Parent–Child Synchrony in Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Associations with Treatment Outcomes

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), characterized by angry/irritable mood, and argumentative/defiant behavior, is associated with significant negative outcomes in childhood and beyond. Researchers posit that these behaviors arise from poor parenting and/or an incompatibility between characteristics of the child and the child’s parents, resulting in strained interaction styles. The present study examines parent–child synchrony, the inverse of parent–child incompatibility as a predictor of children’s emotional lability, aggression, and overall functioning following psychosocial treatment. Participants were 75 treatment-seeking families with children diagnosed with ODD (46 boys). Families received one of two empirically supported treatments for ODD (Parent Management Training or Collaborative and Proactive Solutions). Findings indicated that pre-treatment parent–child synchrony was associated with decreased emotional lability and aggression following both treatments, as well as improvement in overall functioning, irrespective of treatment condition. These results reflect the importance of parent–child relations at the onset of treatment in predicting response to treatment and suggest potential treatment targets within parent–child relationships.     

Does Parent Training Format Affect Treatment Engagement? A Randomized Study of Families at Social Risk

We examined whether parent engagement in parent training (PT) differed based on PT format (parent group-based with video versus mastery-based individual coaching with child) in an economically disadvantaged sample of families seeking behavioral treatment for their preschool children in an urban mental health clinic. Parents (N?=?159; 76.1% mothers, 69.8% African American, 73% low-income) were randomized to one of two interventions, Chicago Parent Program (parent group?+?video; CPP) or Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (individualized mastery-based coaching; PCIT). Parent engagement indicators compared were PT attendance and completion rates, participation quality, and parent satisfaction. Risk factors predictive of PT attrition (parent depression, psychosocial adversity, child behavior problem severity, length of wait time to start PT) were also compared to determine whether they were more likely to affect engagement in one PT format versus the other. No significant differences were found in PT attendance or completion rates by format. Clinicians rated parents’ engagement higher in PCIT than in CPP while satisfaction with PT was rated higher by parents in CPP compared to PCIT. Never attending PT was associated with more psychosocial adversity and externalizing behavior problems for CPP and with higher baseline depression for PCIT. Parents with more psychosocial adversities and higher baseline depression were less likely to complete PCIT. None of the risk factors differentiated CPP completers from non-completers. Delay to treatment start was longer for PCIT than CPP. Strengths and limitations of each PT format are discussed as they relate to the needs and realities of families living in urban poverty.     

Conceptions of Relationships in Children with Depressive and Aggressive Symptoms: Social-Cognitive Distortion or Reality?

This research tested skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models of depression and aggression in 615 fifth- and sixth-grade children. Children completed a measure of their generalized conceptions of relationships in the peer domain and their level of depressive symptoms. Teachers completed measures of social competence, social status, and aggression. As anticipated, children with higher levels of depressive symptoms, either alone or in combination with aggression, demonstrated more negative conceptions of both self and peers than did nonsymptomatic children. Conceptions of relationships did not differentiate between aggressive and nonsymptomatic children. Children with depressive symptoms and children with aggressive symptoms displayed unique profiles of social competence deficits and problematic status in the peer group. Analysis of the accuracy of children's conceptions of relationships revealed support for both skill-deficit and cognitive-distortion models. Consistent with a skill-deficit model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms were sensitive to actual differences in their social status. In contrast, aggressive children showed an insensitivity to social cues. Consistent with a cognitive-distortion model, children with depressive and depressive-aggressive symptoms had more negative conceptions than would be expected given their social status, whereas aggressive-unpopular children demonstrated a self-enhancement bias. These findings indicate the importance of integrated cognitive-interpersonal models of depression and aggression that incorporate multiple pathways among social-cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional functioning.     

