Neural-level associations of non-verbal pragmatic comprehension in young Finnish autistic adults.

This video-based study examines the pragmatic non-verbal comprehension skills and corresponding neural-level findings in young Finnish autistic adults, and controls. Items from the Assessment Battery of Communication (ABaCo) were chosen to evaluate the comprehension of non-verbal communication. Inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis of the functional magnetic resonance imaging data was used to reveal the synchrony of brain activation across participants during the viewing of pragmatically complex scenes of ABaCo videos. The results showed a significant difference between the ISC maps of the autistic and control groups in tasks involving the comprehension of non-verbal communication, thereby revealing several brain regions where correlation of brain activity was greater within the control group. The results suggest a possible weaker modulation of brain states in response to the pragmatic non-verbal communicative situations in autistic participants. Although there was no difference between the groups in behavioural responses to ABaCo items, there was more variability in the accuracy of the responses in the autistic group. Furthermore, mean answering and reaction times correlated with the severity of autistic traits. The results indicate that even if young autistic adults may have learned to use compensatory resources in their communicative-pragmatic comprehension, pragmatic processing in naturalistic situations still requires additional effort.

Early vocabulary development: Relationships with prelinguistic skills and early social-emotional/behavioral problems and competencies.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate early vocabulary development and its relationships with prelinguistic communication skills and social-emotional/behavioral (SEB1) problems and competencies. The participants were 58 healthy Finnish-speaking children (30 girls, 28 boys). First, the concurrent relationships were investigated at the age of 18 months. Second, the relationships between prelinguistic communication skills and SEB problems and competencies at 18 months, and subsequent vocabulary scores at 24 and 30 months, were examined. Parental reports on early vocabulary (MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories; MCDI), prelinguistic communication skills (The Infant-Toddler Checklist of the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile; ITC), SEB problems and competencies (Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment; BITSEA) were gathered. Compared to boys, girls scored significantly higher on ITC Speech Composite at 18 months and expressive vocabulary measures at 18, 24, and 30 months. Vocabulary, as well as prelinguistic communication measures, correlated with SEB competencies at 18 months. Furthermore, vocabulary, as well as ITC Symbolic Composite and Total Score, correlated negatively with externalizing problem and SEB Total Problem scores. With regard to subsequent vocabulary development, all of the prelinguistic communication measures at 18 months correlated with vocabulary at 24 and 30 months. However, when accounted for gender and earlier vocabulary, only the associations with ITC Speech Composite and Total Score at 24 months remained significant. SEB Competencies at 18 months correlated positively, while externalizing problems at 18 months correlated negatively with vocabulary at 24 and 30 months, however, these associations did not remain significant, when accounted for gender and earlier vocabulary.

How are social-emotional and behavioral competences and problems at age 1 year associated with infant motor development? A general population study.

Based on limitations in previous research evidence, we concluded that more research is needed for deeper understanding of how social-emotional and behavioral (SEB) outcomes among infant-toddler-aged children in the general population are associated with early motor development. In this study, we investigated associations between early competencies and problems, as measured by the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), and the timing of achievement of the main gross and fine motor milestones usually attained during the first year of life in a general population context. The study sample consisted of 515 infants (mean age 12.9 [SD 0.9] months) and their parents (514 mothers, 434 fathers), who were recruited in child health centers in Northern Finland. The infants were divided into two groups, based on their BITSEA screen status, and motor milestone achievement ages were compared across BITSEA screen status No Concern and Of-Concern infants. An Of-Concern screen status on the maternal and paternal Competence scale and Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) item cluster was associated with later infant achievement ages for gross motor milestones. By contrast, infants who were screened to be in the Of-Concern range on the maternal Problem scale achieved gross motor milestones earlier than infants with the corresponding No Concern screen status. No significant associations were found between the paternal Problem scale screen status and infant motor development. In further analyses, the strongest associations were found between an Of-Concern screen status on the paternal Competence scale and ASD item cluster and infant motor development. The findings indicate that the inclusion of infant motor developmental information may assist early identification and the clinical interpretation of parental reports of early SEB problems. Clinical implications of the current findings are discussed in the paper.

