[Parental support, parental self-efficacy and borderline personality features in adolescents]. / Ouderlijke steun, opvoedvertrouwen en borderlinekenmerken bij adolescenten.

BACKGROUND: Parenting an adolescent with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features can be challenging due to, for example, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity and/or self-destructive behavior. Parents confronted with challenging behavior of their child, may experience less parental-self-efficacy (PSE). Subsequently this lower PSE might strengthen the relationship between low parental support and BPD features. AIM: To increase our understanding of the association between parenting related factors and features of BPD in adolescents. METHOD: The sample consisted of 81 adolescents, in the age of 13-21, from a clinical population and their parents. Parents completed (online) questionnaires on parental self-efficacy and adolescents reported on parental support and BPD features. RESULTS: Adolescents who experienced lower parental support reported more BPD features. Lower parental self-efficacy was not related to BPD features in adolescence, but (more) self-efficacy was related to (older) age. Subsequently no evidence was found for a combined effect of perceived parental support and parental self-efficacy on adolescent BPD features. CONCLUSION: Adolescents in a clinical population with higher levels of BPD perceived lower levels of parental support. Parental self-efficacy was not related to levels of BPD. This research is a first step in understanding parenting related factors and BPD features. Longitudinal research is needed to gain more insight in transactions between parenting related factors and symptoms of adolescent BPD.

[Borderline personality pathology in young people: complexities in understanding of and relating to others]. / Problemen in het begrijpen van en omgaan met anderen; relaties tussen borderlinepersoonlijkheidsproblemen en psychosociaal functioneren bij adolescenten.

BACKGROUND For a long time there was controversy and reservations with regards to diagnosing borderline personality disorder (BPD) under the age of eighteen. Progress in scientific knowledge has shown that adolescence is a key phase in the understanding of the development of the disorder.
AIM: To contribute to the understanding of the developmental trajectory of BPD by studying associations between BPD and the interpersonal functioning in adolescence.
METHOD: To study associations between personality, cluster B personality pathology and BPD and associations between BPD and interpersonal functioning, specified in social information processing and relationship quality with parents and peers.
RESULTS: Personality dimensions and social information processing, both independently and together, are related to cluster B personality pathology and BPD. Furthermore, the importance of quality of relationships with parents in relation to BPD is confirmed..
CONCLUSION: The role of social environment is complex in the development of BPD. The results underpin the interpersonal nature of BPD in adolescence as a crucial phase within the psychosocial development.

Impulse control and aggressive response generation as predictors of aggressive behaviour in children with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline intelligence.

BACKGROUND: A growing interest exists in mechanisms involved in behaviour problems in children with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline intelligence (MID/BI). Social problem solving difficulties have been found to be an explanatory mechanism for aggressive behaviour in these children. However, recently a discrepancy was found between automatic and reflective responding in social situations. We hypothesise that low impulse control and aggressive social problem solving strategies together may explain mechanisms involved in aggressive behaviour by children with MID/BI. METHOD: In a clinical sample of 130 children with MID/BI receiving intramural treatment, main, moderating and mediating effects of impulse control and aggressive response generation on aggressive behaviour were examined by conducting hierarchical linear multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Independent main effects of both impulse control and aggressive response generation on aggressive behaviour were found. Results indicated that low impulse control and aggressive response generation each explain unique variance in aggressive behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: As this study is the first that has shown both impulse control and aggressive response generation to be important predictors for aggressive behaviour in children with MID/BI, future research should further examine the nature of relations between low impulse control and social problem solving.

The longitudinal relations between parenting and toddlers' attention problems and aggressive behaviors.

The aim of the present study was to examine the normative developmental trajectories of toddlers' externalizing behaviors and several maternal and paternal parenting dimensions. Latent growth models were used to determine intraindividual changes and interindividual differences in these changes. One hundred and eight boys were followed from 17 months of age to 35 months of age. A significant linear decrease in attention problems and a significant linear increase in aggressive behaviors were found. Additionally, multivariate models were tested that related the developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviors to the trajectories of the parenting dimensions. The results showed meaningful contemporary relations and relations between over-time trajectories of parenting dimensions and children's externalizing behaviors.

