Social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of secondary school students with low academic and language performance: perspectives from students, teachers, and parents

Adolescence is a time of transition when young people with language difficulties are at increased risk of experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). Most studies of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning (SEBF) in individuals with language difficulties focus on children with a clinical diagnosis of language impairment. This study explores SEBF in a nonclinical group of 12-year-old students with low educational and language performance from their own perspectives and those of their parents and teachers

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

Prediction of 7-year psychopathology from mother-infant joint attention behaviours: a nested case–control study

<br>Background: To investigate whether later diagnosis of psychiatric disorder can be predicted from analysis of mother-infant joint attention (JA) behaviours in social-communicative interaction at 12 months.</br> <br>Method: Using data from a large contemporary birth cohort, we examined 159 videos of a mother-infant interaction for joint attention behaviour when children were aged one year, sampled from within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Fifty-three of the videos involved infants who were later considered to have a psychiatric disorder at seven years and 106 were same aged controls. Psychopathologies included in the case group were disruptive behaviour disorders, oppositional-conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pervasive development disorder, anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychiatric diagnoses were obtained using the Development and Wellbeing Assessment when the children were seven years old.</br> <br>Results: None of the three JA behaviours (shared look rate, shared attention rate and shared attention intensity) showed a significant association with the primary outcome of case–control status. Only shared look rate predicted any of the exploratory sub-diagnosis outcomes and was found to be positively associated with later oppositional-conduct disorders (OR [95% CI]: 1.5 [1.0, 2.3]; p = 0.041).</br><br>Conclusions: JA behaviours did not, in general, predict later psychopathology. However, shared look was positively associated with later oppositional-conduct disorders. This suggests that some features of JA may be early markers of later psychopathology. Further investigation will be required to determine whether any JA behaviours can be used to screen for families in need of intervention.</br&gt

Recognition of Face Identity and Emotion in Expressive Specific Language Impairment

Objective: To study face and emotion recognition in children with mostly expressive specific language impairment (SLI-E). Subjects and Methods: A test movie to study perception and recognition of faces and mimic-gestural expression was applied to 24 children diagnosed as suffering from SLI-E and an age-matched control group of normally developing children. Results: Compared to a normal control group, the SLI-E children scored significantly worse in both the face and expression recognition tasks with a preponderant effect on emotion recognition. The performance of the SLI-E group could not be explained by reduced attention during the test session. Conclusion: We conclude that SLI-E is associated with a deficiency in decoding non-verbal emotional facial and gestural information, which might lead to profound and persistent problems in social interaction and development. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Depression and Anxiety Change from Adolescence to Adulthood in Individuals with and without Language Impairment

This prospective longitudinal study aims to determine patterns and predictors of change in depression and anxiety from adolescence to adulthood in individuals with language impairment (LI). Individuals with LI originally recruited at age 7 years and a comparison group of age-matched peers (AMPs) were followed from adolescence (16 years) to adulthood (24 years). We determine patterns of change in depression and anxiety using the Child Manifest Anxiety Scale-Revised (CMAS-R) and Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ). In addition to examining associations with gender, verbal and nonverbal skills, we use a time-varying variable to investigate relationships between depression and anxiety symptoms and transitions in educational/employment circumstances. The results show that anxiety was higher in participants with LI than age matched peers and remained so from adolescence to adulthood. Individuals with LI had higher levels of depression symptoms than did AMPs at 16 years. Levels in those with LI decreased post-compulsory schooling but rose again by 24 years of age. Those who left compulsory school provision (regardless of school type) for more choice-driven college but who were not in full-time employment or study by 24 years of age were more likely to show this depression pathway. Verbal and nonverbal skills were not predictive of this pattern of depression over time. The typical female vulnerability for depression and anxiety was observed for AMPs but not for individuals with LI. These findings have implications for service provision, career/employment advice and support for individuals with a history of LI during different transitions from adolescence to adulthood

