bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Issues of taxonomy and comorbidity in the development of conduct disorder
Authors: Hinshaw Stephen P. , Lahey Benjamin B. , Hart Elizabeth L.
Published: October 2008

A developmental approach to the classification of antisocial behavior is necessary for two reasons. First, although the continuity of antisocial behavior is strong for many individuals, the topography of antisocial behavior changes during the course of development. Second, antisocial behavior apparently develops in at least two separate pathways — child-onset versus adolescent-onset — that differ markedly regarding types of antisocial behavior displayed, persistence, and perhaps etiology. The development of antisocial behavior must also be understood within the context of co-occurring disorders and conditions. Comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder appears to be associated with greater aggression and a worse prognosis, and comorbid academic underachievement is also associated with a negative course. Emerging evidence also suggests that comorbid anxiety disorder is associated with level of aggression, but the direction of the correlation appears to differ at different ages. In all, full understanding of conduct disorder requires developmentally sensitive classification as well as consideration of comorbid conditions.
Taxonomy and comorbidity of conduct problems: Evidence from empirically based approaches
Authors: Achenbach Thomas M.
Published: October 2008

Many children meet criteria for multiple Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) categories, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). If each disorder has been well validated as a separate entity, statistically significant co-occurrence of different disorders may be highly informative. However, ODD and CD have not been well validated as separate entities. The very high rate of overlap between diagnoses of ODD and CD may therefore arise artifactually from the lack of a valid distinction between them, rather than from potentially informative comorbidity between two different disorders. Empirical research strongly supports a distinction between two syndromes that correspond to subsets of the DSM-III-R criteria for CD. Designated as delinquent behavior and aggressive behavior, these syndromes have been found to differ in biological correlates, heritability, developmental stability, course, response to interventions, and long-term outcomes. At this stage of our knowledge, empirically based assessment and taxonomic methods can be especially useful for distinguishing between syndromes, deriving norms, doing longitudinal studies, and detecting patterns of comorbidity. These methods do not preclude categorical taxa, which can be formed by imposing cutpoints on the distributions of syndrome scores. Categorical taxa can also be formed by cluster analyzing profiles of syndrome scores. Accelerated longitudinal designs can bring multiple analyses to bear on empirically derived syndromes to test complex developmental relations more quickly and powerfully than can traditional longitudinal designs. Follow-ups of high-risk groups can identify variables that predict good versus poor outcomes if standardized baseline and outcome measures are used. Interventions for conduct problems should be designed to counteract the risk factors found to predict poor long-term outcomes.
Warriors and worriers: Gender and psychopathology
Authors: Zahn-Waxler Carolyn
Published: October 2008

Antisocial behaviors in females may differ from more prototypically “male” patterns of aggression, violence, and criminality that dominate criteria for conduct problems in diagnostic systems. This raises questions of how to define and investigate conduct problems in females as well as how to identify differential childhood antecedents. A developmental psychopathology perspective is advanced as one useful approach to understanding adaptive and maladaptive social patterns in males and females that may lead to different developmental trajectories and influence the forms of psychopathology that develop. The utility of de-emphasizing serious physical aggression as one important criteria for conduct problems is questioned. Recommendations that particular forms of deviance in females be considered as markers of their antisocial patterns (e.g., somatic complaints, friendlessness, underachievement) are also called into question. Rather than adopt sex-specific criteria to assess conduct problems, it is necessary to expand and broaden the diagnostic categories to include serious externalizing problems regardless of whether they occur in males or females.
Developmental pathways in disruptive child behavior
Authors: Loeber Rolf , Wung Phen , Keenan Kate , Giroux Bruce , Stouthamer-Loeber Magda , Van Kammen Welmoet B. , Maugham Barbara
Published: October 2008

Developmental sequences in disruptive behavior from childhood to adolescence are traced retrospectively and prospectively in two community samples of boys. Three developmental pathways are distinguished: (a) an early authority conflict pathway, consisting in sequence of stubborn behavior, defiance, and authority avoidance; (b) a covert pathway, consisting of minor covert behaviors, property damage, and moderate to serious forms of delinquency; and (c) an overt pathway, consisting of aggression, fighting, and violence. The overlap among the three disruptive pathways is examined. Those boys who escalated in the overt pathway were more likely to escalate in the covert pathway than boys escalating in the covert pathway showing an escalation in the overt pathway. Escalation in the authority conflict pathway was not associated with escalation in either the overt or the covert pathways. Boys' rate of self-reported delinquency was highest for those in triple pathways (covert-overt-authority conflict) or in certain dual pathways (covert-overt, covert-authority conflict). However, by age 16 the highest rate of offending was displayed by those in the triple pathways. The rate of violent offenses was also highest for those in the triple pathways and for those in the overt and covert pathways. Results from the rate for court petitions largely supported these findings. Lowest rates of offending were observed for boys in the overt and authority conflict pathways. Implications are discussed for clinical practice and future research.
Psychological, contextual, and psychobiological interactions: A developmental perspective on conduct disorder
Authors: Susman Elizabeth J.
Published: October 2008