PARENTAL REPORTS OF EARLY SOCIOEMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS: DOES THE FATHER'S VIEW MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Although both mothers and fathers are essential sources of information to address early socioemotional/behavioral (SEB) problems, there continues to be a dearth of studies considering both parental views. A sample of 208 toddlers (Mage = 19.3 months) was recruited through public child health centers. Both parents of 172 toddlers (76 boys, 96 girls) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1-5 (T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, 2000; Finnish translation by F. Almqvist, ). Correspondence (intraclass correlation coefficients; ICCs) between the maternal and paternal CBCL ratings was good (.64) for the Internalizing and excellent (.76) for the Externalizing and Total Problems scores whereas ICCs varied from .45 for the Withdrawn to .76 for the Sleep Problems and Aggressive Behavior syndrome scores. Regarding discrepancies, mothers consistently reported higher CBCL scale scores than did fathers. Most significant differences between the parental ratings were found on the Aggressive Behavior syndrome, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Interparental rating discrepancies increased with elevations in the corresponding CBCL scale scores. Positive correlations were found between maternal, but not paternal, parenting stress and interparental rating discrepancies on the CBCL. The observed differences between maternal and paternal ratings highlight the importance of gathering reports from both parents when assessing early SEB problems. The findings are more profoundly discussed in the article.

Do child healthcare professionals and parents recognize social-emotional and behavioral problems in 1-year-old infants?

Growing evidence supports the existence of clinically significant social-emotional/behavioral (SEB) problems among as young as 1-year-old infants. However, a substantial proportion of early SEB problems remain unidentified during contacts with child healthcare professionals. In this study, child healthcare nurse (CHCN; N = 1008) and parental (N = 518) reports about SEB worries were gathered, along with the maternal and paternal Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) ratings, for 12-month-old infants randomly recruited through Finnish child health centers. Only 1.4-1.8 % of CHCNs, 3.9 % of mothers, and 3.2 % of fathers reported of being worried about the assessed child's SEB development. When the CHCNs' and parental reports were combined, 7.7 % (33/428) of the infants assessed each by all three adults had one (7.0 %), two (0.7 %) or three (0 %) worry reports. Even the combination of the CHCN's and parental worry reports identified only 7.0-13.8 % of the infants with the maternal and/or paternal BITSEA Problem or Competence rating in the of-concern range. Identified associations across the three informants' worry reports, parental BITSEA ratings and sociodemographic factors are discussed in the paper. Routine and frequent use of developmentally appropriate screening measures, such as the BITSEA, might enhance identification and intervening of early SEB problems in preventive child healthcare by guiding both professionals and parents to pay more attention to substantial aspects of young children's SEB development and encouraging them to discuss possible problems and worries.

Attention and Working Memory in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Functional MRI Study.

The present study examined attention and memory load-dependent differences in the brain activation and deactivation patterns between adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and typically developing (TD) controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Attentional (0-back) and working memory (WM; 2-back) processing and load differences (0 vs. 2-back) were analysed. WM-related areas activated and default mode network deactivated normally in ASDs as a function of task load. ASDs performed the attentional 0-back task similarly to TD controls but showed increased deactivation in cerebellum and right temporal cortical areas and weaker activation in other cerebellar areas. Increasing task load resulted in multiple responses in ASDs compared to TD and in inadequate modulation of brain activity in right insula, primary somatosensory, motor and auditory cortices. The changes during attentional task may reflect compensatory mechanisms enabling normal behavioral performance. The inadequate memory load-dependent modulation of activity suggests diminished compensatory potential in ASD.

Finnish mothers' and fathers' reports of their boys and girls by using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA).

This study investigated maternal and paternal reports about their very young boys and girls on the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA). Two samples were recruited through child health centers in Northern Finland. The infant sample consisted of 227 children (112 boys and 115 girls) (mean age 13.0±1.1 months) and the toddler sample consisted of 208 children (94 boys and 114 girls) (mean age 19.3±1.4 months). Among the infants, girls obtained higher paternal competence total scores than boys, whereas among the toddlers, both maternal and paternal competence total scores were higher for girls compared to boys. In the problem total scale, boys were scored higher than girls by mothers, but not by fathers, in both age groups. In the externalizing problem domain, maternal scores were higher for boys compared to girls among both samples, whereas paternal scores were significantly higher for boys than for girls only among the infants. Also maternal internalizing problem scores were higher for boys than for girls among the toddlers. Compared to fathers, mothers perceived more social-emotional competencies in toddler boys and girls, as well as more total, externalizing and dysregulation problems in toddler boys. However, significant differences between the maternal and paternal BITSEA ratings were not found among the infants of either sex. The results suggest that sex differences in the social-emotional/behavior domain may be observed by the parents among children as young as 11 to 24 months of age. Our findings highlight the importance of paying attention to probable sex differences when assessing and treating early social-emotional/behavior problems.

