Developmental psychopathology: concepts and challenges

Hot and cool executive function in the development of behavioral problems in grade school

Despite the well-established link between children's executive function and behavioral adjustment, it remains unclear whether the hot and cool aspects of executive function are uniquely associated with children's behavioral problems. Using longitudinal data spanning in the grade school (N = 1,140), this study aimed to examine whether hot and cool executive function skills may be uniquely related to the development of behavioral problems. Hot and cool executive function skills were measured with tasks, standardized tests, and questionnaires at 54 months and in the first grade, respectively. Internalizing and externalizing problems were evaluated by teachers using questionnaires throughout the grade school. The results indicated that, independent of each other, hot and cool executive function skills were uniquely and negatively related to the development of internalizing and externalizing problems over time at the between-individual level, adjusting for within-individual fluctuations. Moreover, internalizing and externalizing problems were positively related at the between-individual level across the grade school. Findings provide needed evidence to clarify the relations between hot and cool executive function and children's behavioral problems, emphasizing the importance of both aspects of executive function in understanding the development of behavioral problems in school-age children.

Reactive and control processes in the development of internalizing and externalizing problems across early childhood to adolescence

Reactive and control processes - e.g., negative emotionality and immediacy preference - may predict distinct psychopathology trajectories. However, externalizing and internalizing problems change in behavioral manifestation across development and across contexts, thus necessitating the use of different measures and informants across ages. This is the first study that created developmental scales for both internalizing and externalizing problems by putting scores from different informants and measures onto the same scale to examine temperament facets as risk factors. Multidimensional linking allowed us to examine trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from ages 2 to 15 years (N = 1,364) using near-annual ratings by mothers, fathers, teachers, other caregivers, and self report. We examined reactive and control processes in early childhood as predictors of the trajectories and as predictors of general versus specific psychopathology in adolescence. Negative emotionality at age 4 predicted general psychopathology and unique externalizing problems at age 15. Wait times on an immediacy preference task at age 4 were negatively associated with age 15 general psychopathology, and positively associated with unique internalizing problems. Findings demonstrate the value of developmental scaling for examining development of psychopathology across a lengthy developmental span and the importance of considering reactive and control processes in development of psychopathology.

Cascade effects of a parenting-focused program for divorced families on three health-related outcomes in emerging adulthood

Using data from a 15-year longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of a parenting-focused preventive intervention for divorced families (N = 240) with children aged 9-12, the current study examined alternative cascading pathways through which the intervention led to improvements in offspring's perceived health problems, BMI, and cigarette smoking in emerging adulthood. It was hypothesized that the program would lead to improvements in these health-related outcomes during emerging adulthood through progressive associations between program-induced changes in parenting and offspring outcomes, including mental health problems, substance use, and competencies. Intervention-induced improvements in positive parenting at posttest led to improvements in mental health problems in late childhood/early adolescence, which led to lower levels of mental health and substance use problems as well as higher levels of competencies in adolescence, which led to improvements in the health-related outcomes. Academic performance predicted all three health-related outcomes and other aspects of adolescent functioning showed different relations across outcomes. Results highlight the potential for intervention effects of preventive parenting interventions in childhood to cascade over time to affect health-related outcomes in emerging adulthood.

Multiple states clustering analysis (MSCA), an unsupervised approach to multiple time-to-event electronic health records applied to multimorbidity associated with myocardial infarction

Multimorbidity is characterized by the accrual of two or more long-term conditions (LTCs) in an individual. This state of health is increasingly prevalent and poses public health challenges. Adapting approaches to effectively analyse electronic health records is needed to better understand multimorbidity. We propose a novel unsupervised clustering approach to multiple time-to-event health records denoted as multiple state clustering analysis (MSCA). In MSCA, patients' pairwise dissimilarities are computed using patients' state matrices which are composed of multiple censored time-to-event indicators reflecting patients' health history. The use of state matrices enables the analysis of an arbitrary number of LTCs without reducing patients' health trajectories to a particular sequence of events. MSCA was applied to analyse multimorbidity associated with myocardial infarction using electronic health records of 26 LTCs, including conventional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) such as diabetes and hypertension, collected from south London general practices between 2005 and 2021 in 5087 patients using the MSCA R library. We identified a typology of 11 clusters, characterised by age at onset of myocardial infarction, sequences of conventional CVRFs and non-conventional risk factors including physical and mental health conditions. Interestingly, multivariate analysis revealed that clusters were also associated with various combinations of socio-demographic characteristics including gender and ethnicity. By identifying meaningful sequences of LTCs associated with myocardial infarction and distinct socio-demographic characteristics, MSCA proves to be an effective approach to the analysis of electronic health records, with the potential to enhance our understanding of multimorbidity for improved prevention and management.

Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from mid-childhood to late adolescence and childhood risk factors: Findings from a prospective pre-birth cohort

There is limited evidence on heterogenous co-developmental trajectories of internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) problems from childhood to adolescence and predictors of these joint trajectories. We utilized longitudinal data from Raine Study participants (n = 2393) to identify these joint trajectories from 5 to 17 years using parallel-process latent class growth analysis and analyze childhood individual and family risk factors predicting these joint trajectories using multinomial logistic regression. Five trajectory classes were identified: Low-problems (Low-INT/Low-EXT, 29%), Moderate Externalizing (Moderate-EXT/Low-INT, 26.5%), Primary Internalizing (Moderate High-INT/Low-EXT, 17.5%), Co-occurring (High-INT/High-EXT, 17%), High Co-occurring (Very High-EXT/High-INT, 10%). Children classified in Co-occurring and High Co-occurring trajectories (27% of the sample) exhibited clinically meaningful co-occurring problem behaviors and experienced more adverse childhood risk-factors than other three trajectories. Compared with Low-problems: parental marital problems, low family income, and absent father predicted Co-occurring and High Co-occurring trajectories; maternal mental health problems commonly predicted Primary Internalizing, Co-occurring, and High Co-occurring trajectories; male sex and parental tobacco-smoking uniquely predicted High Co-occurring membership; other substance smoking uniquely predicted Co-occurring membership; speech difficulty uniquely predicted Primary Internalizing membership; child's temper-tantrums predicted all four trajectories, with increased odds ratios for High Co-occurring (OR = 8.95) and Co-occurring (OR = 6.07). Finding two co-occurring trajectories emphasizes the importance of early childhood interventions addressing comorbidity.

Estimating adolescent mental health in the general population: current challenges and opportunities

Adolescence is a period of change and increased mental health difficulties, which are important for lifetime outcomes. Adolescent mental health is therefore an active research area, with large samples often drawing on self-report general measures (ie, not disorder-specific or focused on a narrow outcome). We argue that these measures have a key role in our understanding of issues such as prevalence, antecedents, prevention, and intervention, however, measurement has been given little attention and high-quality measures do not tend to be available or used. We offer insights into historical and psychometric challenges that have contributed to current problems and highlight the implications of relying on poor measures, which at their worst can be biased and unethical. We make recommendations for research and practice on selecting measures and improving the evidence base and make a call to action to reject low-quality measurement in this field.

Childhood maltreatment and mental health problems in a 10-year follow-up study of adolescents in youth residential care: A latent transition analysis

Childhood maltreatment and mental health problems are common among young people placed out-of-home. However, evidence on the impact of maltreatment on the course of mental health problems in at-risk populations is sparse. The aim of this longitudinal study is twofold: (a) describe the course of mental health problems and the shift in symptom patterns among adolescents in youth residential care into young adulthood and (b) assess how childhood maltreatment is related to the course of mental health problems. One hundred and sixty-six adolescents in Swiss youth residential care were followed up into young adulthood (36.1% women; MAge-Baseline = 16.1 years; MAge-Follow-Up = 26.4 years). Latent transition analysis was employed to analyze transitions of symptom patterns and their association with maltreatment exposure. We found three latent classes of mental health problems: a "multiproblem"-class (51.8% baseline; 33.7% follow-up), a "low symptom"-class (39.2% baseline; 60.2% follow-up), and an "externalizing"-class (9.0% baseline; 6.0% follow-up). Individuals in the "multiproblem"-class were likely to transition towards less-complex symptom patterns. Higher severity of self-reported childhood maltreatment was associated with more complex and persistent mental health problems. Our study underlines the need for collaboration between residential and psychiatric care systems within and after care placements, with a specialized focus on trauma-informed interventions and care.

