bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CORRELATES OF SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC COMPETENCE IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
Authors: Pellegrini David S. , Masten Ann S. , Garmezy Norman , Ferrarese Micheal J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The correlates of social and academic competence were investigated in 9–14 yr old children. Factor analysis of multiple measures of cognitive functioning, excluding IQ, identified three dimensions: (I) Social Comprehension; (2) Cognitive Efficiency and (3) Divergent Thinking. The social comprehension dimension was derived from measures of humor and social cognition. Although strongly related IO IQ, Social Comprehension still had a substantial unique relation to social competence in a school setting, as assessed by teachers and peers. While this dimension was the best predictor of social competence, IQ was by far the most powerful predictor of academic competence.
THE NATURE OF MOTHER AND TODDLER PROBLEMS—I. DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIPLE CRITERION SCREEN
Authors: Nicol A. R. , Stretch D. D. , Fundudis T. , Smith I. , Davison I.
Published: December 2006

Abstract A multicriterion screen made up of the General Health Questionnaire, the Behaviour Checklist and a health visitor questionnaire was given in a community project. This paper describes the usefulness of the screen and compares it with others which might be used in similar situations.
PIAGETIAN CONSERVATION AND RESPONSE TO COGNITIVE THERAPY IN ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDERED CHILDREN
Authors: Borden Kathi A. , Brown Roald T. , Wynnk Martha Ellen , Schleser Robert
Published: December 2006

Abstract Cognitive therapy is often used in treating attention deficit‐disordered (ADD) children because of its purported ability t0 address that population's attentional deficitsand behavioral difficulties and to create durable therapeutic effects, Nonetheless, research findings on these treatments have been inconsistent. This study sought to explain these inconsistencies by examining the influence of cognitive development on children'sability to benefit from such treatment. The ability to conserve number and substance was shown to influence treatment outcome, as measured by laboratory tasks of cognitive style and impulsivity. No effects were found on standardized academic achievement measures or on behavioral ratings by teachers or parents. Further study of individual development willbe important in understanding the outcomes at cognitive therapy.
EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Authors: Clark M. M.
Published: December 2006

Abstract— Changing issues in the field of preschool education will be discussed, set in the context of two of my studies which have been concerned with children with special needs in ‘ordinary’ preschool education, one ‘pre‐Warnock’ in Scotland, and the other ‘post‐Wamock’ in the West Midleinds. The concept of special needs will then be widened to include children for whom English is a second language, and also gifted children. Finally, the discussion is extended to early education rather than prachool education with a discussion of the dangers of treating preschool education in isolation.
A COMPARISON OF SYNDROMES DERIVED FROM THE CHILD BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST FOR AMERICAN AND DUTCH BOYS AGED 6–11 AND 12–16
Authors: Achenbach T. M. , Veriiulst F. C. , Baron G. D. , Althaus M.
Published: December 2006

Abstract— Child Behavior Checklists completed by parents of 1863 clinically referred American and Dutch boys aged 6–11 and 12–16 were subjected to principal components analyses with varimax rotations. For each age group, the construct validity of seven empirically derived syndromes was supported by cross‐national correlations ranging from 0.80 to 0.98. These syndromes were designated as Aggressive, Delinquent, Depressed (ages 6–11 only). Hyperactive, Schizoid (ages 12–16 only). Somatic Complaints, Uncommunicative, and Withdrawal (Social Withdrawal for ages 6–11; Hostile Withdrawal for ages 12–16). Cross‐national similarities in the distribution of scores for normative samples supported the use of the same syndrome scales by clinicians and researchers in the two countries. The cross‐national construct validity of Obsessive‐Compulsive and Immature syndromes did not receive adequate support.
CHILDHOOD ONSET PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER
Authors: Burd Larry , Fisher Wayne , Kerbeshian Jacob
Published: December 2006

Abstract Two male children meeting criteria for Childhood Onset Pervasive Developmental Disorder (COPDD) are described. The current DSM‐III category of COPDD may have value in separating these children from others with PDD. The authors suggest that these two children, and other children described in the literature as having dementia infantalis and/or disintegrative psychosis, have a distintegrative disorder resulting in muteness, profound mental retardation and severe autistic symptomatology. The term “pervasive disintegrative disorder” may be appropriate for such children and specific diagnostic criteria are suggested. The disorder appears to be extremely rare, with a prevalence estimate of 0.11 per 10,000.
FIRST REPORT OF A CANADIAN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF AUTISTIC SYNDROMES
Authors: Bryson Susan E. , Clark Barbara S. , Smith Isabel M.
Published: December 2006

Abstract This report describes an epidemiological investigation of the autistic syndrome using new research diagnostic criteria (Denckla, 1986). The focus here is on the methods of screening and follow‐up, and on a description of the cases identified within a circumscribed region of Nova Scotia. Autism, as defined by social deviance, language impairment and repetitive or ritualistic behaviours, has a prevalence of 10 per 10,000 and a male to female ratio of 2.5 : 1. These findings are discussed relative to those reported previously.
MONOZYGOTIC FEMALE TWINS WITH AUTISM AND THE FRAGILE‐X SYNDROME (AFRAX)
Authors: Gillberg Christopher , Ohlson Vivi‐Ann , Wahlström Jan , Steffenburg Suzanne , Blix Karin
Published: December 2006

