Parental Coping Socialization is Associated with Healthy and Anxious Early-Adolescents’ Neural and Real-World Response to Threat

The ways parents socialize their adolescents to cope with anxiety (i.e. coping socialization) may be instrumental in the development of threat processing and coping responses. Coping socialization may be important for anxious adolescents, as they show altered neural threat processing and over-reliance on disengaged coping (e.g., avoidance and distraction), which can maintain anxiety. We investigated whether coping socialization was associated with anxious and healthy adolescents’ neural response to threat, and whether neural activation was associated with disengaged coping. Healthy and clinically anxious early-adolescents (N=120; M=11.46 years; 71 girls) and a parent engaged in interactions designed to elicit adolescents’ anxiety and parents’ response to adolescents’ anxiety. Parents’ use of reframing and problem-solving statements was coded to measure coping socialization. In a subsequent visit, we assessed adolescents’ neural response to threat words during a neuroimaging task. Adolescents’ disengaged coping was measured using ecological momentary assessment. Greater coping socialization was associated with lower anterior insula and perigenual cingulate activation in healthy adolescents and higher activation in anxious adolescents. Coping socialization was indirectly associated with less disengaged coping for anxious adolescents through neural activation. Findings suggest that associations between coping socialization and early adolescents’ neural response to threat differ depending on clinical status and have implications for anxious adolescents’ coping

Analyzing Brain Networks Associated with Social Evaluation and Uncertainty in Subclinical Social Anxiety

In interpersonal interactions, socially anxious individuals continuously monitor for social threats and fear negative evaluation from their peers. We know little about whether these cognitive biases correlate with patterns of brain function in relevant regions that have been associated with evaluation of self and others. Recent evidence implicates neural structures critical to perspective-taking and the processing of uncertainty may function atypically in those who are anxious. In the present study, we examined neural activity in two such regions of the brain—the temporoparietal junction and the anterior midcingulate cortex — during Prisoner’s Dilemma game play. There were no significant group differences in activation in both regions during the processing of partner choice and anticipation of outcome during gameplay. However, there were significant differences in the processing of social feedback. These findings provide evidence that Prisoner’s Dilemma researchers should begin to consider how social and monetary context affects decision-making in diverse populations

Identifying and Intervening on Neural Markers of Attention to Threat in Children with Anxiety Disorders

Objective: Attention Bias Modification Training (ABMT) for anxiety aims to train attention away from threatening stimuli and toward neutral stimuli. Although ABMT shows promising anxiety reduction effects in children and adolescents, no study has examined its influence on neural indicators of attention measured using event-related potentials (ERPs) in children or adolescents (i.e., youths). The present study examined the influence of ABMT on the P1, N170, P2 and P3 ERP components during completion of the emotional faces dot probe task in youths with anxiety disorders who failed to respond to cognitive behavioral therapy. Method: Thirty youths (M age = 11.97, SD = 2.89) with primary DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorders completed the dot probe task while undergoing electroencephalogram (EEG) to obtain ERPs before, immediately after, and eight weeks after eight sessions of either ABMT (n = 14) or a control task regimen (CT), (n = 16). Results: At post-treatment, statistically significant effects were found for P1 and P3 mean amplitudes: P1 was significantly higher during trials showing neutral-neutral (NN) face pairs in the ABMT arm than in the CT arm; P3 was significantly higher during trials showing NN face pairs than during trials showing neutral-threat (NT) face pairs in the ABMT arm, but not the CT arm. At eight-week follow-up, participants in both arms showed significantly higher (more negative) N170 responses for NN trials than for NT trials. Conclusions: Attention Bias Modification Treatment led to increases in neural processing of neutral stimuli in early and late stage attentional processing, as measured by the P1 and P3 components, respectively. These components during the dot probe task are promising neural markers of ABMT’s effects on attentional processing in youth with anxiety disorders

The Supreme Court and the Transformation of Juvenile Sentencing

In the past decade, the Supreme Court has transformed the constitutional landscape of juvenile crime regulation. In three strongly worded opinions, the Court held that imposing harsh criminal sentences on juvenile offenders violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. In combination, these cases create a special status for juveniles under Eighth Amendment doctrine as a category of offenders whose culpability is mitigated by their youth and immaturity, even for the most serious offenses. The Court also emphasized that juveniles are more likely to reform than adult offenders, and that most should be given a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate that they have done so. In short, because of young offenders’ developmental immaturity, harsh sentences that may be suitable for adult criminals are seldom appropriate for juveniles. These opinions announce a powerful constitutional principle – that “children are different” for purposes of criminal punishment. In articulating this principle, the Supreme Court has also provided general guidance to courts sentencing juveniles and to lawmakers charged with implementing the rulings. At the same time, the Court did not directly address the specifics of implementation and it left many questions unanswered about the implications of the opinions for juvenile sentencing regulation. In the years since Roper, Graham, and Miller, courts and legislatures have struggled to interpret the opinions and to create procedures and policies that are compatible with constitutional principles and doctrine. This report addresses the key issues facing courts and legislatures under this new constitutional regime, and provides guidance based on the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment analysis and on the principles the Court has articulated. Part I begins with the constitutional sentencing framework, grounded in the opinions and embodying the key elements of the Court’s analysis. It then explains the underlying developmental knowledge that supports the constitutional framework and the “children are different” principle. Part II Part II examines how courts and legislatures have responded to the Eighth Amendment opinions, through reforms of state laws regulating juvenile life without parole (JLWOP). While some state lawmakers appear to ignore or subvert the Supreme Court’s holdings, others have responded in ways that clearly embody the principles underlying Miller and Graham. In Montgomery v. Louisiana, the Court held that Miller applies retroactively because it established a substantive rule of constitutional law. Part III translates Miller’s directive that specific factors be considered in making individualized sentencing decisions. The report\u27s aim is to guide courts and clinicians in structuring sentencing hearings that incorporate sound developmental research and other evidence supporting or negating mitigation, without going beyond the limits of science. Part IV explores the broader implications of the Supreme Court’s developmental framework for juvenile sentencing and parole, implications that have already sparked law reforms beyond the relatively narrow holdings of Graham and Miller. Finally, the paper ends on a cautionary note, pointing to evidence that constitutionally sound, developmentally-based policies may be vulnerable to political and other pressures. Aside from mandates in the holdings themselves, reforms can be dismantled or discounted if conditions change. Measures to sustain the current trend in law reform are discussed

