Early parent-child relations and family functioning of preschool boys with pervasive hyperactivity

This study examined the quality of parent–child relationships and family functioning of preschool children with early onset hyperactivity by comparing a community sample of 33 pervasively hyperactive preschool boys with a comparison sample of 34 boys. Mothers and children were assessed at home on a range of interview, parent questionnaire, and observational measures of parenting and family functioning. Results of the study showed that higher rates of reported lax disciplinary practices, less efficient parental coping, lower rates of father–child communication, and less synchronous mother–child interactions were significantly associated with hyperactivity following statistical adjustment for the effects of conduct problems and other confounding factors. The best parenting predictor of hyperactivity was maternal coping. The present findings suggest that the way in which parents interact with their preschool children may make a unique contribution to the development and ongoing behavioral difficulties experienced by children with pervasive hyperactivity. Findings also highlight the importance of considering the role of fathers in the behavioral development of boys with early tendencies to hyperactive and distractible behavior problems.     

Observed classroom behavior of children with ADHD: relationship to gender and comorbidity

Examined hypothesized gender and comorbidity differences in the observed classroom behavior of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The behavior of 403 boys and 99 girls with ADHD, ages 7–10, was compared (a) to observed, sex-specific classroom behavior norms, (b) by sex, and (c) by comorbid subgroups. Boys and girls with ADHD deviated significantly from classroom norms on 15/16 and 13/16 categories, respectively. Compared to comparison girls, girls with ADHD had relatively high rates of verbal aggression to children. Boys with ADHD engaged in more rule-breaking and externalizing behaviors than did girls with ADHD, but the sexes did not differ on more neutral, unobtrusive behaviors. The sex differences are consistent with notions of why girls with ADHD are identified and referred later than boys. Contrary to hypothesis, the presence of comorbid anxiety disorder (ANX) was not associated with behavioral suppression; yet, as hypothesized, children with a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) had higher rates of rule-breaking, and impulsive and aggressive behavior, than did children with ADHD alone and those with ADHD+ANX. Elevated rates of ADHD behaviors were also observed in children with comorbid DBD, indicating that these behaviors are truly present and suggesting that reports of higher ADHD ratings in this subgroup are not simply a consequence of negative halo effects and rater biases.     

Do lonely days invade the nights? Potential social modulation of sleep efficiency

Loneliness predicts morbidity and mortality from broad-based causes, but the reasons for this effect remain unclear. Few differences in traditional health behaviors (e.g., smoking, exercise, nutrition) have been found to differentiate lonely and nonlonely individuals. We present evidence that a prototypic restorative behavior—sleep—does make such a differentiation, not through differences in time in bed or in sleep duration, but through differences in efficacy: In the study we report here, lonely individuals evinced poorer sleep efficiency and more time awake after sleep onset than nonlonely individuals. These results, which were observed in controlled laboratory conditions and were found to generalize to the home, suggest that lonely individuals may be less resilient than nonlonely individuals in part because they sleep more poorly. These results also raise the possibility that social factors such as loneliness not only may influence the selection of health behaviors but also may modulate the salubrity of restorative behaviors.     

“How'd You Do on That Test?”: The Effects of Gender on Self-Presentation of Achievement to Vulnerable Men

This study examined the effects of gender on how people present their academic achievements when interacting with vulnerable male peers. Participants were 86 college students (40 males, 46 females) drawn from a population that was 7% African American, 10% Asian American, 6% Latino/a, 6% non-U.S. citizens, and 71% Euro-Americans. They were induced to predict their grade point average (GPA) to a male confederate who presented himself as (a) having earned either a low GPA or an average GPA, and (b) concerned or unconcerned about his academic performance. Both men's and women's GPA predictions were higher when interacting with the concerned partner, and men's predictions were even higher when interacting with the concerned, low-GPA partner. For male participants, there were significant positive correlations between predicted GPA and perceived similarity to the partner and between predicted GPA and interest in establishing a relationship with the partner, especially when interacting with the worried partner. These and other findings are discussed in the context of previous findings and related theory.