Valence scaling of dynamic facial expressions is altered in high-functioning subjects with autism spectrum disorders: an fMRI study.

FMRI was performed with the dynamic facial expressions fear and happiness. This was done to detect differences in valence processing between 25 subjects with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and 27 typically developing controls. Valence scaling was abnormal in ASDs. Positive valence induces lower deactivation and abnormally strong activity in ASD in multiple regions. Negative valence increased deactivation in visual areas in subjects with ASDs. The most marked differences between valences focus on fronto-insular and temporal regions. This supports the idea that subjects with ASDs may have difficulty in passive processing of the salience and mirroring of expressions. When the valence scaling of brain activity fails, in contrast to controls, these areas activate and/or deactivate inappropriately during facial stimuli presented dynamically.

Factors related to seeking health care among adolescents with musculoskeletal pain.

Musculoskeletal pain is common among adolescents, but little is known about the factors that affect seeking health care for the problem. We examined the care-seeking pattern among adolescents reporting musculoskeletal pain. The study consisted of adolescents aged 16 years from the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort who responded to a mailed questionnaire in 2001 and reported musculoskeletal pain over the preceding 6 months (n=5052). Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess whether enabling resources, need factors, personal health habits, and psychological problems were associated with seeking health care for musculoskeletal pain. Musculoskeletal pain during the preceding 6 months was reported by 68% of boys and 83% of girls in the study population. Only 16% of boys and 20% of girls reporting pain had sought medical care. Among both boys and girls, care-seeking was associated with being a member of a sports club (boys, odds ratio [OR] 2.1; girls, OR 1.5) and having one (boys, OR 2.1; girls, OR 1.8) or at least 2 (boys, OR 2.2; girls, OR 2.1) other health disorders. In addition, it was associated with a high physical activity level (OR 1.5) and low self-rated (OR 1.5) health among girls. Reporting pain in other anatomical areas decreased the likelihood of seeking care for pain among both genders. In conclusion, relatively few adolescents with musculoskeletal pain had consulted a health professional for the problem. Being physically active (trauma), participating in organized sport (accessibility of care), and having other health problems may explain why an adolescent seeks care for musculoskeletal pain.

Risk factors for persistence of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescence: a 2-year follow-up study.

Musculoskeletal pain in multiple sites is common already in adolescence, and may lead to subsequent musculoskeletal complaints in adulthood. We examined predictive factors for the persistence of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescence over a 2-year time span. A postal questionnaire was administered to a subsample of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n=1773) when subjects were aged 16 and 18. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the possible risk factors of new-onset of multiple pains at 18 years and 2-year persistence of multiple pains were obtained using multinomial logistic regression. Multiple musculoskeletal pains were common; 43% of boys and 63% of girls at 16, and 61% of boys and 81% of girls at 18 reported pain in more than one site during the last 6 months. Moreover, multiple pains had a high persistence rate, as 75% of boys and 88% of girls with multiple pains at 16 reported multiple pains also at 18. In the multivariate analysis, emotional and behavioral problems (internalizing problems, OR 2.3; externalizing problems, OR 2.2), and high sitting time (OR 1.6) among boys, and internalizing problems (OR 3.7), high physical activity level (OR 1.6), short sleeping time (OR 1.7), and smoking (OR 1.9) among girls were predictive factors for the persistence of multiple pains. No statistically significant associations between the baseline variables and new-onset multiple pains were found. Multiple musculoskeletal pains appear to have a high tendency to persist in adolescence; both psychosocial factors and lifestyle factors contribute to this vulnerability.

Psychosocial, mechanical, and metabolic factors in adolescents' musculoskeletal pain in multiple locations: a cross-sectional study.

Recent studies indicate that adolescents often experience musculoskeletal pains in two or more body locations. However, previous studies have mainly focused on localized pains, and the determinants of multiple musculoskeletal pains in adolescents are not well known. The present study was set to evaluate the role of psychosocial, mechanical, and metabolic factors in adolescents' musculoskeletal pains in multiple locations. The study population consisted of the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort; 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n=6986), who responded to a mailed questionnaire in 2001. We assessed the associations of emotional and behavioral problems, physical activity, sitting time, sleeping time, overweight and smoking with musculoskeletal pains using multinomial logistic regression. Multiple pains were common, 23% of boys and 40% of girls reported feeling pain in at least three locations over the past 6 months. These pains were not only associated with anxious/depressed symptoms, withdrawn/depressed symptoms, somatic complaints, rule-breaking and aggressive behavior, social problems, thought and attention problems, but also with high physical activity level, long sitting time, short sleeping time and smoking, among both boys and girls. In addition, pain in three to four locations associated with overweight in girls. A high number of psychosocial, mechanical and metabolic factors associated strongly with multiple pains. In conclusion, multiple musculoskeletal pains were strongly associated with psychosocial complaints, but also with mechanical and metabolic factors. Reported musculoskeletal pains in multiple locations in adolescence may have both peripheral (trauma, decreased regenerative ability) and central (sensitivity) causes.

