Development of Family Adaptability and Cohesion from Adolescence to Young Adulthood and Associations with Parental Behavior

Previous research has demonstrated the influence of family functioning on developmental outcomes but only a few studies have addressed the normative changes of family functioning during adolescence. While there is evidence that family adaptability is stable, findings regarding the development of family cohesion levels are controversial. The focus on the association of family functioning with parenting behavior has also been quite limited. Some studies have revealed that an authoritative parenting style is connected with better family functioning, but only a small body of research has analyzed the association with the main dimensions of parenting behavior. The current study investigated developmental trajectories of family adaptability and cohesion from adolescence to young adulthood. The impact of sex, number of siblings, marital status, socioeconomic status and parenting behavior was studied in a sample of N = 619 participants from a longitudinal Swiss study at two measurement times. Repeated measures ANOVAs and cross-sectional linear regression models were used to analyze the data. There was a significant developmental decline in perceived family cohesion but no change in adaptability from adolescence to young adulthood. In addition, there was a significant main effect of socioeconomic status on adaptability and of parental divorce on cohesion. Boys experienced a significantly steeper decline in family cohesion than girls. Adaptability and cohesion were predicted by perceived parental acceptance and psychological control at both measurement times while cohesion was also significantly predicted by perceived parental structure. The findings reflect normative developmental processes in the transition period

Differentiating the behavioural profile in autism and mental retardation and testing of a screener

Abstract. : In order to differentiate the behavioural profiles in autism and mental retardation and to cross-validate a behavioural autism screen, 84 subjects with autism (64 males and 20 females) with a mean age of 10 years selected from a Swiss national survey were compared to a control group of 84 subjects matched by age and gender with mental retardation, but without autistic features. The behavioural profile was assessed using the Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC). The behavioural profile in autism, in contrast to mental retardation, was marked by higher scores in the domains of disruptive, self-absorbed, communication disturbed, anxious and autistic behaviour, and a higher total DBC score. Furthermore, a higher vulnerability for behavioural abnormalities became evident for females with autism. A recently proposed DBC-Autism Screen was cross-validated, and a slight extension of the screen led to even higher correct classification rates. It was concluded that the DBC is a suitable instrument for the assessment of the behavioural profile and for screening in autis

Risk factors for the development of emotional and behavioural problems in children born to drug-dependent mothers

Background: The study of biological and psychosocial risk factors for the development of emotional and behavioural problems in children of drug-dependent mothers. Methods: In a sample of 52 children and drug-dependent mothers participating in a residential intervention programme emotional and behavioural problems were studied in the children by use of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). The Symptom-Checklist Revised (SCL-90-R) served to assess mental problems in the mother. Drug exposure during pregnancy, various psychosocial risk factors due to the drug-career, and educational status of the mother were assessed by maternal interview. A brief assessment of intelligence of the mother was included. Results: Among the various biological and psychosocial risk factors, maternal mental health problems, maternal educational status, and a small number of close social relationships correlated significantly with child outcome variables. Multiple regression analyses identified maternal mental health factors as the main predictors of child behaviour. Conclusions: Assisting drug-dependent mothers in overcoming the psychosocial sequelae of drug abuse implies also assistance to the children in terms of prevention of emotional and behavioural problem

Self-perception of self-regulatory skills in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder aged 8-10years

Several studies have reported a characteristic "positive illusory bias” in the self-evaluation of children with ADHD. However, results are controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether children with ADHD aged 8 to 10years can rate their self-regulatory skills accurately when assessed with an age appropriate instrument. Twenty-seven children with ADHD and 27 matched normal control children completed the Self-rating Scale of Self-regulatory Function (SelfReg), a new rating scale that has been specifically designed for this age group. As expected, children with ADHD rated themselves significantly more dysfunctional than control children. In most domains, self-ratings of children with ADHD did not diverge from parent and teacher ratings to a greater extent than self-ratings of control children, although overall results indicated a moderate tendency toward a positive bias. When a cluster analysis based on discrepancies between children's and adults' evaluations was carried out, three groups with different self-rating patterns emerged: A "positive bias” group containing exclusively children with ADHD, a "negative bias” group containing both children with ADHD and control children, and the largest group of accurate self-raters which also included children from both diagnostic groups. It is concluded that overly positive self-judgments are not a ubiquitous finding in ADHD, but may be confined to a specific subgroup of children whose specific characteristics remain to be determine

Psychosocial Factors in Adolescent and Young Adult Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms: Causal or Correlational Associations?

Using a large longitudinal representative community sample, this study identified three groups of subjects who were depressed either in pre-adolescence, late adolescence or early adulthood, and matched by age and gender to controls without depression. The 90th percentile on one or two self-reported symptom scales [i. e. the Center for Epidemilogical Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) or the subscale Anxious / Depressed subscale on either the Youth Self Report (YSR) or the Young Adult Self Report (YASR)] served as the cut-off for the depression groups. Psychosocial variables under study included life events and life events impact, coping, self-related cognitions, perceived parental rearing style, family relations, perceived school environment, and the internalizing (except anxious/depressed) and externalizing problem scale of the YSR/YASR. The study found a large number of time-related correlations between psychosocial factors and depression. Evidence for causal effect (either antecedent or consequent) was obtained only for self-esteem, perceived maternal rejection, and internalizing problem

The impact of instruction and response cost on the modulation of response-style in children with ADHD

BACKGROUND: The present study investigated the impact of divergent instructions and response cost on strategic cognitive control in children with ADHD. METHODS: Children with ADHD (N = 34), combined subtype, and control children (N = 34) performed a series of self-paced computerized visual search tasks. The tasks varied by verbal instructions: after a baseline task, children were either instructed to work as fast as possible (speed instruction) or as accurately as possible (accuracy instruction). In addition, tasks were performed with and without response cost. RESULTS: Both groups modulated latencies and errors according to instructions in a comparable way, except for latency in the accuracy - instruction without response cost, where control children showed a larger increase of response time. Response cost did not affect the modulation of response style in children with ADHD to a larger extent than in controls. However, with instructions group differences related to target criteria became clearly more accentuated compared to baseline but disappeared when response cost was added. CONCLUSIONS: Delay aversion theory and motivational or state regulation models may account for different aspects of the results. Modifications related to task presentation, such as the emphasis put on different details in the verbal instruction, may lead to divergent results when comparing performances of children with ADHD and control children on a self-paced task