Heterogeneity in Developmental Trajectories of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptomatology: Associations with Risk and Protective Factors

Among a large sample of youth (9-10 years old at baseline) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® (n = 11,661) we modeled trajectories of psychopathology over three years and associated risk and protective factors. Growth mixture modeling characterized latent classes with distinct psychopathology trajectories. Results indicated four different internalizing trajectories: a high-decreasing class, a moderate-decreasing class, a moderate-increasing class, and a low-stable class. There were also four externalizing trajectories: a moderate-decreasing class, a high-decreasing class, a moderate-increasing class, and a low-decreasing class. We used parallel process growth analysis to examine the co-development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and characterized five trajectory classes with distinct patterns of co-development. These classes were differentially associated with negative life events, neighborhood safety, and parental acceptance. Together, the findings characterize general developmental patterns of psychopathology, quantify the proportion of youth that follow each pattern, and identify key predictors that discriminate these patterns.

Neglect and adolescent internalizing mental health: Testing competing longitudinal hypotheses

Neglect remains understudied compared to other forms of maltreatment. While studies have shown that neglect has negative effects on mental health in adolescence, yet unresolved is whether these impacts result from critical period or cumulative effects. In the present article, we use a novel approach to compare these two hypotheses from the impact of two types of neglect, failure to provide (FTP) and lack of supervision (LOS), on adolescent depression and internalizing symptoms. Data derive from the LONGSCAN consortium, a diverse, multi-site, prospective study of children from approximately age 2-16. Despite our hypothesis that the critical period of early childhood would have the greatest impact on adolescent internalizing mental health, exposure to neglect during the critical period of adolescence (ages 12-16) was the best-fitting model for the effects of FTP neglect on depression, and the effects of LOS neglect on both depression and internalizing symptoms. The cumulative model (exposure across all time periods) best explained the effects of FTP neglect on internalizing symptoms. Results were robust to the addition of control variables, including other forms of maltreatment. These findings demonstrate that responding to neglect into adolescence must be considered as urgent for child welfare systems.

Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in females with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia

CONTEXT

Although the increased burden of mental health problems among patients with classic 46,XX congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is well-documented, it remains unclear if this comorbidity is attributable to the burden of living with a chronic medical condition or the potential psychosocial/sexual consequences of being born with a difference of sex development (DSD) and its associated clinical management.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses among CAH patients and three reference groups: matched males and females from the general population, and females with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Three large integrated health systems.

PARTICIPANTS

CAH patients (n=115), general population male and female referents (n=1150 per group), and 66,002 female T1DM referents.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and suicidal ideation was higher among CAH participants than in males and females from the general population, but similar to or lower than in T1DM referents. CAH patients were more likely to be diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders compared to both female reference groups, whereas the prevalence of elimination disorders (predominantly enuresis) and gender dysphoria was higher in the CAH cohort than in all reference groups.

CONCLUSION

Females with classic CAH experience a higher burden of psychiatric illness, including anxiety and depression, compared to demographically similar men and women in the general population. The similar psychiatric burden between females with CAH and T1DM suggests that morbidity may be influenced by the challenges associated with managing a chronic condition. Investigating long-term mental health trajectories in this population will require longitudinal studies.

Developmental psychopathology: Our welcoming, inclusive, and eclectic intellectual home

The integrative nature of developmental psychopathology is its defining and most remarkable feature. Since its inception, often identified with the special issue of Child Development (Cichetti, 1984), this new discipline has shattered barriers and divisions that until then had artificially compartmentalized the study of human development, and perhaps even psychology in general, and it has proposed new ways of integrative thinking about development. One, developmental psychopathology has programmatically integrated research on typical or adaptive and atypical or maladaptive developmental processes and demonstrated how those inform each other. Two, developmental psychopathology has promoted bridges between developmental research and other disciplines. Three, less explicitly but equally importantly, developmental psychopathology has abolished conceptual and empirical barriers that had existed among various theories and perspectives within developmental psychology by creating a welcoming niche for research inspired by theories often historically seen as contradictory or incompatible. Ideas originating in psychoanalytic, learning, cognitive, ethological, and sociocultural theories all find a welcoming home and seamlessly coexist in heuristically productive harmony within developmental psychopathology, inform each other, and generate exciting questions and insights. This eclectic and conceptually inclusive nature is one reason for developmental psychopathology's lasting appeal and inspirational power.