Abstract Identical female twins with the combination of infantile autism, mild‐moderate mental retardation and the fragile‐X (q27.3) chromosome abnormality are described. The case report highlights the need for chromosomal cultures in both boys and girls presenting with the “Kanner syndrome”.
MOTOR RESPONSE PROCESSING IN CLUMSY CHILDREN
Authors: van Dellen Theo , Geuze Reint H.
Published: December 2006

Abstract Twelve clumsy children and 12 controls executed a four choice reaction time task in two compatibility conditions and three precue conditions. The experimental results indicated that the cognitive decision process of response selection contributed to the slow but not to the inaccurate performance of clumsy children. Clumsy children, compared with controls, had more problems with the translation of the stimulus code (s) to the response code (r) when this translation required more transformations. Response selection is a cognitive process that is likely to be important for deficits in perceptual‐motor skills.
A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES TO THE TREATMENT OF NOCTURNAL ENURESIS AND THE PREDICTION OF EFFECTIVENESS USING PRE‐TREATMENT VARIABLES
Authors: Utler R. J. , Brewin C. R. , Forsythe W. I.
Published: December 2006

Abstract This study compared the effectiveness of the enuresis alarm alone with a brief version of Dry Bed Training in treating 74 enuretic children. Both procedures were equally effective, and in the total sample a better response to treatment was predicted by the child's report of being teased by siblings. Maternal anger was associated with a greater drop‐out rate.
CHILDREN WHO KILL: A CASE STUDY OF MATRICIDE
Authors: Erik Mouridsen Svend , Tolstrup Kai
Published: December 2006

Abstract Only a small number of children who murder have been reported in the literature. Matricide in particular is infrequently mentioned. The examination and treatment of a 9‐yr‐old boy who intentionally killed his mother is presented. No severe family conflicts or other psychogenic factors which could explain the action were found. Apart from some indications of possible epilepsy in the EEG (not confirmed clinically) no somatic pathology was verified. During one year's stay in the child psychiatric department after the homicide the boy was psychotic, probably suffering from a schizophrenic disorder which is presumed to have developed in the years preceding the matricide.
COMPETENCE AND STRESS IN SCHOOL CHILDREN: THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY QUALITIES
Authors: Masten Ann S. , Garmezy Norman , Tellegen Auke , Pellegrini David S. , Larkin Kevin , Larsen Andrea
Published: December 2006

Abstract This study examined the associations of stress exposure to various aspects of school‐based competence in a normative sample of 205 children aged 8–13. Potential moderators of these relations, including child attributes of sex and IQ, and environmental attributes of socioeconomic status (SES) and family qualities, were also studied. Stress exposure was indexed by a life event questionnaire. Competence was assessed by teacher ratings, peer assessments and school record data. Family attributes were derived from a set of rating scales completed by interviewers after 6 hours of interviews with a parent. Results suggest that the relations of stress exposure to competence vary as a function of individual differences as well as the competence criterion. Disadvantaged children, with lower IQ and SES, and less positive family qualities, were generally less competent and more likely to be disruptive at high stress levels. Advantaged children were more competent, and with stress were less positively engaged in school, but were not likely to be disruptive. Boys were less socially competent than girls and, when stress was high, appeared to be less protected by positive family qualities. Causal hypotheses for future research in this area are discussed.
ISSUES IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL RETARDATION: DIFFERENTIATING AMONG ORGANIC ETIOLOGIES
Authors: Burack Jacob A. , Hodapp Robert M. , Zigler Edward
Published: December 2006