An understanding of the interactions among developmental psychobiological and psychological and contextual aspects of conduct disorder has the potential for contributing new insights on the etiology and stability of conduct problems. The purpose here is to present theoretical and methodological issues germane to integrating a psychophysiological theory of conduct disorder with psychological developmental perspectives. These issues are theoretical concerns germane to a developmental perspective on conduct disorder, stability and change in conduct disorder, and bidirectionality in biological and psychological influences on conduct disorder.
Prevention of conduct disorder before and after school entry: Relating interventions to developmental findings
Authors: Reid John B.
Published: October 2008

In this paper, both longitudinal and treatment studies relevant to conduct disorder (CD) are reviewed, and a developmental approach to its prevention is presented. Outcome studies for the treatment of CD and antisocial behavior are first reviewed to demonstrate that, although none have been entirely successful, many interventions have powerful effects on various symptoms that comprise the disorder, highly predictive antecedents, and risk factors. Second, the development of CD and the potency and interrelationship among antecedent and mediating variables is traced through the preschool and early elementary school years. Third, an attempt is made to synthesize the developmental and treatment research findings to suggest possible integrations of interventions that are promising for future preventive trials in the preschool and elementary school periods. It is concluded that, whereas before the entry to school preventive interventions targeted entirely in the family setting may prove successful, after the transition to school multisetting interventions will be essential. Finally, three examples of new and multisetting prevention trials are briefly described.
Psychopathology and adaptive functioning among extremely low birthweight children at eight years of age
Authors: Szatmari Peter , Saigal Saroj , Rosenbaum Peter , Campbell Dugal
Published: October 2008

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship among extremely low birthweight (ELBW), psychopathology, and impairments in adaptive functioning in a regional cohort of 7–8-year-old children with a birthweight of 501–1,000 g compared to a sample of full-term controls. One-hundred twenty-nine of 143 (90%) ELBW survivors and 145 controls, born between 1977 and 1981, agreed to participate in the study. The children were assessed at a mean, unadjusted age of 7.8 years. Results showed that parents of ELBW children were more likely than parents of controls to report specifically problems of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There were few differences between the groups in terms of impairments in adaptive functioning. Further analyses showed that the relationship between ELBW and ADHD could not be explained by confounding psychosocial risk factors, nor were ELBW children from disadvantaged environments more likely to have ADHD problems than ELBW children from nondisadvantaged environments. The relationships between ELBW and ADHD problems appeared to be associated with the lower IQ of the ELBW subjects.
Preschool children at social risk: Chronicity and timing of maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems at school and at home
Authors: Alpern Lisbeth , Lyons-Ruth Karlen
Published: October 2008

The current study investigated the relationship between previous, recent, or chronic maternal depressive symptoms and subtypes of child behavior problems rated by teachers and mothers among 64 low-income children aged 4–6 years. Sixty-nine percent of mothers with high depressive symptom levels at the preschool assessment had also reported high symptom levels during the child's infancy. Children whose mothers reported depressive symptoms at both ages exhibited significantly elevated rates of hostile behavior problems in the classroom and at home compared to children of never-depressed mothers. Children of mothers who were previously but not currently depressed showed significantly more anxious and withdrawn behavior at school and at home, while children of recently depressed mothers were more hyperactive and demanding. Child cognitive scores and father absence were also related to behavior problems, but these variables did not mediate the independent effects of chronicity and timing of maternal depressive symptoms on the types of child symptoms displayed.
Focused and social attention of autistic children in interactions with familiar and unfamiliar adults: A comparison of autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children
Authors: Kasari Connie , Sigman Marian , Yirmiya Nurit
Published: October 2008

This study involved observations of children's behaviors in interactive situations with both familiar and unfamiliar partners. The greatest differences between the autistic and nonautistic children were in an unstructured situation where caregivers did not initiate interactions. In this situation, autistic children rarely looked to the partner or initiated social bids to the partner. They also were less focused on the toys available for play compared to nonautistic children. However, the autistic children were similar in their interactive responses to the partner in an adult-initiated social situation. Individual differences confirmed that more able autistic children in terms of cognitive and language abilities also engaged in greater social and communicative behavior with the partner. These findings suggest that the ways in which social deficits are manifested by autistic children are variable with respect to the context in which they are measured.
Are self-reported depressive symptoms in first-grade children developmentally transient phenomena? A further look
Authors: Ialongo Nick , Edelsohn Gail , Werthamer-Larsson Lisa , Crockett Lisa , Kellam Sheppard
Published: October 2008

