COMT and DAT1 polymorphisms moderate the indirect effect of parenting behavior on youth ADHD symptoms through neurocognitive functioning

Although gene × environment interactions contribute to youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, the pathways mediating these influences are unknown. We tested genetic moderation of indirect effects from parenting behavior to youth ADHD symptoms through multiple neurocognitive factors. Two hundred and twenty-nine youth with and without ADHD were assessed at baseline (Wave 1; ages 5–10) and at a 2-year follow-up (Wave 2; ages 7–13). At Wave 1, youth completed a neurocognitive battery including measures of response inhibition, visuospatial working memory, and fluid reasoning, and a standardized parent–child interaction task yielding observational measures of positive and negative parenting. At Wave 2, youth psychopathology was rated by parents and teachers using multiple methods (i.e., structured interview, rating scale). We employed moderated multiple mediation and compared conditional indirect effects across youth genotypes at two biologically plausible genetic loci. Controlling for parent ADHD symptoms as well as youth demographic factors and co-occurring externalizing symptoms, these genetic factors moderated the indirect effect from Wave 1 parenting to multi-method/informant Wave 2 ADHD symptoms through Wave 1 neurocognitive functioning. This preliminary study is the first to identify genetic moderation of mediated effects underlying ADHD symptoms and suggests that specific gene × parenting interactions may underlie neurocognitive functioning deficits and subsequent ADHD.     

Correction to: Secret Agent Society: a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Transdiagnostic Youth Social Skills Group Treatment

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology -     

The Gym Membership Purchase Task: Early Evidence Towards Establishment of a Novel Hypothetical Purchase Task

The Psychological Record - Hypothetical purchase tasks are a widely used tool to determine the reinforcing value of commodities, especially commodities which are difficult to deliver...     

Rumination and Co-Rumination and their Associations with Alcohol-Related Problems and Depressive Symptoms among College Students

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - The college years are a time of significant upheaval, including changes in social relationships and dramatic increases in the...     

Can I dismiss the stereotype – as my teacher did? Influence of stereotype activation and an immigrant teacher on student learning

Social Psychology of Education - Lower vocabulary in German is repeatedly reported for students with Turkish migration background attending school in Germany. We investigated whether in students of...     

Effects of delay fading and signals on self‐control choices by children

The current study is a systematic replication and extension of work by Schweitzer & Sulzer‐Azaroff (1988). The effects of delay fading alone and in combination with signals on choices between larger, delayed reinforcers and smaller, immediate reinforcers by four children with language deficits were examined. For one of the two children exposed to delay fading alone, larger reinforcers were selected at longer delays relative to the initial self‐control assessment. For all four children, the delay‐fading‐plus‐signal condition resulted in selection of larger reinforcers at considerably longer delays relative to the self‐control assessment.     

Extending Awareness of Catholic Healthcare Ethics Among Junior Clinicians: A Qualitative Study

Journal of Religion and Health - As Catholic healthcare organizations form a substantive part of healthcare delivery in the USA and Australia, ethical standards for Catholic health care were...     

Parent–Child Informant Discrepancy is Associated with Poorer Treatment Outcome

In child clinical psychology, parent and child reports are typically used to make treatment decisions and determine the effectiveness of treatment. However, there are often moderate to large discrepancies between parent and child reports, and these discrepancies may reflect meaningful information about the parent, the child, and the parent–child relationship. Additionally, parent–child discrepancy may predict treatment outcome. This study examined parent–child discrepancy in a sample of 62 children (10.15±1.26 years old) with prominent social competence deficits and mixed diagnoses who were treated with a resilience-based, cognitive–behavioral group therapy program (the Resilience Builder Program) in a private clinical setting. Further analyses were conducted to investigate whether parent–child discrepancy related to treatment outcome. Consistent with the literature, prominent parent–child discrepancy was found across domains, with parents generally reporting more severe symptomatology. Treatment with the Resilience Builder Program resulted in significant improvement in parent report of multiple domains of functioning, including resilience, social skills, and emotion and behavior regulation. Importantly, larger parent–child discrepancy at the start of therapy was predictive of poorer overall treatment response. Given its impact on therapeutic effectiveness, these results suggest that parent–child disagreement regarding the child’s impairment at the onset of therapy is worthy of assessment prior to treatment, and may itself be a topic worthy of targeting in treatment.