产后抑郁的预测因素及神经生理机制

产后抑郁是产后时期出现的抑郁症状,对女性及其后代甚至家人都会造成严重的负面影响。产后抑郁稳定的预测因素是遗传基因、依恋风格、童年负性生活经历和激素水平的变化;涉及的脑区和神经网络集中在前额叶皮层、扣带回、杏仁核和海马等脑区及相应神经网络。未来应在探索综合的预测模型、男性伴侣的对照试验和基于大脑可塑性特征的干预模式等方面展开深入研究。     

Reasoning about complex probabilistic concepts in childhood

The competencies of children, particularly their understanding of the more complex probabilistic concepts, have not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study participants were required to choose the more likely of two events, a single event, and a joint event (conjunctive or disjunctive). It was predicted that the operation of the representativeness heuristic would result in erroneous judgements when children compared an unlikely component event with a likely-unlikely conjunction (the conjunction fallacy) and when a likely component event was compared to a likely-unlikely disjunction. The results supported the first prediction with both older children aged between 9 and 10 years and younger children aged between 4 and 5 committing the conjunction fallacy. However, the second prediction was not confirmed. It is proposed that the basis of representativeness judgements may differ between the conjunctive and disjunctive cases with absolute frequency information possibly playing a differential role.     

The Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ): A Unidimensional Item Response Theory and Categorical Data Factor Analysis of Self-Report Ratings from a Community Sample of 7-through 11-Year-Old Children

Item response theory (IRT) and categorical data factor analysis (CDFA) are complementary methods for the analysis of the psychometric properties of psychiatric measures that purport to measure latent constructs. These methods have been applied to relatively few child and adolescent measures. We provide the first combined IRT and CDFA analysis of a clinical measure (the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire—SMFQ) in a community sample of 7-through 11-year-old children. Both latent variable models supported the internal construct validity of a single underlying continuum of severity of depressive symptoms. SMFQ items discriminated well at the more severe end of the depressive latent trait. Item performance was not affected by age, although age correlated significantly with latent SMFQ scores suggesting that symptom severity increased within the age period of 7–11. These results extend existing psychometric studies of the SMFQ and confirm its scaling properties as a potential dimensional measure of symptom severity of childhood depression in community samples.     

Implications of Timing of Maternal Depressive Symptoms for Early Cognitive and Language Development

: Statistically, women, particularly pregnant women and new mothers, are at heightened risk for depression. The present review describes the current state of the research linking maternal depressed mood and children's cognitive and language development. Exposure to maternal depressive symptoms, whether during the prenatal period, postpartum period, or chronically, has been found to increase children's risk for later cognitive and language difficulties. The present review considers both the timing of maternal depression and the chronicity of mothers' depression on children's risk for cognitive and language delays. Infancy is frequently identified as a sensitive period in which environmental stimulation has the potential to substantially influence children's cognitive and language development. However, children's exposure to chronic maternal depression seems to be associated with more problematic outcomes for children, perhaps because depression interferes with mothers' ability to respond sensitively and consistently over time. Consistent with this expectation, interventions targeting parenting practices of depressed mothers have been found to increase children's cognitive competence during early childhood. The current review provides a synthesis of the current state of the field regarding the association between maternal depression and children's cognitive and language development during early childhood.     

Neighborhood Contextual Factors and Early-Starting Antisocial Pathways

This paper examines research investigating the effects of neighborhood context on the onset and persistence of early-starting antisocial pathways across middle and late childhood. The review begins by presenting theory and research mapping the early-starting developmental pathway. Next, sociologically and psychologically based investigations linking neighborhood context and early antisocial behavior are examined, in order to posit and evaluate the effects of community economic disadvantage, exposure to neighborhood violence, and involvement with neighborhood-based deviant peer groups on the development of antisocial behavior. It is suggested that middle childhood may represent a critical developmental period during which children are at heightened risk for neighborhood-based effects on antisocial behavior problems. Key methodological issues are addressed, and recommendations for future research integrating developmental pathways and neighborhood theory and research are advanced.     

