bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Annotation: Children's relationships with their nonresident fathers
Authors: Dunn Judy 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The frequency of parental separation means that increasing numbers of children have fathers who live in different households from mother‐and‐child; the significance of contact and relationships between children and their nonresident fathers for children's adjustment is receiving growing attention. Lessons from this research are considered.Methods:  Recent meta‐analyses and overviews of research, and key research projects, are discussed. Findings related to contact and relationship quality are the main focus of the annotation.Results:  Economic support from nonresident fathers is related to children's well‐being, and continues to be a key factor. Findings on contact are more mixed, especially from early studies; the effect size of associations between contact and positive child outcome has increased in recent research. Quality of child–father relationships is consistently related to adjustment outcome. Authoritative parenting, involvement and feelings of closeness are of particular importance in relation to adjustment, and these links are related to the quality of mother–nonresident father relations, and the mother–child relationship. Age differences, patterns over time, and gender are discussed; the perspectives of fathers and the problems they face in maintaining authoritative relationships are considered.Conclusions:  The significance of child–nonresident father relationships for children's and fathers’ well‐being is clear and merits further research; fruitful new directions for such research, within the framework of other family relationships, are outlined.
Risks for conduct disorder symptoms associated with parental alcoholism in stepfather families versus intact families from a community sample
Authors: Foley Debra L. , Pickles Andrew , Rutter Michael , Gardner Charles O. , Maes Hermine H. , Silberg Judy L. , Eaves Lindon J. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  It is not known if the prevalence of parental psychiatric disorders is higher in stepfather than intact families, or if parental alcoholism is differentially associated with risk for conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in stepfather families versus intact families.Method:  The sample comprised 839 girls and 741 boys from 792 intact families and 99 girls and 67 boys from 83 stepfather families from a population‐based registry of twins aged between 8 and 17 years. Children's current psychiatric symptoms were assessed at personal interview with the child, mother and father. Parental histories of psychiatric disorder were assessed at personal interview with each residential parent. Associations between CD symptoms and parental alcoholism were characterized using both linear and Poisson regression, and results are presented with and without adjustment for maternal drug use during pregnancy, parental conflict, and estimated socioeconomic status (SES) based on census tract data.Results:  Mothers from stepfather families had a higher lifetime prevalence of alcoholism, antisocial personality disorder, depression and social phobia than mothers from intact families. Stepfathers had a higher lifetime prevalence of alcoholism and depression than biological fathers from intact families. Children from stepfather families had more externalizing (CD/ODD) symptoms than children from intact families. Girls who lived with an alcoholic stepfather had significantly more CD symptoms than girls who lived with an alcoholic biological father. Boys who lived with an alcoholic stepfather had significantly fewer CD symptoms than boys who lived with an alcoholic biological father. This sex difference was statistically significant. Adjustment for maternal drug use during pregnancy, parental conflict, and estimated SES based on census tract data did not change these findings.Conclusions:  Children living in stepfather families are exposed to more parental psychiatric risk factors than children from intact families. The increased risk for CD symptoms in girls (but not boys) from stepfather families is partly mediated by or associated with the stepfather's history of alcoholism.
Adopted children's problem behavior is significantly related to their ego resiliency, ego control, and sociometric status
Authors: Juffer Femmie , Stams Geert‐Jan J.M. , van IJzendoorn Marinus H. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  Many studies have documented that adopted children are at higher risk for behavior problems, but less is known about the correlates of their problem behavior.Method:  The correlates of parent‐reported and teacher‐reported problem behavior in 7‐year‐old internationally adopted children (N = 176) were investigated by examining these children's ego resiliency, ego control, and sociometric status, and exploring possible risks factors in the home and racial influences.Results:  Using the 25th percentiles lowest and highest scores on ego resiliency and ego control as cut‐off criteria, we found that: (1) resilient children were almost free of behavior problems; (2) overcontrolling children showed predominantly internalizing behavior problems (33% at school, and 28% at home); (3) undercontrolling children showed high rates of externalizing behavior problems (50% at school, and 34% at home), and an elevated rate of comorbidity (21% at school, and 21% at home). Adopted children identified by peer report as controversial or rejected had significantly higher externalizing problem scores than popular, average or neglected adopted children. The adopted children did not experience much (racial) discrimination. Nevertheless, children who wished to be white (46%) presented more mother‐reported behavior problems.Conclusions:  Our findings replicate R.W. Robins et al.'s (1996) work on three types of personality functioning: resilients, overcontrollers and undercontrollers (identified by J. Block, 1971), extending the model from adolescent boys to school‐aged boys and girls, adopted from Asia and South America. The wish to identify with white parents and white peers may constitute a potential risk factor for internationally adopted children in middle childhood.