In light of putative developmental constraints, some have argued that prior to the middle to late elementary school years children's reports of depressive symptoms represent nothing more than transient developmental phenomena. In an earlier study of an epidemiologically defined sample of first-grade children, self-reported depressive symptoms proved relatively stable and significantly related to adaptive functioning. In the present study, we follow that cohort of first graders longitudinally and assess the prognostic value of self-reports of depressive symptoms in first grade with respect to depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning in the late elementary school years. We also assess whether or not children's reports of depressive symptoms demonstrate greater stability and are more highly associated with adaptive functioning in the middle to late elementary school years. First-grade depressive symptoms were found to have significant prognostic value in terms of levels of depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning in fifth grade, with the strength of prediction varying by gender in the former. Although there was a moderate increase in short-term stability from first to fifth grade, it remained consistently strong across first, fourth, and fifth grades. The magnitude of the relationship between depressive symptoms and adaptive functioning also remained consistent over time. These findings on stability, caseness, and prognostic power attest to the significance of children's self-reports of depressive symptoms in the early as well as the middle to late elementary school years.
Perceptual perspective-taking and seriation abilities in high-functioning children with autism
Authors: Yirmiya Nurit , Sigman Marian , Zacks Daphna
Published: October 2008

This study compared a group of 18 high-functioning children with autism (9–16 years of age) and a group of 14 normally developing children (9–14 years of age) on their abilities to take the perceptual perspective of someone else and to seriate objects based on length, size, weight, and color. Results indicated that the high-functioning children with autism were as able as the normally developing children to seriate the various objects. In contrast, significant differences emerged on the perceptual perspective-taking tasks with the high-functioning children with autism as a group performing less well than the normally developing children. However, the majority of autistic children showed good perspective-taking ability. The implications of these results to our understanding of autism are discussed.
Escalation and reinforcement in mother-child conflict: Social processes associated with the development of physical aggression
Authors: Snyder James , Edwards Patty , McGraw Kate , Kilgore Kim , Holton Angie
Published: October 2008

The objective of this study was to test a social interactional model of physical aggression. Specifically, this model hypothesizes that the performance of physical aggression has its roots in socialization settings that are characterized by high densities of aversive stimuli and that provide frequent reinforcement for escalation to high intensity aversive behavior during social conflict. Social conflicts were observed during 10 hr of interaction of each of 20 mothers and their 5-year-old sons; half of the sons were selected based on evidence of frequent aggression in home and school settings. Simple descriptive and sequential analyses indicated that aggressive relative to nonaggressive dyad members were more likely to engage in conflict, engaged in longer conflicts, were more likely to escalate to higher levels of aversiveness, and were less likely to de-escalate the intensity of conflict. In aggressive and nonaggressive dyads, the cessation of conflict contingent on the escalation of one dyad member was reliably associated with an increased likelihood of escalation and with escalation to higher levels of aversiveness by that member in the subsequent conflict. However, escalation occurred more frequently and was more likely to result in cessation of conflicts in aggressive than nonaggressive dyads.
Earned- and continuous-security in adult attachment: Relation to depressive symptomatology and parenting style
Authors: Pearson Jane L. , Cohn Deborah A. , Cowan Philip A. , Cowan Carolyn Pape
Published: October 2008

The secure working model classification of adult attachment, as derived from Main and Goldwyn's (in press) Adult Attachment Interview scoring system, was considered in terms of earned-security and continuous-security. Earned-security was a classification given to adults who described difficult, early relationships with parents, but who also had current secure working models as indicated by high coherency scores; continuous-security referred to a classification in which individuals described secure early attachment relationship with parents and current secure working models. Working models of attachment were classified as earned-secure, continuous-secure, or insecure in a sample of 40 parents of preschool children. Comparisons among the classifications were conducted on a measure of depressive symptoms and two sets of ratings of observed parenting styles. Adults with earned-secure classifications had comparable depressive symptomatology to insecures, with 30% of the insecures, 40% of the earned-secures, and only 10% of the continuous-secures having scores exceeding the clinical cut-off. The rate of depressive symptomatology in the earned-secure group suggests that reconstructions of past difficulties may remain emotional liabilities despite a current secure working model. With regard to parenting styles with their preschoolers, the behavior of earned-secure parents was comparable to that of the continuous-secures. This refinement in conceptualizing secure working models suggests ways for understanding variation in pathways to competent parenting as well as a possible perspective on how adults' adverse early experiences may continue to place them and their children at risk.
Development and self-regulatory structures of the mind
Authors: Cicchetti Dante , Tucker Don
Published: October 2008

