bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psycholinguistic Markers for Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
Authors: Conti‐Ramsden Gina , Botting Nicola , Faragher Brian
Published: October 2003

In this study 160 children, aged 11 years with a definite history of specific language impairment (SLI), completed four tasks that could be potential positive psycholinguistic markers for this impairment: a third person singular task, a past tense task, a nonword repetition task, and a sentence repetition task. This allowed examination of more than one type of marker simultaneously, facilitating both comparisons between markers and also evaluation of combinations of markers in relation to identifying SLI. The study also provided data regarding the markers in relation to nonverbal IQ, made use of new normative data on all tasks, and examined marker accuracy in relation to current language status. The results show that markers vary in accuracy, with sentence repetition (a previously unused marker) proving to be the most useful. This psycholinguistic marker shows high levels of sensitivity (90%), specificity (85%), and overall accuracy (88%), as well as being able to identify the majority of children whose current language status falls in the normal range despite a history of SLI.
Everyday Memory and Cognitive Ability in Children Born Very Prematurely
Authors: Briscoe Josie , Gathercole Susan E. , Marlow Neil
Published: October 2003

In light of recent reports of episodic memory difficulties linked to early childhood hypoxia (Isaacs et al., 2000; Vargha‐Khadem et al., 1997), preliminary findings of everyday memory function are reported for 20 children born at or before 32 weeks gestation, compared to 20 children born at term. Memory skills were assessed using the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test for Children (Wilson, Ivani‐Chalian, & Aldrich, 1991) at 5 years of age. Everyday memory problems were not found to be a general feature of children born prematurely, and performance was closely linked to receptive language ability but not general cognitive ability in both groups of children. Three children in the preterm group did obtain scores in the impaired range of the RBMT, and in two of these children memory impairment could not be predicted from their receptive language ability. This suggests an increased risk of everyday memory difficulties in populations of preterm children that may be enhanced in further studies by sampling children with greater risk of hypoxic insult.
Dysfunctional Schemas and Cognitive Distortions in Psychopathology: A Test of the Specificity Hypothesis
Authors: Leung Patrick W. L. , Poon Maggie W. L.
Published: October 2003

This study aimed at testing whether there were different types of dysfunctional schemas and cognitive distortions that could help to differentiate three emotional/behavioural problems, i.e., anxiety, depression, and aggression, from each other. Five hundred and eighty‐one Chinese adolescents from five mainstream high schools in Hong Kong were recruited and completed several self‐report questionnaires. Bivariate correlation showed an indiscriminate pattern of association between dysfunctional schemas, cognitive distortions, and the three emotional/behavioural problems. However, when the effects of the confounding correlated emotional/behavioural problems were controlled in regression analysis, different problems did show some specific association with different types of dysfunctional schemas and/or cognitive distortions. Despite some inconsistency, these findings generally supported a specificity hypothesis. Cognitive variables were thus not only relevant in understanding psychopathology, but their different patterns of association with anxiety, depression, and aggression also supported the separability of these three emotional/behavioural problems, despite their significant correlation.
The Predictors of Unsuccessful Transition to Foster Care
Authors: Barber James G. , Delfabbro Paul H. , Cooper L. L.
Published: October 2003

The placement movements of 235 children entering foster care over a 12‐month period were followed up 4 months after referral into care. Baseline and follow‐up measures of the 170 children who were still in care at follow‐up were also compared. Results indicated that adolescents with mental health or behavioural problems were the least likely to achieve placement stability or to display improved psychological adjustment in care. In fact, unsatisfactory transition to foster care was found to be so prevalent among these children that conventional foster family care should be considered unsuitable for them. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need for a wider range of alternative care options for the adolescent population.
Disorganised Attachment Behaviour among Infants Born Subsequent to Stillbirth
Authors: Hughes P. , Turton P. , Hopper E. , McGauley G. A. , Fonagy P.
Published: October 2003

There is limited evidence that siblings of stillborn infants are more vulnerable to psychological problems. This case‐controlled study examines the relationship between previous stillbirth and the next child's pattern of attachment and explores factors in the mother which may be associated with and which may explain the pattern of infant attachment. We examined 53 infants next‐born after a stillbirth, and 53 control infants of primigravid mothers. Maternal demographic, psychiatric, and attachment data were collected in pregnancy, and self‐report measures of depression collected in the first year. Infant attachment patterns to the mothers were assessed when the infants were 12 months old using the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure. Infants next‐born after stillbirth showed significant increase in disorganisation of attachment to the mother compared with control infants (p < .04). The difference was not accounted for by differences in psychiatric symptoms or demography. It was strongly predicted by maternal unresolved status with respect to loss as measured in the Adult Attachment Interview, and less strongly by maternal experience of elective termination of pregnancy and by the mother having seen her stillborn infant. The study adds weight to previously reported clinical observations, that infants born after stillbirth may be at risk of an increase in psychological and behavioural problems in later childhood. The strong association between disorganisation of infant attachment and maternal state of mind with respect to loss suggests that the mother's state of mind may be causal, and raises interesting questions about the mechanism of intergenerational transmission. Given the existing evidence of later developmental problems, longer‐term follow‐up of these children would be valuable.
DSM‐IV Internal Construct Validity: When a Taxonomy Meets Data
Authors: Hartman Catharina A. , Hox Joop , Mellenbergh Gideon J. , Boyle Michael H. , Offord David R. , Racine Yvonne , McNamee Jane , Gadow Kenneth D. , Sprafkin Joyce , Kelly Kevin L. , Nolan Edith E. , Tannock Rosemary , Schachar Russell , Schut Harry , Postma Ingrid , Drost Rob , Sergeant Joseph A.
Published: October 2003

