A common copy-number variant within SIRPB1 correlates with human Out-of-Africa migration after genetic drift correction

Previous reports have proposed that personality may have played a role on human Out-Of- Africa migration, pinpointing some genetic variants that were positively selected in the migrating populations. In this work, we discuss the role of a common copy-number variant within the SIRPB1 gene, recently associated with impulsive behavior, in the human Out-Of-Africa migration. With the analysis of the variant distribution across forty-two different populations, we found that the SIRPB1 haplotype containing duplicated allele significantly correlated with human migratory distance, being one of the few examples of positively selected loci found across the human world colonization. Circular Chromosome Conformation Capture (4C-seq) experiments from the SIRPB1 promoter revealed important 3D modifications in the locus depending on the presence or absence of the duplication variant. In addition, a 3' enhancer showed neural activity in transgenic models, suggesting that the presence of the CNV may compromise the expression of SIRPB1 in the central nervous system, paving the way to construct a molecular explanation of the SIRPB1 variants role in human migration

To Go or Not to Go: Exploring brain activation during response inhibition reading tasks

Objective: Response inhibition is an understudied component of reading that aids in the selection of appropriate responses amidst complicated tasks. Our objective was to explore the contribution of brain regions associated with response inhibition processing in reading tasks that vary in difficulty of response inhibition. Method: Participants (N = 15) completed two go/no-go reading tasks while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, with the instructions to “name aloud the letter strings that spell a real word.” For the minimal response inhibition condition, the foils, which are stimuli that should not be repsonded to, were nonwords with unfamiliar spelling and sound (e.g., “bink”). For the maximal response inhibition condition, the foils were pseudohomophones with unfamiliar spelling but familiar sound (e.g., “pynt”). The following brain regions associated with decision-making processes were analyzed: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), the middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and the posterior insula (PI). Results: Significant differences in activation within the nonword task were found for the DMPFC and the PI (the ACC approached significance). Significant differences in activation within the pseudohomophone task were found for the ACC, the MTG, and the PI. The IFG was found to be greatly activated for all words that had familiar phonemes (sounds). The MOG was found to be activated across all tasks. Conclusion: We provide evidence for differential response inhibition processing in the decision-making network during reading tasks. This work is a necessary step in better understanding response inhibition ability for individuals with and without reading impairments

The co-occurrence between symptoms of internet gaming disorder and psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence: prospective relations or common causes?

Background: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is highlighted as a condition for further study in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM‐5). Some studies indicate that IGD appears comorbid with other psychiatric disorders. We examine concurrent and prospective links between symptoms of IGD and symptoms of common psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence to determine whether observed comorbidity is a result of (a) reciprocal relations or (b) common underlying causes. Methods: A community sample (n = 702) of Norwegian children completed the Internet Gaming Disorder Interview (IGDI) to assess DSM‐5 defined IGD symptoms at ages 10, 12 and 14 years. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA) assessed symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) at the same time points. Results: A Random Intercept Cross‐lagged Panel Model (RI‐CLPM), which captures pure within‐person changes and adjusts for all unmeasured time‐invariant factors (e.g., genetics, parent education) revealed no associations between IGD symptoms and psychopathology, except that increased IGD symptoms at ages 10 and 12 predicted decreased symptoms of anxiety two years later. Conclusions: No support emerged for concurrent or prospective relations between IGD and psychiatric symptoms, except in one case: increased IGD symptoms forecasted reduction in anxiety symptoms. Observed co‐occurrence between IGD symptoms and mental health problems can mainly be attributed to common underlying factorspublishedVersio

Sundhedsplejens indsatser og betydning i arbejdet med små udsatte børn og familier: – Forsknings- og vidensopsamling

Denne forsknings- og vidensopsamling præsenterer forskningsundersøgelser, både nationalt og internationalt, der på forskellig vis har fokus på sundhedsplejens arbejde og betydning i relation til små udsatte børn og deres familier. Forsknings- og vidensopsamlingen udgør del II af et samlet forskningsprojekt, som har udforsket sundhedsplejens arbejde i to forskellige bydele i København, der har forløbet i perioden januar 2013 til december 2014

