Culture and the Emotion Socialization of Preschoolers

Objective:The present study examined mothers’ emotion socialization of 3-year–old children with behavior problems, to determine whether emotion socialization practices, as well as the relation between these practices and child functioning, varied across ethnicities. Method: Participants were 156 preschoolers with behavior problems. Mothers were European American (n = 98), Latina American (n = 40; predominately Puerto Rican), and African American (n = 18). Audio taped mother-child interactions were coded for emotion socialization behaviors. Results: Overall, this study provided evidence for both differences and similarities across ethnicities on parental emotion socialization practices. Ethnic differences in use of emotion socialization practices were only found for mothers’ emotion focused reactions, minimizing reactions, and non-responses to negative affect. However, ethnic differences emerged in the relations between emotion socialization practices and child functioning. Several emotion socialization parental behaviors were differentially related to current child internalizing and externalizing problems across ethnic groups. Conclusions: Results provide some support for the existence of cultural differences in emotion socialization practices and their associated child outcomes

The Neural Correlates of Emotion Reactivity and Regulation in Young Children with ADHD

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most frequently occurring pediatric neurobehavioral disorder. Although emotion reactivity and regulation are frequently impaired in ADHD, few studies have examined these factors in preschool aged children with ADHD, and none have explored the neural correlates of emotion reactivity and regulation in this group though event-related potentials (ERPs). Children aged 4 to 7 with (n = 24) and without (n = 30) ADHD symptoms completed an attention task composed of four blocks: baseline, frustration, suppression, and recovery. In the frustration and suppression blocks, negative affect was induced by false negative feedback. During the suppression block, children were asked to suppress emotional expressions. Children in both groups reported increased frustration from baseline to the frustration block, but the magnitude of the increase was significantly larger for children with ADHD. Both groups showed similar increases in observed expressions of negative affect from the baseline to frustration block, but children with ADHD expressed more negative affect in both blocks. In the left frontal and frontocentral regions, typically developing children demonstrated enhanced P3 amplitudes during the frustration block, suggesting that these children were able to allocate greater attentional control in the face of an emotional challenge. In contrast, children with ADHD symptoms did not show significant P3 enhancement during the frustration block. During the suppression block, children with ADHD demonstrated smaller reductions in self-report and observed expressions of negative affect compared to typically developing children. Typically developing children continued to demonstrate enhanced P3 amplitudes in frontal and frontocentral regions during the suppression block, compared to baseline, but children with ADHD did not. This pattern suggests that preschool aged children with ADHD are not as effective as their peers in suppressing emotions and engaging top down attention mechanisms. The present study extends a growing body of literature that suggests that emotion dysregulation is a central component of ADHD already present in the preschool years and underscores that emotional contexts may exacerbate attentional deficits in ADHD

Associations Between Brain Structure and Connectivity in Infants and Exposure to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors During Pregnancy

Importance Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use among pregnant women is increasing, yet the association between prenatal SSRI exposure and fetal neurodevelopment is poorly understood. Animal studies show that perinatal SSRI exposure alters limbic circuitry and produces anxiety and depressive-like behaviors after adolescence, but literature on prenatal SSRI exposure in humans is limited and mixed. Objective To examine associations between prenatal SSRI exposure and brain development using structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design, Setting, and Participants A cohort study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute included 98 infants: 16 with in utero SSRI exposure, 21 with in utero untreated maternal depression exposure, and 61 healthy controls. Data were collected between January 6, 2011, and October 25, 2016. Exposures Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and untreated maternal depression. Main Outcomes and Measures Gray matter volume estimates using structural MRI with voxel-based morphometry and white matter structural connectivity (connectome) using diffusion MRI with probabilistic tractography. Results The sample included 98 mother (31 [32%] white, 26 [27%] Hispanic/Latina, 26 [27%] black/African American, 15 [15%] other) and infant (46 [47%] boys, 52 [53%] girls) dyads. Mean (SD) age of the infants at the time of the scan was 3.43 (1.50) weeks. Voxel-based morphometry showed significant gray matter volume expansion in the right amygdala (Cohen d = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.06-1.23) and right insula (Cohen d = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.26-1.14) in SSRI-exposed infants compared with both healthy controls and infants exposed to untreated maternal depression (P < .05; whole-brain correction). In connectome-level analysis of white matter structural connectivity, the SSRI group showed a significant increase in connectivity between the right amygdala and the right insula with a large effect size (Cohen d = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.40-1.57) compared with healthy controls and untreated depression (P < .05; whole connectome correction). Conclusions and Relevance Our findings suggest that prenatal SSRI exposure has an association with fetal brain development, particularly in brain regions critical to emotional processing. The study highlights the need for further research on the potential long-term behavioral and psychological outcomes of these neurodevelopmental changes

The Intergenerational Impact of Structural Racism and Cumulative Trauma on Depression.

