Change in teachers' ratings of attention problems and subsequent change in academic achievement: a prospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has documented a link between attention problems at school entry and later academic achievement. Little is known about the association of change in attention problems during the early school years with subsequent change in academic achievement. METHOD: A community-based cohort was followed up and assessed for attention problems at ages 6 and 11 (Teacher Report Form; TRF) and for academic achievement in math and reading at ages 11 and 17 (Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery). Complete data were available on 590 children (72% of the initial sample). Ordinary least squares regressions were used to estimate change in academic achievement from age 11 to age 17 in relation to change in TRF-attention problems from age 6 to age 11. Children's IQ and family factors were statistically controlled. RESULTS: Change in teachers' ratings of attention problems from age 6 to age 11 was negatively associated with change in math and reading from age 11 to age 17, controlling for children's IQ and family factors. Externalizing problems had no significant association with change in math or reading, when added to the multivariable model. CONCLUSIONS: Increases in teacher-rated attention problems from age 6 to age 11 were followed by declines in academic achievement from age 11 to age 17; decreases were followed by gains. The results underscore the need for research on the course of attention problems, the testing of interventions to address children's early attention problems and the evaluation of their effects on subsequent academic achievement.

As famílias e seus colaboradores na tarefa de educar os filhos / Families and their collaborators in the task of child rearing

Cada vez mais as crianças são inseridas em instituições de educação infantil, o que significa terem as famílias colaborações e orientações na tarefa de educar os filhos. É nessa linha que se insere o presente estudo que tem por objetivo conhecer quais pessoas/instituições colaboram com pais e mães na tarefa de educação de seus filhos. Para cumprir este objetivo, foram construídos dois instrumentos de coleta de dados: a) roteiro de identificação; b) roteiro sobre família e educação de filhos; e a seguir feita a adaptação de um terceiro, o "Roteiro reestruturado de Biasoli-Alves e Graminha", para ser aplicado na forma de questionário. Participantes: 50 homens e 50 mulheres de nível universitário, com união marital estável e filho(s) com idade(s) entre dois e sete anos, sendo 50 de uma cidade do interior paulista (25 pais e 25 mães) e 50 de uma capital do Nordeste (mesma divisão); os participantes foram identificados a partir de cursos de pós-graduação lato sensu de Universidades privadas, sendo submetidos à entrevista gravada feita usando-se os dois roteiros e, posteriormente, para as mães, foi entregue o questionário para ser respondido. Para analisar os dados, as entrevistas foram transcritas e elaboradas categorias de respostas, de acordo com o sistema quantitativo-interpretativo. Os resultados revelam que uma importante colaboradora do processo educacional é a instituição de educação infantil/escola. A presença da babá/empregada doméstica é marcante particularmente nos participantes nordestinos. Há ainda o apoio das avós(AU)

There is a growing tendency for children to be put into pre-elementary education institutions at an early age. This means that families receive assistance and guidance in the task of raising their children. With this in mind, the present study aims to find out what people or institutions collaborate with mothers and fathers in the work of rearing their children. Two instruments of data collection were used to meet this objective: a) identification instrument and b) an instrument about family and child rearing; subsequently, a third instrument was adapted, "The Restructured instrument of Biasoli-Alves and Graminha". The latter was applied in the form of a questionnaire. The participants are 50 men and 50 women (college graduates) with stable marital status and with children aged between 2 7 years. Fifty participants were selected from a city in the state of S„o Paulo (25 mothers and 25 fathers) and fifty from a capital in the Northeast of Brazil (same division). These participants were selected from post-graduate courses in private universities. They were submitted to a recorded interview using the two approaches, and later, the mothers were given the questionnaire. For data analysis, the interviews were transcribed and categories of answers were elaborated, according to the quantitative-interpretative system. The results show that an important collaborator in the child rearing process is the pre-elementary education institution/school. The presence of a nanny/maid is marked particularly in the participants from the Northeast. There is also the help of grandparents.(AU)