Genetics of callous-unemotional behavior in children

Callous-unemotional behavior (CU) is currently under consideration as a subtyping index for conduct disorder diagnosis. Twin studies routinely estimate the heritability of CU as greater than 50%. It is now possible to estimate genetic influence using DNA alone from samples of unrelated individuals, not relying on the assumptions of the twin method. Here we use this new DNA method (implemented in a software package called Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis, GCTA) for the first time to estimate genetic influence on CU. We also report the first genome-wide association (GWA) study of CU as a quantitative trait. We compare these DNA results to those from twin analyses using the same measure and the same community sample of 2,930 children rated by their teachers at ages 7, 9 and 12. GCTA estimates of heritability were near zero, even though twin analysis of CU in this sample confirmed the high heritability of CU reported in the literature, and even though GCTA estimates of heritability were substantial for cognitive and anthropological traits in this sample. No significant associations were found in GWA analysis, which, like GCTA, only detects additive effects of common DNA variants. The phrase ‘missing heritability’ was coined to refer to the gap between variance associated with DNA variants identified in GWA studies versus twin study heritability. However, GCTA heritability, not twin study heritability, is the ceiling for GWA studies because both GCTA and GWA are limited to the overall additive effects of common DNA variants, whereas twin studies are not. This GCTA ceiling is very low for CU in our study, despite its high twin study heritability estimate. The gap between GCTA and twin study heritabilities will make it challenging to identify genes responsible for the heritability of CU

Effects of Language Context on Ratings of Shy and Unsociable Behaviors in English Language Learning Children

Purpose The primary goal of this study was to explore the effect of the language context on the socially withdrawn behaviors of school aged-children who are English Language Learners (ELLs) from middle to high SES backgrounds. This is one of the first studies to address the frequently confused concepts of shyness and unsociability as independent constructs within the ELL population. This study also investigated the feasibility of an experimental parent and child questionnaire that examines shyness and unsociability across native and English speaking contexts. Method Children and parents (34 ELL and 37 native English speaking) were administered an experimental questionnaire examining shy and unsociable behavior in native language and English-speaking contexts. Results Parents and children from the ELL group reported significantly higher ratings of shy behavior in English versus native language contexts, whereas unsociable ratings did not differ across language contexts. Conclusions Shyness and unsociability are distinguishable behaviors in ELL children and these constructs should be considered when examining withdrawal. Additionally, examining ELL children’s behavior across language contexts provides a valuable method for investigating language influenced behavioral problems. This study demonstrates the need for service providers to evaluate behavior across subtype and language context before pathologizing withdrawal in ELL children

The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene and short term behavioral response to methylphenidate in children with ADHD

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Animal models of ADHD suggest that the paradoxical calming effect of methylphenidate on motor activity could be mediated through its action on serotonin transmission. In this study, we have investigated the relationship between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (<it>SLC6A4</it>) and the response of ADHD relevant behaviors with methylphenidate treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients between ages 6-12 (n = 157) were assessed with regard to their behavioral response to methylphenidate (0.5 mg/kg/day) using a 2-week prospective within-subject, placebo-controlled (crossover) trial. The children were then genotyped with regard to the triallelic 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in the <it>SLC6A4 </it>gene. Main outcome measure: Conners' Global Index for parents (CGI-Parents) and teachers (CGI-Teachers) at baseline and at the end of each week of treatment with placebo and methylphenidate. For both outcome measurements, we used a mixed model analysis of variance to determine gene, treatment and gene × treatment interaction effects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mixed model analysis of variance revealed a gene × treatment interaction for CGI-Parents but not for CGI-Teachers. Children homozygous for the lower expressing alleles (<it>s+l_G= s'</it>) responded well to placebo and did not derive additional improvement with methylphenidate compared to children carrying a higher expressing allele (<it>l_A</it>). No genotype main effects on either CGI-Parents or CGI-teachers were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A double blind placebo-controlled design was used to assess the behavioral effects of methylphenidate in relation to the triallelic 5-HTTLPR polymorphism of the <it>SLC6A4 </it>gene in children with ADHD. This polymorphism appears to modulate the behavioral response to methylphenidate in children with ADHD as assessed in the home environment by parents. Further investigation is needed to assess the clinical implications of this finding.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00483106</p

Deviant Peer Affiliation and Antisocial Behavior: Interaction with Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Genotype

Although genetic and environmental factors are separately implicated in the development of antisocial behavior (ASB), interactive models have emerged relatively recently, particularly those incorporating molecular genetic data. Using a large sample of male Caucasian adolescents and young adults from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the association of deviant peer affiliation, the 30-base pair variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in promoter region of the monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA) gene, and their interaction, with antisocial behavior (ASB) was investigated. Weighted analyses accounting for over-sampling and clustering within schools as well as controlling for age and wave suggested that deviant peer affiliation and MAOA genotype were each significantly associated with levels of overt ASB across a 6-year period. Only deviant peer affiliation was significantly related to covert ASB, however. Additionally, there was evidence suggestive of a gene-environment interaction (G × E) where the influence of deviant peer affiliation on overt ASB was significantly stronger among individuals with the high-activity MAOA genotype than the low-activity genotype. MAOA was not significantly associated with deviant peer affiliation, thus strengthening the inference of G × E rather than gene-environment correlation (rGE). Different forms of gene-environment interplay and implications for future research on ASB are discussed