Integrating data science and neuroscience in developmental psychopathology: Formative examples and future directions

This commentary discusses opportunities for advancing the field of developmental psychopathology through the integration of data science and neuroscience approaches. We first review elements of our research program investigating how early life adversity shapes neurodevelopment and may convey risk for psychopathology. We then illustrate three ways that data science techniques (e.g., machine learning) can support developmental psychopathology research, such as by distinguishing between common and diverse developmental outcomes after stress exposure. Finally, we discuss logistical and conceptual refinements that may aid the field moving forward. Throughout the piece, we underscore the profound impact of Dr Dante Cicchetti, reflecting on how his work influenced our own, and gave rise to the field of developmental psychopathology.

Understanding Early Risk Factors of Preschool Disruptive Behaviors in a Population-Based Birth Cohort: Why Does Comorbidity Matter?

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Research on early risk factors for disruptive behaviors (DBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity/HI, non-compliance/NC, or physical aggression/PA) has predominantly focused on individual DBs in silos (i.e., HI, NC, or PA) or the broader category of externalizing, reporting mostly common risk factors among them. However, studies addressing DB comorbidity, i.e., the simultaneous occurrence of more than one DB, showed differences in risk factors among DB comorbid profiles. Aiming to clarify this discrepancy, the present study compared the early risk factors associated with different longitudinal patterns (i.e., trajectories) of single-DBs (HI, NC, PA) with risk factors associated with monomorbid (HIonly, NConly, PAonly) and comorbid (HI + NC, NC + PA, HI + NC + PA) joint-DBs trajectories during the preschool period.

METHODS

In a population-based birth cohort (N = 2045), parents' pre-conception characteristics, pregnancy and perinatal conditions, and age 5 months child and family characteristics were used to compare children following single-DB and joint-DBs high trajectories to children following low or moderate trajectories. The DB trajectories were derived from mother ratings at ages 1½, 2½, 3½, 4½, and 5 years.

RESULTS

More risk factors were identified for single-DB high trajectories than for joint-DBs high trajectories. On average, children on a single-DB high trajectory shared only 44.2% of their risk factors with children on a related joint-DBs high trajectory. Moreover, high trajectories of single-DBs shared a larger proportion of their risk factors than did high trajectories of joint-DBs. The findings show that categories of DBs include different subgroups of children based on their comorbidity patterns across DBs, which are differentially linked to early risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Addressing comorbidity when investigating early risk factors of preschool DBs may improve our understanding of the etiological processes leading to these distinct but related behaviors and increase our ability to intervene upstream to prevent the earliest forms of potentially life-altering psychopathological conditions.

Negative family expressiveness and adolescents' externalizing problems: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia as a moderator and anger regulation as a mediator

Family environment, emotion regulation and biological sensitivity have been shown to be associated with adolescents' externalizing problem behaviours. However, findings regarding respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity are mixed and sometimes contradictory. This study aims to clarify the roles of RSA reactivity and anger regulation in the relationship between negative family expressiveness (NFE) and adolescents' externalizing behaviour by measuring RSA reactivity during the Parent-Adolescent Interaction Task (PAIT), designed to simulate a naturalistic negative family environment. In this study, 125 Chinese adolescents (M = 13.95 years, SD = 0.95; 48% male) completed questionnaires assessing negative family expressiveness, anger regulation and externalizing problems. Additionally, we collected electrocardiogram and respiration data during both the resting period and a 10-min PAIT. Results showed that anger regulation mediated the relationship between NFE and externalizing problem behaviours. Moreover, adolescents' RSA reactivity moderated this mediation effect, even after controlling for baseline RSA. Greater RSA suppression potentially indicated greater susceptibility, with the relationship between NFE and anger regulation being more pronounced in adolescents with greater RSA suppression compared to those with lesser RSA suppression. These findings highlight the importance of considering physiological systems, especially within the context of adverse family environments, when studying the relationships with externalizing problems.

Active Inference in Psychology and Psychiatry: Progress to Date?

The free energy principle is a formal theory of adaptive self-organising systems that emerged from statistical thermodynamics, machine learning and theoretical neuroscience and has since been translated into biologically plausible 'process theories' of cognition and behaviour, which fall under the banner of 'active inference'. Despite the promise this theory holds for theorising, research and practical applications in psychology and psychiatry, its impact on these disciplines has only now begun to bear fruit. The aim of this treatment is to consider the extent to which active inference has informed theoretical progress in psychology, before exploring its contributions to our understanding and treatment of psychopathology. Despite facing persistent translational obstacles, progress suggests that active inference has the potential to become a new paradigm that promises to unite psychology's subdisciplines, while readily incorporating the traditionally competing paradigms of evolutionary and developmental psychology. To date, however, progress towards this end has been slow. Meanwhile, the main outstanding question is whether this theory will make a positive difference through applications in clinical psychology, and its sister discipline of psychiatry.

