Genetic Counseling for Early-onset Familial Alzheimer Disease in Large Aboriginal Kindred from a Remote Community in British Columbia: Unique Challenges and Possible Solutions

A novel, pathogenic presenilin 1 (PS1) mutation has recently been identified in a large Aboriginal kindred living in dispersed communities throughout British Columbia, Canada. Disseminating genetic information and ensuring that appropriate genetic counseling services are provided to all concerned relatives have posed several unique challenges. These challenges include knowledge exchange and continuity of care in a geographically remote and culturally distinct community. To our knowledge, this is the first time a specific genetic counseling approach has been needed for early-onset familial Alzheimer disease (EOFAD) in a North American Aboriginal community.     

The Efficacy of Toddler-Parent Psychotherapy for Fostering Cognitive Development in Offspring of Depressed Mothers

The efficacy of Toddler-Parent Psychotherapy (TPP) as a preventive intervention for fostering cognitive development in the offspring of depressed mothers was evaluated. Mothers with major depressive disorder and their toddlers were randomly assigned to TPP (n = 43) or to a nonintervention group (n = 54) and compared to a control group (n = 61) of women with no current or past mental disorder. At baseline (age 20 months), the groups did not differ on the Bayley Mental Development Index. At post-intervention follow-up (age 3 years), a relative decline in IQ was found in the depressed nonintervention group, whereas the depressed intervention and the normal control groups continued to be equivalent, with higher WPPSI-R Full Scale and Verbal IQs. The worst outcome was found among nonintervention children whose mothers had subsequent depressive episodes. The results confirm the developmental risks faced by offspring of depressed mothers and support the efficacy of the preventive intervention in safeguarding successful cognitive development in at-risk youngsters.     

Dance,Knowledge, and Power

Susanne K. Langer contributed an exhaustive account of aesthetics, Feeling and Form, in which she articulated her schema of the virtual and wove together the aesthetic elements of music, visual arts, dance, and literature/theater. This analysis of her work centers on two key concepts within her philosophy: the virtual as the aesthetic effect of the work and the perception of the work through intuition. In this paper, I re-read Langers philosophy through a perspective built on intersections between phenomenology, pragmatism, and post-structuralist theory in order to reveal the relevance of her work to current understandings of how the dancing body produces and conveys meaning. I endeavor to show how her work provides a practical, conceptual system for understanding dance as an a-linguistic form of meaning-making, bodily experience, and knowledge.     

Predictors of resilience in maltreated and nonmaltreated Latino children

To date, few studies have sought to investigate the effects of child maltreatment and processes influencing maladaptation and resilience in Latino children. In the current investigation, multiple aspects of functioning, personal resources, and relationship features were examined in school-age maltreated and nonmaltreated Latino children. Maltreated Latino children were found to have fewer areas of resilient functioning. Ego-resiliency and ego-control, as personal resources, and the ability to form a positive relationship with an adult figure outside of the immediate family predicted resilience. However, certain aspects of interpersonal functioning were differentially related to resilience for maltreated and nonmaltreated Latino children. These findings have implications for understanding how resilience can be promoted in maltreated and nonmaltreated Latino children.     

A Longitudinal Study of Child Maltreatment, Mother–Child Relationship Quality and Maladjustment: The Role of Self-Esteem and Social Competence

This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations of mother-child relationship quality, self-esteem, social competence, and maladjustment among maltreated (n = 206) and nonmaltreated (n = 139) school-aged children from low-income families. Results of the path analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that maltreatment at Time 1 was related to internalizing and externalizing symptomatology at Time 1, both directly as well as indirectly, through its influence on social competence at Time 1. Regardless of maltreatment status, secure mother-child relationship quality was negatively related to internalizing symptomatology at Time 1 and to internalizing and externalizing symptomatology at Time 2 via its influence on self-esteem at Time 1. The results are discussed as suggestive of the role of self-esteem and social competence as mediating mechanisms in the link between relational risks and children's maladjustment.     

Does comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder impact the clinical expression of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder?

What is the impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the phenotypic expression of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We examined phenotypic features, and functional and clinical correlates in youths with OCD, with and without comorbid ADHD, from a large sample of consecutively referred pediatric psychiatry patients. Although comorbid ADHD had no meaningful impact on the phenotypic expression or clinical correlates of OCD, it was associated with higher rates of compromised educational functioning compared with other OCD youths. Our findings suggest that the OCD phenotype runs true and is not impacted by comorbid ADHD in youths diagnosed with both OCD and ADHD. In such affected youths, both disorders contribute to morbid dysfunction and require treatment. More work is needed to determine whether OCD plus ADHD represents a developmentally and etiologically distinct form of the OCD syndrome.     

An analysis of response,direction, and place learning in an open field and T maze

Rats were trained to locate food in a response, direction, or place problem on an open field located at 2 positions. In Experiment 1, both the response and direction groups solved the problem. The place group failed to solve the task in approximately 300 trials. Experiment 2 demonstrated that rats need distinguishable start points to solve a place problem when neither a response nor a direction solution is available. Findings from Experiment 3 suggest that a combination of path traveled and distinct cues help to differentiate start points. Experiment 4 replicated the findings using a T maze. These results suggest "place" solutions are difficult for rats. The data are discussed with respect to conditional learning and modern spatial mapping theory.     

Psychological and Socio-cultural Adjustment during Cross-cultural Transitions: A Comparison of Secondary Students Overseas and at Home

The study further explores the distinction of psychological and socio-cultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. One hundred and seventy-eight New Zealand American Field Service (AFS) students residing in 23 different countries completed questionnaires which contained assessments of the following: Personality (extraversion and locus of control); life changes (Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire); homesickness, cultural distance, acculturation (cultural identity and cultural integration—separation); attitudes toward host country; language ability; amount of contact with host and co-nationals; relationship satisfaction with co-nationals, host nationals and host family; and outcome measures of socio-cultural (social difficulty) and psychological adjustment (Profile of Mood States). Stepwise regressions revealed that homesickness, external locus of control, life changes, and social difficulty accounted for 55% of the variance in psychological adjustment. In contrast, cultural distance, language ability, satisfaction with host national contact, cultural separation and mood disturbance explained 52% of the variance in socio-cultural adaptation. In the second part of the research, psychological and socio-cultural adjustment of AFS students was compared with a sample of 142 home-based New Zealand secondary school students. Although there were no significant differences in psychological adjustment between the two groups, the students who were resident abroad experienced greater socio-cultural difficulties than the students resident in New Zealand (P < 0.0005), and, as hypothesized, the correlation between psychological and socio-cultural adjustment was significantly greater in the home-based students compared to the AFS group (P < 0.0001).     

Developmental Psychopathology: Reactions, Reflections, Projections

In this paper, I describe the field of developmental psychopathology, discuss its major tenets, and delineate its boundaries with other disciplines with an eye toward the future. I articulate how I envision those aspects of developmental psychopathology that I view as central to the discipline affecting the field and evolving over time. The current status and suggested directions for a number of issues are discussed, including: the interface between normal and abnormal development; developmental mechanisms and processes across the life span; the need for an interdisciplinary approach; prevention and intervention; and training. I believe that a continued and expanded interface between the study of normal and atypical development will span the dualisms that exist between the clinical study of and research into disorders of childhood and adulthood, between basic and applied research, and between psychology and biology. If fostered, I envision an exciting new era of theoretical and empirical work in the developmental sciences.