Reliability and Validity of a Brief Clinician-Report Scale for Screening Behavioral Inhibition

Withdrawn Behavior in Preschool: Implications for Emotion Knowledge and Broader Emotional Competence

The present study investigated the respective roles of withdrawal, language, and context-inappropriate (CI) anger in the development of emotion knowledge (EK) among a subsample of 4 and 5 year-old preschoolers (n = 74). Measures included parent-reported withdrawn behavior, externalizing behavior, and CI anger, as well as child assessments of receptive language and EK. Ultimately, findings demonstrated that receptive language mediated the relationship between withdrawn behavior and situational EK. However, CI anger significantly interacted with receptive language, and, when incorporated into a second-stage moderated mediation analysis, moderate levels of CI anger rendered the indirect effect of withdrawn behavior on situational EK via receptive language insignificant. Cumulatively, these findings demonstrate a mechanism by which withdrawal may impact EK. They also indicate that such an effect may be attenuated in children with moderate levels of CI anger. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Hypermentalizing in Social Anxiety: Evidence for a Context-Dependent Relationship

Social anxiety (SA) means fear of scrutiny and of others’ negative evaluation, thus indicating that hypermentalizing (HMZ) (i.e., the over-attribution of intentions and thoughts to others) might be the most common error of social cognition in SA. However, evidence for this is weak. One explanation is that HMZ is not stable in SA, but rather context-dependent. The first aim of the current study was testing this hypothesis. The second aim was analyzing whether the association between SA and HMZ is moderated by a negative self-image. One-hundred and thirteen young adults (85.8% females; M = 21.1 years old; SD = 2.7) were assessed on measures of SA, HMZ, and self-image. Given the over-representation of females, conclusions may not be safely extrapolated to males. Results revealed that HMZ is associated with SA only in the self-referential social situation [B = 2.68 (95% CI: 0.72–4.65), p = 0.007]. This supports that HMZ is not global in SA (i.e., a stable cognitive style), but rather is active only in some contexts. Implications for the conceptualization and treatment of SA are discussed. Contrary to predictions, neither self-esteem, nor positive or negative self-schema moderated the association between SA and self-referential HMZ. This contradicts findings in the field of paranoid delusion and requires replication, including measures of implicit self-esteem.

Altered Prefrontal Cortex Function Marks Heightened Anxiety Risk in Children

OBJECTIVE

Anxiety disorders are prevalent and cause substantial disability. An important risk factor for anxiety disorders is inhibited temperament, the tendency to be shy and to avoid new situations. Inhibited adults have heightened amygdala activation and less flexible engagement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC); however, it remains unknown whether these brain alterations are present in inhibited children before the onset of anxiety disorders.

METHOD

A total of 37 children (18 inhibited and 19 uninhibited), 8 to 10 years of age, completed a task testing anticipation and viewing of threat stimuli and social stimuli in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Brain activation and functional connectivity were measured.

RESULTS

During the anticipation of threat stimuli, inhibited children failed to show the robust PFC engagement observed in the uninhibited children. In contrast, when viewing social stimuli, inhibited children had increased medial PFC and dorsolateral PFC activation. Connectivity analyses revealed a pattern of reduced connectivity between prefrontal and limbic regions and among distinct PFC regions in the inhibited group. The medial PFC emerged as a key hub of the altered PFC circuitry in inhibited children.

CONCLUSION

This study provides new evidence of a neural signature of vulnerability to anxiety disorders. By investigating both anticipation and response to images, we identified that high-risk, inhibited children have widespread alterations in PFC function and connectivity, characterized by an inability to proactively prepare for social threat combined with heightened reactivity to social stimuli. Thus, children at high risk for anxiety show significantly altered prefrontal cortical function and connectivity before the onset of anxiety disorders.

Behavior problems of children in foster care: Associations with foster mothers' representations, commitment, and the quality of mother-child interaction

This study investigated different environmental and contextual factors associated with maltreated children's adjustment in foster care. Participants included 83 children (52 boys), ages 1-7 years, and their foster caregivers. Quality of interaction with the foster caregiver was assessed from direct observation of a free-play situation; foster caregiver attachment state of mind and commitment toward the child were assessed using two interviews; disruptive behavior symptoms were reported by foster caregivers. Results showed that quality of interaction between foster caregivers and children were associated with behavior problems, such that higher-quality interactions were related to fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. Foster caregivers' state of mind and commitment were interrelated but not directly associated with behavior problems of foster children. Type of placement moderated the association between foster caregiver commitment and foster child behavior problems. Whereas greater foster caregiver commitment was associated with higher levels of adjustment for children in foster families (kin and non-kin), this was not the case in foster-to-adopt families. Finally, the associations between foster child behavior problems and history of maltreatment and placement related-risk conditions fell below significance after considering child age and quality of interaction with the foster caregiver. Findings underscore the crucial contribution of the foster caregiver-child relationship to fostering child adjustment and, thereby, have important implications for clinical services offered to this population.