From their early roots in embryology, parallels are drawn between the major psychological and biological foci of organismic theories. Neural plasticity and concepts of causality in developmental systems are discussed. Because the nature of the developmental process necessitates addressing the nonlinear dynamics of complex systems, it is theorized that causal explanations in neural development, just as is the case with psychological processes, should emphasize the individual's active strivings for self-organization as the major determinant of ontogenesis. Whether or not they cohere to form an integrated self, it is hypothesized that the homeostatic, self-regulatory structures of the mind are the major stabilities in the chaotic dynamics of psychological and neural development.
Temperament and the self-organization of personality
Authors: Derryberry Douglas , Reed Marjorie A.
Published: October 2008

This paper explores the development of cortical plasticity and cognitive representations in light of temperamental differences in basic motivational systems. Motivational systems related to reward/approach and punishment/avoidance begin to function early in life. By controlling the child's behavioral and emotional reactions, these systems provide exteroceptive and interoceptive information capable of stabilizing cortical synapses through use-dependent processes. By controlling attention, the motivational systems further contribute to synaptic stabilization through modulatory processes. As a result, children with strong reward/approach systems are likely to develop representations that emphasize potential rewards and frustrations and may become vulnerable to impulsive disorders. Children with strong punishment/avoidance systems may develop representations emphasizing punishment and relief, along with a vulnerability to anxiety disorders. These motivationally constructed representations differentiate in varied ways across domains involving the physical world, moral rules, and the self and, thus, contribute to the various forms of impulsive and anxious psychopathology.
Neural activity-dependent brain changes in development: Implications for psychopathology
Authors: Courchesne Eric , Chisum Heather , Townsend Jeanne
Published: October 2008

In this paper we discuss the contribution of neural activity-dependent factors to shaping the brain in normal and pathologic development, and we discuss factors that determine the likelihood of recovery from the experience of abnormal neural activity during development.
Developmental changes in stress adaptation in relation to psychopathology
Authors: Benes Francine M.
Published: October 2008

As modern neuroscience seeks to understand the neural bases for mental illness, it is becoming increasingly important to define how and when complex neural circuits may be altered in individuals who carry the genetic vulnerability for psychopathology. One factor that could potentially play a contributory role in mental illness is the stress response. A variety of studies suggest that stress can alter the activity of several key cortical neurotransmitters, including glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid, dopamine, and serotonin. Specifically, exposure to neurotoxic levels of adrenal steroid hormone, particularly if this occurs early in life, could potentially induce permanent changes of these transmitter systems in corticolimbic regions, such as the hippocampal formation and cingulate gyrus, that have a high density of glucocorticoid receptors. Overall, exposure to severe stress during the perinatal period could potentially induce alterations in the circuitry of the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampal formation and interfere with the normal mechanisms underlying attention and learning.
Attachments past and present: Implications for therapeutic intervention with mother-infant dyads
Authors: Erickson Martha Farrell , Korfmacher Jon , Egeland Byron R.
Published: October 2008

Theory and research on parent-infant attachment and on adult representations of past relationships suggest several possible themes and approaches for therapeutic intervention with parent-infant dyads. These include strategies aimed at increasing the parent's insight into the connection between past and present relationships and enhancing the parent's understanding of the child's needs and feelings, as well as the use of the therapeutic alliance to help the parent move toward more positive working models of self and others. Project STEEP (Steps Toward Effective, Enjoyable Parenting), an ongoing study of the effectiveness of preventive intervention with new mothers, provides one model of therapeutic intervention built on attachment theory and research.
Body image, relational psychoanalysis, and the construction of meaning: Implications for treating aggressive children
Authors: Santostefano Sebastiano , Calicchia John A.
Published: October 2008