Abstract Many researchers of mental retardation fail to take etiological differences into account, although the value of distinguishing between organic and familial mental retardation has long been discussed. The argument is made that even the two‐group approach needs to be extended so that groups with different organic etiologies are studied separately. Taking etiological distinctions into account will allow for more precise research and a better understanding of mental retardation. Evidence for the utility of differentiating retarded persons by etiology is provided by a research review showing examples of behavioral differences between organically retarded groups. It is concluded that such differentiation also has clear implications for intervention.
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF DENTINE LEAD LEVELS, INTELLIGENCE, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOUR
Authors: Fergusson D. M. , Fergusson J. E. , Horwood L. J. , Kinzett N. G.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The relationship between dentine lead levels and measures of cognitive ability was examined for a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied until the age of 9. There were small, consistent and stable correlations between dentine lead measures and all measures of cognitive ability including intelligence, word recognition and teacher ratings of school performance. After adjustment for the effects of confounding covariates, sample selection factors and possible reverse causal effects, the correlations between intelligence and dentine lead levels became non‐significant. However, small but statistically significant correlations persisted between dentine lead values and all measures of school performance after adjustment for sources of confounding. It is concluded that the weight of the evidence from this analysis favours the hypothesis that low level lead exposure may have deleterious effects on levels of achievement in children.
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF DENTINE LEAD LEVELS, INTELLIGENCE, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOUR
Authors: Fergusson D. M. , Fergusson J. E. , Horwood L. J. , Kinzett N. G.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The relationship between dentine lead levels and maternal/teacher ratings of inattentive/restless behaviour in children was examined for a birth cohort of New Zealand children. There were small but relatively consistent and stable correlations between dentine lead values and behaviour ratings. After correction for errors of measurement in dentine lead values and behaviour ratings it was estimated that the correlation between lead levels and inattentive/restless behaviour was in the region of +0.18. However, after control for various sources of confounding there was only a small, but statistically significant, correlation of +0.08 between lead levels and inattention/restlessness in children. It is concluded that the weight of the evidence favours the view that there is a very weak causal association between lead levels and attention and activity levels in children.
PARENTAL COMMUNICATION DEVIANCE IN CHILDHOOD ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM AND DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS
Authors: Asarnow Joan R. , Goldstein Michael J. , Ben‐Meir Sharon
Published: December 2006

Abstract Rates of parental communication deviance (CD) were compared in children with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder and in contrast groups of children with major depression and dysthymic disorders. Results indicated significantly higher rates of CD in parents of schizophrenic and schizotypal children than in parents of children with major depression and dysthymic disorders. Schizophrenic and schizotypal children from high CD families showed the most severe impairments and the poorest attentional functioning. However, the small number of schizophrenic and schizotypal children with low CD parents underscored the strong association between schizophrenia spectrum disorders, parental CD and psychosocial and attentional impairment in the child.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD PSYCHIATRY IN 19TH CENTURY BRITAIN*
Authors: Gontard Alexander von
Published: December 2006

Abstract– Child psychiatry was established as a separate discipline in the 1930s. This paper analyses and describes the early development of child psychiatry in Britain, with particular reference to the contributions of the medical profession. Major influences came from general psychiatry. Children were at first treated in adult asylums; the first concepts of childhood insanity were formed around 1800, with moral insanity becoming the most common diagnosis. From 1850 onwards other major contributions came from paediatrics and the care of the mentally retarded. These developments were part of wider socio‐economic changes in childhood.
MATERNAL ADVERSITY AND RECENT STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS IN ANXIOUS AND DEPRESSED CHILDREN
Authors: Goodyer I. M. , Wright C. , Altham P. M. E.
Published: December 2006

Abstract– Poor confiding relations in mothers’own lives, the presence of maternal distress and recent stressful life events focussed on children are all significantly and independently associated with emotional disorder in the school‐age child. The probability of being a case is best predicted by considering the contribution of all three factors. When this is done, an additive rather than multiplicative interaction for the three variables is found. The association between these maternal factors and events focussed on the child varies with the presence or absence of caseness. There appears to be no greater probability of being anxious rather than depressed as a consequence of these three stressful factors occurring in the lives of school‐age children.
RECENT LIFE EVENTS AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER IN CHILDREN: THE INTERACTION WITH PRECEDING EXTREME ADVERSITY
Authors: McFarlane Alexander C.
Published: December 2006

Abstract– This prospective study investigated the role that life events play in causing emotional and behavioural problems in a population of 240 primary school children who had recently survived a natural disaster. Life events experienced after the disaster were not found to contribute directly to the number of emotional or behavioural problems when the effect of the disaster was taken into account. This suggested that, in children, life events may not have a simple mechanically additive aetiological effect.
PATTERNS OF ROTARY PURSUIT PERFORMANCE IN CLUMSY AND NORMAL CHILDREN
Authors: Lord Richard , Hulme Charles
Published: December 2006

Abstract– The present study is concerned with the development of motor programs in clumsy children. In order to investigate this, the performance of clumsy and normal children on a rotary pursuit tracking task was compared. The performance of the clumsy group was inferior to that of the control group in terms of time on target, but the pattern of performance across successive trials was broadly similar for the two groups, suggesting a progression from control by visual feedback to control by motor programs. It was concluded that the performance of clumsy children on the rotary pursuit task may be limited more by impaired visual feedback control than by an impairment in the ability to develop motor programs.
A FOCUSED CASEWORK APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE: A CONTROLLED COMPARISON
Authors: Nicol A. R. , Smith J. , Kay B. , Hall D. , Barlow J. , Williams B.
Published: December 2006

