Mental Health Comorbidities in Adolescents with ASD: Indirect Effects of Family Functioning through Youth Social Competence

Mental Health Comorbidities in Adolescents with ASD: Indirect Effects of Family Functioning through Youth Social Competence Marie Johnson, Depts. of Psychology and Product Innovation, and Jessica Greenlee and Cathryn Richmond, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Students, with Dr. Marcia Winter, Dept. of Psychology Recent research has established the high comorbidities of mental health problems in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; see Strang, et al., 2012), prompting researchers to examine factors that may contribute to elevated anxiety and depression. Given the centrality during adolescence of both the family and peer contexts (Greenlee, Winter, & Diehl, 2018) as well as the stage salience of peer relationships (Masten et al., 1995), this study focused on family functioning, social competence, and mental health in verbally-fluent adolescents with ASD. Some have suggested that adolescents with ASD who have no cognitive impairment are more interested in social interaction but also more aware of their social differences (Mazurek & Kanne, 2010). Combined with the social demands of adolescence, increased social awareness may put youth at risk for disengaging from peers; poor peer relationships, feelings of isolation, and loneliness have been associated with internalizing problems in youth with ASD (Bauminger & Kasari, 2000; Vickerstaff et al., 2007; Whitehouse et al., 2009). We reasoned that adolescents learn social skills in part from family experiences, even in the context of ASD, and that the family environment plays a role in adolescent’s social competence. Thus, while social-communication deficits are an inherent part of an ASD diagnosis, families still play a role in adolescents’ social competencies and influence their social development. Therefore, we tested part of the larger theoretical model by examining the indirect relationship between family functioning and adolescent anxiety and depression symptomatology via adolescent social competence for adolescents with ASD. This study uses data from the Teens and Parents (TAP) Study (see Greenlee, 2019). Participants were adolescents aged 13-17 (N = 178; Mage= 14.92, SD = 1.31; 73% male) diagnosed with ASD, and their primary caregivers (PCs) who all identified as biological or adoptive mothers. PCs reported demographics and completed (1) the Self-Report of Family Inventory (SFI; Beavers & Hampston, 2000) to assess global family functioning via the Health and Competence subscale, and (2) the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantino & Gruber, 2012) to assess deficits in adolescent social competencies. Adolescents reported their own depression and anxiety symptoms via the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale-Short Version (RCADS; Ebesutani et al., 2012). As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the indirect pathway from family functioning to social competence deficits and in turn to internalizing symptoms was statistically significant for adolescent anxiety (B= -1.015, SE = 0.394, 95% CI = [-1.893, -0.353]) and depression symptoms (B= -0.513, SE = 0.192, 95% CI = [-0.938, -0.189]) over and above the effects of family SES and adolescent age, sex, and restrictive and repetitive behavior. It was proposed that family functioning would play a role in adolescent mental health symptomatology via the mediating effect of social competence. Results support this hypothesis, indicating the importance of family functioning in youth social competence, and the subsequent effects on adolescent mental health. These results contribute to the understanding of mental health comorbidities in adolescents with ASD and could be used to inform future interventions.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1315/thumbnail.jp

Freedom, Kinship, and Property: Free Women of African Descent in the French Atlantic, 1685-1810

“Freedom, Kinship, and Property: Free Women of African Descent in the French Atlantic, 1685-1810” examines the role kinship and property played in the lives of free women of African descent in the Atlantic ports of Senegal, Saint-Domingue, and Gulf Coast Louisiana. Over the course of the long eighteenth century, a distinct cohort of African women and women of African descent recognized as not enslaved, enjoyed status and position in the slaveholding French Atlantic. Free status allowed them to claim their own labor, establish families, accumulate property, and demand the rights that accompanied freedom. However, free women of color’s claims to freedom, kinship, and property were not always recognized, and during the tumultuous era of the founding of the French Atlantic world these women struggled to secure livelihoods for themselves and their progeny. “Freedom, Kinship, and Property” explores the ways French Atlantic free women of African descent labored to give meaning to their freedom. This study developed out of my broader interests in Atlantic slavery, diaspora studies, and the histories of black women and of free people of color. Using travel narratives, notarial records, parish registers, and civil and criminal court records, “Freedom, Kinship, and Property” describes the lives of women of African descent in eighteenth-century Senegal, Saint-Domingue, and Gulf Coast Louisiana. In Senegal, African and Eurafrican women's commercial networks and liaisons with European men secured them prized positions in local trading networks and the society being built at the comptoirs. In Saint-Domingue and Gulf Coast Louisiana, free women of color manipulated manumission laws, built complicated kinship networks, and speculated in property to support families of their own. Free women of African descent created kinship networks, established material wealth, and maneuvered through a world of slave trading, international warfare, and revolution. Considering how free women of color negotiated kinship and property as they moved with slaves and goods between Atlantic port cities sheds important light on the formation of the black Atlantic over time

Insights into Fluid-Rock Interactions on the CV3 Carbonaceous Chondrite Asteroid: The Complex Record in the Allende-like CV3 Chondrite, NWA 2364.