Neuropsychological Findings in Congenital and Acquired Childhood Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is an increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume that can be caused by a variety of etiologies. The most common connatal and acquired causes of hydrocephalus are spina bifida, aqueduct stenosis, and preterm low birthweight infants with ventricular hemorrhage. In general, the literature suggests mild neuropsychological deficits associated with hydrocephalus, which are predominant in visuospatial and motor functions, and other nonlanguage skills. Although the precise nature of the neuropsychological deficits in hydrocephalus are not completely known, several factors such as etiology, raised intracranial pressure, ventricular size, and changes in gray and white matter tissue composition as well as shunt treatment complications have been shown to influence cognition. In fact, the presence of complications and other brain abnormalities in addition to hydrocephalus such as infections, trauma, intraventricular hemorrhage, low birthweight, and asphyxia are important determinants of the ultimate cognitive status, placing the child at a high risk of cognitive impairment.     

Mother–child relationship quality from preschool to adolescence: Variation by maternal education

Using longitudinal data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1088), we examine changes in maternal perception of closeness and conflict in the mother–child relationship from the child's preschool to adolescent years, with attention to variation by maternal education. Analyses using individual growth models show that mother–child closeness increases, while mother–child conflict decreases, from preschool to first grade. From first grade to age 15, mother–child closeness decreases, while mother–child conflict increases, both gradually. The decrease in mother–child conflict from preschool to first grade and the increases in mother–child conflict from first to fifth grade, sixth grade, and age 15 are less steep for mothers with a college degree than for mothers without a college degree. These findings underscore the importance of examining changes in parent–child relationships using longitudinal data across children's developmental stages and their variations by parental social and economic status.     

Pilot test of a measure to assess clients’ perceptions of their home visitors

Home visiting services for caregivers of infants and young children have been found to be an effective method for promoting child development. Unfortunately, such services suffer from high rates of attrition, suggesting the need to identify factors related to client retention in services. Research has indicated that the client-provider relationship is an important predictor of client retention in home visiting services; however, measures to assess this relationship are limited. This study reports on a pilot test of the Client Perceptions of Home Visitors Questionnaire, developed to assess home visiting clients’ perceptions of their relationship with their home visitor. The measure was completed by 39 diverse home visiting clients during pregnancy in a midwestern town in the United States. The scale was found to have good internal consistency. Validity analyses found that the scale was positively associated with client satisfaction with services and perceived provider cultural sensitivity. The scale was also positively associated with retention in services at an 8-month follow-up. Additional research should examine the measure's psychometrics with larger samples.     

The Bonds that Remind Us: Maternal Reminiscing for Bonding Purposes in Relation to Children's Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance

The present study investigated the relation between characteristics of mother–child reminiscing and children's perceived competence and social acceptance. We focused specifically on conversations for bonding purposes (i.e., conversations that serve the function of maintaining or strengthening the relationship between the child and the mother) as bonding may be a particularly salient context for the development of self‐views. Fifty‐two mothers and their 4‐year‐old children engaged in a past‐talk conversation where mothers were instructed to try to bond with their children. Children's perceived cognitive and physical competence and maternal and peer acceptance, along with language, were measured. Our results indicated that characteristics of maternal talk, particularly maternal support of child's autonomy and child‐centred content, were strongly related to children's perceived social acceptance. Although weaker, there were also associations between maternal talk and children's perceived competence. Results are discussed in light of theories arguing in favour of parent–child discourse as a mechanism for self‐development. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Longitudinal associations between gender-typed skills and interests and their links to occupational outcomes

Although gender-based occupational segregation has declined in past decades, the world of work remains segregated by gender. Grounded in research showing that individuals tend to choose jobs that match their interests and skills, this study examined the longitudinal associations between gendered activity interests and skills from middle childhood through adolescence and tested gendered interests and skills, measured in adolescence, as predictors of occupational outcomes in young adulthood. Data were collected from 402 participants at four time points—when they averaged 10, 12, 16, and 25 years old. Results revealed that the longitudinal linkages between male-typed interests and skills were bidirectional, that both male-typed interests and skills in adolescence predicted working in male-typed occupations in young adulthood, and that skills, but not interests, predicted income. In contrast, female-typed interests predicted female-typed skills, but not the reverse, adolescent female-typed skills (but not interests) predicted working in female-typed occupations in young adulthood, and there were no links between female-typed interests or skills and income. Discussion focuses on the differential meanings and developmental implications of male- versus female-typed interests and skills.