The use of DSM‐IV based questionnaires in child psychopathology is on the increase. The internal construct validity of a DSM‐IV based model of ADHD, CD, ODD, Generalised Anxiety, and Depression was investigated in 11 samples by confirmatory factor analysis. The factorial structure of these syndrome dimensions was supported by the data. However, the model did not meet absolute standards of good model fit. Two sources of error are discussed in detail: multidimensionality of syndrome scales, and the presence of many symptoms that are diagnostically ambiguous with regard to the targeted syndrome dimension. It is argued that measurement precision may be increased by more careful operationalisation of the symptoms in the questionnaire. Additional approaches towards improved conceptualisation of DSM‐IV are briefly discussed. A sharper DSM‐IV model may improve the accuracy of inferences based on scale scores and provide more precise research findings with regard to relations with variables external to the taxonomy.
Emanuel Miller Lecture Developmental Risks (Still) Associated with Early Child Care
Authors: Belsky Jay
Published: October 2003

In the mid to late 1980s a major controversy erupted when Belsky's (1986, 1988, 1990) analysis of research produced the conclusion that early and extensive nonmaternal care carried risks in terms of increasing the probability of insecure infant‐parent attachment relationships and promoting aggression and noncompliance during the toddler, preschool, and early primary school years. Widespread critiques of Belsky's analysis called attention to problems associated with the Strange Situation procedure for measuring attachment security in the case of day‐care reared children and to the failure of much of the cited research to take into consideration child‐care quality and control for background factors likely to make children with varying child‐care experiences developmentally different in the first place. In this lecture, research concerning the developmental effects of child care and maternal employment initiated in the first year of life that has emerged since the controversy broke is reviewed. Evidence indicating that early, extensive, and continuous nonmaternal care is associated with less harmonious parent‐child relations and elevated levels of aggression and noncompliance suggests that concerns raised about early and extensive child care 15 years ago remain valid and that alternative explanations of Belsky's originally controversial conclusion do not account for seemingly adverse effects of routine nonmaternal care that continue to be reported in the literature.
Epidemiology of Psychiatric Disability in Childhood and Adolescence
Authors: Ezpeleta Lourdes , Keeler Gordon , Erkanli Alaatin , Costello E. Jane , Angold Adrian
Published: October 2003

The goal of the study was to ascertain the factor structure and prevalence of psychiatric disability in children and adolescents in relation to demographic variables and diagnosis. A representative sample of 1420 children (9–13 years) from 11 countries in North Carolina was followed for up to 6 years. Children and caretakers were interviewed with the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment, which generates DSM‐IV diagnoses and includes a measure of disability secondary to psychological symptoms. Three broad areas of disability were identified (relating to family, school, and peers). School disabilities were more common in boys than girls, while the reverse was true of family disability. Effects of age were complex, and partially gender‐differentiated. Children from minority ethnic groups had a higher overall prevalence of school disabilities, and were more prone than Whites to the disabling effects of disruptive behavior disorders. Anxiety disorders were as likely to result in disability as depressive disorders, and oppositional defiant disorders were more strongly associated with disability in some areas than was conduct disorder. The areas where disability is manifested are different depending on race, gender, age, and the type of disorder suffered. The implications of these findings for nosology and prevention are discussed.
Can Women Provide Reliable Information about Their Children's Fathers? Cross‐informant Agreement about Men's Lifetime Antisocial Behaviour
Authors: Caspi Avshalom , Taylor Alan , Smart Matt , Jackson Jan , Tagami Steve , Moffitt Terrie E.
Published: October 2003

