Diagnostic Associations of Processing Speed in a Transdiagnostic, Pediatric Sample.

INTRODUCTION: The present study examines the relationships between processing speed (PS), mental health disorders, and learning disorders. Prior work has tended to explore relationships between PS deficits and specific diagnoses in isolation of one another. Here, we simultaneously investigated PS associations with five diagnoses (i.e., anxiety, autism, ADHD, depressive, specific learning) in a large-scale, transdiagnostic, community self-referred sample. METHOD: 843 children, ages 8-16 were included from the Healthy Brain Network (HBN) Biobank. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to create a composite measure of four PS tasks, referred to as PC1. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the four PS measures, as well as PC1, were calculated to assess reliability. RESULTS: ICCs were moderate between WISC-V tasks (0.663), and relatively modest between NIH Toolbox Pattern Comparison and other PS scales (0.14-0.27). Regression analyses revealed specific significant relationships between PS and reading and math disabilities, ADHD-inattentive presentation (ADHD-I), and ADHD-combined presentation (ADHD-C). After accounting for inattention, the present study did not find a significant relationship with Autism Spectrum Disorder. DISCUSSION: Our examination of PS in a large, transdiagnostic sample suggested more specific associations with ADHD and learning disorders than the literature currently suggests. Implications for understanding how PS interacts with a highly heterogeneous childhood sample are discussed.

Problematic internet use in children and adolescents: associations with psychiatric disorders and impairment.

BACKGROUND: Problematic internet use (PIU) is an increasingly worrisome issue, as youth population studies are establishing links with internalizing and externalizing problems. There is a need for a better understanding of psychiatric diagnostic profiles associated with this issue, as well as its unique contributions to impairment. Here, we leveraged the ongoing, large-scale Child Mind Institute Healthy Brain Network, a transdiagnostic self-referred, community sample of children and adolescents (ages 5-21), to examine the associations between PIU and psychopathology, general impairment, physical health and sleep disturbances. METHODS: A total sample of 564 (190 female) participants between the ages of 7-15 (mean = 10.80, SD = 2.16), along with their parents/guardians, completed diagnostic interviews with clinicians, answered a wide range of self-report (SR) and parent-report (PR) questionnaires, including the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and underwent physical testing as part of the Healthy Brain Network protocol. RESULTS: PIU was positively associated with depressive disorders (SR: aOR = 2.43, CI: 1.22-4.74, p = .01; PR: aOR = 2.56, CI: 1.31-5.05, p = .01), the combined presentation of ADHD (SR: aOR = 1.91, CI: 1.14-3.22, p = .01; PR: n.s.), Autism Spectrum Disorder (SR: n.s.; PR: aOR = 2.24, CI: 1.34-3.73, p < .001), greater levels of impairment (SR: Standardized Beta = 4.63, CI: 3.06-6.20, p < .001; PR: Standardized Beta = 5.05, CI: 3.67-6.42, p < .001) and increased sleep disturbances (SR: Standardized Beta = 3.15, CI: 0.71-5.59, p = .01; PR: Standardized Beta = 3.55, CI: 1.34-5.75, p < .001), even when accounting for demographic covariates and psychiatric comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: The association between PIU and psychopathology, as well as its impact on impairment and sleep disturbances, highlight the urgent need to gain an understanding of mechanisms in order to inform public health recommendations on internet use in U.S. youth.