Catecholamine output in school children as related to performance and adjustment

Johansson, G. Frankenhaeuser, M. & Magnusson, D. Catecholamine output in school children as related to performance and adjustment. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 20–28.-Excretion of two catecholamines, adrenaline and noradrenaline, was studied in a group of 240 children, sampled from a longitudinal study, during a "passive" period (viewing a film) and a subsequent "active" period (performing an arithmetic test). In the group of boys the mean adrenaline excretion increased significantly during the active as compared with the passive period. Among the children of both sexes, those who increased their adrenaline output during the arithmetic test as compared with the preceding passive period, performed better on the test in terms of speed and endurance, than did children who did not respond to mental work by adrenaline increase. Significant positive correlations were found between the secretion of both catecholamines and teachers' ratings indicating good social adjustment and emotional stability, as well as with measures of the pupils' subjective satisfaction with their school environment.     

Attributional style and self-control behavior in depressed and nondepressed children and their parents

Do the reformulated model of learned helplessness and the self-control model apply to clinically depressed children? Are the related cognitive patterns specific to depression? Are the cognitive deficits associated with depression learned from one's parents? To address these questions this investigation examined three groups of children (ages 8–12) and their parents: nonclinic (n =25),nondepressed clinic (n=22),and depressed clinic (n=15).Children were diagnosed depressed on the basis of Kiddie-SADS interview data. Depressed clinic children self-reported more depression, had a more depressive attributional style, and had more self-control problems. There were more depressed mothers in the clinic than in the nonclinic sample. Depressed clinic children had more depressed mothers than did nondepressed clinic children. There were no differences among the three groups of parents in their cognitive patterns. No relationship was found between the attributional style and self-control behavior of children and their parents.     

The relationship between the assertive behavior of parents and the behavior of their children

Abstract

This investigation attempted to measure the relationship between parents' and their children's assertive and interpersonal behavior in order to identify the family population which can best profit from interpersonal skills training. Subjects were 60 volunteer mothers and fathers and 95 children, ages six to twelve, from a white upper socio-economic suburban population. The adult assessment measures were Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B) and the Adult Self-Expression Scale. The child assessment measures were Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior Children (FIRO-BC) and Self-Expression Scale: Children. The most notable result of this study indicates that contrary to most published literature on the family, assertiveness relates to affection rather than control; that assertiveness training should be subordinated to interpersonal skills training; that the FIRO instruments provide a more effective assessment of family interaction than do assertiveness instruments.     

Catecholamine excretion in pleasant and unpleasant situations

Catecholamine excretion was studied in 36 students under four different conditions, which involved either playing a game of chance, performing psychological tests, watching surgical films or spending the session in inactivity. Adrenaline excretion was shown to be highest during the game session, which was described by the subjects in the most positive terms. It was concluded that a rise in behavioural arousal level is accompanied by increased adrenaline secretion, also when the arousal increase is induced by a situation regarded as pleasant.     

Training young parents to identify and report their children's illnesses.

We developed a comprehensive training program to teach young parents what symptoms to look for to judge the severity of their children''s illnesses, what to do at home to comfort their children, and when to consult their children''s physician or take them for emergency treatment. Three pairs of subjects received training that included written handouts, verbal instructions, modeling, positive practice, and verbal reinforcement. Skill acquisition was assessed by a behavioral test in which parents assessed, treated, or reported a simulated illness in a child. Written materials when used alone did not improve the parent''s ability to identify and report children''s illnesses. Modeling and role-playing followed by positive practice were successful in teaching these parents skills that were maintained for 3 months without additional training or instruction.     

Aggressiveness and hyperactive behaviour as related to adrenaline excretion

The central question concerns the relationship between aspects of behaviour and physiological reactions. Measures of sympathetic-adrenal activity in terms of adrenaline excretion in a normal and a stressful situation as well as teacher ratings of behaviour were analysed for a representative group of 86 boys aged 13. Adrenaline excretion was in both situations significantly negatively related to ratings of aggressiveness, motor restlessness, and concentration difficulties and also to the sum of the latter two, used as an indicator of hyperactive behaviour. The association between hyperactive behaviour and adrenaline excretion persisted in the stressful situation when aggressiveness was controlled, whereas there was no significant relationship between aggressiveness and adrenaline output when hyperactive behaviour was controlled. Furthermore, hyperactive boys differed significantly from non-hyperactive boys in displaying lower adrenaline excretion in both situations. The results are discussed in terms of low sympathetic-adrenal reactivity to external demands as a risk factor and as a possible indicator of vulnerability for social and/or pervasive conduct disturbances.     