It is difficult to study the contribution of fathers’ antisocial behaviour to children's development because fathers with behavioural problems are often absent or reluctant to participate in research. This study examines whether mothers’ reports about their children's fathers’ antisocial behaviour can be substituted for interviews with fathers. Both members of 67 couples (N= 134) were interviewed separately and independently about the men's lifetime antisocial behaviour. There was strong relative agreement: the women's reports about men's antisocial behaviour and the men's self‐reports about the same behaviour were highly correlated. However, there was poor agreement about absolute level: compared to men's self‐reports, women reported fewer of the men's antisocial behaviours. Women's reports provide a reliable index of men's relative standing in a distribution and can be used in research about their children's fathers, but should not be used to make diagnostic decisions about men's antisocial disorders.
Using Parental Ratings to Study the Etiology of 3‐year‐old Twins’ Problem Behaviors: Different Views or Rater Bias?
Authors: Van Der Valk J. C. , Van Den Oord E. J. C. G. , Verhulst F. C. , Boomsma D. I.
Published: October 2003

Child Behavior Checklist questionnaires (Achenbach, 1992), filled in separately by mothers and fathers, were collected for an effective sample of 3501 Dutch 3‐year‐old twin pairs. To disentangle the child's phenotype from that of the rater, two contrasting models were fitted to the data. One model, called a Rater Bias model, is based on the assumption that both parents assess exactly the same behaviors in the child. A weaker alternative of this model, called a Psychometric model, assumes that apart from these common behavioral views, each parent also assesses a unique aspect of the child's behavior. A Psychometric model fitted the data of both Internalizing and Externalizing scales significantly better than a Rater Bias model. This implied that each parent provided unique information from his or her own perspective, apart from the common behavioral view. Using this best fitting model, the etiology of both the Internalizing and Externalizing scales was studied. Common factors (influencing behaviors similarly assessed by both parents) were more important than unique factors (influencing behaviors uniquely assessed by one parent). Common genetic factors explained about 50% of the variance of both scales, indicating a possible inborn vulnerability to childhood psychopathology. Common environmental factors not shared between twins (free of unreliability and error) explained around 14% of both scales, suggesting the importance of pure idiosyncratic experiences even for children as young as 3 years. Common environmental factors shared between twins (unconfounded by rater bias) were only found for the Externalizing scale, explaining 18% of the variance. Rater bias and unreliability, if present in the data, were included in the estimates of the unique factors. Unique genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors each explained around 8% of the variance for both scales. These small effects could be detected because of the large sample of twin pairs used.
Latent Class Analysis of ADHD and Comorbid Symptoms in a Population Sample of Adolescent Female Twins
Authors: Neuman Rosalind J. , Heath Andrew , Reich Wendy , Bucholz Kathleen K. , Madden Pamela A. F. , Sun Lingwei , Todd Richard D. , Hudziak James J.
Published: October 2003

Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a phenotypically heterogeneous and highly heritable syndrome, which commonly co‐occurs with other psychiatry disorders. To assess the role of genetic influences in ADHD, we used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subtypes of ADHD taking into account its comorbidity with separation anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and three major depression symptoms. A structured interview was used to collect diagnostic data from a population sample of 2904 adolescent female twins and their parents. LCA was applied to ADHD, separation anxiety, ODD symptom profiles obtained from the twins’ parents, and major depression symptom profiles obtained from the twins’ self‐report. Odds ratios were used to test for familiality of class membership by examining the effect of zygosity on twin concordance within and between latent classes. Structural equation modeling was used to compute heritabilities for latent class membership. LCA revealed three ADHD categories of clinical interest: an inattentive subtype without comorbidity, a second inattentive subtype with increased number of ODD symptoms, and a combined inattentive/hyperactive‐impulsive type with elevated levels of ODD, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms. LCA also distinguished an ODD class and a separation anxiety class, each without increased levels of other comorbid symptoms; a second ODD class co‐occurring with increased separation anxiety and depression symptoms; and a pure depression class. Odds ratios for MZ contrasted with DZ twin concordance for individual latent class membership ranged from 2.5 to 1924. Overall, 66% of MZ pairs, but only 36% of DZ pairs, were assigned to the same latent class, consistent with a genetic hypothesis for latent class membership. Individual class membership was shown to have high heritability ranging from .34–.85. The pattern of latent classes suggested that in the general female adolescent population, there are three highly heritable ADHD subtypes, two of which are comorbid with other disorders. These classes were consistent with a genetic hypothesis for ADHD, with each class potentially reflecting a unique genetic subtype.
Social Skills and Problem‐solving Training for Children with Early‐onset Conduct Problems: Who Benefits?
Authors: Webster‐Stratton Carolyn , Reid Jamila , Hammond Mary
Published: October 2003