Abstract– Two contrasting therapies for the treatment of child abuse were compared in a randomised design: a focused casework approach to the whole family and a structured play therapy approach to the child. The Patterson coding system was used as an outcome measure. There was a high drop‐out rate from both the therapies, but of those who completed the treatment, there was a greater improvement in the focused casework regime on some of the comparisons made.
Ontario Child Health Study: Prevalence of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Authors: Szatmari Peter , Offord David R. , Boyle Michael H.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The objective of this paper is to present data from the Ontario Child Health Study on the prevalence of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH). The overall prevalence of ADDH was 9.0% in hoys and 3.3% in girls. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of ADDH by age or urban‐rural status, but the disorder was significantly more common in boys than in twirls. The prevalence of various subtypes ADDH was also explored: attention deficit with and without hyperactivity, situational vs pervasive ADDH, and ADDH with and without other disorders. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Preschoolers' Responses to Peers' Distress and Beliefs About Bystander Intervention
Authors: Caplan Marlene Zelek , Hay Dale F.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The spontaneous responses of 27 3–5‐yr‐olds 10 the distress of their peers were recorded in the classroom. Individual interviews were also conducted to assess the children's understanding of social norms governing bystander intervention. Findings indicated that the children often paid attention to distressed peers, and many were capable of active intervention, Overall, however, a low rate of prosocial responding was observed. The interviews revealed that the children held systematic beliefs about how to aid a distressed companion, but did not believe they were supposed 10 help when competent adult caregivers were present.
The Consequences for Preschool Children of a Parent's Detention: A Preliminary South African Clinical Study of Caregivers' Reports
Authors: Skinner Donald , Swartz Leslie
Published: December 2006

Abstract Semi‐structured interviews on the consequences for preschool children of a parent's detention were conducted with primary caregivers of 19 South African children aged 2–6 yrs. Caregivers reported emotional problems, separation anxiety and fear as well as physical problems, aggression, secondary enuresis and developmental difficulties. Adaptive mechanisms arc described. Fantasies focused chiefly on children's images of the detention situation, and on plans to alter current circumstances, Children who felt secure in the environment seemed generally to adjust better to the experience, particularly in the long term.
The Autistic Child's Theory of Mind: a Case of Specific Developmental Delay
Authors: Baron‐Cohen Simon
Published: December 2006

Abstract In previous tests of the lowest level of .1 “theory of mind” (i.e. first‐order belie) attribution), 80% of autistic children were found 10 be impaired relative to a non‐autistic mentally‐band Happed control group. The present study examines the 20% of autistic children what have a theory of mind at the lowest level, and tests their ability to use a theory of mind al higher levels (i.e. second‐order belief attribution). This autistic subgroup, in comparison to Down's Syndrome and normal control groups, was found to be severely impaired at the higher level. Autism is discussed as a possible case of specific developmental delay.
Estimation of Method and Trait Variance in Ratings of Conduct Disorder
Authors: Fergusson D. M. , Horwood L. J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract A structural equation model designed to estimate the contributions of trait, method and error variance to maternal and leather and child ratings of conduct disorder is presented. This model was fitted to data collected on a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied over a 3 yr period. On the basis of the filled model it was estimated that between 28% and 40% of the variance in maternal and teacher ratings was ascribable to variations in the child's generalized behavioural tendencies and the remaining variance to either method‐specific factors or random errors of measurement. The implications of these results are discussed.
Parental Bonding and Depressive Disorders in Adolescents
Authors: Burbach Daniel J. , Kashani Javad H. , Rosenberg Tomas K.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The present exploratory study was designed 10 determine whether a sample of depressed adolescents differed from demographically similar samples of normal and non‐depressed psychiatric controls as a function of their perceived patterns of parental bonding. All research participants were recruited from the general population Diagnosis were based on a structured diagnostic interview, keyed to DSM‐III criteria. Parental bonding was assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument PHI; Parker, C. Tupling, H. & Brown, L. B. (1979). A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 52, 1–10. The results of this study suggest that parental bonding plays an important but non‐specific role in the occurrence of adolescent psychopathology.
Assessing Child Symptom Severity and Stress in Parents of Autistic Children
Authors: Konstantareas M. Mary , Homatidis Soula
Published: December 2006

Abstract Parents of 44 autistic children rated their children's symptom severity and their own stress on a 14‐item symptom scale. Thirteen child and family characteristics were also examined to assess how they affected symptom perception and stress. Preschoolers were rated less symptomatic by their parents than by clinicians. Lower functioning, nonverbal, odd‐looking, self‐abusive, seizuring and hyperirritable children were rated more symptomatic than their peers. Best predictor bf stress for both parents was a child's self‐abuse; for mothers hyperirritability and older age were also associated with elevated Stress scores. Compared with parents of matched normal children, mothers of autistic children reported the most aggravations and expressed the need for additional support from their spouses.
Blood‐Lead Levels and Children's Behaviour—Results from the Edinburgh Lead Study
Authors: Thomson G. O. B. , Raab G. M. , Hepburn W. S. , Hunter R. , Fulton M. , Laxen D. P. H.
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe effect of blood‐lead on children's behaviour was investigated in a sub‐sample of 501 boys and girls aged 6–9 years from 18 primary schools within a defined area of central Edinburgh. Behaviour ratings of the children were made by teachers and parents using the Rutter behaviour scales. An extensive home interview with a parent was also carried out, Multiple regression analyses showed a significant relationship between log blood‐lead and teachers’ ratings on the total Rutter score and the aggressive/anti‐social and hyperactive sub‐scores, but not the neurotic sub‐score when 30 possible confounding variables were taken into account. There was a dose‐response relationship between blood‐lead and behaviour ratings, with no evidence of a threshold.
An Examination of the Relationship Between Childhood Depression and Social Competence Amongst Primary School Children
Authors: Kennedy Elizabeth , Spence Susan H. , Hensley Rae
Published: December 2006