Longitudinal Profiles of Girls’ Irritable,Defiant and Antagonistic Oppositional Symptoms: Evidence for Group Based Differences in Symptom Severity

Three subdimensions of ODD symptoms have been proposed –angry/irritable (IR), argumentative/defiant (DF) and antagonism (AN). This study tested whether longitudinal symptom trajectories could be identified by these subdimensions. Group-based trajectory analysis was used to identify developmental trajectories of IR, DF and AN symptoms. Multi-group trajectory analysis was then used to identify how subdimension trajectories were linked together over time. Data were drawn from the Pittsburgh Girls Study (PGS; N = 2450), an urban community sample of girls between the ages of five--eight at baseline. We included five waves of annual data across ages five-13 to model trajectories. Three trajectories were identified for each ODD subdimension: DF and AN were characterized by high, medium and low severity groups; IR was characterized by low, medium stable, and high increasing groups. Multi-trajectory analysis confirmed these subdimensions were best linked together based on symptom severity. We did not identify girls’ trajectory groups that were characterized predominantly by a particular subdimension of ODD symptoms. Membership in more severe symptom groups was significantly associated with worse outcomes five years later. In childhood and early adolescence girls with high levels of ODD symptoms can be identified, and these youth are characterized by a persistently elevated profile of IR, DF and AN symptoms. Further studies in clinical samples are required to examine the ICD-10 proposal that ODD with irritability is a distinct or more severe form of ODD.     

Mother-Teacher Agreement on Preschoolers’ Symptoms of ODD and CD: Does Context matter?

The aims of this study were to examine mother-teacher agreement on oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms and diagnoses in preschool children; to determine if context is a source of disagreement; and to explore if sex, referral status, and age moderated agreement rates. Participants included 158 male and 139 female 3- to 5-year old preschool children, their mothers, and teachers. A structured interview, the Kiddie-Disruptive Behavior Disorder Schedule was used for maternal report and teachers completed the Early Childhood Inventory. Results indicated that mothers reported more symptoms and diagnoses of ODD and CD than teachers, and mother-teacher agreement on both ODD and CD symptoms and diagnoses was low. Level of mother-teacher agreement increased when reporting on behavior in the same context; however, the rates remain modest. Referral status increased the likelihood of mother and teacher agreement on several ODD and CD symptoms, as well as ODD and CD diagnosis. These data suggest that context plays a role in mother-teacher agreement in the assessment of young children's ODD and CD symptoms.     

Actor–Partner Interdependence of Compassion toward Others with Qualities of Marital Relationship and Parent–Child Relationships in Chinese Families

Considering the nature of compassion and cultural and times characteristics of Chinese families, individuals' general dispositional compassion toward others may have potential benefits for relationship qualities in Chinese families. In this study, we explored how men's and women's compassion related to their own (actor effects) and the partners' (partner effects) marital relationship and parent–child relationships, respectively, using the Actor–Partner Interdependent Model. Participants were from a cross-sectional sample of 534 Chinese heterosexual married couples (females' mean age = 37.20, SD = 4.28; males' mean age = 40.29, SD = 5.39) whose biological children were pupils (mean age = 9.28, SD = 1.11). Results revealed that: (a) within marital relationships, couple members' actor effects and partner effects were found both significant; but (b) within parent–child relationships, couple members' actor effects were significant, whereas only mothers' partner effect of compassion on father–child relationship was significant. These findings support the benefits of couple members' individual compassion with respect to family relationship quality in contemporary China. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.     

Families of Children in Pain: Are Attachment and Sensory Processing Patterns Related to Parent Functioning?

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Effective parent functioning is a key predictor of functional outcomes for children with persistent pain. It is therefore important to identify factors that...     

Communication of Genetic Risk Information to Daughters in Families with Fragile X Syndrome: The Parent’s Perspective

Parental approaches to communicating information about genetic disorders to their children may be an important determinant in how the children manage stress as well as their adjustment and adaptation to that information. We explored communication patterns through structured interviews with 46 parents of daughters who learned about their genetic risk status as minors. Three different levels of knowledge about fragile X syndrome were explored: 1) informing that it has been diagnosed in the family and is an inherited disorder, 2) informing about the possibility of a daughter being a carrier, and 3) if testing had been done, informing the daughter of her actual carrier status. Additionally, parental perceptions of their daughter’s understanding of the information were explored along with frequency of discussions. We found that communication about genetic risk was initiated by the parents. Five disclosure patterns were identified with variations in style, content, and frequency of communication related to the information that was being disclosed. Aspects of resilient communication were present for all levels of disclosure; however, as the information became more personally relevant for the daughter such as disclosure about the possibility of “being a carrier” for fragile X syndrome and there was uncertainty regarding potential outcomes, the conversations included fewer resilient characteristics. Uncertainty about what and how to present information may negatively affect a parent’s ability to include elements of resilient communication when disclosing genetic risk information.     

