required to clarify (sex-specific) associations between the proposed specifiers and clinically relevant correlates other than TE, such as treatment outcomes.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) differ in adaptive functioning, executive functioning, and the distribution of intellectual abilities compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. Research consistently demonstrates a link between executive functions and various aspects of adaptive behavior. This study aims to compare cognitive abilities, executive functions, and adaptive behavior in non- or minimally verbal preschool-aged (3-6 years) children with ASD (n = 53) and TD peers (n = 79). The study examines broad cognitive abilities and executive functions as predictors of adaptive behavior. For this purpose, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-Preschool Version, and the SON-R 2½-7 intelligence test were utilized. The results indicate that non- or minimally verbal preschoolers with ASD exhibit significant executive difficulties, particularly in working memory, and show marked differences in cognitive abilities compared to TD controls. Significant group differences were observed across all adaptive behavior domains, with the largest effect on Socialization and the smallest on Daily Living Skills. In the ASD group, executive functions and cognitive domains accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in the Communication domain, with slightly less influence observed in Daily Living Skills and Socialization. In contrast, the significant role of cognitive abilities and executive difficulties as predictors of adaptive behavior in everyday functioning was not confirmed for TD children. These findings highlight the critical role of executive functioning as a predictor of adaptive behavior in preschool children with ASD.

Social cognition processes like mentalizing and mental functioning (i.e., specific psychological capacities underlying how individuals experience themselves and others, regulate emotions, form relationships, and manage internal conflicts) are crucial during development. Rooted in early attachment relationships, they contribute to determining the level of organization of an individual's personality. However, little is known about how these processes differ by age and clinical status, especially in middle childhood and early adolescence (aged 8-13). This study investigates (1) age-related differences in mentalizing, attachment, mental functioning, and personality organization, (2) the impact of internalizing and externalizing problems, assessed both by their parents and clinical providers, compared to non-clinical groups on these processes, and (3) the interaction between age and clinical status. The sample included 137 children and early adolescents, including non-clinical (N = 67, M_age = 11,08, 40,3% female), and with internalizing (N = 40, M_age = 10,85, 52,5% female) and externalizing symptoms (N = 30, M_age = 10,77, 10% female) groups. Participants were assessed using the Child Reflection Functioning Scale and the Psychodiagnostic Chart of the PDM-2 (Child and Adolescent version) applied to the Child Attachment Interview. Parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist. Younger children showed lower levels of mentalizing, attachment security, and personality functioning than older peers. Groups with externalizing and internalizing problems exhibited significant deficits in mentalizing abilities and personality organization compared to non-clinical participants. The interaction between age and clinical status revealed that mentalizing and personality deficits were most pronounced in middle childhood for internalizing groups. The findings suggest that social cognition processes evolve with age but are significantly disrupted in clinical groups, particularly in middle childhood. Differential deficits in populations with externalizing and internalizing problems highlight the need for specific interventions targeting mentalizing, mental functioning, and attachment relationships to support healthy development during these critical stages.

As the prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) in late adolescence increases, understanding the etiology of CUD is paramount. Consistent with resilience frameworks, the current study examined whether parent cannabis use and genetic risk predicted offspring cannabis use and CUD symptoms in late adolescence. Parental positive behavior support in early childhood was considered as a possible buffer of intergenerational transmission and genetic risk for CUD. The sample consisted of 731 18-year-olds (M = 18.74, SD = 0.50; 50.2% female, 49.8% male; 50% White, 28% Black, 13% Hispanic, 9% Indigenous, Native Hawaiian, or Asian) from the Early Steps Multisite Study. Parent cannabis use was measured at offspring ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5, and observational positive behavior support was measured at offspring ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. A polygenic risk score for CUD (CUD PRS) was formed using the PRS-CSx Bayesian technique for genetically diverse samples. CUD symptoms were measured with the SCID-IV interview. Using negative binomial logistic regressions with maximum likelihood, parent cannabis use significantly predicted whether offspring used cannabis, while offspring CUD PRS did not. Further, parental positive behavior support significantly buffered the effect of parent cannabis use on the number of offspring CUD symptoms. Findings suggest that positive parenting in childhood may provide resilience for the intergenerational transmission of cannabis use.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity are both independently associated with emotion dysregulation, including low frustration tolerance. There is a lack of research examining shared and unique aspects of emotion dysregulation in relation to ADHD and obesity separately and when they co-occur. This study examined emotion dysregulation as assessed with questionnaires and tasks involving frustrative non-reward in children with and without ADHD with varying body mass index (BMI). Participants included 163 8-17 year-olds with varying levels of ADHD symptoms and BMI. Emotion regulation was assessed through parent- and youth-report questionnaires of trait-based emotion regulation, lability/negativity, and irritability. In addition, youth-report state-based measures of frustration were obtained pre- and post-frustrative non-reward tasks assessing cognitive control and task persistence. On trait measures, higher ADHD symptoms were associated with less emotion regulation and more irritability and lability/negativity, regardless of BMI. On state measures, ADHD symptoms tended to be positively associated with increased frustration and less persistence during a frustrating task, but these effects were not significant. Our results suggest that emotion dysregulation, as assessed in this study, may be largely specific to ADHD. Larger studies including children with stringent ADHD diagnostic classification and objective measures of body fat and eating behavior are warranted to advance our understanding of the role of emotion dysregulation in pediatric ADHD and overweight/obesity.

The risk of child emotional and conduct problems elevates in the context of food insecurity. However, it is unclear whether these relationships could vary when considering the fact that food insecurity may change by time. Addressing this research gap can help clarify which specific patterns of food insecurity over time present the highest risk to children's emotional and behavioral well-being, an important step forward to informing prevention efforts. Utilizing data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Main Study and Child Development Supplement, this study examines the associations between food insecurity trajectories and child emotional and conduct problems using negative binomial regression models applied with Growth Mixture Modeling. For causal inference, this study applies generalized propensity score weight. The results reveal that long-term food security is predictive of lowest risk of children's emotional and conduct problems. This study also reveals that a high initial level of food insecurity is associated with higher risk of children's emotional and conduct problems, even if such food insecurity improves across time. Moreover, their risk of developing emotional and conduct problems is as high as children who experience worsening food insecurity across time. These findings suggest that sustained food security acts as a protective factor for children's emotional and behavioral health. For children facing food insecurity, early intervention and efforts to prevent further deterioration are both important to lower the risk of children's emotional and conduct problems.