Factor structure and aetiological architecture of the BRIEF: A twin study

Executive function is a broad construct that encompasses various processes involved in goal‐directed behaviour in non‐routine situations (Banich, 2009). The present study uses a sample of 560 5‐ to 16‐year‐old twin pairs (M = 11.14, SD = 2.53): 219 monozygotic twin pairs (114 female; 105 male) and 341 dizygotic twin pairs (136 female, 107 male; 98 opposite sex) to extend prior literature by providing information about the factor structure and the genetic and environmental architecture of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia et al., 2000, Child Neuropsychol., 6, 235; Gioia et al., 2000, Behavior rating inventory of executive function, Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources), a multifaceted rating scale of everyday executive functions. Phenotypic results revealed a 9‐scale, 3‐factor model best represents the BRIEF structure within the current sample. Results of the genetically sensitive analyses indicated the presence of rater bias/contrast effects for the Initiate, Working Memory, and Task‐Monitor scales. Additive genetic and non‐shared environmental influences were present for the Initiate, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials, Shift, and Monitor and Self‐Monitor scales. Influences on Emotional Control were solely environmental. Interestingly, the aetiological architecture observed was similar to that of performance‐based measures of executive function. This observed similarity provided additional evidence for the usefulness of the BRIEF as a measure of ‘everyday’ executive function.     

The Relations Between Patterning,Executive Function,and Mathematics

Patterning, or the ability to understand patterns, is a skill commonly taught to young children as part of school mathematics curricula. It seems likely that some aspects of executive function, such as cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory, may be expressed in the patterning abilities of children. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between patterning and executive functioning for first grade children. In addition, the relations between patterning, executive functioning, mathematics, and reading were examined. The results showed that patterning was significantly related to cognitive flexibility and working memory, but not to inhibition. Patterning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory were significantly related to mathematical skills. Only patterning and working memory were significantly related to reading. Regression analyses and structural equation modeling both showed that patterning had effects on both reading and mathematics measures, and that the effects of cognitive flexibility were entirely mediated by patterning. Working memory had independent effects on reading and mathematics, and also effects moderated by patterning. In sum, these findings suggest that cognitive flexibility and working memory are related to patterning and express their effects on reading and mathematics in whole or in part through patterning.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">DRD4</Emphasis> Variants Moderate the Impact of Parental Characteristics on Child Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Exploratory Evidence from a Multiplex Family Design

Parental ADHD symptomatology and related impairments have been robustly associated with youth ADHD across decades of work. Notably, these factors may impede typical development of child self-regulation capabilities through both neurobiological and interpersonal processes. High heritability of estimates for the disorder further suggest that these effects are likely genetically-mediated, at least in part. Variation within the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been shown to moderate parental influences on youth ADHD. Use of a multiplex family design (i.e., samples of families that included multiple affected members) may facilitate identification of additional gene variants of interest and advance understanding of gene-environment interplay in regard to parenting. Thirty multiplex families consisting of 114 individuals (66 youth, 48 parents) completed a multi-stage, multi-informant diagnostic and neurocognitive assessment, measures of parenting, and provided saliva samples for DNA analyses. Sanger sequencing of the DRD4 gene yielded 16 rare variants; a polygenic risk score was computed for both parents and youth. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) examined the predictive effects of parental ADHD symptoms, parental neurocognitive functioning, and poor parenting dimensions on youth ADHD as well as moderation of these effects by parental and youth DRD4 variants. Findings indicated that parental DRD4 variants moderated the impact of parental ADHD and neurocognitive functioning on youth ADHD symptoms. Youth DRD4 variants moderated the impact of parental inconsistent discipline on child ADHD. In all cases, stronger associations were observed for those individuals with more risk variants. These exploratory findings highlight the potential utility of a multiplex family design for examining the interplay between parent and child characteristics in predicting youth outcomes.     

Locus of Control and Anti‐Immigrant Sentiment in Canada,the United States,and the United Kingdom

Using data collected in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, this article examines the determinants of attitudes toward immigrants. In particular, we draw on the literature in social psychology to explore the role of locus of control in promoting more ethnocentric and restrictive attitudes towards immigration. We conceptualize control at three levels: (1) perceptions of individual locus of control (i.e., feeling that one can control one's own circumstances), (2) perceptions of societal control (i.e., feeling that one's country has control over immigration), and (3) perceptions of an outgroup's locus of control (i.e., feeling that an outgroup's social circumstances are attributable to dispositional rather than external factors). Results show that all three measures of control are important predictors of negative attitudes toward immigrants: Those who feel in control (personally or as a society) are less hostile towards immigrants, while those who attribute negative outcomes to immigrants' predispositions are also more hostile. Results also suggest that measures of control are related to, but distinct from, both partisanship and racial prejudice.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Emotion‐Focused Coping Among Disaster Mental Health Counselors

The authors surveyed 235 disaster mental health counselors (DMHCs) for levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. A correlational design was used to examine the roles of adult attachment security, emotion regulation, and mindfulness in predicting PTSD symptoms among this group. Each of the 3 predictors was negatively correlated with PTSD symptom severity, and data supported a mediating role for emotion regulation. Results may inform DMHCs, other counselors, and individuals who train or deploy DMHCs.     