Differential family and peer environmental factors are related to severity and comorbidity in children with ADHD.

Behavioral genetic studies imply that salient environmental influences operate within families, making siblings in a family different rather than similar. This study is the first one to examine differential sibling experiences (as measured with the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience) and its effect on behavioral outcomes within ADHD families. Subjects were 45 Dutch ADHD probands and their unaffected siblings (n = 45) aged 10-18 years. ADHD probands and their unaffected siblings reported differences in sibling interaction, parental treatment, and peer characteristics. These nonshared environmental influences were related to both the severity of ADHD symptoms as well as to comorbid problem behaviors. These findings suggest that environmental influences that operate within ADHD families appear relevant to the severity of problem behaviors of ADHD children and their siblings.

Externalizing behaviors and minor unintentional injuries in toddlers: common risk factors?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate predictors for externalizing behaviors and minor unintentional injuries in toddlers and to examine whether common risk factors can be identified. METHODS: Linear regression models were used to investigate the contributions of predictors belonging to the domains of child characteristics and parental characteristics. Participants were 117 boys (M = 16.9 months) and their parents. RESULTS: Two common risk factors for externalizing behaviors and minor injuries were identified: maternal low conscientiousness and paternal low self-control. In addition, children's inhibitory control and dispositional frustration as well as maternal externalizing symptoms contributed independently to children's externalizing behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Results supply some evidence for the interrelatedness of negative outcomes and on the existence of common risk factors. Interventions could aim to address these common risk factors in order to pursue a number of goals at the same time, instead of focusing on only one type of negative outcome.

Relational support and person characteristics in adolescence.

In this paper, an heuristic model of the personality characteristics of adolescents and the supportive dimensions of interactions, relationships and groups is presented. The model takes the concept of developmental tasks as its starting point and it is assumed that developmental tasks can be characterized in terms of four modalities: intentions, behaviour, cognitions and affect. The same four modalities can also be used to characterize dimensions of personality and aspects of interactional and relational support. The results of several empirical studies are presented to illustrate the model. Together, these studies present a transactional picture of the personality of adolescents and their relationships in which personality and relationships influence each other and jointly determine psychosocial functioning.

Resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled personality prototypes in childhood: replicability, predictive power, and the trait-type issue.

In a longitudinal study, Q-sort patterns of German preschool children were analyzed for personality prototypes and related to developmental outcomes up to age 12. Q-factor analyses confirmed 3 prototypic patterns that showed a high continuity and cross-judge consistency; were similar to those found for North American, Dutch, and Icelandic children; and can be interpreted as resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled. Relations reported by R. W. Robins, O. P. John, A. Caspi, T. E. Moffitt, & M. Stouthamer-Loeber (1996) between these 3 patterns and the Big Five were fully replicated. Growth curve analyses showed that the 3 patterns predicted important developmental outcomes in both the social and the cognitive domains. Evidence was found for both traits and types: A continuous dimension of resiliency bifurcates in its lower part into two relatively discrete personality types, overcontrollers and undercontrollers.

Adolescent personality factors in self-ratings and peer nominations and their prediction of peer acceptance and peer rejection.

In this study, the robustness of the Big Five personality factors in adolescents' self-ratings and peer nominations was investigated. Data were obtained on 2,001 adolescents attending secondary school (885 girls; 1,116 boys; M age = 14.5 years). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the self-ratings confirmed the Big Five personality factors. In contrast, exploratory analysis on the peer nominations revealed five different factors: Aggression-Inattentiveness, Achievement-Withdrawal, Self-Confidence, Sociability, and Emotionality-Nervousness. It is suggested that peers evaluate group members not in terms of their personality but in terms of their group reputation. Peer evaluations contributed substantially to the prediction of peer acceptance and rejection; the Big Five personality factors based on self-ratings did not.

