PDD Symptoms in ADHD,an Independent Familial Trait?

The aims of this study were to investigate whether subtle PDD symptoms in the context of ADHD are transmitted in families independent of ADHD, and whether PDD symptom familiality is influenced by gender and age. The sample consisted of 256 sibling pairs with at least one child with ADHD and 147 healthy controls, aged 5–19 years. Children who fulfilled criteria for autistic disorder were excluded. The Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) was used to assess PDD symptoms. Probands, siblings, and controls were compared using analyses of variance. Sibling correlations were calculated for CSBQ scores after controlling for IQ, ADHD, and comorbid anxiety. In addition, we calculated cross-sibling cross-trait correlations. Both children with ADHD and their siblings had higher PDD levels than healthy controls. The sibling correlation was 0.28 for the CSBQ total scale, with the CSBQ stereotyped behavior subscale showing the strongest sibling correlation (r = 0.35). Sibling correlations remained similar in strength after controlling for IQ and ADHD, and were not confounded by comorbid anxiety. Sibling correlations were higher in female than in male probands. The social subscale showed stronger sibling correlations in elder than in younger sibling pairs. Cross-sibling cross-trait correlations for PDD and ADHD were weak and not-significant. The results confirm that children with ADHD have high levels of PDD symptoms, and further suggest that the familiality of subtle PDD symptoms in the context of ADHD is largely independent from ADHD familiality.     

Cognitive Functioning in Adolescents with Self-Reported ADHD and Depression: Results from a Population-Based Study

This study aims to assess cognitive functioning differences among adolescents with retrospectively self-reported: ADHD and an onset of depression, only ADHD, only depression, and neither ADHD nor depression. Data from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort was used in this study. Neuropsychological functioning was assessed in 1549 adolescents, at baseline and follow-up (mean ages 11 and 19 years). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to classify adolescents into 4 groups: ADHD with onset of depression, only ADHD, only depression, and neither ADHD nor depression. Linear mixed effects models were used to analyse group differences in cognitive functioning at baseline and follow-up, and the change in cognitive functioning between these 2 time-points. Results showed a significant main effect of group on response time variability at baseline, working memory maintenance at follow up, and change in response time variability scores between baseline and follow-up. As compared to the healthy and depressed-only groups, adolescents with only ADHD showed longer response time variability at baseline and, which declined between baseline and follow-up. Adolescents with ADHD plus depression showed higher reaction time for working memory maintenance than the depressed only and healthy groups at follow-up. In conclusion, adolescents with self-reported ADHD show poorer cognitive functioning than healthy adolescents and those with only depression. Amongst adolescents with ADHD, specific cognitive domains show poor functioning depending on the presence or absence of comorbid depression. While adolescents with only ADHD have lower reaction time variability, those with comorbid depression have poorer working memory maintenance.     

Dalí's homage to Rothko: a defense against fusion with the victim

This paper explores the thematic content of a painting by Salvador Dalí in homage to artist Mark Rothko, completed after the latter's suicide. The manifest title of the work suggests respect for Rothko, but the latent intent of the painting, the author suggests, is more of a memoriam to Rothko in a complex identification with him. Among other psychological issues, the author elaborates on two factors that may have played a part in Dalí's artistic reaction to Rothko's suicide: the death of the artist's infant brother nine months before his own birth, and his lifelong struggle against fusion with the victim (Orgel 1974a, 1974b).     

Modeling Rater Disagreement for ADHD: Are Parents or Teachers Biased?

The present study is the first to utilize twin modeling to examine whether parent-teacher disagreement for ADHD ratings is due to parent or teacher bias, or due to raters observing different but valid ADHD behaviors. A joint analysis was conducted with 106 twin pairs, including twins selected for ADHD and control twin pairs. Total ADHD scores were analyzed using multiple rater models that estimate genetic and environmental contributions common to both raters and unique to each rater. Results suggest that 1) disagreement in ADHD ratings is strongly due to parents and teachers observing different ADHD behaviors, some of which is valid and some of which is due to bias, and 2) parents may be more biased than teachers in their ADHD ratings.     

The development of curriculum-based measurement norms in literature-based classrooms

Few published reports exist on the appropriateness of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures for literature-based reading programs. The purpose of this paper is to describe a preliminary study of the development and psychometric integrity of CBM norms for literature-based reading using children's literature books. During the 1993–1994 and 1994–1995 school years, the reading achievement of 403 first, second, and third grade students in two rural elementary schools was assessed with CBM methods modified for a literature-based curriculum. Based on the results of this study, standard CBM procedures can be modified to develop local norms for the literature-based classroom. Furthermore, these literature-based CBM norms were found to have adequate test/retest reliability and criterion-related validity. No sampling bias in the selection of individual reading passage probes was found. The extent to which these norms can be used to monitor reading progress must be determined. Further study is necessary before CBM procedures with literature-based reading programs can be used to inform policy and practice.     

A Psychoanalytic View of Racial Myths in a Nazi Propaganda Film: Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew)

This paper describes the emotional appeal of propaganda utilizing concepts from psychoanalysis, small group psychology, and psychohistory. The film propagandist attempts to exploit irrational emotional responses to visual scenes and commentary to change attitudes, values, and behavior in a mass setting. A link between shared unconscious fantasies and myth is offered as an explanatory concept to explain propaganda's wide emotional appeal. The German Nazi anti-Semitic film, Der Ewige Jude, serves as the case example of the exploitation of such fantasies in a mass setting for a political end.     

Further explorations of common-sense representations of common illnesses

A simple method is presented for measuring people's illness cognitions--their common-sense representations of common illnesses. Data were collected from 1,628 different respondents who described a recent illness form 1 to 3 separate times over a 17-month period. A free-clustering task performed by a set of naive participants confirmed that these cognitions fall into the five components that have been previously noted: identity, time line, consequences, cause, and cure. These five components are found to be reasonably stable over time and across different illness episodes. Several consequences of these illness cognitions, in terms of changes in health-locus-of-control beliefs and different propensities to visit a doctor, are also noted. Specifically, controllable attributions for getting sick and personal responsibility attributions for getting better are associated with increased beliefs in Self-Control Over Health and decreased beliefs in Chance Health Outcomes; people with strong Identity and Cure components in their common-sense representations of common illnesses have a greater propensity to visit a doctor when feeling ill.     

Divided attention and indirect memory tests

Attentional state during acquisition is an important determinant of performance on direct memory tests. In two experiments we investigated the effects of dividing attention during acquisition on conceptually driven and data-driven indirect memory tests. Subjects read a list of words with or without distraction. Memory for the words was later tested with an indirect memory test or a direct memory test that differed only in task instructions. In Experiment 1, the indirect test was categoryexemplar production (a conceptually driven task) and the direct test was category-cued recall. In Experiment 2, the indirect test was word-fragment completion (a data-driven task) and the direct test was word-fragment cued recall. Dividing attention at encoding decreased performance on both direct memory tests. Of the indirect tests, category-exemplar production but not word-fragment completion was affected. The results indicate that conceptually driven indirect memory tests, like direct memory tests, are affected by divided attention, whereas data-driven indirect tests are not. These results are interpreted within the transfer-appropriate processing framework.