For more than a decade it has been reported that a significant proportion of youth referred for treatment come with aggressive problems that are difficult to treat and resistant to change. Concepts and research findings from the domains of body image, cognitive unconscious, and the new relational perspective in psychoanalysis are integrated to address this issue and construct a treatment model. It is proposed that body image schemas, representing early, interpersonal experiences and prescribing persistent aggressive behaviors, are cast in nonverbal, nonsymbolic forms. On the other hand, meanings of environmental rules are cast in symbolic/verbal forms. Therefore, little or no communication and conflict exist between these meanings. For the same reason, because verbal interpretation and discussions of beliefs and attitudes, emphasized by both cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic therapies, are cast in symbolic-conceptual forms, they might not effectively influence embodied meanings that prescribe aggression. Accordingly, the goal of the proposed approach is to facilitate the translation of embodied meanings that underly aggression into symbolic form in order to promote communication between these meanings and those of expectations and interpretations. This translation is accomplished as the youth and therapist (paralleling infant-caretaker transactions) interact and negotiate an evolving series of ritualized activities within which the youth projects various unrepaired, developmental interferences (interpersonal dilemmas), and their associated embodied meanings, onto the therapist who enacts the roles of the projected dilemmas, using action symbols as solutions whenever possible. As the youth identifies with and internalizes the therapist's efforts and solutions, the embodied meanings become translated into symbols that communicate with those of rules at higher cognitive levels, resulting in mental conflict available to awareness and discussions. To illustrate the heuristic value of the model, a treatment case is described and new research directions discussed.
Clinical, empirical, and developmental perspectives on the therapeutic relationship in child psychotherapy
Authors: Shirk Stephen R. , Saiz Christopher C.
Published: October 2008

Despite substantial interest in the therapeutic relationship by child clinicians, relationship processes in child therapy have been neglected by clinical researchers. In this paper, clinical and empirical perspectives on the therapeutic relationship in child treatment were reviewed. Initial findings indicated that the quality of the child's affective relationship with the therapist is associated with collaboration on therapy tasks. Given the recurrent finding of links between treatment collaboration and treatment outcome, research on factors that influence children's ability to form therapeutic relationships is recommended. To this end, a developmental social cognitive model of therapeutic alliance formation is proposed.
Psychological maltreatment: Toward an operational definition
Authors: McGee Robin A. , Wolfe David A.
Published: October 2008

Despite consensus on the existence and importance of psychological maltreatment, there is far less agreement on how it should be defined. This article reviews the current definitions, proposes a theoretical clarification of the concept, and describes its relevance for the field of developmental psychopathology. We conceptualize psychological maltreatment as theinteractionbetween maltreating parent behaviors and the special vulnerabilities of a child, particularly his or her developmental level. Also, we restrict the definition of psychological maltreatment to verbal and nonverbal parent communication; parental acts that involve physical or sexual contact are excluded. This effort strives to minimize the redundancy with the definitions of other forms of maltreatment and facilitate research into the effects of all forms of victimization.
Not all bad developmental outcomes are the result of child abuse
Authors: Garbarino James
Published: October 2008

McGee and Wolfe (1991) have taken on an important and very challenging topic, the meaning of psychological maltreatment and its significance for child development. They start from the definitions offered by several students of this phenomenon (Garbarino, Guttmann, & Seeley, 1986), and proceed to a formulation that they believe advances the cause of research.
Psychological maltreatment: Progress achieved
Authors: Hart Stuart N. , Brassard Marla R.
Published: October 2008

The devotion of a central article in this special issue and of responses by a variety of researchers indicates that serious scholarly attention is finally being focused on psychological maltreatment. This is a topic of genuine significance to child development and psychopathology research. McGee and Wolfe's (1991) article raises important issues and applies a theoretical focus that are useful in highlighting important aspects of psychological maltreatment.
Defining psychological maltreatment: Research and policy perspectives
Authors: Thompson Ross A. , Jacobs Janis E.
Published: October 2008

Broken bones, cigarette burns, and profound malnourishment are unambiguous signs of child maltreatment, but defining the causes and consequences of psychological maltreatment is a more challenging task. For child advocates who are concerned with optimizing the developmental potential of each youngster, defining psychological maltreatment is an essential first step, and McGee and Wolfe (1991) should be commended for undertaking such a challenging but necessary task.
Defining psychological maltreatment: The relationship between questions and answers
Authors: Wald Michael S.
Published: October 2008

Over the past 30 years, hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of dollars have been spent on research related to child maltreatment. Yet, with some notable exceptions, this research has produced disappointingly little information that is relevant to policy-makers. In part, this reflects the difficulty of doing policy-relevant research, a problem exacerbated by the unwillingness of most funding sources to support the types of large-scale research projects needed to answer many policy questions. However, part of the blame lies with the research community itself. Too often, researchers have failed to understand the policy issues at stake. As a result, they have not asked the right questions or utilized appropriate research designs. In fact, they often have failed to conceptualize adequately the questions they were trying to address.
Hiding in blind and sighted children
Authors: Bigelow Ann E.
Published: October 2008