Traits and relationship status: stranger versus peer group inhibition and test intelligence versus peer group competence as early predictors of later self-esteem.

A 9-year longitudinal study of 99 children observed from ages 4 through 12 showed that inhibition toward strangers was strongly related to inhibition with peers, and test intelligence to social competence with peers, only in the first months of preschool socialization. These correlations decreased later on. Stranger inhibition and test intelligence were not predictive of social self-esteem in middle childhood. However, high inhibition and low competence in the peer group after 1 and 2 years of group socialization did predict low social self-esteem up to age 10. Discussion focuses on the processes that might mediate these correlative relations and on the role of relationship-unspecific traits and relationship-specific individual attributes for later social-emotional developmental outcomes.

[Effects of kidney transplantation on cognitive functioning of children]. / Effecten van een niertransplantatie op het cognitief functioneren van kinderen.

The purpose of the study was the assessment of cognitive functioning in 20 children (age 4-14 years) with end stage renal disease (ESRD) before and after kidney transplantations by means of an intelligence-test (WISC-R or WPPSI). Research questions were: I. do the test scores of children with ESRD deviate significantly from those of the norm-group before transplantation; 2. do the test scores of children with ESRD increase significantly from pre- to post-transplantation; 3. do the test scores of children with ESRD after transplantation deviate significantly from those of the norm-group. The results show that children with ESRD before transplantation perform significantly more poorly on the verbal part of the WISC-R. After transplantation they show a significant increase on cognitive functioning, mainly in the verbal part of the test. However, kidney transplantation does not cause a complete recovery of cognitive functioning; after transplantation children with ESRD still showed lower scores on several tasks (e.g. tasks concerning concentration).

Development of behavioral distress in reaction to acute pain in two cultures.

Studied developmental and gender differences in distress behavior during separate phases of a medical treatment in 2 cultures. Distress reactions of 175 children with cancer (age 8 months-18 years 7 months) were observed during bone marrow aspirations (BMA) in 2 different treatment centers (one in the United States, one in The Netherlands) using a behavioral checklist (Procedure Behavioral Rating Scale). The BMAs contained a preparatory phase, the actual needle introduction, and a recovery period. In both cultures almost all separate distress behaviors occurred less in older children, except for increasing muscle tension during the actual puncture. Distress was highest during the needle introduction and significantly lower during the preparatory and recovery phases; in addition, somewhat different patterns of distress behavior were found in separate phases. Culture and sex differences were found. The latter were less robust than developmental and phase differences.

[Bone marrow biopsy in children with leukemia. Determination and reduction of pain and fear reactions]. / Beenmergpuncties bij kinderen met leukemie. Vaststelling en verlaging van pijn- en angstreacties.

The development and reduction of distress in children with leukemia was studied during a frequently recurring medical procedure, i.e., a bone marrow aspiration (BMA). The role of a number of factors in the development of distress display in children during this procedure was studied. The intensity of distress display was assessed with a behavioral rating scale. The intensity of distress display was found to be independent of the physician who performed the punction, the part of the body to which the punction was administered, the number of previously administered BMA'S, whether the child had to undergo a lumbar puncture after the BMA, and whether the child was sedated. The intensity of distress display varied with age and sex of the child. The intensity of distress display was weaker in older children, but this age effect was stronger for boys than for girls. An experimental program was developed and administered in order to reduce distress display during medical treatment. This program consisted of three parts (relaxation, imagination of a pleasant situation and arousal of the concomitant feelings, as well as watching a model). The experimental program was found to be effective in reducing distress display in children. The amount of reduction was dependent of the number of prior BMA'S (the fewer the prior BMA'S, the greater the decrease) and of the level of pretreatment display of distress (the higher the level, the smaller the decrease.