Abstract Forty‐three primary school children who scored in the clinical range of the Children's Depression Inventory were compared with 43 children who were categorized as fearful but not depressed and a control group of 43 children who were classed as nondepressed‐nonfearful Subjects were matched across groups on (he basis of grade and sex. The analyses were performed twice, initially with a depressed sample that excluded any depressed‐fearful children and again with a depressed group that included such children. The results revealed that, independent of whether the depressed category included children who were also fearful, the depressed group reported lower levels of assertiveness and greater submissiveness, less adequate social skills performance, received lower ratings of peer popularity, fewer positive nominations from peer sociometry and more negative nominations. Depressed children were much more likely to be rejected or isolated by their peers than were their fearful or control counterparts.
Body‐Image Disturbances in Adolescent Female Binge–Purgers: A Brief Report of the Results of a National Survey in the U.S.A.
Authors: Brown Timothy A. , Cash Thomas F. , Lewis Robin J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract A sample (N=114) of adolescent female binge‐pursers were among the respondents to a nationwide survey on body‐image. Relative to female controls (N=114) who were matched on age, height and weight, binge‐purgers evaluated their physical appearance, fitness and health much less favourably. However, they reported being man? appearance‐oriented and fitness‐oriented than controls. Regardless of actual weight, binge‐purgers more often distorted their body size as heavier than did controls, displayed more anxious preoccupation about their weight and weight gain and reported much more frequent eating restraint to lose weight, Binge‐purgers also considered themselves to be more poorly psychosocially adjusted, with a reported childhood history of appearance‐related conflicts. Discriminant function analysis indicated that the above variables were very accurate in classifying the two groups.
Asperger Syndrome—Some Epidemiological Considerations: A Research Note
Authors: Gillberg I. Carina , Gillberg Christopher
Published: December 2006

Abstract Asperger syndrome has so far been the subject at very little systematic empirical inquiry. This paper reviews those few studies in the literature and some data from a new Swedish study which has reported findings pertinent to estimations of Asperger syndrome prevalence. It is concluded that among children with normal intelligence, rates of 10–26 per 10,000 children are minimum figures. Another 0.4 per 10,000 Swedish teenagers showed the combination of Asperger syndrome and mild mental retardation.
Mothers' Speech to Autistic Children: A Preliminary Causal Analysis
Authors: Howlin Patricia , Rutter Michael
Published: December 2006

Abstract Changes over time in the language patterns of autistic children and their parents were examined during the course of a home‐based intervention programme. Although the language used by parents to their autistic children was not deficient, language modification procedures were found to lead to rapid changes in the verbal interaction between parents and children. Parents in the non‐intervention, control group showed little change in their communication style. In the experimental group, but not in the control group, a close relationship was found between increases in the use of language‐eliciting utterances by their mothers and improvements in children's socialized language. The pattern of association between parent and child language suggested that the main effect was of the parent on the child but that the extent of the child's language handicap constrained what could be achieved by treatment.
Subgrouping Conduct Disorder by Psychiatric Family History
Authors: Hamdan‐Allen Ghada , Stewart Mark A. , Beeghly James H.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The family history of psychiatric disorders, and clinical arid demographic characteristics of boys with pervasive aggressive conduct disorder (PACD) were compared to (hose of boys with situations! aggressive conduct disorder and controls. Boys with PACD came from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, had an earlier age of onset, and higher rates of hyperactivity and inattention than boys in the other two groups. Their mothers abused drugs more often than those of boys in the other two groups, while their fathers had more frequent antisocial behavior. Alcohol abuse was more prevalent among fathers of both conduct disorder groups, compared to the fathers of controls.
An Epidemiological Study of Behaviour Problems in School Children in Urban Areas of Beijing
Authors: Yu‐feng Wang , Yu‐cun Shen , Bo‐mei Gu , Mei‐Xiang Jia , Lin Zhang Ai
Published: December 2006

Abstract A local of 2432 primary school children, aged 7–14 yrs. in urban areas of Beijing, were evaluated with the Children's Behaviour Questionnaire developed by Rutter. The frequency of behaviour problems in primary school was 8.3%–7.4% antisocial behaviour and 0.62% neurotic behaviour. Behaviour problems were higher in boys than girls; antisocial behaviour was dominant in boys, while neurotic behaviour was common in girls. The frequency of behaviour problems varied significantly with the different social environments in which the children were brought up, but were not different between one‐child families and those with more children.
Reducing Sleep Disruptions in Young Children: Evaluation of Therapist‐guided and Written Information Approaches: A Brief Report
Authors: Seymour Frederick W. , Brock Phyllis , During Mary , Poole Gary
Published: December 2006