The two subgroups of the CV3 chondrites, oxidized and reduced, contain primitive solar system materials that provide many insights into early solar system processes. Both subgroups record significant evidence of secondary alteration that has modified their primary characteristics. In this work, we have studied the petrography, mineralogy, and oxygen isotopic composition of the NWA 2364 CV3OxA chondrite and a large lithic inclusion using SEM, electron microprobe, FIB/TEM, and laser fluorination oxygen isotope analyses in order to characterize their alteration histories in detail. The NWA 2364 host and lithic inclusion consist of chondrules, Calcium-Aluminum-rich Inclusions (CAIs), and fine-grained matrix. In the host, primary minerals in the majority of chondrules have been altered by different types of ferroan olivine. Iron-nickel sulfides are nearly absent from matrix and chondrules. In multiple cases, Ca is absent from chondrule interiors and forms secondary Ca-rich pyroxene aggregates within the matrix. Secondary Na-bearing phases such as nepheline and sodalite are absent. The alteration features found in the lithic inclusion are similar in many ways to the host, but the degree of replacement is more extreme with a few notable differences. In the lithic inclusion, primary minerals have been altered to different types of ferroan olivine and, in some cases, chondrules have been completely pseudomorphed by ferroan olivines. Calcium has been leached from chondrules forming secondary Ca-rich pyroxene aggregates around the peripheries of fine-grained chondrule rims. The lithic inclusion is depleted in the fluid mobile elements, Na, K, and S compared to dark inclusions in Allende. Sodium- and K-bearing secondary phases such as nepheline and sodalite are absent from chondrules and matrix, as are sulfides. Many chondrule olivine phenocrysts contain secondary veins consisting of crystallographically-oriented, elongate, ferroan olivines (a few microns in size), similar in texture to those found in CM chondrites and terrestrial olivine that have undergone serpentinization. Along the exterior of the lithic inclusion there is an abundance of Ca-rich pyroxene aggregates forming a rim along the interface of the host and lithic inclusion. Bulk oxygen isotopic values for the host and lithic inclusion are displaced from the CCAM line, near the compositions of Leoville dark inclusions. This work provides strong petrographic and geochemical evidence to indicate that the lithic inclusion and the NWA 2364 host were altered by fluid-rock interaction and experienced thermal metamorphism. Based on our observations, we propose the following history for the NWA 2364 chondrite and lithic inclusion. The lithic inclusion underwent aqueous alteration at low temperatures, converting a significant volume of the primary components (matrix, chondrules, etc.) into phyllosilicates and redistributing fluid-mobile elements. Progressive asteroidal heating leading to thermal metamorphism took place, dehydrating the hydrous phases and switching the alteration regime to one of fluid-assisted metamorphism in a lower fluid-rock ratio environment. The fluid released by dehydration was responsible for the fluid-assisted metamorphism, but was ultimately completely lost from the rock. The lithic inclusion was then emplaced in the NWA 2364 host via impact regolith processes. The host was likely still undergoing aqueous alteration at the time of emplacement, causing a geochemical disequilibrium between the two different lithologies. This disequilibrium caused the host and lithic inclusion to interact until the fluids were lost from the rock. Compared to other dark inclusions, the lithic inclusion is highly depleted in fluid mobile elements, suggesting that it has been highly metasomatized by the aqueous fluids. The NWA 2364 lithic inclusion is unique, as it is first lithic inclusion that has definitive evidence of low temperature hydration of primary phases prior to thermal metamorphism, demonstrating that at least some dark inclusions did go through an episode of hydration, not just high temperature interaction with aqueous fluids. This study provides further evidence for parent body alteration, but also adds to our understanding of the dynamic and complex nature of that processes that occurred on the CV3 parent asteroid