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

Impact of Immigration Parent-Child Separation Policies on Children’s Attachment Experiences

This critical literature review (CRP) project explores the consequences of child-parent separation by deportation laws. Considering the number of Latinx immigrant families immigrating to the United States, this review focused on how the unexpected separation by deportation impacted immigrant families and how these separations affect their children’s development, attachment style, and overall well-being. The review explored the short- and long-term consequences for immigrant children and their families, including children who are U.S.-born and remain in the country without their parents. Results from the review indicate an extensive and significant impact on attachment style and overall developmental impairments. The unexpected separation of immigrant children from their parents appears to be associated with avoidant attachment styles, anxious-ambivalent attachment styles, low- performance at school, medical conditions, relational problems, mental health conditions, and family disintegration. Findings are presented in terms of theoretical and practical implications and directions for future investigations. Recommendations for clinicians are also included based on the review of the literature

Adolescent Psychiatry

Psychiatric disorders in adolescents are an important social problem relevant to almost all healthcare professionals. The prevalence of mood, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders among adolescents is high. However, medical professionals are not sufficiently trained about adolescent psychiatric disorders. Primary care providers correctly identify less than a fourth of youth with a depressive or anxiety disorder and many clinicians underestimate the importance of the problem of adolescent psychiatric illnesses and suicidal behavior. Multiple clinical, neurobiological, cultural and legal aspects of psychiatric disorders in adolescents are discussed in this book

An Analysis of the Effects of Trauma on Foster Youth Aging Out of the Florida Foster Care System: Implications for Supportive Interventions and Practices

In the U.S. there are approximately 25,000 youth that leave the Child Welfare System without a stable long-term housing arrangement and are left to age out of foster care and transition into adulthood (Dion, Dworsky, Kauff, & Kleinman, 2014, p. iii). These foster youth alumni (FYA) travel through various paths yet share many traumatic events that cause long-term effects that influence coping skills. This qualitative and phenomenological study aims to investigate the various traumas experienced, before and during foster care, and the coping skills that FYA have developed. A total of 16 FYA, from the Florida Child Welfare System, were enrolled in the study and completed a demographic survey and semi-structured interview to share their experiences entering and aging-out of the system. From these interviews, shared themes resonated through the collective group: Lack of Basic Skills, Coping Strategies, and System Barriers. In addition, several sub-themes were highlighted in the study that further illustrate their experiences. The study results display gaps in the system where this vulnerable population is often being re-traumatized. This inturn affects how FYA behave and the skills used to cope while succumbing them to a higher probability of confronting additional obstacles than those foster youth who are reunified, adopted, and/or placed in a stable home. The investigator intends for these results to help improve Child Welfare best practices and begin further discussion on needed actions to provide the appropriate support and programs to aid FYA to independence

Music preference and its effects on emotion processes and identity development in young adult females: an examination of the emo subculture

Average daily listening hours and annual sales figures give testament to the important position that music holds in the personal and social lives of individuals in contemporary cultures (Arnett, 1991; North, Hargreaves, & O’Neill, 2000; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003; Ter Bogt, Raaijmakers, Vollebergh, van Well, & Sikkema, 2003). Youth, especially, dedicate considerable amounts of time and money to music listening (Roberts, Henriksen, & Foehr, 2009). However, it has been suggested that certain music preferences and music subcultures are associated with problem behaviors and/or internalizing distress in youth, particularly females (Miranda & Claes, 2008, 2009; Selfhout, Delsing, Ter Bogt, & Meeus, 2008). Specifically, the emo music subculture has typically been associated with themes of depression, self-injury, and suicide (Porretta, 2007; Sands, 2006; Shafron & Karno, 2013). As a result, this study sought to contribute to the need for research in this area by exploring the role of music in the psychological functioning of adolescents and emerging adult females. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the experiences and conceptualizations of music in relationship to emotional processes, identity development, and self-concept among young adult females who listen to music that has been commonly labeled as emo. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 8 women ranging in age from who reported listening to music considered to be emo. Results indicated several themes related to mood, self, and others. With regard to mood, 4 subthemes arose: emotion related coping, music as an emotional trigger, catharsis, and empowerment- hope. In terms of themes related to the self, participants reported being able to feel a personal connection to the music, and most shared that emo music helped them feel accepted and understood. Finally, with regard to themes related to others, results indicated that the participants tended to experience some form of negative attention due to their involvement in this subculture, though they also reported having been able to form social bonds because of their music preferences. Potential contributions include adding to the literature on music preference and its relationship to young adult mood and identity development. In addition, the study provides information relevant to individuals involved in the emo subculture that has potential implications for intervention with this population