Self-Reported Time in Bed and Sleep Quality in Association with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in School-Age Youth

This study investigated the relationship between self-reported time in bed and sleep quality in association with self-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 285 elementary school students (52% female) recruited from a rural Midwestern elementary school. Path models were used to estimate proposed associations, controlling for grade level and gender. Curvilinear associations were found between time in bed and anxiety, depressive symptoms, and irritability. Marginal curvilinear trends were found between time in bed and emotion dysregulation, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression. Sleep quality was negatively associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, irritability, reactive aggression, and delinquency engagement. Gender and grade differences were found across models. Findings suggest that examining self-reported time in bed (both linear and quadratic) and sleep quality is important for understanding internalizing and externalizing symptoms associated with sleep in school-age youth. Incorporating self-reported sleep assessments into clinical practice and school-based evaluations may have implications for a child’s adjustment

Anxiety and Depression in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are thought to be at disproportionate risk of developing mental health comorbidities, with anxiety and depression being considered most prominent amongst these. Yet, no systematic review has been carried out to date to examine rates of both anxiety and depression focusing specifically on adults with ASD. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the rates of anxiety and depression in adults with ASD and the impact of factors such as assessment methods and presence of comorbid intellectual disability (ID) diagnosis on estimated prevalence rates. Electronic database searches for studies published between January 2000 and September 2017 identified a total of 35 studies, including 30 studies measuring anxiety (n = 26 070; mean age = 30.9, s.d. = 6.2 years) and 29 studies measuring depression (n = 26 117; mean age = 31.1, s.d. = 6.8 years). The pooled estimation of current and lifetime prevalence for adults with ASD were 27% and 42% for any anxiety disorder, and 23% and 37% for depressive disorder. Further analyses revealed that the use of questionnaire measures and the presence of ID may significantly influence estimates of prevalence. The current literature suffers from a high degree of heterogeneity in study method and an overreliance on clinical samples. These results highlight the importance of community-based studies and the identification and inclusion of well-characterized samples to reduce heterogeneity and bias in estimates of prevalence for comorbidity in adults with ASD and other populations with complex psychiatric presentations

Match or mismatch? Influence of parental and offspring ASD and ADHD symptoms on the parent-child relationship

Item does not contain fulltextFew studies have examined the influence of parental ASD and ADHD symptoms in combination with child pathology on the parent- child relationship as perceived by the child. A sample of 132 families was recruited with one child with ASD (with/without ADHD), and one unaffected sibling. Affected children (regardless of diagnosis) reported lower acceptance and conflict resolution scores than their unaffected siblings, with conflict resolution scores (but not acceptance) being lower than the norm according to both affected and unaffected children in both fathers and mothers. Higher paternal, but not maternal, ASD and ADHD symptoms were related to poorer scores regarding acceptance and conflict resolution, respectively. Treatment targeting conflict resolution skills of parents and the feeling of being less accepted in children with ASD/ADHD may be beneficial

Raised by depressed parents: is it an environmental risk?

The mechanisms explaining how parental depression compromises healthy child development are complex and multifaceted, with genetic and environmental pathways intertwined. Reexamination of whether and how maternal and paternal depression serve as environmental risk factors is important because such an investigation can be helpful to identify modifiable mechanisms that are accessible to interventions. We review studies that have employed designs that isolate the effects of the environment from genetic influences, including adoption studies and children of twins studies. Findings indicate that maternal depression is an environmental risk factor for the emotional, behavioral, and neurobiological development of children. Although more studies are needed, preliminary findings suggest that paternal depression appears to be a weaker environmental risk as compared to maternal depression, at least during infancy and toddlerhood. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York