The Structure of Psychopathology in a Community Sample of Preschoolers

Despite growing interest in the development of alternative diagnostic classification systems for psychopathology in young children, little is known about the adequacy of the DSM symptom structure for describing psychopathology in this population. This paper examines the fit of the DSM-IV emotional (ED) and disruptive behavior disorder (DD) symptom structure in a community sample of 796 4-year-old children. Using the parent-report Child Symptom Inventory (CSI), the best model fit for ED included separate factors for Social Phobia, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder. For DD, the best model included separate Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Inattentive type (ADHD-I), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Hyperactive/Impulsive type (ADHD-HI), and Oppositional Defiant Disorder diagnoses. These findings support using DSM-IV nosology to classify EDs in a community sample of preschool children, and suggest differentiation of ADHD into ADHD-I and ADHD-HI.     

Predictors and Correlates of Completing Behavioral Parent Training for the Treatment of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Pediatric Primary Care

This study examined the role of pretreatment demographic and clinical predictors of attendance as well as barriers to treatment and consumer satisfaction on attendance at therapist-led parent training with 86 families of children ages 3 to 6 years conducted in pediatric primary care settings. Only socioeconomic status (SES) and minority group membership were significantly associated with not completing treatment. Using optimal data analysis procedures, high SES correctly predicted treatment completion 83.6% of the time. Being from a low SES, minority group family correctly predicted noncompletion of treatment 72.7% of the time, but being from a low SES, white family predicted treatment completion 80% of the time. Since barriers to treatment, such as stressors, obstacles to treatment, and treatment demands were unrelated to attendance in the present study, other factors related to social class and minority status that could contribute to better consumer satisfaction and treatment attendance must be investigated.     

Enduring cognitive dysfunction in unipolar major depression: A test–retest study using the Stroop paradigm

Hammar, Å., Sørensen, L., Årdal, G., Oedegaard, K.J., Kroken, R., Roness, A. & Lund, A. (2009). Enduring cognitive dysfunction in unipolar major depression: A test–retest study using the Stroop‐paradigm. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. The aim of the study was to investigate automatic and effortful information processing with the Stroop paradigm in a long term perspective in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Patients were tested at two test occasions: at inclusion with a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score >18, and after 6 months, when most patients had experienced symptom reduction. The Stroop paradigm is considered to measure aspects of attention and executive functioning and consists of three conditions/cards: naming the color of the patches (Color), reading of the color‐words (Word) and naming the ink color of color‐words (Color‐Word). The Color‐Word condition is proved to be the most cognitive demanding task and requires the proband to actively suppress interference and is therefore considered to require more effortful information processing, whereas naming the color of the patches and reading the color‐words are expected to be more automatic and less cognitive demanding. A homogenous group of 19 patients with unipolar recurrent MDD according to DSM‐IV and a HDRS score of >18 were included in the study. A control group was individually matched for age, gender and level of education. Depressed patients performed equal to the control group on the Color and Word cards at both test occasions. However, the patients were impaired compared with the control group on the Color‐Word card task at both test occasions. Thus, the depressed patients showed no improvement of effortful attention/executive performance as a function of symptom reduction. The results indicate that the depressed patients showed impaired cognitive performance on cognitive demanding tasks when symptomatic and that this impairment prevailed after 6 months, despite significant improvement in their depressive symptoms.