Predictive validity of the five-factor model profiles for antisocial and borderline personality disorders

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 14. 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.The predictive validity of D. R. Lynam and T. A. Widiger's (2001) Five-Factor Model prototypes for antisocial and borderline personality disorders was examined over a period of 6 years in large community sample. Generally, these prototype scores demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with health behaviors, disinhibitory behaviors, measures of psychopathology, and leisure activities and interests up to 6-years after the initial personality assessment. This study also found support for the incremental validity of the antisocial and borderline personality prototype scores with regard to health behaviors, disinhibitory behaviors, and measures of psychopathology. Lastly, only a small number of moderating effects of sex and age group on the relationships between these prototypes and outcome variables were found. The implications for the classification, assessment, and treatment of personality disorders are discussed.Includes bibliographical reference

Negative emotional reactivity as a marker of vulnerability in the development of borderline personality disorder symptoms

Negative emotionality is a distinguishing feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, this person-level characteristic has not been examined as a marker of vulnerability in the development of this disorder. The current study utilized a multi-method approach to examine the interplay between negative emotional reactivity and cumulative exposure to family adversity on the development of BPD symptoms across three years (ages 16–18) in a diverse, at-risk sample of adolescent girls (N=113). A latent variable of negative emotional reactivity was created from multiple assessments at age 16: (1) self-report, (2) emotion ratings to stressors from ecological assessments across one week, and (3) observer-rated negative affectivity during a mother-daughter conflict discussion task. Exposure to family adversity was measured cumulatively between ages 5 and 16 from annual assessments of family poverty, single parent household, and difficult life circumstances. Results from latent growth curve models demonstrated a significant interaction between negative emotional reactivity and family adversity, such that exposure to adversity strengthened the association between negative emotional reactivity and BPD symptoms. Additionally, family adversity predicted increasing BPD symptoms during late adolescence. These findings highlight negative emotional reactivity as a marker of vulnerability that ultimately increases risk for the development of BPD symptoms

Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo

Meeting Abstracts: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo Clearwater Beach, FL, USA. 9-11 June 201

TOTAL SYNTHESIS OF NOMINAL 4S,7R,11S,14R CYCLOCINAMIDE B AND ANALYSIS OF THREE STEREOISOMERS OF CYCLOCINAMIDE A

The marine natural product cyclocinamide A was isolated from a Psammocinia sponge found in the waters of Papua New Guinea. The very similar natural product cyclocinamide B was isolated from the sponge Cortium sp. in Fijian waters. The cyclic tetrapeptide core of both natural products consist of two -amino acids (5-bromotryptophan and asparagine) and two - amino acids (1,2-diaminopropionic acid and isoserine). Both have a glycine chlorinated N-methyl pyrrole dipeptide side chain. The isolation and two previous total synthetic efforts are discussed in chapter 1. Original research resulting in the total synthesis of (4S,7R,11S,14R) cyclocinamide A and B is presented in chapters 2 and 3. Cyclocinamide is disconnected into three dipeptides: glycyl-4,5-dichloro-N-methylpyrrole, isoseryl-5-bromotryptophan and diaminopropionyl-(cyclo)asparagine. The synthesis of these three dipeptides is highlighted in chapter 2. The formation of the cyclic core and completion of the synthesis of the 4R,7S,11R,14S isomer of cyclocinamide A and B is detailed in chapter 3. The full NMR analysis in chapter 4 of the 4R,7S,11R,14S, 4S,7S,11S,14S and 4S,7S,11R,14S reveals that the assignment of both cyclocinamide A and B to be incorrect and further experimentation is needed to determine the actual stereochemistry of the natural products

The relative importance of psychopathy features as predictors of externalizing behaviors in youth: a multimethod examination

Research in youth psychopathy has focused heavily on the affective features (i.e., callous-unemotional [CU] traits) given robust links to severe and chronic forms of externalizing behaviors. Recently, there have been calls to expand the scope of work in this area to examine the importance of other interpersonal (i.e., antagonism) and behavioral (i.e., disinhibition) features of psychopathy. In the present study, we apply an under-utilized statistical approach (i.e., dominance analysis) to assess the relative importance of CU traits, antagonism, and disinhibition in the prediction of externalizing behaviors in youth, cross-sectionally and at 9-month follow-up. Using a multi-informant (youth- and parent-report), multi-method (questionnaire, ecological momentary assessment [EMA]) preregistered approach in a diverse sample of clinically referred youth (Mage=12.60 years, SD=.95 years, 47% female; 61% racial/ethnic minority), we found youth- and parent-reported psychopathy features accounted for a significant proportion of variance in externalizing behavior cross-sectionally and longitudinally. However, results provided limited support for our preregistered hypotheses. While antagonism and disinhibition had larger general dominance weights relative to CU traits for both youth- and parent-report, most differences were non-significant. Thus, the interpersonal, affective, and behavioral psychopathy features could not be distinguished from one another in terms of their importance in the prediction of externalizing behavior, assessed cross-sectionally or longitudinally. Taken together, the results highlight promising avenues for future research on the relative importance of youth psychopathy features

Emotional reactivity and its impact on neural circuitry for attention–emotion interaction in childhood and adolescence

Attention modulation when confronted with emotional stimuli is considered a critical aspect of executive function, yet rarely studied during childhood and adolescence, a developmental period marked with changes in these processes. We employed a novel, and child-friendly fMRI task that used emotional faces to investigate the neural underpinnings of the attention–emotion interaction in a child and adolescent sample (n = 23, age M = 13.46, SD = 2.86, range = 8.05–16.93 years). Results implied modulation of activation in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) due to emotional distractor valence, which marginally correlated with participant age. Additionally, parent-reported emotional reactivity predicted the trajectory of BOLD signal increase for fearful emotional face distractors such that participants low in emotional reactivity had a steeper latency to peak activation. Results imply that the use of the OFC to modulate attention in the face of social/emotional stimuli may mature with age and may be tightly coupled with adaptive emotional functioning. Findings are discussed in the context of risk for the development of psychiatric disorders, where increased emotional reactivity is particularly apparent

Developmental changes in adolescent girls' attachment security, social functioning, and psychopathology symptoms in a high-risk community sample

The first aim of this study was to examine developmental changes in the quality of girls' attachment to their primary caregiver during adolescence, and to examine baseline predictors of changes in attachment from sociodemographic, parenting, and parent psychopathology factors. The second aim of this study was to examine relations between changes in the quality of girls' attachment to their caregiver and concurrent changes in psychopathology symptoms and social dysfunction during adolescence. There was a significant linear decline in quality of girls' attachment to their primary caregiver from ages 11 to 16. Parenting practices predicted decreases in attachment security, even after controlling for sociodemographic risk factors and parental psychopathology. Lack of secure attachment to caregivers at age 11 and decreases in attachment security from ages 11 to 16 were related to increases in psychopathology symptoms and social dysfunction during the same time period

Psychometric properties of the Observing Mediational Interactions (OMI) coding system during mother-adolescent conflict discussions

Observational assessments of parent-adolescent conflict can guide interventions to prevent and reduce conflict and mental health problems. The authors identified the Observing Mediational Interactions (OMI) as a particularly useful coding system for examining parent-adolescent conflict. The OMI is the observational measure used in the Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC) and quantifies emotional (attachment-based) and cognitive (learning-based) behaviors during caregiver-child interactions