Beyond delinquency and drug use: Links of peer pressure to long-term adolescent psychosocial development

This study examined the predictors and sequelae of exposure to peer pressure from close friends in adolescence. Adolescents (99 female; 85 male) were followed from age 13 to 24 utilizing peer, parent, and romantic partner reports and observational data. Participants who were exposed to high levels of peer pressure as teens were more likely to experience higher levels of coercive behavior from romantic partners (as reported by those partners), as well as lower levels of parent-reported functional independence. All findings held even after accounting for baseline levels of teen assertiveness. Adolescents at risk for increasing exposure to peer pressure were characterized by poor-quality parent and peer relationships, as well as baseline deficits in ability to assert autonomy. Results suggest that exposure to peer pressure, aside from its potential effects on deviant or risky behavior, may reflect a powerful threat to the autonomy development process as adolescents transition from parents to peers as primary sources of support and interaction.

Does personality dysfunction add incremental utility over general psychopathology when modeling previous suicide attempts in adolescent patients?

BACKGROUND

Identifying patients at risk for a suicide attempt (SA) is critical in adolescents with mental disorders. The current study aimed to 1) examine whether personality dysfunction (PD) is associated with previous SA, 2) explore the incremental utility of PD over psychiatric disorders in modeling previous SA.

METHODS

The sample comprised of n = 498 adolescent patients (mean age = 15.41 years, 79.12 % females, inpatient 48.8 %, outpatient 51.2 %). SA in the past year, PD according to the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders, and psychiatric diagnoses were assessed using semi-structured interviews. Logistic regression and principal component analysis examining the associations and specific patterns of PD and SA in the past year were conducted. Hierarchical (stepwise) logistic regression was applied to investigate the incremental utility of PD over that of psychiatric diagnoses to identify individuals with SA in the past year.

RESULTS

Including all facets of PD revealed a significant model with SA in the past year as outcome (χ2(12) = 106.65, McFaddens Pseudo-R2 = 0.17, p < 0.01). Adding PD to the model explained a significant amount of variance in past SA over that of psychiatric diagnoses (Pseudo-R2 = 0.18, Wald χ2 = 43.05, p < 0.01).

LIMITATIONS

As we only studied past SA and due to the cross-sectional design, no conclusion regarding the prediction of future SA can be drawn.

DISCUSSION

PD should routinely be assessed in adolescent patients since individuals with PD are more likely to have attempted suicide even when controlling for comorbid psychiatric disorders. PD may represent an important target for intervention in those with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

The course of children's mental health symptoms during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increases in child mental health problems, but the persistence of these changes in the post-pandemic era remains uncertain. Additionally, it is unclear whether changes in mental health problems during the pandemic exceed the anticipated increases as children age. This study controls for the linear effect of age in 1399 children, investigating the course of child-reported anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and inattention symptoms during and after the pandemic, and identifies risk and protective factors that predict these mental health trajectories.

METHODS

Children (51% male; ages 9-11 at the first timepoint) provided mental health ratings at three pandemic timepoints (July-August 2020; March-April 2021; November 2021-January 2022) and one post-pandemic timepoint (January-July 2023). Mothers reported pre-pandemic mental health (2017-2019) and socio-demographic factors. Children reported socio-demographic factors, risk (e.g. screen time, sleep), and resilience (e.g. optimism) factors during the first timepoint.

RESULTS

Average mental health symptoms increased over time, with more children exceeding clinical cut-offs for poor mental health at each subsequent pandemic timepoint. Growth curve modeling, adjusting for age-related effects, revealed a curvilinear course of mental health symptoms across all domains. Examination of risk and protective factors revealed that pre-existing mental health symptoms and optimism were associated with the course of symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

After considering age effects, children's mental health follows a curvilinear pattern over time, suggesting an initial decline followed by a rising trend in symptoms post-COVID. These findings underscore the continued need for additional resources and timely, evidence-based mental health prevention and intervention for children.

