ABSTRACT
Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) has been proposed as a unique syndrome; however research examining how it is different from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is just starting to emerge. The present study extends this research by examining how specific personality features (i.e., psychopathy) may mediate the relation between ADHD and social problems, but not between SCT and social problems. Caregivers of 198 children (6-12 years old) that presented for an inpatient psychiatric evaluation completed standardized measures of childhood behavior problems. Bootstrapped mediational analyses were performed to evaluate the mediating role of psychopathy on the relation between social problems and symptoms of ADHD versus SCT. Two sub-domains of psychopathy--impulsivity and narcissism--emerged as partial mediators for the relation between social problems and ADHD symptoms; whereas SCT symptoms were not found to be related to psychopathy after controlling for ADHD symptoms. These findings provide support for conceptualizing ADHD and SCT as discrete syndromes as well as for the mediating role of psychopathy domains on the risk of social problems among a clinical sample of youth with symptoms of ADHD.
Subject(s)
Antisocial Personality Disorder/diagnosis , Antisocial Personality Disorder/psychology , Apathy , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Problem Behavior/psychology , Social Adjustment , Temperament , Checklist , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Research linking post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to hypercortisolism in laboratory experiments was extended to a natural clinical setting. Mothers of children diagnosed with a life-threatening illness (N = 92) completed standardized measures of PTSD and provided a salivary cortisol sample during their child's medical check-up (Time 1) and again 24h later, after the threat of possible negative medical reports was removed (Time 2). Women who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD exhibited significantly higher cortisol levels at Time 1 compared to women who did not meet criteria for a diagnosis. No significant differences were observed for cortisol levels at Time 2 between the women with and without PTSD. These findings extend current laboratory findings linking hypercortisolism and PTSD to a natural, stressful situation. Implications for understanding the etiology of PTSD as well as for possible prevention and intervention options are discussed.
Subject(s)
Hydrocortisone/metabolism , Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/metabolism , Mothers/psychology , Pituitary-Adrenal System/metabolism , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/metabolism , Adult , Female , Humans , Saliva/metabolism , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Stress, Psychological/metabolism , Stress, Psychological/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Catatonia is considered a unique syndrome of motor signs, at times life-threatening when aggravated by autonomic dysfunction and fever, but eminently treatable with specific medical treatments, if recognized early. Catatonia commonly occurs in children and adolescents with a wide range of associated disorders. The role of deprivation, abuse, or trauma in the development of pediatric catatonia is examined. METHOD: Reports considering deprivation, abuse, or trauma as precipitants of catatonia in pediatric cases are culled from the classic writings on catatonia and from a selective review of modern contributions. RESULTS: Kahlbaum gave trauma a central role in catatonia in many young adult cases. Kanner described children with psychogenic catalepsy. Anaclitic depression, a condition found by Spitz in deprived institutionalized children, strongly resembles stuporous catatonia. Leonhard considered lack of communication with the mother or substitute mother as an important risk factor for childhood catatonia. Children including those with autism who experience emotional and physical trauma sometimes develop catatonia. The clinical descriptions of children with classic catatonic syndromes and those of contemporary refugee children with a syndrome labeled Pervasive Refusal Syndrome are similar. CONCLUSION: The literature supports the view that deprivation, abuse, and trauma can precipitate catatonia in children and adolescents.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Catatonia , Child Abuse/psychology , Child Development , Mother-Child Relations , Adolescent , Catatonia/diagnosis , Catatonia/drug therapy , Catatonia/etiology , Catatonia/psychology , Child , Child, Institutionalized/psychology , Diagnosis, Differential , Early Diagnosis , Early Medical Intervention , Humans , Life Change Events , Precipitating Factors , Psychopathology , Psychosocial Deprivation , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare parentally bereaved children with a disaster comparison group and a nontrauma control group on measures of emotional adjustment. METHOD: Children and adolescents who had lost a parent (n = 39), had experienced a tornado disaster (n = 69), or were coping with an ongoing social or academic stressor (n = 118) completed measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Risk factors for symptoms among the bereaved children also were evaluated. RESULTS: Parentally bereaved children reported significantly more PTSD symptoms than the disaster and nontrauma control groups. Among the bereaved children, girls, younger children, and children living with a surviving parent who scored high on a measure of posttraumatic stress reported more symptoms. CONCLUSION: Children and adolescents who have lost a parent could be vulnerable to PTSD symptoms.
Subject(s)
Bereavement , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Survivors/psychology , Adolescent , Age Factors , Anxiety/psychology , Child , Depression/psychology , Disasters , Female , Humans , Male , Parent-Child Relations , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiologyABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate young drivers' intentions to drink and drive in the context of a health attitude model, the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). METHODS: Licensed drivers attending college and ranging from 17 to 20 years of age (n = 304) completed questionnaires assessing PMT variables in the context of drinking and driving. More than half the sample consisted of females (62%) and most were white (89%). The drivers rated the extent to which they found drinking and driving to be personally rewarding, their perceived vulnerability to the risks of drinking and driving, the severity of the risks, the response efficacy of alternative adaptive responses to drinking and driving, their self-efficacy for implementing alternative responses, and the response costs associated with the responses. The relationship between PMT variables and drivers' intention to drink and drive was tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses with attitudes concerning drinking and driving (rewards, vulnerability, and severity) entered in the regression equation first, followed by attitudes concerning alternative adaptive responses (response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response costs). RESULTS: The PMT model was found to predict intentions to drink and drive. Young drivers who perceived rewards for drinking and driving and who felt vulnerable to the risks of drinking and driving were significantly more likely to report intentions to drink and drive. Attitudes about alternative adaptive responses to drinking and driving, including perceiving low self-efficacy for implementing alternative responses and perceiving personal costs for engaging in alternative options, also contributed to drivers' intentions to drink and drive. CONCLUSIONS: Although teenaged drivers are well informed of the dangers of drinking and driving, they still put themselves and others at risk by driving after consuming alcohol. Health professionals promoting safer alternatives might consider how young drivers' attitudes about both drinking and driving and alternative adaptive responses contribute to their intentions to drink and drive.