Abstract Regular night waking of young children is one of the most common problems encountered by parents This study compared a standardized night waking programme that involved organized bedtime routines, procedures for settling the child and for the handling of crying, calling out and getting out of bed, with a group which received written information only and a waiting list control group. The children receiving the standard programme and those receiving written information only showed significant improvement over children in the waiting list group. This result supports the use of written parent instructions with or without therapist support
Social and Family Relationships of Ex‐Institutional Adolescents
Authors: Hodges Jill , Tizard Barbara
Published: December 2006

The adolescents described in the preceding companion articles (J. Child Psychol. Psychiat.30, 33–75, (1989) had experienced multiple changing caregivers until at least 2 years old. Such maternal deprivation did not necessarily prevent them forming strong and lasting attachments to parents once placed in families, but whether such attachments developed depended on the family environment, being much more common in adopted children than in those restored to a biological parent. Both these groups alike, however, were more oriented towards adult attention, and had more difficulties with peers and fewer dose relationships than matched comparison adolescents, indicating some long term effects of their early institutional experience,
An Epidemiological Study of Infantile Autism in a French Department (Rhône): Research Note
Authors: Cialdella Ph. , Mamelle N.
Published: December 2006

In a French Department (Rhône), the prevalence of infantile autism was found to be 10.8 per 10,000 in the 5–9 age group, using broad operational criteria. The prevalence decreases to 5.1 per 10,000 when another set of criteria, similar to DSM‐III, is used. The boy/girl sex ratios for these two sets of criteria were 2.1:1 and 2.3:1 respectively. The use of DSM‐III turned out to be problematic for taking into account a broad spectrum of early psychotic disorders, autistic‐like, yet more polymorphous. A subdivision concerning the existence of associated major neurological anomalies has appeared promising but requires finer validation.
A Twin Study of Hyperactivity—I. An Examination of Hyperactivity Scores and Categories Derived from Rutter Teacher and Parent Questionnaires
Authors: Goodman Robert , Stevenson Jim
Published: December 2006

Abstract In a representative sample of 570 13‐yr‐old twins, higher hyperactivity scores from parent and teacher ratings were associated with male sex, lower intelligence, inattention, specific learning problems, and behavioural deviance (mainly antisocial). This pattern of correlates also characterized all three hyperactivity categories: to a marked degree in pervasive hyperactivity; less markedly in school hyperactivity; and least markedly in home hyperactivity. Children with pervasive hyperactivity had more attentional and educational problems than non‐hyperactive children who were pervasively antisocial. By contrast, children with school or home hyperactivity resembled non‐hyperactive children who were situationally antisocial. These findings cast doubt on the validity of combining situational and pervasive hyperactivity into a single diagnostic category such as Attentional Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADDH).
Cognitive and Behavioral Differences in AdHD Boys and Girls
Authors: Breen Michael J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The present investigation examined the extent to which girls with Attention‐deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AdHD) differed from AdHD boys and normal girls. Teacher ratings of child psychopathology, clinic observations, measures of attention span, impulse control, achievement, intelligence and memory’ were taken and used to assess group differences. Findings did not consistently support differences between AdHD girls and boys, although differences were found between the AdHD and normal girls.
Disintegrative Disorder or “Late Onset” Autism
Authors: Volkmar Fred R. , Cohen Donald J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract Ten cases of disintegrative disorder were identified within a larger sample of 165 individuals who met behavioral criteria for autism. These cases were compared to autistic individuals whose disorder had been recognized by age 2 and to those whose disorder had been recognized after age 2. Consistent with previous reports, children with disintegrative disorder had a period of normal development preceding the onset of a profound developmental regression from which they made, at best, only a limited recovery. Both clinical features at the time of regression and various outcome measures support the validity of the diagnostic concept, particularly when such cases are compared to “late onset” autistic ones.
A Latent Class Model of Smoking Experimentation in Children
Authors: Fergusson D. M. , Horwood L. J.
Published: December 2006

Abstract A latent class model to estimate the accuracy of reports of child smoking behaviour is presented. This model was fitted to data for a sample of 810 9‐yr‐old New Zealand children. The model suggested that errors of measurement in reports of child smoking largely arose from false negative responses in which children who had smoked described themselves as not smoking: false negative rates were in the region of 40%. The consequences of the high false negative rates are shown to lead to an underestimation of the prevalence of smoking experimentation and of the strength of association between maternal and child smoking.
Screening Measures for Detecting Psychiatric Disorders in Japanese Secondary School Children
Authors: Morita H. , Suzuki M. , Kamoshita S.
Published: December 2006