Association between ADHD symptoms and adolescents' psychosocial well-being: a study of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the psychosocial well-being of adolescents with and without symptoms of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: Adolescents who were 15 and 16 years old with (n = 487) and without (n = 5988) ADHD symptoms were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (n = 9432). ADHD symptoms were assessed by the parents on the SWAN scale while the adolescents completed a questionnaire on their current life situation. RESULTS: The adolescents with ADHD symptoms more often attended a special school and had repeated a grade than those without. Over one-third of those with symptoms were uncertain about their educational plans while 44% of them preferred vocational education. They also reported their health as being poorer and they visited a physician or a nurse more often than the others. Most adolescents reported that they were satisfied with their life, but there were a larger proportion of adolescents with ADHD symptoms among the fairly dissatisfied ones. As well, boys with ADHD symptoms reported the lack of close friends. Adverse psychosocial factors accumulated in those adolescents with greater ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The adolescents with ADHD symptoms considered their psychosocial well-being to be poorer than those without ADHD symptoms. In clinical work, it is essential to recognize the most impaired adolescents who need special attention and support at school as well as in their social interactions with their peers and families. From a public health perspective, this information is necessary in order to focus society's limited resources on those with a higher risk of experiencing complicated outcomes.

Emotional and behavioral problems in relation to physical activity in youth.

PURPOSE: Physical inactivity is known to be associated with mental health problems in adulthood, but the association in youth is unclear. This study evaluated the association between the level of physical activity and the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems in Finnish adolescents. METHODS: The study population consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 including 7002 adolescents who responded to a postal inquiry in 2001-2002 at the age of 15-16 yr. They completed the Youth Self-Report questionnaire assessing their emotional and behavioral problems and a questionnaire concerning their moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA). The odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for having different emotional and behavioral problems were obtained in 2007 from logistic regression and adjusted for family type, income, parents' education, and body mass index. RESULTS: In boys, physical inactivity (1 h or less of MVPA per week) was associated with anxious/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.5-5.7), withdrawn/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.8-4.2), social problems (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.8-5.1), thought problems (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.1-5.2), and attention problems (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0-3.4) when compared to being physically active (4 h or more of MVPA per week). In girls, physical inactivity was associated with withdrawn/depressed symptoms (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.5-3.6), somatic complaints (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0-1.9), social problems (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.7-6.1), attention problems (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.3-3.2), and rule-breaking behavior (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.3-2.5) compared to being physically active. CONCLUSIONS: Physical inactivity was associated with several emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. Future research should investigate the mechanisms behind these associations and the effectiveness of physical activity in the treatment of emotional and behavioral problems among young people.

How long do the consequences of parental preference last: A study of twins from pregnancy to young adulthood.

We analyzed depressive and psychosomatic symptoms in relation to parental preference in 419 twins at the age of 22 to 30 years. Depressiveness was elicited with Children's Depression Inventory and reported as a total score and three subscales (low self-confidence, anhedonia and sadness) based on factor analysis as reported in a previous epidemiological study conducted in Finland. Items assessing nervous complaints and somatic symptoms were adapted from Finnish studies of juvenile health habits. Twins reported the preference in two directions: experienced parental preference towards either twin, and twin's own preference towards either parent. About half of the twins were from pairs where both twins experienced having been equally close to both parents, while about 30% were from 'equal and mother's' pair, where one twin evaluated having been preferred by the mother and the co-twin evaluated having been equally close to both parents. According to the twins' own preference, about one third of the twin pairs were 'both equal', one third 'both mother's' and one third 'equal and mother's'. Those male twins who were equally close to both parents (experienced parental preference) had least total depressiveness, while females in the intermediate situation had the highest self-confidence and least anhedonia and nervousness. According to twins' own preference, twins who felt equally close to both parents had the least depressiveness and anhedonia. The intermediate position seems to be the best alternative, as these twins had the least symptoms.