Cognitive tempo in children and their parents.

An adoption study was conducted to determine if cognitive tempo (as characterized by errors and latencies on the Matching Familiar Figures Test) is more similar between parents and their biological children or between parents and their adopted children. Zero-order correlations between parents and children were not significant (regardless of familial relationship), but the results of canonical correlations for mean of parents' scores with those of biological and adopted children respectively were consonant with hypothesized values, suggesting a degree of heritability exists. A slight trend for parents' latency to be consistently related to their biological children's latency was noted, but no such trend was present for errors. The heritability of latency versus errors in cognitive tempo is discussed.     

Response to adults' angry behavior in children of alcoholic and nonalcoholic parents

Children from alcoholic (COAs) and nonalcoholic (NCOAs) homes (N = 35; M age = 8.02 years) were presented with videotaped segments of angry and friendly interactions matched for mode of expression of affect (verbal, indirect, nonverbal, destructive or constructive, and aggressive or affectionate) and were interviewed following each segment. Children perceived all forms of expression of anger as more negative and expressed more anger and distress in response to them. Angry adults also were perceived as having more negative feelings toward children than friendly adults. Whereas male NCOAs responded with more anger than female NCOAs, male COAs responded with less anger than female COAs. COAs more often proposed solutions to adults' interactions than NCOAs; this primarily reflected a higher rate of indirect responses intended to make others feel better. Finally, COA status and problem behaviors were associated, but analyses indicated that higher incidences of marital discord in the homes of COAs accounted for this relation.     

A review of teen-tot programs: comprehensive clinical care for young parents and their children

Comprehensive clinical programs for teenage mothers and their children, also known as teen-tot programs, have been a promising intervention to improve outcomes of teenage childbearing and parenting. However, much remains unknown regarding the efficacy of such programs. We reviewed four published evaluations of programs that provided medical care, counseling, contraception, guidance for parenting, and assistance with staying in school. The evaluations reported moderate success in preventing repeat pregnancies, helping teen mothers continue their education, and improving teen and infant health over 6 to 18 months. However, the evaluations had limitations that may have reduced or accentuated observed effectiveness. Teen-tot programs will continue to face the challenges of sustaining adequate long-term interventions and evaluations, and reducing the high attrition rate among program participants. It is concluded that increased support and funding for teen-tot programs and more complete evaluations are warranted.     

Loneliness among school-aged children and their parents

The aim of this study was to examine the existence of the intergenerational transmission of loneliness between parents and children, including an examination of its stability and of gender differences. The study consisted of an evaluation of loneliness in mothers ( n = 834), fathers ( n = 661) and their 10-year-old children ( n = 981). Parent's self-reported loneliness was measured once, and their children's social and emotional loneliness were assessed at three time-points. The stability analysis indicated average stability in children's loneliness, especially their social loneliness. Boys were found to experience more emotional loneliness than girls. Structural equation modeling indicated no direct relationship between mothers'/fathers' loneliness and their children's loneliness. However, mothers' and fathers' loneliness reduced their daughters' peer-evaluated cooperating skills, which consequently predicted higher levels of both social and emotional loneliness.     

Factors related to helping behavior in preschool-age children

The present two studies were conducted to assess the prosocial behaviors (comforting and helping) of preschool children as a function of the race and gender of the subjects and peer confederates. Results indicated that black, preschool-age males demonstrated prosocial behaviors more often than did white males and females. These findings were discussed in terms of the confounding between race of child and father absence; that is, a disproportionate number of black children were living in fatherless homes. It was suggested that single parents may turn to their opposite-sex child for both emotional and physical support and thus the child learns comforting and helping behaviors early in life. Support for this suggestion was derived from the finding that the number of household chores assigned to a child was positively related to helping behavior. The present results also showed that comforting and helping behaviors were negatively related, suggesting that prosocial acts are not a function of a general personality trait but are situationally specific. Finally, it was noted that race and gender of the peer confederate were not factors in determining the prosocial responses of the subjects.     

Interaction behavior of infants and their dual-career parents

The behaviors of dual-career parents were compared in face-to-face interactions with their 8-month-old infants who attended on all-day infant nursery. Mothers, as compared to fathers, exhibited more frequent smiling, vocalizing, and touching with their infants. In turn, the infants spent a greater proportion of the interaction time smiling and being motorically active when they were interacting with their mothers versus their fathers.