Families of 99 children with early‐onset conduct problems, aged 4–8 years, were randomly assigned to a child training treatment group (CT) utilizing the Incredible Years Dinosaur Social Skills and Problem Solving Curriculum or a waiting‐list control group (CON). Post‐treatment CT children had significantly fewer externalizing problems at home, less aggression at school, more prosocial behavior with peers, and more positive conflict management strategies than CON children. Significantly more CT than CON children showed clinically significantly improvements on reports and independent observations of aggressive and noncompliant behavior. The differential treatment response was evaluated according to child comorbidity with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parenting discipline practices, and family risk factors. The only risk factor related to failure to make improvements in child conduct problems after treatment was negative parenting (i.e., maternal critical statements and physical force). The long‐term follow‐up 1 year later indicated that most of the significant post‐treatment changes were maintained.
Annotation: Genetics of Reading and Spelling Disorder
Authors: Schulte‐Körne Gerd
Published: October 2003

Recent advances in understanding the genetics of reading and spelling disorder are reviewed and, based on theoretical models of reading development, different related phenotypes such as phonological and orthographic processing are examined. Family and twin studies show a moderate to high familiality and heritability. Segregation analyses suggest a major gene effect, with reduced penetrance in females, as well as a polygenic model. Linkage analyses and an association study have identified possible loci on chromosomes 6 and 15. These results suggest that reading and spelling disorder should be regarded as a complex disorder, strongly influenced by genetic factors. However, the role of environmental factors should also be considered as the clinical implications of the genetic findings in terms of aetiology and intervention still require far more exploration.
Practitioner Review: Psychological Management of Anxiety Disorders in Childhood
Authors: Dadds Mark R. , Barrett Paula M.
Published: October 2003

Many anxiety problems begin in childhood and are a common form of psychological problem that can be highly distressing and associated with a range of social impairments. Thus, skills for conceptualising, assessing, and treating childhood anxiety problems should be in the repertoire of all child mental health specialists. This paper reviews psychosocial treatments for the most common anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Developmental models of anxiety disorders emphasise maximum risk in children with shy or inhibited temperaments who are exposed to high family anxiety and avoidance, and/or acutely distressing experiences. As children mature these temperamental and environmental experiences are internalised to low self‐competence and high threat expectancy. Both individual or group‐based interventions utilising cognitive‐behavioural strategies to address multiple risk factors are highly efficacious and family involvement can contribute to positive outcomes. Guidelines for assessment and treatment are presented, and suggestions are made for effectively managing clinical process.
Pregnancy Smoking and Childhood Conduct Problems: A Causal Association?
Authors: Maughan Barbara , Taylor Colin , Taylor Alan , Butler Neville , Bynner John
Published: October 2003

Recent investigations have highlighted associations between maternal smoking in pregnancy and antisocial behaviour in offspring, and suggested the possibility of a causal effect. We used data from the 1970 British birth cohort study (BCS70) to examine these links in a large, population‐based sample studied prospectively from birth to age 16. We found a strong dose‐response relationship between the extent of pregnancy smoking and childhood‐onset conduct problems, but no links with adolescent‐onset antisocial behaviours. Effects on childhood‐onset conduct problems were as marked for girls as for boys, and were robust to controls for a variety of social background factors and maternal characteristics. Controls for mothers’ subsequent smoking history modified this picture, however, suggesting that the prime risks for early‐onset conduct problems may be associated with persistent maternal smoking—or correlates of persistent smoking—rather than with pregnancy smoking per se.
Fear in Children and Adolescents: Relations with Negative Life Events, Attributional Style, and Avoidant Coping
Authors: Ollendick Thomas H. , Langley Audra K. , Jones Russell T. , Kephart Christina
Published: October 2003

In this study, we explored relations among negative life events, negative attributional style, avoidant coping, and level of fear in 99 children who had survived residential fires. Overall, negative life events, negative attributional style, and avoidant coping were found to be predictive of levels of fear. However, the relation between negative life events and fear was moderated by mother's level of education such that this prediction was obtained only for those children whose mothers were low in education level. Age, ethnicity, and sex did not moderate these relations. In addition, negative attributional style and avoidant coping were related to levels of fear in those children whose mothers were high in education levels hut not those whose mothers were low in education level. Results are discussed within a stress and coping framework.
The Prevalence of Tourette Syndrome in 13–14‐year‐olds in Mainstream Schools
Authors: Hornsey Heatha , Banerjee Sube , Zeitlin Harry , Robertson Mary
Published: October 2003

This study's aim was to estimate the prevalence and describe the clinical characteristics of Tourette syndrome (TS) in 13–14‐year‐old schoolchildren attending mainstream secondary schools. A three‐stage ascertainment procedure was used to identify those who had TS. First, all 1012 Year 9 pupils were screened for tics using validated self‐report questionnaires, which were completed by parents, teachers, and pupils. Data were available from at least one informant for 918 (90.7%) subjects. Tics were identified in 189 (18.7%) pupils. Second, families were contacted and a semistructured interview was carried out to determine whether they had TS. Finally, to ensure that the diagnosis of TS was correct, all those assessed as having TS were systematically assessed by an expert clinician in the field of TS.