Fifty Years of Prison Suicide in Austria: Does Legislation Have an Impact?

The absolute and relative frequency of suicides in jails and prisons in Austria over the 50 years from 1947 to 1996 is described. Important legislational changes regarding the criminal justice system are discussed with regard to possible consequences for the incidence of prisoners' suicides. Within the five decades a significant increase in the absolute numbers of jail and prison suicides was evident in spite of the considerable decrease in the total inmate population. Therefore, the suicide rate of inmates of correctional facilities increased significantly. Possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed in relation to changes of the criminal law.     

Does Long-Term Medication Use Improve the Academic Outcomes of Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) frequently experience academic impairment, including lower grades than their peers and elevated risk for grade retention and school dropout. Medication is the most commonly used treatment for youth with ADHD, and it is therefore essential to understand the extent to which medication use improves long-term academic functioning. This paper reviews the literature on the relation between long-term medication use and the academic outcomes of youth with ADHD. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify pertinent studies published since 2000 that followed youth with ADHD for 3 or more years. Academic outcomes of interest included school grades, achievement test scores, and grade retention. Nine studies were identified reporting on eight distinct longitudinal samples (N across studies?=?8,721). These studies demonstrate that long-term medication use is associated with improvements in standardized achievement scores. However, the magnitude of these improvements is small and the clinical or educational significance is questionable. Evidence for long-term improvements in school grades and grade retention is less compelling. This review highlights methodological considerations in providing directions for future research. The importance of using multiple sources to gather information about medication adherence is discussed, including use of methodologies such as electronic monitors, rather than relying solely on parent report or chart review. Future research should also examine a range of medication adherence definitions in order to determine whether age of onset, duration of use, dose, and/or consistency of use moderates the relation between long-term medication use and academic outcomes.     

Treating Parents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Effects of Behavioral Parent Training and Acute Stimulant Medication Treatment on Parent–Child Interactions

This multiple baseline study evaluated the efficacy of behavioral parent training (BPT) for 12 parents (M age?=?39.17 years; 91 % mothers) and their children (ages 6–12; 83 % boys) both with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and also explored the acute effect of stimulant medication for parents before and after BPT. Parents rated their own and their children’s symptoms and impairment and were stabilized on optimally dosed medication. Then, parents discontinued medication and were randomly assigned to a 3, 4, or 5 week baseline (BL), during which they provided twice-weekly ratings of their impairment, parenting, and their child’s behavior. Following BL, parents and their children completed two laboratory tasks, once on their optimally dosed medication and once on a placebo to assess observable effects of medication on parent–child behavior, and they completed additional assessments of family functioning. Parents then completed eight BPT sessions, during which they were unmedicated. Twice-weekly ratings of parent and child behavior were collected during BPT and additional ratings were collected upon completing BPT. Two more parent–child tasks with and without parent medication were conducted upon BPT completion to assess the observable effects of BPT and BPT plus medication. Ten (83.33 %) parents completed the trial. Improvements in parent and child behavior were observed, and parents reported improved child behavior with BPT. Few benefits of BPT emerged through parent reports of parent functioning, with the exception of inconsistent discipline, and no medication or interaction effects emerged. These results, although preliminary, suggest that some parents with ADHD benefit from BPT. While pharmacological treatment is the most common intervention for adults with ADHD, further examination of psychosocial treatments for adults is needed.     

Master's Level Training in Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Does It Meet the SIOP Guidelines?