Abstract Measurement characteristics of screening measures (Rutter's teachers'and parents'questionnaires) were explored with some Japanese secondary school children. The characteristics included stability, cut‐off points, factor analyses and agreements between questionnaire diagnoses and interviewer's judgement concerning types of disorder. These measures were used in combination and checked in terms of measurement characteristics. Age trends in the obtained results were described using 12–13‐yr‐old and 14–15‐yr‐old children. Results suggested that the cut‐offs were age‐dependent, regardless of the questionnaire type.
Family Factors Associated with Aggressive Symptomatology in Boys with Attention Deficit Hyper activity Disorder: A Research Note
Authors: Marshall Valerie G. , Longwell Linda , Goldstein Michael J. , Swanson James M.
Published: December 2006

Abstract This study tested whether parent and child affective attitudes and interactional behavior co‐varied with the presence or absence of associated aggressive symptomatology in families with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) child. Affective attitudes of both parents and their ADHD sons were studied using a modified measure of expressed emotion, the five minute speech sample (FMSS‐EE), in 29 families. A direct interaction task was also used to measure verbal and non‐verbal communication.

FMSS‐EE status predicted parental interactional behavior, but the degree of child aggressiveness did not. The child's behavior towards parents, however, was highly correlated with their aggressiveness but not their EE status regarding their parents, despite the fact that child and parent EE were highly correlated.

The study supports the notion that aggressiveness and a negative family climate may be independent factors in determining the long‐term course of ADHD children.
Antisocial Behaviour and Postnatal Environment: A French Adoption Study
Authors: Duyme M.
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe higher rate of antisocial behaviour in children from lower class environments has been hypothesized as arising from (a) genetic social class differences and/or (b) cultural/environmental disadvantages. The present study aims to evaluate the strength of the incidence of social class on adolescent antisocial behaviour. To separate genetic factors and the prenatal environment from postnatal rearing conditions, 77 children relinquished at birth and adopted before the age of 3 were studied. Using the Rutter “Children's Behaviour Questionnaire for Completion by Teachers”, eight antisocial behaviours were assessed when subjects were in late adolescence. With the exception of theft and bullying, results indicate that the higher the adoptive parental social class, the lower the antisocial behaviour rates in the adoptees. It is shown that the relationship between the total score of adoptees' antisocial behaviour and social class cannot be attributed exclusively to a concentration of these behaviours in the lowest class. No significant selective placement was observed. Concordances and discrepancies with previous studies are discussed
Congenital Hypothyroidism: Physiological and Psychological Factors in Early Development
Authors: Murphy G. H. , Hulse J. A. , Smith I. , Grant D. B.
Published: December 2006

Abstract Children diagnosed as congenitally hypothyroid and treated from a very early age were followed up at 1 and 3 years. At 1 year they seemed to be developing normally, unless they were undertreated or had an additional disorder. There were no significant correlations between biochemical or social factors and psychological outcome at 1 year. At 3 years, however, those children whose T4 and/or T3 had been very low initially had significantly lower IQ scores than both other hypothyroid children and matched controls. Children with only moderately low initial T4 and/or T3, however, were doing just as well as their matched controls. Initial levels of TSH, the number of symptoms at first clinical interview and the age at the start of treatment were not good indicators of ability at 3 years. Undertreatment was rare but did appear to affect ability.

Psychological outcome at 3 years was also correlated with social class (for both cases and controls). Multiple regression analyses indicated that both low initial T4 (< 20 nmol/1) and social class contributed significantly to outcome.
Sensorimotor and Action Development in Autistic Children from Infancy to Early Childhood
Authors: Lösche Gisela
Published: December 2006

Abstract Home movies of eight normal children and eight children later diagnosed as autistic were analysed according to development in sensorimotor and action competencies. The age range covered was from 4 to 42 months of age. From the beginning of the second year of life, the timing and sequence of developmental gains in normal and autistic children show striking differences. One year later the development of the autistic children seems to be not only delayed, but qualitatively different with respect to the more challenging kinds of action outcomes. This is particularly noticeable for action outcomes involving mental representations of the intended outcome
Type of Childcare at 18 Months–II. Relations with Cognitive and Language Development
Authors: Melhuish E. C. , Lloyd E. , Martin S. , Mooney A.
Published: December 2006

Abstract In a longitudinal study of women and their first–born children the relationship between type of day care experience and cognitive and language development at 18 mths of age was considered. There was a strong association between socio–economic characteristics and type of day care and analyses allowed for this. The results for cognitive development indicate a relationship with mother's education but not with type of day care. For language development the results indicate that children who experience group care were less likely to show much production of different word combinations, but that this was related to the children's language environments.
Development of Infants of Drug Dependent Mothers
Authors: van Baar Anneloes
Published: December 2006

