A prospective naturalistic study of the impact of an intensive medical treatment on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients

The impact of intensive chemotherapy and prolonged hospitalization on the social behavior of child and adolescent cancer patients was assessed. Twenty-three patients, aged 18 months to 21 years, were observed while they received chemotherapy in a protected environment or in a regular hospital room. Single-subject analyses were used to examine changes on six behaviors in relation to changes in physiological status. Fourteen patients showed significant change in the frequency of at least one behavior. Play and sleep were the behaviors most likely to change. The changes began to occur as patients experienced the systemic toxic effects of the drugs, although a dissipation of drug toxicity generally was not accompanied by a corresponding behavior change. The findings are discussed in relation to age-developmental and interindividual heterogeneity in response to treatment.     

Elevated trajectories of externalizing problems are associated with lower awakening cortisol levels in midadolescence

A growing body of research suggesting a negative association between basal levels of cortisol and persistent antisocial behavior has emerged. The present study examined relations between awakening cortisol levels and antisocial trajectories from ages 5 to 15 years among individuals in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Antisocial behavior was defined by semiparametric group modeling techniques, which revealed antisocial patterns parallel to Moffitt's (1993) taxonomy of antisocial trajectories. In contrast to the claim that biological diatheses are uniquely characteristic of individuals who demonstrate an early-onset pattern of antisocial behavior, our results suggest that individuals with elevated patterns of antisocial behavior between 5 and 15 years of age-irrespective of the timing of onset or desistance-are more likely to evidence lower awakening cortisol levels compared with individuals with persistently low levels of antisocial behavior.     

The business of ivory tower research: Paradigms for university-corporate partnerships

A university research team in a department of Counseling Psychology initiated three university/industry collaborative projects. While studying quality of work life in the hotel industry, nurse job satisfaction in the health care industry and assertive behavior in the banking industry the research team contributed its academic objectivity and research skills to these clients. At the same time the university received the benefit of a laboratory work environment, as well as the opportunity to apply academic theory. Both parties in the three partnerships benefitted from the collaboration.     

Predicting Treatment Response for Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder Using Pre-Treatment Adrenal and Gonadal Hormones

Variations in adrenal and gonadal hormone profiles have been linked to increased rates of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). These relationships suggest that certain hormone profiles may be related to how well children respond to psychological treatments for ODD and CD. The current study assessed whether pre-treatment profiles of adrenal and gonadal hormones predicted response to psychological treatment of ODD and CD. One hundred five children, 6–11?years old, participating in a randomized, clinical trial provided samples for cortisol, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and androstenedione. Diagnostic interviews of ODD and CD were administered up to 3?years post-treatment to track treatment response. Group-based trajectory modeling identified two trajectories of treatment response: (1) a High-response trajectory where children demonstrated lower rates of an ODD or CD diagnosis throughout follow-up, and (2) a Low-response trajectory where children demonstrated higher rates of an ODD or CD diagnosis throughout follow-up. Hierarchical logistic regression predicting treatment response demonstrated that children with higher pre-treatment concentrations of testosterone were four times more likely to be in the Low-response trajectory. No other significant relationship existed between pre-treatment hormone profiles and treatment response. These results suggest that higher concentrations of testosterone are related to how well children diagnosed with ODD or CD respond to psychological treatment over the course of 3?years.     

The effects of sex steroids on spatial performance: a review and an experimental clinical investigation

Males typically surpass females in spatial performance, an outcome that may be linked to testosterone and estrogen. The authors (a) review physiological mechanisms, developmental periods, and past empirical work relevant to sex steroids' effects on human spatial performance and (b) report an experimental study of the role of actively circulating sex steroids in adolescents being treated for delayed puberty (N = 55; mean age = 13.70 years). Sex steroids (simulating early, middle, and late puberty) and placebos were given alternately over 21 months and spatial tests were given every 3 months. Spatial performance showed traditional sex differences but did not vary with levels of actively circulating sex steroids.     

Individual differences in boys' and girls' timing and tempo of puberty: modeling development with nonlinear growth models

Pubertal development is a nonlinear process progressing from prepubescent beginnings through biological, physical, and psychological changes to full sexual maturity. To tether theoretical concepts of puberty with sophisticated longitudinal, analytical models capable of articulating pubertal development more accurately, we used nonlinear mixed-effects models to describe both the timing and tempo of pubertal development in the sample of 364 White boys and 373 White girls measured across 6 years as part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Individual differences in timing and tempo were extracted with models of logistic growth. Differential relations emerged for how boys' and girls' timing and tempo of development were related to physical characteristics (body mass index, height, and weight) and psychological outcomes (internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and risky sexual behavior). Timing and tempo are associated in boys but not girls. Pubertal timing and tempo are particularly important for predicting psychological outcomes in girls but only sparsely related to boys' psychological outcomes. Results highlight the importance of considering the nonlinear nature of puberty and expand the repertoire of possibilities for examining important aspects of how and when pubertal processes contribute to development.     

Morningness/eveningness, morning-to-afternoon cortisol ratio, and antisocial behavior problems during puberty

The relationship between morningness/eveningness (M/E) and morning-to-afternoon cortisol ratio, pubertal timing, and antisocial behavior was examined in 111 girls and boys ages 8 to 13 years. Cortisol levels showed a significant increase after awakening and declined thereafter (p<.05). Eveningness was related to a composite measure of antisocial behavior and rule-breaking and attention behavior problems and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in boys and relational aggression in girls. In boys only, lower a.m. to p.m. cortisol ratio, indicating less circadian decrease in cortisol, was related to attention problems. Early pubertal timing was associated with boys' rule-breaking and attention behavior problems and CD symptoms and girls' relational aggression. The findings indicate that evening activity preference; extreme a.m. to p.m. cortisol ratios, in one case; and early pubertal timing were associated with antisocial behavior even in young adolescents, but the findings were stronger for boys than for girls.