Children with varying visual abilities (totally blind, visually impaired, normally sighted) participated in a longitudinal study of the development of the ability to infer what is seen by another. The children were asked to hide themselves, a toy, and specific parts of their bodies from a sighted observer. After each hiding the observer asked, “Can I see you?” to determine whether the children associated self-exposure with what was hidden. The totally blind children were not as successful at hiding as the other children. The totally blind children associated hiding with being in contact with an obstacle but did not necessarily understand that the covering obstacle had to completely block the observer's view of what was hidden or that covering was not necessary if other obstacles already blocked the observer's view. The totally blind children and one visually impaired child associated self-exposure with exposure of the mouth, whereas the other children who associated self-exposure with a particular body part associated self-exposure with exposure of their eyes. Results suggest that lack of direct visual experience impedes blind children's understanding of what constitutes a barrier to vision, which affects their ability to infer what others see. Implications of the findings for understanding the development of the self in blind children are discussed.
Age, clinical severity, and the differentiation of depressive psychopathology: A test of the orthogenetic hypothesis
Authors: Weiss Bahr , Nurcombe Barry
Published: October 2008

Werner's orthogenetic principle states that human behavior proceeds from a state of global diffuseness to one of articulated complexity, and that as individuals develop, their responses to the environment become more specific and more differentiated. The present study evaluated this hypothesis, in relation to psychopathology in general and depression in particular. Child Behavior Checklist responses for 1, 345 outpatient and inpatient children and adolescents were compared along two developmental dimensions: age and clinical severity. Results failed to support the hypothesis that the psychopathology in general is more differentiated among older and more severely disturbed children. The findings did indicate, however, that depression was more distinct among the older, more severely disturbed subjects. Finally, little evidence of a categorical depression was found in any of the four age by severity groups.
Role of aggression, rejection, and attributions in the prediction of depression in children
Authors: Panak William F. , Garber Judy
Published: October 2008

Concurrent and predictive relations among aggression, peer rejection, and self-reported depressive symptoms were examined in 521 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children at three time points over 1 year. Increases in aggression were significantly associated with increases in depression, and this relation was mediated, in part, through increases in peer rejection. The relation between peer-reported rejection and depression was mediated by perceived rejection. Finally, we found support for the cognitive diathesis-stress model of depression in children. Controlling for initial levels of depression and peer rejection, the interaction between stress (increases in peer rejection) and a depressogenic attributional style contributed significantly to the prediction of self-reported depressive symptoms 1 year later.
Model of psychosocial risk factors leading to suicidal ideation in young adolescents
Authors: Harter Susan , Marold Donna B. , Whitesell Nancy R.
Published: October 2008

The primary goal of this study was to examine a theoretically based model of psychosocial risk factors and mediators leading to suicidal ideation in a normative sample of young adolescents, ages 12–15 years. Three self-report instruments were employed to tap the constructs of interest, the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985a), The Dimensions of Depression Profile (Harter, Nowakowski, & Marold, 1988), and the Social Support Scale for Children (Harter, 1985b). Utilizing path-analytic techniques, the best-fitting model includes, as potential antecedents, two self-concept clusters—(a) appearance, peer likability, and athletic competence and (b) scholastic competence and behavioral conduct—and two sources of social support — peer approval and parent approval. Paths from each of these constructs lead to a depression composite of affect, global self-worth, and hopelessness. The composite, in turn, functions as a mediator with a direct path to suicidal ideation. Comparisons of two subgroups of depressed adolescents defined by this composite, those with and without suicidal ideation, are also presented. The findings are discussed in terms of the need for theoretically based models that have implications for prevention and intervention in normative populations of adolescents.
Considering normal and abnormal together: The essence of developmental psychopathology
Authors: Sroufe L. Alan
Published: October 2008

When psychopathology is defined as developmental deviation, its study necessarily involves a wedding of research on the normal and the pathological. In such an endeavor, understanding of normal processes is enhanced, because critical normative issues can only be defined in terms of their implications when development goes awry and because disordered behavior often brings into sharp relief the nature of basic developmental phenomena. At the same time, such work is critical to defining general principles of development, which apply to normal and abnormal alike. In this article, examples are provided of the reciprocally enhancing nature of studies of normal and pathological development and of the fruitfulness of weaving back and forth between studies of normality and disturbance for understanding important aspects of development. Examples include a discussion of attachment and dependency and the origins of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It is concluded that developmental psychopathology may make its greatest contribution in the endeavor to understand development of individuals.
Quantitative genetics and developmental psychopathology: Contributions to understanding normal development
Authors: Rende Richard D. , Plomin Robert
Published: October 2008

