Latent Class Analysis of Adolescent Psychosocial Functioning and Course of Major Depression

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - There are few studies on the predictors of long-term course of major depressive disorder (MDD) with an onset in childhood and adolescence. Studies...     

Trajectories of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescent Girls: A Comparison of Parallel Trajectory Approaches

Longitudinal mixture models have become popular in the literature. However, modest attention has been paid to whether these models provide a better fit to the data than growth models. Here, we compared longitudinal mixture models to growth models in the context of changes in depression and anxiety symptoms in a community sample of girls from age 10 to 17. Model comparisons found that the preferred solution was a 5-class parallel process growth mixture model that differed in the course of depression and anxiety symptoms reflecting both ordering of symptoms and qualitative group differences. Comparisons between classes revealed substantive differences on a number of outcomes using this solution. Findings are discussed in the context of clinical assessment and implementation of growth mixture models.     

Book Reviews

Dan Olweus. Prediction of Aggression (On the Basis of a Projective Test). Stockholm: Scandinavian Test Corporation, 1969. Reviewed by A. I. Rabin

F. D. Naylor. Personality and Educational Achievement. New York: Wiley, 1972, 162 pages, $6.95. Reviewed by Frank H. Farley

Hendrik M. Ruitenbeek (Ed.) The Analytic Situation: How Patient and Therapist Communicate. Chicago: Aldine, 1973, 222 pages, $8.50. Reviewed by Emanuel Berman     

Maternal Psychopathology and Early Child Temperament Predict Young Children’s Salivary Cortisol 3 Years Later

Neuroendocrine dysfunction is hypothesized to be an early emerging vulnerability marker for depression. We tested whether the main and interactive effects of maternal psychopathology and early child temperamental vulnerability for depression assessed at age three predicted offspring’s basal cortisol function at age 6 years. 228 (122 males) children participated in the baseline and follow-up assessments. At age three, maternal lifetime psychopathology was assessed with a diagnostic clinical interview, and child temperamental positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) were assessed using laboratory observations. At age six, children’s waking and evening cortisol were assessed on 2 days. Maternal lifetime anxiety predicted offspring’s higher morning cortisol at age six. Child temperamental NA at age three predicted higher evening cortisol at age six. There was a significant interaction between maternal lifetime depression and child temperamental PA at age three in predicting offspring’s morning cortisol at age six. For the offspring of mothers with lifetime depression, higher PA at age 3 predicted lower morning cortisol at age 6. These findings highlight the importance of examining the main and interactive effects of maternal psychopathology and early child temperamental vulnerability in predicting the development of offspring’s stress physiology. Findings hold significance in identifying etiological mechanisms of risk and delineating the complex developmental pathways to psychopathology.     

The serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism and childhood positive and negative emotionality

Association studies of the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) and negative emotionality (NE) are inconclusive. However, emerging evidence suggests that the association between this polymorphism and NE may be influenced by levels of another temperament trait, positive emotionality (PE). Therefore, this study examined whether the association between the 5-HTTLPR and NE was moderated by PE. A community sample of 413 three-year-old children completed a standardized battery of laboratory tasks designed to tap temperamental emotionality. Children were also genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR. No direct association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and NE was found. However, the interaction of child PE and NE predicted 5-HTTLPR genotype. Furthermore, children with a short allele who were also low in PE had significantly greater NE than children without a short allele or children with high PE. Our findings suggest that the short allele of the 5-HTTLPR is associated with NE only in the context of low PE. Inconsistent links between NE and this gene in previous research may stem from the failure to consider other temperament traits that moderate associations.     

The structure of temperament in preschoolers: a two-stage factor analytic approach

The structure of temperament traits in young children has been the subject of extensive debate, with separate models proposing different trait dimensions. This research has relied almost exclusively on parent-report measures. The present study used an alternative approach, a laboratory observational measure, to explore the structure of temperament in preschoolers. A 2-stage factor analytic approach, exploratory factor analyses (n = 274) followed by confirmatory factor analyses (n = 276), was used. We retrieved an adequately fitting model that consisted of 5 dimensions: Sociability, Positive Affect/Interest, Dysphoria, Fear/Inhibition, and Constraint versus Impulsivity. This solution overlaps with, but is also distinct from, the major models derived from parent-report measures.     

Cognitive and temperamental vulnerability to depression: Longitudinal associations with regional cortical activity

Posterior cortical activity may be related to individual differences in temperamental emotionality, especially traits implicated in depression vulnerability. We previously reported that electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of cortical activity in posterior regions were associated with temperamental positive emotionality (PE) in early childhood. This project examined whether EEG indices of regional cortical activity, assessed at age 5–6, were associated with child temperament and cognitive vulnerability to depression, assessed at age 7. Asymmetry in posterior cortical activity measured at age 5–6 was associated with PE at follow-up at age 7, and with greater helplessness during a standardised laboratory task simulating a mild interpersonal rejection. Findings provide further support for the notion that low PE and depression are associated with similar patterns of cortical activity. Furthermore, these patterns of activity may have observable behavioural and cognitive correlates that are meaningfully linked to the phenomenology of depression.     

Comparisons Across Depression Assessment Instruments in Adolescence and Young Adulthood: An Item Response Theory Study Using Two Linking Methods

Item response theory (IRT) methods allow for comparing the utility of instruments based on the range and precision of severity assessed by each instrument. As adolescents and young adults can display rapid increases in depressive symptoms, there is a crucial need to sensitively assess mild elevations of symptoms (as an index of initial risk) and moderate-severe symptoms (as an indicator of treatment disposition). We compare the information assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to the newly developed Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System – Depression measure (PROMIS-Depression), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale. The present work is based on data from two fully independent samples of community adolescents and young adults. One sample completed the BDI and CES-D (n?=?1,482) and the second sample (n?=?673) completed the PROMIS-Depression measure and the CES-D. Using two different IRT-based linking methods, (1) equating based on common items and (2) concurrent calibration methods, analyses revealed that the PROMIS-Depression measure assessed information over the widest range of depressive severity with greatest measurement precision relative to the other instruments. This was true for both the 28-item and 8-item versions of the PROMIS-Depression measure. Findings suggest that the PROMIS-Depression measure assessed depression severity with greatest precision and over the widest severity range of the assessed instruments. However, future work is necessary to demonstrate that the PROMIS-Depression measure has reliable associations with external criteria and is sensitive to treatment response.     

Psychometric properties of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire in preschool children

We examined the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ; Bishop, Spence, & McDonald, 2003), a rating scale for children's behavioral inhibition. Parent and teacher ratings, parent interviews, and laboratory observations were obtained for 495 preschoolers. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 6 factors, each reflecting the BIQ's subscales, and all loading onto a second-order general dimension. Model fit was acceptable for parent ratings, but only marginal for teacher ratings. The convergent and discriminant validity of the BIQ was examined by using a multitrait-multimethod approach. Results indicate that the BIQ displays evidence of reliability and validity that can complement observational paradigms.