Self-protective strategies of parents with ADHD and their children as mediated by sensitivity : a multiple case-study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the parental sensitivity and self-protective strategies of parents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those of their children. Design/methodology/approach Six parents with ADHD and their under 3-years-old children participated. One parent took part with her both children. The data included seven parent-child dyads. The parents were interviewed with the modified Adult Attachment Interview. Parental sensitivity was assessed using the CARE-Index. The self-protective strategies of the children were assessed with The Strange Situation Procedure or the Preschool Assessment of Attachment. Findings The study showed a variety of the self-protective strategies of parents with ADHD as well as those of their children. Three subgroups were formed on the basis of risk as indicated by Crittenden's gradient of transformation of information. Parents displayed complex self-protective strategies as well as unresolved traumas, which impaired their sensitivity and ability to engage in mutual regulation of arousal and emotion. The parents' needs of self-protection compromised their ability to protect and comfort their child that is their sensitivity. The children's protective strategies matched those of their parents in regard to complexity as mediated by parental sensitivity. Originality/value This multiple-case study demonstrates new ideas to be tested with quantitative methods in larger samples. There are no previous studies which have examined both the attachment strategies and sensitivity of parents with ADHD connecting these with the evolving attachment strategies of their children.Peer reviewe

Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Incidence and Management

ADHD continues to be a common diagnosis of school children, and according to the DSM-IV, it affects approximately 3-5% of the population. Teachers are often the primary source of information regarding ADHD diagnoses in school children. A previous study by Glass and Wegar (2000) found that teachers were over-identifying children with ADHD and that medication was preferred as the primary treatment for these students. This study further examines teacher perceptions on the causes, incidence, and appropriate treatment methods of ADHD. In addition, this study also examines the prevalence of ADHD as determined by the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (School Version) (DuPaul et al., 1998), and determines if it carries biases towards gender or ethnicity. Results show that teachers are still over-identifying children with ADHD when compared to expected prevalence rates by the DSM-IV. Out of 121 rating scales analyzed, 23.97 percent were identified by teachers as meeting criteria for one of the three types of ADHD. Males had significantly higher scores than females and Whites had significantly higher scores than Hispanics. In conclusion, more research needs to be conducted on developing culturally appropriate rating scales for ADHD as well as making changes in the DSM-IV to reflect the growing incidence rates of ADHD

A Review of Self Management Interventions for Children with ADHD and Implications for Education Professionals

An increasing number of children are affected by mental health disorders. These rates vary depending upon the type of disorder, age, and diagnostic tool used in diagnosis. Studies conducted in the United States (e. g. Costello, Costello, Edelbrock, Burns, Dulcan, Brent, & Janiszewski, 1999; Shaffer, Fisher, Dulcan, Davies, Piacentini, Schwab-Stone, Lahey, Bourdon, Jensen, Bird, Canino, & Regier, 1996), New Zealand (e. g. McGee, Feehan, Williams, & Anderson, 1992), Canada (e. g. Offord, Boyle, & Racine, 1989), Puerto Rico (e. g. Bird, Canino, Rubio-Stipec, Gould, Ribera, Sesman, Woodbury, Huertas-Goldman, Pagan, Sanchez-Lacay, & Moscoso, 1988), and the Netherlands (e. g. Verhulst, Ende, Ferdinand, & Kasius, 1997) suggest that 9% - 22% percent of children have clinically severe behavioral and emotional problems. These studies also show significant differences between rates in boys and girls. Studies show that school age boys are more often diagnosed with mental health disorders than girls (Anderson, Williams, McGee, & Silva, 1987; Cohen, Cohen, & Brook, 1993; Costello, Angold, Burns, Stangl, Tweed, Erkanli, & Worthman, 1996; McGee et al., 1992). In the United States, one of the most common reasons children are referred to mental health clinics is for diagnosis and treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Children referred for ADHD account for up to 50% percent of all referrals to outpatient mental health clinics (Adams & Sutker, 2001)