The effects of learning on the eating responses of rats exposed to stress

Literature examining the relationship between stress and eating behaviour reveals that while both decreased and increased eating are observed in response to stress, it is unclear what factors determine whether an individual will typically decrease or increase eating during stress. The present study sought to explore whether decreased/increased eating in response to future stressors, could be elicited by prior associations between decreased/increased eating and the presentation of a stressor, through operant conditioning. The “Conditioned Non-Eaters” (CNE) group received punishment training while the “Conditioned Eaters” (CE) group received negative reinforcement training in response to a noise stressor, and the Control group received no operant training. Conditioning trials were followed by a series of five tests exposing subjects to no stress, the noise stimulus, threat of shock, restraint, and a tail-pinch. Results indicate that group differences in eating were observed during exposure to the noise stimulus following training, but not in the absence of stress, and consistent group differences to the noise stress were further observed during exposure to novel stressors. These findings suggest that past operant associations between eating and a specific stressor can generalize to other stressors, influencing individuals to respond to stress exposure in a way that has be reinforced in the past.Master of Arts in Experimental Psycholog

"Mapping Caribbean Cyberfeminisms"

Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Tonya Haynes is founder of the Red for Gender blog, one of the most important digital Caribbean feminist networks operating today, as well as the CatchAFyah Caribbean Feminist Network. Haynes, as someone operating in digital and diaspora activist spaces, offers an illuminating read of the development and reach of Caribbean feminism online. This essay is part of the inaugural issue of the born-digital publication, sx:archipelagos. sx:archipelagos provides an independent space for peer review, digital artifacts, and research. Instructors can assign it as a reading in digital humanities, Caribbean, and communications courses, and students will find the essay useful as an overview of how digital diasporas operate, form, and organize around political issues (like ending violence against women)

Colored Conventions in a Box

Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Described by the creators as “Colored Conventions in a Box,” the curriculum materials of the Colored Conventions Project aims to serve as a “curricular package that supports instructors as they engage in teaching that transforms the minutes of the convention they’ve chosen to teach into a rich and engaging series of cultural biographies and visual artifacts.” The curriculum includes memos of understanding for students and teachers, lesson plans, sample exercises and syllabi, and strategies for grading work using the convention material. Along with classroom exercises and pedagogy, the curriculum materials model best practices for instructors interested in using the archival material on the site and teaching diverse subjects or sensitive topics. Instructors can use the curriculum as is alongside the Colored Conventions Project or adapt elements (like the memo of understanding) to guide students developing their own projects

Public attitudes towards alcohol control policies in Scotland and England: Results from a mixed-methods study

The harmful effects of heavy drinking on health have been widely reported, yet public opinion on governmental responsibility for alcohol control remains divided. This study examines UK public attitudes towards alcohol policies, identifies underlying dimensions that inform these, and relationships with perceived effectiveness. A cross-sectional mixed methods study involving a telephone survey of 3477 adult drinkers aged 16-65 and sixteen focus groups with 89 adult drinkers in Scotland and England was conducted between September 2012 and February 2013. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce twelve policy statements into underlying dimensions. These dimensions were used in linear regression models examining alcohol policy support by demographics, drinking behaviour and perceptions of UK drinking and government responsibility. Findings were supplemented with a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. A majority of survey respondents supported all alcohol policies, although the level of support varied by type of policy. Greater enforcement of laws on under-age sales and more police patrolling the streets were strongly supported while support for pricing policies and restricting access to alcohol was more divided. PCA identified four main dimensions underlying support on policies: alcohol availability, provision of health information and treatment services, alcohol pricing, and greater law enforcement. Being female, older, a moderate drinker, and holding a belief that government should do more to reduce alcohol harms were associated with higher support on all policy dimensions. Focus group data revealed findings from the survey may have presented an overly positive level of support on all policies due to differences in perceived policy effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness can help inform underlying patterns of policy support and should be considered in conjunction with standard measures of support in future research on alcohol control policies

Flatland

Flatland is a project of VCDE233 TYPOGRAPHY II and VCDI223 DESIGN AND PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION, both courses in the Design Studies diploma program at MacEwan University. Students were asked to translate an assigned section of the Victorian novella, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (1884), into a two-page layout that treats the text in a way that is visually appealing, readable, and appropriate to the content. They were encouraged to challenge conventions by exploring alternative grids, objective and expressive type, and text and image relationships. VCDE233 Typography II (Constanza Pacher) and VCDI223 Design and Pre-Press Production (Jess Dupuis