Testing of Collegiate Athletes for Sickle Cell Trait: What We,as Genetic Counselors Should Know

In August 2010, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) mandated that all of its incoming Division I student-athletes be tested for sickle cell trait. Student-athletes have the additional options to provide proof of a previous sickle cell test result or decline testing, by signing a waiver releasing their institution of liability. This article addresses the origins of the NCAA recommendations, and stresses the importance of proceeding with care. In doing so, it seeks to start a discussion in the genetic counseling community as to what, if any, should our role be?     

Parent-child discrepancies in report of psychopathology: the contributions of response bias and parenting stress

This study explored the associations between response-bias features, parenting stress, and parent-child discrepancies in self-report and parent ratings of psychopathology in a sample of 153 preadolescents from an inpatient psychiatric setting. Correlational and multiple regression analyses utilized combinations of dissimulation (FB) and defensiveness (DEF) validity scales from the Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY; Lachar & Gruber, 1995) and Personality Inventory for Children (PIC-2; Lachar & Gruber, 2001) and components from Abidin's (1995) Parenting Stress Index (PSI) to predict normalized parent-child discrepancies between the PIY/PIC-2 clinical scales. Response-bias features were significantly associated with hypothesized patterns of under- and overreporting and accounted for most of the variance in parent-child discrepancies. Although child stress components of the PSI demonstrated a generalized pattern of moderate relationships with parent-child discrepancies, parent stress components demonstrated a weaker and more specific pattern of relationships.     

Disentangling the prospective relations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms

In a four-wave, cohort-longitudinal design with a community sample of 515 children and adolescents (grades 2 through 9), this study examined the longitudinal structure of and prospective interrelations between maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms. Multigroup structural equation modeling generated four major findings. First, the longitudinal structures of maladaptive cognitions and depressive symptoms consist of a single time-invariant factor and a series of time-varying factors. Second, evidence supported a model in which depressive symptoms predicted negative cognitions but not the reverse. Third, the time-invariant components of cognition and depression were highly correlated. Fourth, the strength of the depression-to-cognition relation increased with age. Implications regarding the mechanisms underlying clinical interventions with depressed children are discussed.     

Transfer of motor learning engages specific neural substrates during motor memory consolidation dependent on the practice structure

The authors investigated how brain activity during motor-memory consolidation contributes to transfer of learning to novel versions of a motor skill following distinct practice structures. They used 1 Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) immediately after constant or variable practice of an arm movement skill to interfere with primary motor cortex (M1) or dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The effect of interference was assessed through skill performance on two transfer targets: one within and one outside the range of practiced movement parameters for the variable practice group. For the control (no rTMS) group, variable practice benefited delayed transfer performance more than constant practice. The rTMS effect on delayed transfer performance differed for the two transfer targets. For the within-range target, rTMS interference had no significant affect on the delayed transfer after either practice structure. However, for the outside-range target, rTMS interference to DLPFC but not M1 attenuated delayed transfer benefit following variable practice. Additionally, for the outside-range target, rTMS interference to M1 but not DLPFC attenuated delayed transfer following constant practice. This suggests that variable practice may promote reliance on DLPFC for memory consolidation associated with outside-range transfer of learning, whereas constant practice may promote reliance on M1 for consolidation and long-term transfer.     

Knowledge and use of memory strategies in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Despite the inclusion of memory strategy training in many interventions for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), little research has directly examined knowledge and use of memory strategies in aMCI and their relationship to memory performance in order to guide the development of targeted interventions. The present study aimed to compare strategy knowledge and use between an aMCI and a healthy older adult (HOA) sample, and to determine the contribution of strategy knowledge and use to memory performance in each of these groups. The sample comprised 37 aMCI and 52 HOA participants aged over 60 years. All participants completed questionnaires to assess strategy knowledge and self-reported use of internal and external strategies in everyday life. In addition, strategy use was observed on the measures of retrospective and prospective memory performance (the CVLT-II and the CAMPROMPT). The aMCI group demonstrated decreased strategy knowledge and observed use of internal strategies, although equivalent observed use of external strategies compared with the HOA group. Furthermore, they reported equivalent use of both internal and external strategies. Observed use of strategies was significantly associated with retrospective memory performance for both groups and prospective memory performance for the aMCI group, supporting the inclusion of strategy training in interventions.     

Parental Psychological Control and Childhood Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Perceived Lack of Control

Parental psychological control has been found to relate to the development of childhood anxiety; however, this relation has not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of the relation between parental psychological control and anxiety symptoms in children, as well as to understand whether this relation is mediated by children’s perceived control. Questionnaires were administered to children ages 8–11. Results indicated a significant relation between parental psychological control and child anxiety symptoms. Results further indicated that this relation was fully mediated by children’s perceptions of how much control they feel they have over events in their lives. These findings suggest that although parental psychological control and a child’s perceived control both contribute to the development of anxiety, it is possible that parental psychological control contributes to the development of anxiety by affecting a child’s perception of control.     

Pediatrician Identification of Child Behavior Problems: The Roles of Parenting Factors and Cross-Practice Differences

While most primary care pediatricians acknowledge the importance of identifying child behavior problems, fewer than 2% of children with a diagnosable psychological disorder are referred for mental health care in any given year. The present study examined the potential role of parental characteristics (parental affect, parenting style, and parenting self-efficacy) in pediatrician identification of child behavior problems, and determined whether these relationships differed across practices. Parents of 831 children between 2 and 16 years completed questionnaires regarding demographic information, their child’s behavior, their affect, their parenting style, and their parenting self-efficacy. Pediatricians completed a brief questionnaire following visits in four community-based primary care practices in the Midwest. Logistic regressions controlling for child behavior and demographic predictors of pediatrician identification found that an authoritarian parenting style, in which parents yell or strongly negatively react to problem behavior, was negatively associated with likelihood of identification in the overall sample. However, the variables that were predictive of pediatrician identification differed depending on the specific practice. Parental characteristics can aid in understanding which children are likely to be identified by their pediatrician as having behavioral problems. The finding that practices differed on which variables were associated with pediatrician identification suggests the need to potentially individualize interventions to certain physicians and practices to improve identification of child behavior problems in primary care.     

MILFS and Matrons: Images and Realities of Mothers’ Sexuality

Motherhood and sexual appeal are rarely linked in Western culture. There seems to be a notion that once a woman has children she is first and foremost an example, and must be responsible and conservative in a culturally specific way. Most women become mothers at some point in their lives and this is a major physical, emotional, and role transition, one that many women struggle with privately given societal ideals of a ??good?? mother. Despite its essential role in motherhood and life, and the health benefits known to be associated with sexual activity, public expression of sexuality is still primarily associated with being young, childless, and unmarried. Using a social constructionist perspective, we look at the ways in which acceptable expressions of mothers?? sexuality are defined and negotiated by contemporary women. Based on in-depth interviews with fifty women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, we discuss women??s images of mothers?? sexuality and the ways in which motherhood impacts women??s experiences of sexuality. We find that for most mothers interviewed, the way they felt about sex, their sexual appeal, and their level of sexual desire changed after having children. Coupled with the fatigue and responsibility associated with being a new mother, women felt disconnected from their sexuality for a period of time.