Abstract Infants of mothers who used methadone, heroin, cocaine and other drugs during pregnancy were compared with a group of control infants over the first 30 months of life. Results of repeated examinations with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development showed a difference between the groups in mental development. No differences were found in a non‐verbal version of the mental scale, but infants of drug dependent mothers seem to have specific difficulties in early language development. In psychomotor development, in behaviour during testing and on a questionnaire on activity, infants of drug dependent mothers did not differ from the comparison children.
Autism Under Age 3 Years: A Clinical Study of 28 Cases Referred for Autistic Symptoms in Infancy
Authors: Gillberg Christopher , Ehlers Stephan , Schaumann Helen , Jakobsson Gun , Dahlgren Sven Olof , Lindblom Runa , Bågenholm Andriette , Tjuus Thomas , Blidner Elisabeth
Published: December 2006

Abstract Twenty‐eight children referred with a preliminary diagnosis of autistic disorder under age 3 yrs were extensively examined from the neuropsychiatric point of view and followed up for several months to several years. A diagnosis of autistic disorder was confirmed in 75% of the cases. A variety of associated medical conditions was identified. It was concluded that autism can be diagnosed in a substantial proportion of cases before age 3 yrs and that the neurobiological background is similar to that seen in older autistic children.
A Prospective Study of the Relationship between Specific Language Impairment, Phonological Disorders and Reading Retardation
Authors: Bishop D. V. M. , Adams C.
Published: December 2006

Abstract Language and literacy skills were assessed in 83 8 1/2 ‐year olds whose language development had been impaired at 4 years of age. Provided that language problems had resolved by age 5 1/2 years, literacy development was normal, but many of the children who still had verbal deficits at 5 1/2 years of age did have reading difficulties and persisting oral language impairments later on. In these children, reading comprehension tended to be poor relative to reading accuracy. Syntactic competence in the preschool period accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in literacy attainments, after allowing for the effects of non‐verbal ability. There were only weak links between expressive phonological disorders and later ability to read either meaningful text or non‐words.
Concepts of Emotion in Institutionalized Children
Authors: Terwogt Mark Meerum , Schene Jan , Koops Willem
Published: December 2006

Abstract Institutionalized children of 7, 11 and 15 years of age were interviewed with regard to their concept of emotion. Questions were posed pertaining to the identification of emotion, the effects of emotion on other psychological processes, and the strategies by which both the display and experience of emotion may be regulated. The results of this study were analysed together with those from an earlier study conducted by Harris, Olthof and Meerum Terwogt (1981) in which non‐institutionalized schoolchildren were interviewed. The institutionalized children show the same general (development) shift in their conception of emotions, albeit in a delayed fashion in some cases, as was found in the earlier study for the non‐institutionalized schoolchildren. That is to say, whereas the youngest children focus on the publicly observable components of an emotion, the older children also take the hidden mental aspect of an emotion into consideration. The institutionalized children differ from the non‐institutionalized children in that they claim to be less attentive to their own emotions as well as those of others; they do not consider it feasible to actually change an emotion; and they consider the effect of emotions to be more detrimental. These results are discussed in terms of a learned helplessness explanation.
The Recognition Failure and Graphic Success of Idiot‐Savant Artists
Authors: O'Connor Neil , Hermelin Beate
Published: December 2006

Abstract Three groups of subjects, an idiot‐savant group, a group of mentally handicapped subjects matched for IQ, and normal artistically gifted children, were compared for their recognition and graphic reproduction abilities. It was found that, independent of input modality, level of intelligence determined recognition performance, while graphic ability independent of IQ was the determining factor in reproduction accuracy.
Childhood Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: A Prospective Follow‐up Study
Authors: Flament Martine F. , Koby Elisabeth , Rapoport Judith L. , Berg Carol J. , Zahn Theodore , Cox Christine , Denckla Martha , Lenane Marge
Published: December 2006

Abstract Twenty‐five of 27 patients (93%) who had participated in a study of severe primary obsessive‐compulsive disorder with onset in childhood or adolescence, were seen 2–7 yrs after initial examination (mean, 4.4 yrs). They were compared to a group of normal controls matched for age, sex and IQ, and followed up for the same period. Continued psychopathology was striking for the patients, with only seven (28%), three males and four females, receiving no psychiatric diagnosis at follow‐up. Seventeen subjects (68%) still had obsessive‐compulsive disorder, 12 patients (48%) had another psychiatric disorder, most commonly anxiety and/or depression; neither initial response to clomipramine or any other baseline variable predicted outcome.
Hyperactivity and Parental Psychopathology
Authors: Schachar R. , Wachsmuth R.
Published: December 2006

Abstract The association of child hyperactivity and parental psychopathology was explored by establishing lifetime DSM‐III diagnoses and histories of childhood hyperactivity among the parents of boys, aged 7–11 yrs, in five diagnostic groups: attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), conduct disorder (CD), ADDH + CD, emotional disorder (ED) and no disorder (NC). These groups were differentiated by a family history of parental psychopathology or childhood hyperactivity. ADDH + CD, CD and ED groups all had significantly higher rates of parental psychopathology than the ADDH and NC groups, for which rates were similar. Significantly more boys in the ADDH, CD and ADDH + CD groups had family histories of parental childhood hyperactivity than did boys in the ED and NC groups.