Seven young people were identified as fulfilling the criteria for TS, giving a minimum prevalence rate amongst 13–14‐year‐olds of 0.76% (95% CI 0.31 to 1.57) and a more realistic estimate of 1.85% (95 % CI 1.00 to 2.95). Behavioural problems, in particular hyperkinetic disorder, were frequently associated with the TS group. These findings lend further support to the contention that the prevalence of TS in the community has hitherto been underestimated, though the symptoms may be generally milder than cases of TS presenting to clinics. This study supports the need for vigilance for TS in school‐age children in primary care and in educational settings, so that children with this potentially serious disorder can be identified and assessed and effective management packages can be formulated to address their needs, when necessary.
Dissociating Attention Deficits in Children with ADHD and Congenital Hypothyroidism using Multiple CPTs
Authors: Rovet Joanne F. , Hepworth Sandra L.
Published: October 2003

Recent studies suggest that children with different etiologies of attention disorder also differ as to the types of errors they make on attention tasks. Because these errors are reflective of the core deficits underlying their attention problems, we sought to compare error patterns in children with different attention disorders. Studied were 144 children aged 7–12 years, 43 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 35 with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), and 68 controls. Two variations of the continuous performance task (CPT) that differed in demands on inhibitory control and memory were used. One variation, the CPT: A‐not‐X task, required subjects to observe a continuous stream of letters shown at different rates on the computer screen and respond to all stimuli except “X”. The other variation, the CPT: AX task, required them to respond whenever a specified combination of letter such as “A” followed by “X” appeared on the screen. On the CPT:A‐not‐X task, children with ADHD differed from controls in commission errors, signifying difficulty with inhibitory control, whereas children with CH differed in perceptual sensitivity or signal detection. Although the CH and ADHD groups both performed more poorly than controls on the CPT:AX task, children with CH made more errors to the first stimulus item, suggesting a problem holding information in memory, whereas children with ADHD made more errors to the second item, suggesting impulsivity. These results therefore signify the utility of these tasks in identifying the different mechanisms underlying the specific attention deficits of different groups of children.
The Development of a Screening Questionnaire for Childhood Cruelty to Animals
Authors: Guymer Elise C. , Mellor David , Luk Ernest S. L. , Pearse Vicky
Published: October 2003

Childhood cruelty to animals may be a marker of poor prognosis amongst conduct disordered children. However, other than semistructured interviews with parents or children, there are no screening instruments for this behavior. The aim of this study was to develop such an instrument. In the first phase of the study, a parent‐report questionnaire, Children's Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Animals (CABTA) was designed and piloted on 360 elementary school children, enabling community norms and a factor structure for the instrument to be derived. In the second phase, the questionnaire was completed by the parents of a small sample of children (N= 17) to establish its test‐retest reliability. In the third phase of the study, the CABTA was completed by the parents of 19 children who had been diagnosed with either a Disruptive Behavioral Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and the results were compared with the outcome of a semistructured interview with parents regarding their child's behavior toward animals. The results of the various phases of the study indicated that the CABTA consists of two factors, Typical and Malicious Cruelty to animals, and is a reliable and valid tool for detecting childhood cruelty to animals. Possible use and adaptations of the CABTA as a screening instrument in clinical and community samples are discussed.
The Differential Assessment of Children's Attention: The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA‐Ch), Normative Sample and ADHD Performance
Authors: Manly Tom , Anderson Vicki , Nimmo‐Smith Ian , Turner Anna , Watson Peter , Robertson Ian H.
Published: October 2003

“Attention” is not a unitary brain process. Evidence from adult studies indicates that distinct neuroanatomical networks perform specific attentional operations and that these are vulnerable to selective damage. Accordingly, characterising attentional disorders requires the use of a variety of tasks that differentially challenge these systems. Here we describe a novel battery, the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA‐Ch), comprising nine subtests adapted from the adult literature. The performance of 293 healthy children between the ages of 6 and 16 is described together with the relationships to IQ, existing measures of attention, and scholastic attainment. This large normative sample also allows us to test the fit of the adult model of functionally separable attention systems to the observed patterns of variance in children's performance. A Structural Equation Modelling approach supports this view. A three‐factor model of sustained and selective attention and higher‐level “executive” control formed a good fit to the data, even in the youngest children. A single factor model was rejected.