This article reviews ways in which quantitative genetic approaches to developmental psychopathology can elucidate normal development. A few examples from genetics are discussed to highlight how investigations of abnormal functioning can inform the study of normal functioning. Two topics that provide bridges between the normal and abnormal are presented in greater detail. Most important is a new quantitative genetic technique that assesses empirically genetic and environmental links between the normal and abnormal. A second topic involves quantitative genetic approaches to environmental analyses, as highlighted by the examination of nonshared environmental factors. Such examinations of the environment are essential in studies of psychopathology, and their application to abnormal development can elucidate processes of normal development. We believe that forging links between the normal and abnormal is the core task of developmental psychopathology and that quantitative genetics is not only compatible with this goal, but essential to it.
Joint attention, developmental level, and symptom presentation in autism
Authors: Mundy Peter , Sigman Marian , Kasari Connie
Published: October 2008

Recent data suggest that a disturbance in the development of joint attention skills is a specific characteristic of young autistic children. This observation may have both theoretical and clinical significance. However, many pertinent issues remain to be addressed with regard to the parameters of joint attention disturbance in children with autism. This study attempted to address several of these issues. The study examines the effects of mental age and IQ on the joint attention skills of children with autism, mental retardation, and normal development. The study also examined the relation of joint attention behaviors to the parent's report of symptoms presented by children with autism. The results suggested that, differences in IQ and mental age may be related to differences in the type of joint attention skill deficits displayed by children with autism. The results also suggested that joint attention disturbance is associated with a circumscribed, but social cluster of symptoms observed among young autistic children by their parents. The implications of these findings for developmental models of autism are discussed.
Imitation and expression of facial affect in autism
Authors: Loveland Katherine A. , Tunali-Kotoski Belgin , Pearson Deborah A. , Brelsford Kristin A. , Ortegon Juliana , Chen Richard
Published: October 2008

This study examined elicited (posed) affective expressions in children, adolescents, and young adults with autism (N = 18) or Down's syndrome (N = 24). Subjects were asked to (a) imitate five modeled expressions (Imitation task) and (b) produce five labeled expressions (Expression task). Subjects with autism produced recognizable expressions in both tasks, but they produced fewer than did subjects with Down's syndrome when target emotions were labeled but not modeled (Expression). Imitation and Expression tasks were equally difficult for subjects with autism, but subjects with Down's syndrome performed better in Expression than in Imitation. In both tasks, the responses of subjects with autism contained many unusual behaviors, such as bizarre expressions and those that looked “mechanical.” Results suggest that producing elicited affective expressions is more difficult for persons with autism than for persons with Down's syndrome of similar chronological age, mental age, and IQ.
Spanking in the home and children's subsequent aggression toward kindergarten peers
Authors: Strassberg Zvi , Dodge Kenneth A. , Pettit Gregory S. , Bates John E.
Published: October 2008

Although spanking of children is almost universal in U.S. society, its effects are not well understood. We examined the longitudinal relation between parental spanking and other physical punishment of preschool children and children's aggressive behavior toward peers later in kindergarten. A total of 273 boys and girls from diverse backgrounds served as subjects. The findings were consistent with a socialization model in which higher levels of severity in parental punishment practices are associated with higher levels of children's subsequent aggression toward peers. Findings indicated that children who had been spanked evidenced levels of aggression that were higher than those who had not been spanked, and children who had been the objects of violent discipline became the most aggressive of all groups. Patterns were qualified by the sexes of the parent and child and subtypes of child aggression (reactive, bullying, and instrumental). The findings suggest that in spite of parents' goals, spanking fails to promote prosocial development and, instead, is associated with higher rates of aggression toward peers.
Depressed mood and peer rejection in childhood
Authors: Boivin Michel , Poulin François , Vitaro Frank
Published: October 2008