Self‐Stigma of Mental Illness and Help Seeking Among School Counselors

The authors reported the findings from a correlational investigation examining the relationship between school counselors' (N = 333) self‐stigma of mental illness, help‐seeking behaviors, burnout, stress, and life satisfaction. The authors used a path analysis to test a hypothesized causal framework that self‐stigma of mental illness contributed to help‐seeking behaviors, which contributed to stress and burnout. The findings showed that the data fit the hypothesized model. The authors discuss the implications of the findings.     

“Tell Me How That Makes You Feel”: Philosophy's Reason/Emotion Divide and Epistemic Pushback in Philosophy Classrooms

Alison Bailey has recently explored the nature of what she calls privilege‐evasive epistemic pushback or “the variety of willful ignorance that many members of dominant groups engage in when they are asked to consider both the lived experience and structural injustices that members of marginalized groups experience daily.” In this article, I want to use Bailey's argument to demonstrate how privilege‐evasive epistemic pushback is facilitated and obscured by the disciplinary tools of traditional Western philosophy. Specifically, through exploring philosophical cultures of justification and case studies, this work will reveal how students engage in privilege‐evasive epistemic pushback by deploying the reason/emotion divide and various philosophical norms and practices it underlies to protect their epistemic home turf. Then, I offer three emotion‐enhancing critical philosophical practices aimed at disrupting the ignorance‐promoting moves of privilege‐evasive epistemic pushback and, instead, engage emotion as epistemically significant.     

Do Parent and Teacher Report of ADHD Symptoms in Children Differ by SES and Racial Status?

Parent and teacher reports of symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children often differ from each other. These informant report differences may occur in systematic ways that vary by child socioeconomic status (SES) and race, but little is known about how SES and race together relate to parent and teacher report of ADHD symptoms in school-aged children. We examined the relationship between child SES, child race and parent and teacher reports of ADHD symptoms in two samples of school-aged Caucasian and African American children being evaluated for ADHD (N = 1056; N = 317). Multivariate regression was used to predict parent and teacher reports of ADHD symptoms from child SES, race, age, gender and interaction terms. The Wald test of parameter constraints was used to test the contrast between the predictors of interest and parent and teacher report of symptoms. In the second sample, we also examined observer report measures of ADHD symptoms during one-to-one testing and in the classroom. In both samples, lower SES was associated with higher levels of inattention symptoms, as reported by teachers, but not by parents. Lower SES was also associated with higher levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms, as reported by both teachers and parents. African American race was associated with higher levels of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms reported by teachers than reported by parents. Observer report measures showed a different pattern of associations with SES and race. Investigating how children’s SES and race influence cross-informant agreement on ratings of children’s behavior might lead to the development of better assessment practices and more accurate diagnoses for diverse child populations.     

Manipulations of vasopressin alter aggression differently across testing conditions in monogamous and non‐monogamous Peromyscus mice

Differences in the distribution of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and a subtype of AVP receptors, the V_1a receptor, may explain dissimilarities in social behavior of monogamous and non‐monogamous rodents. Intracerebroventricular infusions of AVP and a V_1a antagonist were used in sexually naive males of two mouse species, the monogamous and highly aggressive California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) and the non‐monogamous and less aggressive white‐footed mouse (P. leucopus), to begin testing the interaction between the social system of a species and the effects of AVP on aggression. Two testing conditions, the resident‐intruder aggression test (R‐I) and the neutral arena aggression test, were used because they may differ in function and underlying biological mechanisms. In the R‐I test, administration of the antagonist lengthened attack latencies in California mice. In contrast, blocking V_1a receptors did not alter attack latencies in the R‐I test in white‐footed mice or in the neutral arena aggression test in both species. AVP also did not alter aggression in either species in either behavioral test. Overall, these results suggest that AVP may be more likely to be associated with offensive aggression as measured in the R‐I test than with neutral arena aggression and that the effects of AVP manipulations may differ between monogamous and non‐monogamous rodents. Aggress. Behav. 31:000–000, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.