Is Increased Response Time Variability Related to Deficient Emotional Self-Regulation in Children With ADHD?

Objective: Elevated response time intrasubject variability (RT-ISV) characterizes ADHD. Deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR), defined by summating Child Behavior Checklist Anxious/Depressed, Aggressive, and Attention subscale scores, has been associated with worse outcome in ADHD. To determine if DESR is differentially associated with elevated RT-ISV, we examined RT-ISV in children with ADHD with and without DESR and in typically developing children (TDC). Method: We contrasted RT-ISV during a 6-min Eriksen Flanker Task in 31 children with ADHD without DESR, 34 with ADHD with DESR, and 65 TDC. Results: Regardless of DESR, children with ADHD showed significantly greater RT-ISV than TDC (p < .001). The ADHD subgroups, defined by presence or absence of DESR, did not differ from each other. Conclusion: Increased RT-ISV characterizes ADHD regardless of comorbid DESR. Alongside similar findings in children and adults with ADHD, these results suggest that RT-ISV is related to cognitive rather than emotional dysregulation in ADHD.

Students' and lecturers' perceptions of support in a UK pre-registration midwifery programme.

This paper reports on a study that explored the perceptions of students and lecturers regarding support within a pre-registration midwifery programme in one Higher Education Institution in England. A mixed method design was used: questionnaires were completed by first year and third year students and lecturers, complemented by focus groups with each of the three sets of participants. The findings showed that there are multi-focal challenges for student midwives in undertaking their programme of study. The main theme that emerged was of the difficulties involved in maintaining an appropriate work-life balance, especially within what was seen as a relatively inflexible programme structure. The value of peer support was also highlighted as a key factor in helping the students succeed in their studies. There were a number of implications for midwifery educators to consider in optimising support for students. These include ensuring that students have realistic expectations at the outset of their studies, formalising peer support mechanisms and reviewing programmes to provide more flexibility to better underpin the maintenance of an appropriate work-life balance. Further study is warranted to explore perceptions of support in practice and to identify the factors that help students to persevere in their studies.

Depressive symptoms in young adults: the influences of the early home environment and early educational child care.

The relationship between depressive symptoms in young adults, the quality of the early home environment, and early educational child care was investigated in young adults randomly assigned to receive early childhood intervention in the Abecedarian study. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 104 participated in an age-21 follow-up. Those who had early treatment reported fewer depressive symptoms. The protective effects of the early childhood program were further supported by a significant home environment by treatment interaction. Negative effects of lower quality home environments on young adult depressive symptoms were almost entirely offset by preschool treatment, whereas depressive symptoms increased as the quality of the early home environment decreased for those in the control group.