ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The current study examined the categorical versus continuous nature of child and adolescent depression among three samples of children and adolescents ranging from 5 to 19 years. METHODS: Depression was measured using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Indicators derived from the CDI were based on factor analytic research on the CDI and included indices of: 1) social withdrawal, 2) anhedonia, 3) incompetence/maladjustment and 4) negative self-esteem. RESULTS: Taxometric procedures provided convergent support for the existence of a latent taxon across three independent samples. Internal and external consistency tests as well as Monte Carlo simulations supported the validity of the results. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple nonredundant procedures and samples were all consistently indicative of taxonicity in child depression.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Depression/psychology , Depressive Disorder/etiology , Female , Humans , Male , Monte Carlo Method , Personality Inventory , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Young AdultABSTRACT
Used children's peer relationships (social preference, aggression, and withdrawal) to predict educational outcomes in a 10-year longitudinal study of 524 students in Grades 3 to 5. Consistent with prior research, lower social preference and elevated aggression and withdrawal were each associated with lower graduation rates; however, only aggression uniquely predicted outcomes. Ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) predicted educational outcomes and moderated the association between peer acceptance and outcomes. Social preference predicted educational outcomes of Caucasian and middle SES students but not African American and low SES students; when ethnicity and SES were included in the same model, only the moderating effect of SES was a significant predictor of educational outcome. Ethnicity also interacted with social withdrawal such that withdrawal predicted more negative educational outcomes for African American but not Caucasian students. When academic achievement scores and being over-age for grade were included in our model, only peer-rated aggression significantly added to the prediction of educational outcomes.
Subject(s)
Interpersonal Relations , Peer Group , Schools , Student Dropouts/psychology , Child , Educational Status , Ethnicity/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Logistic Models , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Social Behavior , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to characterize the level of sleepiness/alertness following the nocturnal administration of dexamethasone. Thirteen healthy men participated in this study. Following the initial screening, dexamethasone (4 mg) or placebo was administered at 22:30 hr in a randomized double-blind procedure. Subjects were given nap opportunities at 23:00, 1:00, 3:00, 4:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30, 11:30, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, and 19:30 hr. The administration of dexamethasone resulted in an overall lengthening of sleep latency. Although the two groups displayed comparable latencies to stage 1 for the 23:00-7:30 hr nap opportunities, the administration of dexamethasone resulted in significantly longer latencies on the 9:30-19:30 hr nap opportunities. Consistent with these results, participants reported significantly greater levels of alertness on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. The results of this study revealed greater levels of daytime alertness following the nocturnal administration of dexamethasone.