As famílias e seus colaboradores na tarefa de educar os filhos / Families and their collaborators in the task of child rearing

Cada vez mais as crianças são inseridas em instituições de educação infantil, o que significa terem as famílias colaborações e orientações na tarefa de educar os filhos. É nessa linha que se insere o presente estudo que tem por objetivo conhecer quais pessoas/ instituições colaboram com pais e mães na tarefa de educação de seus filhos. Para cumprir este objetivo, foram construídos dois instrumentos de coleta de dados: a) roteiro de identificação; b) roteiro sobre família e educação de filhos; e a seguir feita a adaptação de um terceiro, o Roteiro Reestruturado de Biasoli-Alves e Graminha, para ser aplicado na forma de um questionário. Participantes: 50 homens e 50 mulheres de nível universitário, com união marital estável e filho(s) com idade(s) entre dois e sete anos, sendo 50 de uma cidade do interior paulista (25 pais e 25 mães) e 50 de uma capital do Nordeste (mesma divisão); os participantes foram identificados a partir de cursos de pós-graduação lato senso de Universidades privadas, sendo submetidos à entrevista gravada feita usando-se os dois roteiros e, posteriormente, para as mães, foi entregue o questionário para ser respondido. Para analisar os dados, as entrevistas foram transcritas e elaboradas categorias de respostas, de acordo com o sistema quantitativo-interpretativo. Os resultados revelam que uma importante colaboradora do processo educacional é a instituição de educação infantil/ escola. A presença da babá/ empregada doméstica é marcante particularmente nos participantes nordestinos. Há ainda o apoio das avós.

Estimating post-traumatic stress disorder in the community: lifetime perspective and the impact of typical traumatic events.

BACKGROUND: Community surveys have assessed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in relation to traumatic events designated by respondents as the worst they have ever experienced. An assessment of PTSD in relation to all reported traumas would impose too great a burden on respondents, a considerable proportion of whom report multiple traumas. The 'worst event' method is efficient for identifying persons with PTSD, but may overestimate the conditional probability of PTSD associated with the entire range of PTSD-level traumas. In this report, we evaluate this potential bias. METHOD: The Detroit Area Survey of Trauma (n = 2181) estimated the PTSD risk from two samples of traumas: (1) a representative sample of traumas formed by selecting a random trauma from each respondent's list of traumas; and (2) traumas designated by respondents as the worst (the standard method). RESULTS: Both estimation methods converged on key findings, including identifying trauma types with the highest probability of PTSD and sex differences in the risk of PTSD. Compared to the random events, the 'worst event' method yielded a moderately higher conditional probability for PTSD (0.136 v. 0.092). The bias was due almost entirely to the deviation of the distribution of the worst events from expected values, if all event types had equal prior selection probabilities. Direct adjustment, setting the distribution equal to expected values and applying the observed probabilities of PTSD associated with individual event types brought the estimate close to the unbiased estimate, based on the randomly selected traumas. CONCLUSIONS: Only the 'worst event' method can be used as a short-cut to assessing all traumas. The bias in the estimated risk of PTSD is modest and is attenuated by direct adjustment.

Academic achievement of low birthweight children at age 11: the role of cognitive abilities at school entry.

We examine the extent to which deficits in academic achievement in low birthweight (LBW) children at age 11 are explained by deficits in cognitive abilities at school entry. Data come from a longitudinal study of a stratified sample of LBW and normal birthweight (NBW) children from an innercity and middle class suburbs in the Detroit area. Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised was used to measure reading and math at age 11. WISC-R and specific neuropsychologic tests were administered at age 6. On reading, the LBW-NBW difference was -3.6 points (SE = 1.2). The difference was explained almost entirely by IQ at age 6. On math, the LBW-NBW difference was -6.1 points (SE = 1.1). The difference on math was trivial and not significant, when IQ and neuropsychological tests at age 6 were controlled. Level of LBW was unrelated to reading, but it had a gradient relationship with math, with birthweight < or = 1,500 g associated with a greater deficit than heavier LBW. The results imply that most of the LBW-NBW gap in academic achievement at age 11 could be eliminated by eliminating differences in cognitive abilities at age 6. Interventions to improve academic performance of LBW children should focus on the preschool years.

