Attention Problems and Academic Achievement: Do Persistent and Earlier-Emerging Problems Have More Adverse Long-Term Effects?

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether the negative association between children's attention difficulties and their academic functioning is largely confined to children whose attention problems persist across early grades and whether it depends on when attention problems emerge in children's schooling. METHOD: Children from the normative sample of the Fast Track study were classified into four attention problem groups based on the presence versus absence of attention problems in first and second grade. RESULTS: Those with attention problems in both grades showed a decline in reading and math achievement during the K-5 interval relative to children with attention problems in first grade only. Both groups of inattentive first graders also performed worse than comparison children. In contrast, children whose attention problems emerged in second grade did not differ from comparison children on any achievement outcome performed significantly better than inattentive first graders. CONCLUSION: The implications of these findings are discussed.

A Nonparametric, Multiple Imputation-Based Method for the Retrospective Integration of Data Sets.

Complex research questions often cannot be addressed adequately with a single data set. One sensible alternative to the high cost and effort associated with the creation of large new data sets is to combine existing data sets containing variables related to the constructs of interest. The goal of the present research was to develop a flexible, broadly applicable approach to the integration of disparate data sets that is based on nonparametric multiple imputation and the collection of data from a convenient, de novo calibration sample. We demonstrate proof of concept for the approach by integrating three existing data sets containing items related to the extent of problematic alcohol use and associations with deviant peers. We discuss both necessary conditions for the approach to work well and potential strengths and weaknesses of the method compared to other data set integration approaches.

Genomic risk profiling: attitudes and use in personal and clinical care of primary care physicians who offer risk profiling.

BACKGROUND: Genomic risk profiling involves the analysis of genetic variations linked through statistical associations to a range of disease states. There is considerable controversy as to how, and even whether, to incorporate these tests into routine medical care. OBJECTIVE: To assess physician attitudes and uptake of genomic risk profiling among an 'early adopter' practice group. DESIGN: We surveyed members of MDVIP, a national group of primary care physicians (PCPs), currently offering genomic risk profiling as part of their practice. POPULATION: All physicians in the MDVIP network (N = 356) RESULTS: We obtained a 44% response rate. One third of respondents had ordered a test for themselves and 42% for a patient. The odds of having ordered personal testing were 10.51-fold higher for those who felt well-informed about genomic risk testing (p < 0.0001). Of those who had not ordered a test for themselves, 60% expressed concerns for patients regarding discrimination by life and long-term/disability insurers, 61% about test cost, and 62% about clinical utility. The odds of ordering testing for their patients was 8.29-fold higher among respondents who had ordered testing for themselves (p < 0.0001). Of those who had ordered testing for patients, concerns about insurance coverage (p = 0.014) and uncertain clinical utility (p = 0.034) were associated with a lower relative frequency of intention to order testing again in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that respondent familiarity was a key predictor of physician ordering behavior and clinical utility was a primary concern for genomic risk profiling. Educational and interpretive support may enhance uptake of genomic risk profiling.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging in psychotherapy research: a brief introduction to concepts, methods, and task selection.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become an increasingly important methodology in the study of psychotherapy outcome and process. In this article, the authors offer a brief introduction to the use of fMRI in psychotherapy research aimed primarily at the informed clinician or investigator and with the goal of facilitating an understanding of study design and interpretation of research findings. After introducing the method and offering a rationale for its use in the study of psychotherapy, the authors outline major issues in fMRI data collection and analysis and emphasize the central role of the tasks used during the imaging session as critical to the interpretation of findings. They discuss how task selection influences the conclusions that can be drawn from fMRI studies of psychotherapeutic intervention and close with recommendations and caveats for the consumer of fMRI/psychotherapy research.

Substance abuse hinders desistance in young adults' antisocial behavior.

We examined two hypotheses about the developmental relation between substance abuse and individual differences in desistance from antisocial behavior during young adulthood. The "snares" hypothesis posits that substance abuse should result in time-specific elevations in antisocial behavior relative to an individual's own developmental trajectory of antisocial behavior, whereas the "launch" hypothesis posits that substance abuse early in young adulthood slows an individual's overall pattern of crime desistance relative to the population norm during this developmental period. We conducted latent trajectory analyses to test these hypotheses using interview data about antisocial behaviors and substance abuse assessed at ages 18, 21, and 26 in men from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (N = 461). We found significant individual variability in initial levels and rates of change in antisocial behavior over time as well as support for both the snares hypothesis and the launch hypothesis as explanations for the developmental relation between substance abuse and crime desistance in young men.