Problemi etici della predizione. Prevenzione della delinquenza precoce

The prevision and the prevention of criminal and abnormal behaviour are very debated topics in criminology. Actually, since the concept of prevention implies in theory the use of any useful mean for trying to reduce the amount of crimes in any age group, the question is which strategies could in fact bring about such an effect. From a historical point of view, this thought requires being aware both of the limits, and of the consequences of the crime prophylaxis itself. It requires being aware of the limits, because every hypothetical prevision can be denied by a high number of variables, which in any moment can modify the course of human behaviour. One should as well be aware of consequences, because, in case a prognosis turned out to be wrong, those behaviours which one wanted to prevent, might paradoxically be reinforced through processes of marginalization and labelling. On the other hand, a preventing and predictive judgement has implications of different kinds: 1) technical, because it results in interventions more or less focused on specific problems (preventing a bank robbery is different from preventing a familiar/domestic crime); 2) prescriptive, which is essential, since the life of a social group could never do without shared and followed rules (a penalty may even have a deterrent effect, if the leading group complies with the rules); 3) ethical, necessarily linked to a principle of benefit (who will enjoy benefits from preventing certain crimes? where is the advantage?). This discussion becomes even more complicated, if referred to those adolescent behaviours which are not only problematical (since they express a developmental discomfort, which can sometimes have even a psychopathological meaning), but also dysfunctional, and therefore antisocial, because they damage the respect of the “other”, required and imposed by the rule, in order to grant social harmony. In this sense, we also talk of “ premature delinquency” meaning a criminal behaviour acted by a minor who is under 14.The question about it is whether, in this age group, the prediction of a possible developmental path in a psychopathological and/or abnormal and/or criminal sense might meet the need either of social control (moreover necessary, at least within certain limits), or of healthcare of the individual, who, in such phase, often acts antisocial behaviours due to psychodevelopmental reasons, in addition to social ones. Everybody knows about the risks and the damages caused by a merely “oracular” work; this is why we cannot leave them aside, particularly when it comes to the building of the personal identity, which could irreparably become a negative identity, just because of a wrong or anyway abnormal prognosis. On the other hand, we have to consider the psychic potential of under 14 subjects, which is available also in a developmental perspective, and even when they are abnormal subjects: a prevention avoiding stigma and aiming at repairing or reinforcing the personal identity seems to meet the need of preserving both the interests of the community (by neutralizing the risk of repeating offence by the same individual) and of individual psychophysical wellness (through a project which enables the individual to rebuild himself by interiorizing positive values). Human existence is necessarily oriented towards a future, which one can be more or less aware of, which is nevertheless inescapable.Therefore, giving growth paths and indicating developmental routes to antisocial under 14 subjects could be a way of preventive intervention, based on an ethical ground, which would lead to an adequate balance between the limits of a merely stigmatizing basis and the need of encouraging respect and improvement of the others.In criminologia, la predizione e la prevenzione delle condotte delittuose e devianti sono argomenti molto dibattuti. Infatti, se il concetto di prevenzione, a livello teorico, presuppone il ricorso ad ogni mezzo utile per tentare di ridurre il numero dei crimini in ogni fascia di età, pare opportuno chiedersi attraverso quali strategie possa verosimilmente ottenersi un simile risultato. Storicamente, tale riflessione presuppone la consapevolezza sia dei limiti, sia delle conseguenze della stessa profilassi criminologia: limiti perché ogni previsione teorica può essere smentita da un numero di variabili molto ampio che, in ogni momento, può modificare il decorso del comportamento umano; e conseguenze perchè, se la prognosi si rivela errata, possono paradossalmente essere rafforzate, attraverso processi di marginalizzazione ed etichettamento, proprio quelle condotte che si intendevano evitare. D’altra parte, un giudizio preventivo e predittivo presenta implicazioni di diversa natura: tecnica, perché si traduce in interventi più o mirati sui singoli problemi (prevenire un furto in banca è un’evenienza diversa dal prevenire un reato intrafamiliare); normativa, imprescindibile nella misura in cui la vita di un gruppo sociale non può mai fare a meno di regole comunque condivise ed osservate (la sanzione può anche fungere da deterrente se il gruppo dominante vi obbedisce); etica, necessariamente correlata ad un principio di beneficialità (chi ci guadagna a prevenire certi reati? dove sta il vantaggio?). Questo discorso risulta ancor più complesso se riferito a quelle condotte adolescenziali non solo problematiche, poiché espressive di un disagio evolutivo che talora, può assumere un valore anche psicopatologici, ma anche disfunzionali e, perciò, antisociali, perché lesive di quel rispetto dell’altro che la norma richiede ed al contempo impone per garantire la civile convivenza. In questo senso, si parla anche di “delinquenza precoce”, con riferimento ad un comportamento criminoso agito da un minore al di sotto dei 14 anni. Al riguardo, ci si domanda se, in questa fascia di età,“predire” un possibile percorso evolutivo in senso psicopatologico e/o deviante e/o criminoso possa rispondere ad un’esigenza di controllo sociale, peraltro necessario almeno entro certi limiti, oppure ad un bisogno di tutela della salute dell’individuo, che, in tale fase, pone in essere condotte antisociali spesso per ragioni di ordine psico-evolutivo, oltre che sociale. I rischi e i danni di un’opera meramente “oracolare” sono noti e, perciò, non possono trascurarsi, soprattutto laddove è in gioco la formazione della stessa identità personale, che può diventare un’identità irrimediabilmente negativa proprio per una prognosi errata, o comunque abnorme. D’altro canto, considerando il potenziale psichico presente nei soggetti infra-quattordicenni, seppur devianti, ed utilizzabile anche in prospettiva evolutiva, una prevenzione che evitasse lo stigma e mirasse ad una riparazione, o ad un rinforzo, dell’identità personale, parrebbe rispondere ad un’esigenza di contemporanea salvaguardia degli interessi della collettività (tramite la neutralizzazione del rischio di recidiva criminale dei singoli) e del benessere psicofisico individuale (mediante un progetto nel quale l’individuo si ricostruisce interiorizzando valori positivi). Se infatti l’esistenza umana è necessariamente proiettata verso un futuro, del quale si può essere più o meno consapevoli, ma dal quale non si può prescindere, fornire traiettorie di crescita ed indicare percorsi di sviluppo a soggetti infra-quattordicenni antisociali potrebbe rappresentare una forma di intervento preventivo all’origine del quale la dimensione etica permetterebbe di trovare un adeguato equilibrio tra le limitazioni di un’impostazione meramente stigmatizzante e la necessità di promuovere il rispetto e la valorizzazione degli altri