Do risk factors for problem behaviour act in a cumulative manner? An examination of ethnic minority and majority children through an ecological perspective
Authors: Atzaba‐Poria Naama , Pike Alison , Deater‐Deckard Kirby 
Published: March 2004

Background:  Extensive research has identified risk factors for problem behaviour in childhood. However, most of this research has focused on isolated variables, ignoring possible additive influences. The purpose of this study was to examine whether risk factors for problem behaviour act in a cumulative manner, and to investigate whether cumulative risk stemming from distinct ecological levels (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) differentially influences the manifestation of problem behaviours in middle childhood. In addition, ethnic differences between minority (i.e., Indian) and majority (i.e., English) families were examined.Methods:  The sample consisted of 125 children (59 English and 66 of Indian origin) between the ages of 7 and 9.6 (M = 8.51, SD = .62) and their parents. Both mothers and fathers completed questionnaires regarding the children's problem behaviour and provided reports of the children's characteristics and environment. Children were also assessed and provided reports about themselves and their relationships. Finally, parent–child mutuality and parenting behaviour were coded from a videotaped parent–child interaction task.Results:  Risk factors acted in a cumulative manner – the more risk children experienced, the more problem behaviour they exhibited. Total problem behaviour was predicted by all three levels: individual, microsystem and exosystem. However, externalising problems were mainly predicted by microsystem‐level cumulative risk, whereas internalising problems were predicted by both individual‐level cumulative risk and exosystem‐level cumulative risk. These results were similar for both ethnic groups.Conclusions:  The support for the cumulative hypothesis highlights the importance of having a broad picture of children's characteristics and environmental components when analysing children's adjustment. The distinct influence of risk stemming from the different ecological levels suggests that the trajectories of internalising, externalising and total problem behaviour may be different.
The factor structure of autistic traits
Authors: Constantino John N. , Gruber Christian P. , Davis Sandra , Hayes Stephanie , Passanante Natalie , Przybeck Thomas 
Published: March 2004

Background:  Although DSM‐IV requires symptoms in three criterion domains for a diagnosis of autistic disorder, the extent to which those domains are phenotypically independent is an unanswered and important question. The identification of ‘endophenotypes’ of the autistic syndrome may be very useful for genetic and neurobiologic studies of autism, but only if they represent truly independent sub domains of the disorder.Methods:  In this study we examined the factor structure of autistic traits using data from 226 child psychiatric patients with and without pervasive developmental disorders, employing cluster analysis of data from the Autism Diagnostic Interview‐Revised (ADI‐r) and principal components factor analysis of data from the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS, a quantitative genetic measure of autistic traits formerly known as the Social Reciprocity Scale).Results:  The results were consistent with the existence of a singular, continuously distributed underlying factor, resulting in disparate phenotypic manifestations across the three criterion domains for autistic disorder (social deficits, language deficits, and repetitive/stereotypic behaviors).Conclusion:  The analyses generally failed to support the existence of independent sub domains of dysfunction in autism spectrum conditions. Future studies of the association between genetic/neurobiologic markers and autistic symptomatology may be enhanced by approaches which consider autistic symptoms as quantitative traits, and which are informed by ongoing research on the development and phenomenology of core deficiencies in reciprocal social behavior.
Theories of conduct disorder: a causal modelling analysis
Authors: Krol N. , Morton J. , De Bruyn E. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  If a clinician has to make decisions on diagnosis and treatment, he or she is confronted with a variety of causal theories. In order to compare these theories a neutral terminology and notational system is needed. The Causal Modelling framework involving three levels of description – biological, cognitive and behavioural – has previously been used to compare causal accounts for dyslexia and autism.Method:  In this article we present this framework and explore its application to four causal theories of conduct disorder. We discuss the problems we encountered in this application and evaluate both the framework and the theories of conduct disorder.Conclusions:  It was possible to capture parts of the theories of conduct disorder in the Causal Modelling framework but a multi‐model approach may be necessary for the alternative theories of conduct disorder we evaluate. The application of the framework helps to see the relationships among the various theories of aspects of conduct disorder and demonstrates the need for more explicitness in the causal theories.