In order to assess the extent to which terminal master's level I/O programs were consistent with Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) guidelines, recent graduates of master's level I/O and related programs were surveyed. The survey focused on the competency areas emphasized in the SIOP (1994) guidelines: data collection and analysis competencies, core I/O competencies, and additional I/O competencies. Participants in the survey provided their perceptions of the coverage of the various competencies in graduate school as well as the importance of these competencies in their current jobs. The results of the survey show that current master's level programs are generally consistent with the guidelines. Both data collection/data analysis competencies and core I/O competencies were perceived as having been well covered. Further, these same competencies were for the most part seen as important in the participants' current jobs.     

Retest learning in the absence of item-specific effects: Does it show in the oldest-old?

This study examined whether the nonitem-specific retest learning effects, previously shown with young-old adults primarily in their 60s and 70s, could be extended to oldest-old adults aged 80 and onward. Twenty-one oldest-olds participated in an 8-session retest training program with three ability domains: perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, and visual attention. Their data were compared with the data of 30 young-olds collected in a previous work (Yang, Reed, Russo, & Wilkinson, 2009). The two age groups showed largely equivalent retest learning effects. In addition, only young-olds were able to benefit from item-specific retest learning, specifically in reasoning and perceptual speed tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Gender Differences in the Relationship of Puberty with Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms: Do Body Perceptions Matter?

This study explored how pubertal status is related to depressive symptoms among adolescent boys and girls and whether body perceptions explained this relationship. This study is based on a national random US sample of adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (9,011 girls and 8,781 boys). Results showed that boys and girls responded differently to puberty. During the transition to puberty boys had higher depressive symptoms than post-pubertal boys, due to perceptions that they were not as physically large and developed as their peers. Pre-pubertal and post-pubertal boys did not significantly differ on depressive symptoms. Post-pubertal girls had higher depressive symptoms than pre-pubertal girls, due to perceptions that they were overweight and more physically developed than their peers.     

Perceived functions of playfulness in adults: Does it mobilize you at work,rest, and when being with others?

IntroductionLittle is known about what adults perceive as core functions of playfulness in their daily life.ObjectiveTo compile a list of perceived functions of playfulness from nominations of laypeople and to test the association of the productions with individual levels of playfulness as a personality trait.MethodThree hundred and twenty-four adults aged 18 to 62 (M = 31.6, SD = 11.5) listed perceived functions of playfulness in five areas (leisure and work and when being with work colleagues, friends, and their partner) and completed a questionnaire for playfulness.ResultsThe entries were grouped into seven broader categories; namely, (1) well-being; (2) humor and laughter; (3) mastery orientation; (4) creativity; (5) relationships; (6) coping strategies; and (7) coping with situations. Women noted more functions than men (t(297) = 2.99, p < .01, d = 0.35) but there were no gender differences in the playfulness scale. Individual levels of playfulness correlated only for men with a greater number of functions, while it was uncorrelated in the sample of women.ConclusionPeople see a broad range of functions for playfulness in their daily lives. This warrants further investigation on potential benefits of adult playfulness.     

Increased Proportion of Farm Animal Names Generated by Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: What Does it Mean?

Binetti et al. (1995) reported that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) produced fewer semantic clusters than controls on the Animals Fluency task; of the clusters produced, 80% involved farm animals for the patients with AD compared to 40% for controls. In the present study we replicated the finding of Binetti et al.; however, the differential distribution of animal names by subcategory for the patients and controls could be accounted for by differences in the overall output and by assuming that word generation was strictly determined by prototypicality of the animal names. Thus, the increased proportion of farm animal names produced by patients with AD can be accounted for simply by postulating impaired access to semantic memory rather than degraded representations, the idea favored by Binetti et al.     

The Positive Illusory Bias: Do Inflated Self-Perceptions in Children with ADHD Generalize to Perceptions of Others?

This study examined whether children with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate positive illusory perceptions of their own competence and others' competence. Participants (67 children with ADHD symptoms; 40 non-ADHD children) completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children and rated actors' competence in videos clips where inconsistent cues of performance had to be integrated in order to determine the actor's competence. Teachers completed the Teacher Rating Scale of Child's Actual Behavior. Children with ADHD symptoms overestimated their own competence relative to teachers' estimates in all domains significantly more than non-ADHD children. There were no significant group differences in perceptions of others' competence. Findings suggest that positive illusions are exclusive to perceptions of self and do not extend to perceptions of others.