Depression among individuals who have been racially and ethnically minoritized in the United States can be vastly different from that of non-Hispanic White Americans. For example, African American adults who have depression rate their symptoms as more severe, have a longer course of illness, and experience more depression-associated disability. The purpose of this review was to conceptualize how structural racism and cumulative trauma can be fundamental drivers of the intergenerational transmission of depression. The authors propose that understanding risk factors for depression, particularly its intergenerational reach, requires accounting for structural racism. In light of the profoundly different experiences of African Americans who experience depression (i.e., a more persistent course of illness and greater disability), it is critical to examine whether an emerging explanation for some of these differences is the intergenerational transmission of this disorder due to structural racism

Desarrollo de una Escala para Medir el Estigma Relacionado a Problemas de Salud Mental en Puerto Rico

El estigma hacia pacientes de salud mental ha sido identificado como una barrera para la búsqueda de tratamiento y la adherencia al mismo. Literatura reciente ha documentado la necesidad de crear instrumentos válidos, confiables y adaptados culturalmente para medir este fenómeno. El objetivo de este estudio fue desarrollar y validar una escala para medir el estigma hacia pacientes de salud mental por parte de profesionales de la salud en adiestramiento. La muestra del estudio estuvo compuesta por 146 participantes divididos en las siguientes profesiones: medicina, psicología y trabajo social. El 76 % (n=111) se identificaron como mujeres y el 24 % (n=35) como hombres. La edad promedio de los participantes fue de 25 años. Los resultados obtenidos a través del análisis de factores, sugiere que la variabilidad de las puntuaciones se debe a tres factores, a saber: Distancia Social, Atribuciones Caracterológicas Negativas y Problemas de Autosuficiencia. Los coeficientes de confiabilidad fluctuaron entre 0.67 y 0.74

Prenatal sleep health and risk of offspring ADHD symptomatology and associated phenotypes: a prospective analysis of timing and sex differences in the ECHO cohort

BackgroundSleep difficulties are common in pregnancy, yet poor prenatal sleep may be related to negative long-term outcomes for the offspring, including risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Existing studies are few and have not examined timing of exposure effects or offspring sex moderation. We thus aimed to test the hypotheses that poor sleep health in pregnancy is associated with increased risk for ADHD symptoms and offspring sleep problems at approximately 4 years of age.MethodsParticipants were 794 mother-child dyads enrolled in the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Study (ECHO). Participants self-reported on sleep duration, quality, and disturbances during pregnancy and on children's ADHD symptoms and sleep problems on the Child Behaviour Checklist.FindingsPregnant participants were 32.30&nbsp;±&nbsp;5.50 years and children were 46% female. 44 percent of pregnant participants identified as Hispanic or Latine; 49% identified as White. Second-trimester sleep duration was associated with offspring ADHD symptoms (b&nbsp;=&nbsp;-0.35 [95% CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;-0.57,&nbsp;-0.13], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.026), such that shorter duration was associated with greater symptomatology. Poorer sleep quality in the second trimester was also associated with increased ADHD symptomatology (b&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.66 [95% CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.18, 1.14], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.037). Greater sleep disturbances in the first trimester were associated with offspring ADHD (b&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.03 [95% CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.32, 1.03], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.037) and in the second trimester with sleep problems (b&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.53 [95% CI&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.42, 2.92], p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.026). We did not document substantial offspring sex moderation.InterpretationPoor prenatal sleep health, particularly quality and duration in the second trimester, may be associated with offspring risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and sleep problems in early childhood. Further research is needed to understand mechanisms, yet our study suggests that prenatal maternal sleep may be a modifiable target for interventions aimed at optimizing early neurodevelopment.FundingNIH grants U2COD023375, U24OD023382, U24OD023319, UH3OD023320, UH3OD023305, UH3OD023349, UH3OD023313, UH3OD023272, UH3OD023328, UH3OD023290, K08MH117452 and NARSAD Young Investigator Award&nbsp;28545