The purpose of the present study was to compare the depression profile of four subtypes of peer-rejected children and a group of neglected children to a normative sample and evaluate whether or not these subgroups showed distinctive patterns. A total of 140 children were selected on the basis of peer status and peer assessment of social behavior. Depressed mood was evaluated by self-reports and peer assessments. As expected, withdrawn-rejected children expressed stronger feelings of depression, both generally (i.e., higher Child Depression Inventory [CDI] scores) and specifically (i.e., energy/interest), as well as more loneliness and social dissatisfaction than the normative group. They were also seen by their peers as being sadder. The aggressive-withdrawn-rejected children displayed results that were very similar to those of withdrawn-rejected children. They manifested stronger feelings of depression both generally (i.e., higher CDI scores) and specifically (i.e., mood/affect) and expressed more loneliness and social dissatisfaction than the normative group. They were also nominated more often as getting their feelings hurt easily and as being usually sad. Contrary to expectations, aggressive-rejected children were also found to differ from the normative children but only on a general index of depression, not on the more specific measures nor on loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Also, they did not differ from the normative sample on the peer assessment items. The neglected children did not differ from the normative sample on any of the self-report or peer assessment measures. The results concerning withdrawn-rejected and aggressive-withdrawn-rejected children suggest that peer rejection could play a mediating role with respect to feelings of distress and confirm that these children are at risk for internalizing problems. The pattern of results for aggressive-rejected children suggests that peer rejection may not play such a role.
Communication deficits in pediatric complex partial seizure disorder and schizophrenia
Authors: Caplan Rochelle , Guthrie Donald , Shields W. Donald , Yudovin Sue
Published: October 2008

Based on findings that, like schizophrenic children, children with complex partial seizure disorder have illogical thinking, this study examined whether or not these same epileptic subjects had other thought processing impairments found in schizophrenic children. Compared to normal children (N= 38), both the epileptic (N= 27) and schizophrenic children (N= 31) underutilized discourse (cohesive) devices that make speech coherent. The severity of the discourse deficits and formal thought disorder of the schizophrenic children was associated with age, but not with IQ scores. Age, IQ, and seizure-related, not behavioral variables, were associated, however, with the severity of the discourse deficits of the epileptic subjects. The study' findings suggest that measures of impaired thought processing and communication in schizophrenic children could be a model to study the developmental impact of complex partial seizure disorder in middle childhood. The clinical implications of the study's findings are discussed.
Conduct and affective disorders in developmental perspective: A systematic study of adolescent psychopathology
Authors: Noam Gil G. , Paget Katherine , Valianta Gayle , Borst Sophie , Bartok John
Published: October 2008

This study examined the relationship of psychiatric diagnoses to gender, IQ, and ego development level in an inpatient sample of 269 adolescents. It was found that adolescents with an affective disorder diagnosis, in contrast to those with a diagnosis of conduct or mixed affective-conduct disorder, were more likely to (a) be female, (b) have higher IQ scores, and (c) have higher ego development levels. No significant age differences were found between groups. Comparisons between the single diagnosis and mixed disorder groups indicated that the mixed disorder group is characterized by the most severe symptoms found in each of the pure affective and conduct disordered groups. A relationship between type of DSM-III diagnosis and ego development level in adolescence was demonstrated after controlling for the effects of age, gender, and IQ. These results are offered as an explication of the developmental dimensions inherent in DSM-III psychiatric diagnoses.
Servants, Cottagers and Tied Cottages during the Later Middle Ages: Towards a Regional Dimension
Authors: Fox H.S.A.
Published: October 2008

Over recent years much attention has been given to temporal trends between 1550 and 1900 in the proportions within English rural society of living-in servants in husbandry on the one hand and, on the other, cottage labourers. According to Ann Kussmaul there were two periods when the balance shifted towards labourers and away from servants: one took in the latter half of the sixteenth century and the first part of seventeenth; the other began in the latter part of the eighteenth century and continued throughout the nineteenth. These were both periods when population was rising rapidly and when labour was not in short supply. Between the mid seventeenth century and the mid eighteenth, by contrast, there was a quite dramatic shift in the balance and a growing tendency among farmer-employers to hire farm servants on yearly terms. A relative shortage of labour as population declined, a shift towards pastoral farming (in which resident labour on the farm was all the more desirable to cope with the constant needs of animals as well as crises of birth and death which could occur at any time of the day and night), the falling costs of providing board: all of these encouraged farmers to begin to bind young people to annual contracts and to keep them on the farm.
Nineteenth-Century Racehorse Stables in their Rural Setting: A Social and Economic Study
Authors: Huggins Mike
Published: October 2008

Scattered across the face of rural Britain at any one time during the nineteenth century were up to 200 training stables for thoroughbred racehorses. These provided the underpinning for the popular sport of horseracing and were also both a significant source of rural employment and a contribution to rural culture. Despite a growing recognition by rural historians that rural communities are composed of interlocking parts and linked social structures, and a regular focus on the parish, village, estate or farm, these microcommunities have remained largely ignored and undocumented. Equally, sports historians have concentrated largely on sports players to the exclusion of ancilliary staff. This article breaks new ground therefore in giving a more rounded picture of an important aspect of horseracing in its rural setting, beginning by examining the social and economic organisation of stable life and its power relationships, before showing the contribution of the stables firstly to the local economies, and secondly to the cultural life of the local communities in which they were set.