Headache and major depression: is the association specific to migraine?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between migraine and major depression, by estimating the risk for first-onset major depression associated with prior migraine and the risk for first migraine associated with prior major depression. We also examined the extent to which comorbidity with major depression is specific to migraine or is observed in other severe headaches. METHODS: Representative samples of persons 25 to 55 years of age with migraine or other severe headaches (i.e., disabling headaches without migraine features) and controls with no history of severe headaches were identified by a telephone survey and later interviewed in person to ascertain history of common psychiatric disorders. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of major depression was approximately three times higher in persons with migraine and in persons with severe headaches compared with controls. Significant bidirectional relationships were observed between major depression and migraine, with migraine predicting first-onset depression and depression predicting first-onset migraine. In contrast, persons with severe headaches had a higher incidence of first-onset major depression (hazard ratio = 3.6), but major depression did not predict a significantly increased incidence of other severe headaches (hazard ratio = 1.6). CONCLUSIONS: The contrasting results regarding the relationship of major depression with migraine versus other severe headaches suggest that different causes may underlie the co-occurrence of major depression in persons with migraine compared with persons with other severe headaches.

Neurologic soft signs and low birthweight: their association and neuropsychiatric implications.

BACKGROUND: We examine the relationship between neurologic soft signs and cognitive deficits, learning disorders, and psychiatric problems in low birthweight (LBW) and normal birthweight (NBW) children. METHODS: Representative samples of LBW and NBW children were selected from the 1983-1985 newborn discharges of two major hospitals in Michigan. Eight hundred-twenty three children (75% of the target sample) were evaluated at ages 6 and 11. A standardized neurologic evaluation was used by neurologists to measure neurologic soft signs at age 6 (children with frank neurologic impairment were excluded). IQ was measured by WISC-R and behavior problem lists were rated by mothers and teachers. Standard tests of academic achievement were used to identify learning disorders. All assessments were blind to LBW status. Using multiple regression analysis, applying generalized estimating equations (GEE), we estimated the effects of soft signs on 3 behavioral domains, based on information from multiple informants and times of assessment. RESULTS: LBW was associated with a two-fold increased risk for soft signs. Soft signs increased the risk for subnormal IQ and for learning disorders in children with normal IQ. Soft signs were associated with excess internalizing problems in LBW and NBW children, and with attention and externalizing problems in LBW children; the excess in externalizing problems in LBW children was observed only at age 6. CONCLUSIONS: Soft signs are a marker of high risk for cognitive and psychiatric problems. Of particular concern is their presence in LBW children, in whom they are associated with more severe cognitive deficits and more pervasive psychiatric problems.

Vulnerability to assaultive violence: further specification of the sex difference in post-traumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: We examine potential sources of the sex differences in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the community. METHODS: Data were obtained from a representative sample of 2181 persons aged 18-45 years in the Detroit primary metropolitan statistical area, which is a six-county area containing more than four million residents. A random digit dialling method was used to select the sample and a computer-assisted telephone interview was used to obtain the data. DSM-IV PTSD was assessed with respect to a randomly selected trauma from the list of qualifying traumas reported by each respondent. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of exposure and the mean number of traumas were lower in females than males. The overall conditional risk of PTSD (i.e. the probability of PTSD among those exposed to a trauma) was approximately twofold higher in females than males, adjusting for the sex difference in the distribution of trauma types. The sex difference was due primarily to females' greater risk following assaultive violence. The sex difference in the avoidance and numbing symptom group following assaultive violence exceeded the sex differences in other symptom groups. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should focus on sex differences in the response to assaultive violence, including potential explanations for females' greater probability to experience avoidance and numbing.