There are behavioural and anatomical grounds to believe that Attention Deficit Disorder ADD) is particularly associated with poor self‐sustained attention and behavioural control. The TEA‐Ch performance of 24 boys diagnosed with ADD presented here is consistent with this view. When performance levels on WISC‐I11 subtests were taken into account, specific deficits in sustained attention were apparent while selective attention performance was within the normal range.
The Pattern of Intact and Impaired Memory Functions in Autism
Authors: Minshew Nancy J. , Goldstein Gerald
Published: October 2003

A battery of tests of auditory and visual memory was used to investigate memory function in 52 high‐functioning adolescents and young adults with autism and 40 group‐matched normal controls. It was hypothesized that memory dysfunction is present in autism but is not modality specific and is produced by poor utilization of organizing strategies. It was therefore hypothesized that memory impairment in autism would become more prominent as task complexity was increased. The participants with autism performed as well as controls on short‐term memory and paired‐associate learning tasks, but performed significantly less well than controls on a list learning task. They also performed significantly more poorly on immediate and delayed recall of a story and of a complex geometric figure. On a maze learning task, their performance became progressively worse relative to controls as the complexity of the maze increased. On a series of span tasks, they did not differ from controls on letter span, but did significantly worse on word span and sentences of increasing complexity. These findings indicate a lack of modality specificity and a failure to initiate organizing strategies as evidenced by inefficiency in new learning, poor utilization of contextual cues in story and complex pattern recall, and greater impairment with increasing complexity of the material.
The Quiet Child: A Literature Review of Selective Mutism
Authors: Standart Sally , Couteur Ann Le
Published: October 2003

Selective mutism is an unusual but intriguing condition with a reputation for being particularly intractable to intervention. Originally described as ‘elective mutism’, selective mutism is a heterogeneous disorder associated with a number of individual and family factors including developmental disorders/delay; particular temperamental and personality characteristics; and other co‐morbid symptoms and psychiatric disorders. Considered by some in the past as an oppositional disorder, it is the proposal that SM might be a childhood manifestation of an anxiety disorder such as social phobia that has influenced recent developments in the use of behavioural and drug interventions.
Balancing Work and Family: A Controlled Evaluation of the Triple P‐ Positive Parenting Program as a Work‐Site Intervention
Authors: Martin Alicia J. , Sanders Matthew R.
Published: October 2003

Background: Despite a wealth of evidence showing that behavioural family intervention is an effective intervention for parents of children with behavioural and emotional problems, little attention has been given to the relationship between parents functioning at work and their capacity to manage parenting and other home responsibilities. This study evaluated the effects of a group version of the Triple‐P Positive Parenting Program (WPTP) designed specifically for delivery in the workplace.

Method: Participants were 42 general and academic staff from a major metropolitan university who were reporting difficulties managing home and work responsibilities and behavioural difficulties with their children. Participants were randomly assigned to WPTP, or to a waitlist control (WL) condition.

Results: Following intervention, parents in WPTP reported significantly lower levels of disruptive child behaviour, dysfunctional parenting practices, and higher levels of parental self‐efficacy in managing both home and work responsibilities, than parents in the WL condition. These short‐term improvements were maintained at 4‐months follow‐up. There were also additional improvements in reported levels of work stress and parental distress at follow‐up in the WPTP group compared to post‐intervention.

Conclusions: Implications for the development of ‘family‐friendly’ work environments and the prevention of child behaviour problems are discussed.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Interface Work with Primary Services: A Survey of NHS Provider Trusts
Authors: Bradley Sally , Kramer Tami , Garralda M. Elena , Bower Peter , Macdonald Wendy , Sibbald Bonnie , Harrington Richard
Published: October 2003

Background: We document the extent, nature and predictors of interface work between secondary Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) and primary services, through structured questionnaires sent to all Trusts with CAMHS in England (returned by 124/150 or 83%).

Results: Two‐thirds of CAMHS reported training and education to primary care services, about one‐third a structured consultation service, one‐fifth reported undertaking outpatient clinics in primary care settings and joint casework. One‐third had developed primary mental health worker posts. Multiple regression analysis identified firstly specialist clinics within CAMHS, and secondly CAMHS size, as the strongest predictors of interface work across agencies. Interface work thus grows with more developed, larger CAMHS.
A Triage Clinic in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service
Authors: Parkin Andrew , Frake Clay , Davison Ingrid
Published: October 2003

Aims: To determine whether non‐urgent referrals can be adequately assessed in a triage clinic, to determine the service outcome of these referrals, and whether triage was acceptable to families, referrers and CAMHS clinicians.

Method: Families, CAMHS clinicians and GPs were surveyed to ascertain the acceptability of triage. Non‐attendance and outcome of triage were recorded.

Results: Ninety‐two cases were included and the DNA rate fell by one‐third.