A Critical Exploration of Child-Parent Attachment as a Contextual Construct

Bowlby’s attachment theory has been employed as a broad and integrative framework to explore human wellness across a range of disciplines. Attachment theory has even been labelled one of the last surviving “grand theories„ not to have been completely dismissed, replaced, or extensively reworked. However, despite the ubiquitous nature of some of the theory’s fundamental tenets, there are always possibilities for new conceptual development, extension, and revision. In this paper, we critically explore the idea of “context-specific„ attachment within parent-child relationships. We briefly outline critical assumptions and key areas of attachment and articulate potential rationale, conceptualization, and relevance of contextual attachment

Assessing the perceived applicability of Barkley's Defiant Teens Manual to African American and European American families

African American adolescent males are being diagnosed with externalizing behavior disorders more than any other group. However, there is a dearth of studies that addresses psychosocial treatment for African American adolescent males with these behavioral issues. This study assessed the perceived applicability of the Defiant Teen's Manual designed by Barkley, Robin, and Foster (1989), as a treatment for African American male adolescents and their families. Fifty-four African American and European American families with male adolescents ages 11 to 14 were included in the study. Subjects were asked to respond to a questionnaire that assessed their perception of the appropriateness of the treatment for their adolescent and family. Additional factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and family makeup were also assessed to identify their impact on families. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance, regression analysis, and mean comparisons were used to analyze data. Overall findings indicated that groups did not differ based on race, and/or family makeup regarding the perceived appropriateness of the Defiant Teen's manual to their families. However, African-American families rated three behavioral management steps as less appropriate for their families, and single parents rated one behavior management step as less appropriate for their families