A comparison of performance on the Towers of London and Hanoi in young children
Authors: Bull Rebecca , Espy Kimberly Andrews , Senn Theresa E. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The Towers of London (TOL) and Hanoi (TOH) have been viewed as equivalent measures of planning and/or problem solving, although recent evidence in adults suggests that the underlying measurement characteristics of these two tasks may differ. As tower tasks are one of the few instruments that can be used to assess executive functioning in young children, the cognitive demands for both tasks merit further examination.Methods:  The relation among tower tasks and those of short‐term memory, inhibition, and shifting ability were examined in a sample of 118 typically developing young children (M age = 4 years, 9 months, SD = 6 months). Half the children completed TOL and half completed TOH, with groups matched with respect to age, sex, and child vocabulary.Results:  Whilst performance on a shifting task uniquely predicted TOH performance, none of the executive function measures were related to TOL performance after statistically controlling for the influence of baseline naming speed. For both tower tasks, performance on a shifting task contributed more strongly on complex trials that required more moves in the counter‐intuitive direction relative to the end‐state goal, whereas inhibition task performance only predicted performance on complex TOL trials.Conclusions:  Successful tower task performance may be determined, at least at higher levels of complexity, by mental flexibility in this age range. However, overall the findings suggest that TOL and TOH are not interchangeable tasks even in young children, and more generally, raise methodological issues regarding the complex nature of executive function tasks.
Experience of parenthood, couple relationship, social support, and child‐rearing goals in planned lesbian mother families
Authors: Bos Henny M.W. , Van Balen Frank , Van Den Boom Dymphna C. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The phenomenon of planned lesbian families (i.e., two‐mother families in which the child was born to the lesbian relationship) is relatively new and very little research has been conducted among those families. The overall aim of this research was to examine whether planned lesbian mother families differ from heterosexual families on factors that are assumed to influence the parent–child relationship, such as experience of parenthood, child‐rearing goals, couple relationship, and social support.Method:  A hundred lesbian two‐mother families were compared with 100 heterosexual families having naturally conceived children. A variety of measures were used to collect the data, including questionnaires and a diary of activities kept by the parents.Results:  Lesbian parents are no less competent or more burdened than heterosexual parents. Both lesbian and heterosexual parents consider it important to develop qualities of independence in their child. However, ‘conformity’ as a child‐rearing goal is less important to lesbian mothers. Furthermore, lesbian social mothers feel more often than fathers in heterosexual families that they must justify the quality of their parenthood.Conclusion:  There are few differences between lesbian couples and heterosexual couples, except that lesbian mothers appear less attuned to traditional child‐rearing goals and lesbian social mothers appear more to defend their position as mother.
Testing a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood
Authors: McCartney Kathleen , Owen Margaret Tresch , Booth Cathryn L. , Clarke‐Stewart Alison , Vandell Deborah Lowe 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The purpose of the present study was to test a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood using phase I data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, a prospective study of 1,364 children from birth through sixth grade.Methods:  Mothers’ and caregivers’ ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing problems at age three were regressed separately on a set of fifteen predictors that included security and disorganization scores from 15, 24, and 36 months using hierarchical and logistical modeling.Results:  There were three main findings. First, Q‐set mother–child attachment security, based on home observations at 24 months, provided the best evidence that attachment was associated with behavior problems, especially above‐average levels of problems. Second, insecurity in the 36‐month modified Strange Situation predicted mothers’ and caregivers’ ratings of internalizing problems for boys and girls as well as their ratings of externalizing problems for boys. Third, maternal depressive symptoms predicted mothers’ ratings of internalizing and externalizing problems.Conclusions:  There are meaningful associations between attachment insecurity and behavior problems as assessed not only by mothers but also by caregivers.
Psychosocial determinants of behaviour problems in Brazilian preschool children
Authors: Anselmi Luciana , Piccinini Cesar A. , Barros Fernando C. , Lopes Rita S. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  This investigation aimed at examining, through an epidemiological study, the social demographic, family and individual determinants of behaviour problems in preschool children.Method:  Six hundred and thirty‐four children, age four years, and their mothers, belonging to a cohort of 5,304 children being followed from birth, took part in the study. During a home visit, the child's behaviour problems and IQ were examined, as well as the prevalence of maternal psychiatric disorder, the quality of the home environment, and other social demographic, family and individual factors.Results:  The results revealed a prevalence of children's behaviour problems of 24% (clinical and borderline groups). Regression analysis showed that maternal psychiatric disorder, education and age, number of younger siblings and quality of the home environment explained 28% of the variance of the child's behaviour problems.Conclusions:  The results point to the multi‐determination of child behaviour problems.