Conclusions: Overall, clinicians and families reported high rates of satisfaction with triage (93.7% and 95.2%) and multidisciplinary working improved.
Efficient versus Responsive Supply Chain Choice: An Empirical Examination of Influential Factors
Authors: Randall Taylor R. , Morgan Ruskin M. , Morton Alysse R.
Published: October 2003

Contemporary strategies in operations management suggest that successful firms align supply chain assets with product demand characteristics in order to exploit the profit potential of product lines fully. However, observation suggests that supply chain assets often are longer lived than product line decisions. This suggests that alignment between supply chain assets and demand characteristics is most likely to occur at the time of initial market entry. This article examines the association between product demand characteristics and the initial investment in a supply chain at the time of market entry. We characterize supply chains as responsive or efficient. A responsive supply chain is distinguished by short production lead‐times, low set‐up costs, and small batch sizes that allow the responsive firm to adapt quickly to market demand, but often at a higher unit cost. An efficient supply chain is distinguished by longer production lead‐times, high set‐up costs, and larger batch sizes that allow the efficient firm to produce at a low unit cost, but often at the expense of market responsiveness. We hypothesize that a firm's choice of responsive supply chain will be associated with lower industry growth rates, higher contribution margins, higher product variety, and higher demand or technological uncertainty. We further hypothesize that interactions among these variables either can reinforce or can temper the main effects. We report that lower industry growth rates are associated with responsive market entry, but this effect is offset if growth occurs during periods of high variety and high demand uncertainty. We report that higher contribution margins are associated with responsive market entry and that this effect is more pronounced when occurring with periods of high variety. Finally, we report that responsive market entry also is correlated positively with higher technological demand uncertainty. These results are found using data from the North American mountain bike industry.
Product Technology Transfer in the Upstream Supply Chain
Authors: Tatikonda Mohan V. , Stock Gregory N.
Published: October 2003

This article addresses the transfer of new product technologies from outside the firm for integration into a new product system as part of a product development effort. Product technology transfer is a key activity in the complex process of new product development and is the fundamental link in the technology supply chain. Product technology transfer too often is dealt with in an ad‐hoc fashion. Purposeful management of the product technology transfer process leads to more effective transfers in terms of timeliness, cost, functional performance, and competence building. Better management of product technology transfer gives firms access to a greater variety of new technology options, improves a firm's ability to offer significantly differentiated products, deepens the firm's competitive competencies, and positively influences sustained product development success. The central objective of this article is to gain insight into product technology transfer so that companies can manage this process more successfully and so that researchers can investigate this critical activity further.

This article describes the technology supply chain as a unique form of a supply chain that poses a set of managerial challenges and requirements distinguishing it from the more traditional component supply chain. Because a single product technology transfer project is the fundamental piece in the technology supply chain, understanding this piece well is key to leveraging the extended technology supply chain and to improving overall product development performance. This article integrates literatures on new product development, supply chain management, and technology management and builds on organizational theory to present a conceptual model of determinants of product technology transfer success. The core proposition is that product technology transfer effectiveness is greatest when companies carefully match (or “fit”) the type of technology to be transferred (the “technology uncertainty”) with the type of relationship between the technology supplier and recipient (the “interorganizational interaction”).

A quite detailed framework characterizing technology uncertainty along the dimensions of technology novelty, complexity, and tacitness is presented to help in assessing the challenges associated with transferring a particular product technology. This article also considers detailed elements characterizing the interorganizational interactions between the technology source and recipient firms. This helps firms consider the appropriate means to facilitate the interfirm process of technology transfer. Overall, this article provides practical insight into characterizing technologies and into improving the product technology transfer process. This article also provides a strong theoretical foundation to aid future research on product technology transfer in the technology supply chain.
A Product and Process Model of the Technology‐Sourcing Decision
Authors: Swan K. Scott , Allred Brent B.
Published: October 2003

The technology‐sourcing decision traditionally has examined the choice either to innovate internally or to acquire technology from outside sources. The increasing complexity of this decision requires a move beyond the simple “make‐versus‐buy” dichotomy. We seek to test factors that influence the technology decision of subsidiaries for product and process technology across the continuum of options from internal development to outsourcing. We also explore concordance between the research streams of new product development and technology sourcing.

Regression models are used to analyze data from 187 subsidiaries that suggest product and process technology development decisions sometimes are associated with similar factors and at other times they diverge. In particular, we find that external product and process technology acquisition decisions are associated negatively with differentiation goals and associated positively with product dynamism. While external product acquisition is associated negatively with a low cost goal and positively with increasing distance between primary marketing and R&D operations, external process technology acquisition is associated positively with high competitive intensity.

Implications include the following: (1) While external product technology acquisition may provide quicker or even less expensive initial solutions, external reliance makes it difficult to maintain a long‐term positional advantage; (2) When greater distances separate key functional activities, external partners may provide solutions that are more responsive to local consumer needs, and the potential for improved communication may allow for quicker adaptation and increased flexibility; (3) In highly dynamic product situations, internal development, while providing greater control, can be expensive and can result in technologies that are not accepted by the marketplace; and (4) As competitive intensity increases, strategic imperatives may reduce the focus on product design and development and may require increasing concentration on manufacturing costs and efficiencies.
What Can “Nine‐Eleven” Tell Us about Closed‐end Fund Discounts and Investor Sentiment?
Authors: Burch Timothy R. , Emery Douglas R. , Fuerst Michael E.
Published: October 2003