Ethnic differences in the link between physical discipline and later adolescent externalizing behaviors
Authors: Lansford Jennifer E. , Deater‐Deckard Kirby , Dodge Kenneth A. , Bates John E. , Pettit Gregory S. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  Parents’ use of physical discipline has generated controversy related to concerns that its use is associated with adjustment problems such as aggression and delinquency in children. However, recent evidence suggests that there are ethnic differences in associations between physical discipline and children's adjustment. This study examined race as a moderator of the link between physical discipline and adolescent externalizing behavior problems, extending previous research beyond childhood into adolescence and considering physical discipline at multiple points in time.Methods:  A representative community sample of 585 children was followed from pre‐kindergarten (age 5) through grade 11 (age 16). Mothers reported on their use of physical discipline in the child's first five years of life and again during grades 6 (age 11) and 8 (age 13). Mothers and adolescents reported on a variety of externalizing behaviors in grade 11 including aggression, violence, and trouble at school and with the police.Results:  A series of hierarchical linear regressions controlling for parents’ marital status, socioeconomic status, and child temperament revealed significant interactions between physical discipline during the child's first five years of life and race in the prediction of 3 of the 7 adolescent externalizing outcomes assessed and significant interactions between physical discipline during grades 6 and 8 and race in the prediction of all 7 adolescent externalizing outcomes. Regression slopes showed that the experience of physical discipline at each time point was related to higher levels of subsequent externalizing behaviors for European American adolescents but lower levels of externalizing behaviors for African American adolescents.Conclusions:  There are race differences in long‐term effects of physical discipline on externalizing behaviors problems. Different ecological niches may affect the manner in which parents use physical discipline, the meaning that children attach to the experience of physical discipline, and its effects on the adjustment of children and adolescents.
Pre‐literacy skills of subgroups of children with speech sound disorders
Authors: Raitano Nancy A. , Pennington Bruce F. , Tunick Rachel A. , Boada Richard , Shriberg Lawrence D. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The existing literature has conflicting findings about the literacy outcome of children with speech sound disorders (SSD), which may be due to the heterogeneity within SSD. Previous studies have documented that two important dimensions of heterogeneity are the presence of a comorbid language impairment (LI) and the persistence of SSD, but these factors have not been examined separately.Method:  The current study used a 2 × 2 MANOVA design (with follow‐up MANCOVAs) to examine how a comorbid language impairment (LI) and the persistence of SSD relate to pre‐literacy skills in a sample of 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children with SSD.Results:  Significant main effects for persistent SSD and LI were obtained, such that each factor was associated with worse performance on pre‐literacy tasks, particularly those assessing phonological awareness (even with nonverbal IQ covaried). In addition, even SSD children with normalized speech without LI were found to have deficits on phonological awareness tasks relative to control participants.Conclusions:  These results suggest that a history of SSD and comorbid LI are strong correlates of pre‐literacy deficits.
How specific are executive functioning deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism?
Authors: Geurts Hilde M. , Verté Sylvie , Oosterlaan Jaap , Roeyers Herbert , Sergeant Joseph A. 
Published: March 2004

Background:  The objective of this study is to identify intact and deficient cognitive processes in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children with high functioning autism (HFA).Method:  Three rigorously diagnosed groups of children aged between 6 and 12 years (54 ADHD, 41 HFA, and 41 normal controls) were tested on a wide range of tasks related to five major domains of executive functioning (EF): inhibition, visual working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, and verbal fluency. In addition, the role of comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and comorbid conduct disorder (CD) in ADHD was investigated by directly comparing 20 children with ADHD and 34 children with comorbid ADHD + ODD/CD.Results:  ADHD was associated with EF deficits in inhibiting a prepotent response and verbal fluency. Children with HFA demonstrated deficits in all EF domains, except interference control and working memory. The HFA group showed more difficulties than the ADHD group with planning and cognitive flexibility. The comorbid ADHD + ODD/CD group did not show a distinctive pattern of performance on the EF tests compared to the ADHD group.Conclusion:  The present study indicates that children with HFA exhibit more generalised and profound problems with EF tasks compared to children with ADHD.