We use the horrific events of September 11, 2001 (“nine‐eleven”) as a natural test of the hypothesis that closed‐end mutual fund discounts from fund net asset values reflect small investor sentiment. Because nine‐eleven was a sudden, unforeseen, and significantly negative and exogenous shock to the world, the capital markets, and investor sentiment, our test avoids many of the problems of extant studies. Discounts worsened dramatically following the event, and then recovered alongside the broader market. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that discounts reflect the sentiment of small investors, who took their cues from the broader market's overall movement.
Pricing U.S. Dollar Index Futures Options: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: Bhargava Vivek , Clark John M.
Published: October 2003

This paper develops a pricing model and empirically tests the pricing efficiency of options on the U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) futures contract. Empirical tests of the model indicate that the market consistently overprices these options relative to the derived model. This overpricing is more pronounced for out‐of‐the‐money options than for in‐the‐money options and more pronounced for put options than for call options. To validate the above results, delta neutral portfolios are created for one‐ and two‐day holding periods and consistently generate positive arbitrage profits, indicating that on average the market overprices the options on the USDX futures contracts.
Market Segmentation and Information Asymmetry in Chinese Stock Markets: A VAR Analysis
Authors: Yang Jian
Published: October 2003

This study examines the market segmentation and information asymmetry patterns in Chinese stock markets. The recursive cointegration analysis confirms that each of six markets is not linked with other markets in the long run. Further, the result from data‐determined forecast error variance decomposition clearly shows that foreign investors in the Shanghai B‐share market are better informed than Chinese domestic investors in two A‐share markets and foreign investors in Shenzhen and Hong Kong markets over time. The finding challenges a widespread assumption of less informed foreign investors in the literature, but suggests that foreign investors could be more informed in emerging markets.
Return Linkages between Dual Listings under Arbitrage Restrictions: A Study of Indian Stocks and Their London Global Depositary Receipts
Authors: Kadapakkam Palani‐Rajan , Misra Lalatendu
Published: October 2003

We examine the linkages between returns on Indian global depositary receipts (GDRs) in London and their underlying stocks in India. GDR returns are sensitive to returns observed earlier in India. This sensitivity is more pronounced for more liquid GDRs. Although arbitrage is not feasible for GDRs that sell at a premium, these GDRs are, nevertheless, sensitive to Indian returns. The sensitivity is greater for GDRs selling at a discount, where costly arbitrage is feasible. GDR returns have a significant but small effect on subsequent returns of the underlying stocks, with more liquid GDRs having a slightly greater impact.
A FRAÏSSÉ LIMIT OF NILPOTENT GROUPS OF FINITE EXPONENT
Authors: BAUDISCH ANDREAS
Published: October 2003

Let [ ]P2,p (where 2 < p)
be the class of all finite nilpotent groups of class 2 and of exponent p with an
additional predicate for a subgroup of the centre that contains the commutator subgroup. The Fraïssé
limit D of this class exists. Non-forking is described for Th(D).
EXPLICIT CONSTRUCTIONS OF UNIVERSAL ℝ-TREES AND ASYMPTOTIC GEOMETRY OF HYPERBOLIC SPACES
Authors: DYUBINA ANNA , POLTEROVICH IOSIF
Published: October 2003

This paper presents explicit constructions of universal ℝ-trees as certain spaces of functions, and also
proves that a 2ℵ0-universal ℝ-tree can be isometrically embedded at infinity into a complete simply
connected manifold of negative curvature, or into a non-abelian free group. In contrast to asymptotic
cone constructions, asymptotic spaces are built without using the axiom of choice.
FEWNOMIALS AND INTERSECTIONS OF LINES WITH
REAL ANALYTIC SUBGROUPS IN Gnm
Authors: COHEN PAULA B. , ZANNIER UMBERTO
Published: October 2003

In this paper, the authors study intersections of a special class of curves with algebraic subgroups of
the multiplicative group of complex dimension at least 2. They show how results of Khovanskii on
fewnomials can be used to derive finiteness results and bounds for the degrees of algebraic points for
such intersections from more general results on intersections of curves with non-algebraic subgroups.
They thereby generalise their earlier results, and recover in some cases, using different methods, more
uniform bounds than those given in related work of Bombieri, Masser and Zannier.
CHERN CHARACTER FOR THE SCHWARTZ ALGEBRA OF
p-ADIC GL(n)
Authors: BRODZKI JACEK , PLYMEN ROGER
Published: October 2003

Let G denote the p-adic group GL(n), and let S(G) denote the Schwartz algebra of G. We construct a
Chern character from the K-theory of the reduced C*-algebra of G to the periodic cyclic homology of
S(G) which becomes an isomorphism after tensoring over ℤ with [Copf ].