Predicting externalizing behaviors in typically developing toddlers at 24 months: Insights from parenting at 12 months

Early observational assessment of parent and child behaviors may identify risk factors associated with the development of early child externalizing behaviors. This study aimed to examine factors associated with child externalizing behaviors at 24-months of age, including early maternal depression, family social risk and the parent-child relationship. Using a longitudinal design in 89 mother-child dyads (n = 43 female), maternal depressive symptoms and social risk were measured post-birth, and 12-months later parent-child interaction was assessed using the Emotional Availability Scales. To assess child externalizing behaviors, a parent-report questionnaire was administered when children were 24-months old. Increased early maternal depressive symptoms (p = .03), but not higher social risk (p = 0.17), were associated with higher child externalizing behaviors in children at age 24-months. After adjusting for early maternal depressive symptoms and familial social risk, lower levels of observed maternal structuring (β = -2.60, 95 %CI = -4.56, -0.64, p = .01) and lower levels of non-hostility (β = -3.39, 95 %CI -6.64, -0.14, p = .04) when the child was 12-months old were associated with higher parent-report of externalizing behaviors. However, the child's observed interaction behavior was not associated with the mother's report of child externalizing behavior. Interventions targeting specific post-natal maternal mental health and early parenting behaviors may reduce the risk for the development of later child externalizing problems.

Trauma Exposure and the Mental Health Needs of Latinx Youth: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Although trauma exposure is common among youth in the United States, it is not evenly distributed. In fact, Latinx youth have higher rates of trauma exposure than their non-Latinx White counterparts with approximately 78% of Latinx youth experiencing one traumatic event by the time they are 18 years old. Despite this, the impact of trauma exposure on Latinx youth's mental health needs is not well-established. This is largely because Latinx youth are vastly underrepresented in many of the large-scale, epidemiological studies on childhood trauma exposure. To address this gap in the literature, this study applied PRISMA protocol guidelines to systematically review the methodologies, participant characteristics, and findings from 22 studies examining the relation between Latinx youths' trauma exposure and their mental health needs. Results revealed that while trauma exposure is common among Latinx youth, its association to Latinx youth's mental health needs is not well understood. Indeed, while some studies found a positive association between Latinx youth's trauma exposure and their mental health risk, other studies found no such relation. An examination of the included studies' methodologies and participant characteristics revealed several limitations in the existing research that are likely contributing to these inconsistencies. Concrete recommendations for how future research can address these limitations are put forth. Taken together, the results of this study underscore the urgent need to understand the role that trauma exposure plays in contributing to and/or maintaining mental health disparities among Latinx youth.

Maternal adverse childhood experiences, child resilience factors, and child mental health problems: A multi-wave study

BACKGROUND

Research suggests that maternal ACEs have intergenerational consequences for offspring mental health. However, very few studies have investigated moderators of this association.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this longitudinal study was to examine whether child resilience factors moderated the association between maternal ACEs prior to age 18, and child-reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and inattention.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The current study used data from 910 mother-child dyads. Participants were recruited in pregnancy from 2008 to 2010 as part of a longitudinal cohort study.

METHODS

Mothers had previously completed an ACEs questionnaire and reported on their child's resilience factors at child age 8-years. Children completed questionnaires about their mental health problems (symptoms of anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and attention problems) at ages 10 and 10.5 years. Four moderation models were performed in total.

RESULTS

Results revealed that maternal ACEs predicted child-reported symptoms of anxiety (β = 0.174, p = .02) and depression (β = 0.37, p = .004). However, both these associations were moderated by higher levels of perceived child resilience factors (β = -0.29, p = .02, β = -0.33, p = .008, respectively). Specifically, there was no association between maternal ACEs and child mental health problems in the context of moderate and high levels of child resilience factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Children who have the ability to solicit support from internal and external sources (e.g., being creative, setting realistic goals, making friends easily) may be buffered against the consequences of maternal ACEs on anxiety and depression. Thus, the effects of maternal ACEs on child mental health problems are not deterministic.

A longitudinal study of child adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic: the protective role of the parent-child relationship in middle childhood

This longitudinal study assessed how parent-child relationship quality during the first COVID-19 lockdown was related to changes in internalizing, externalizing, and sleep problems during the first months of the pandemic: during lockdown, partial deconfinement, and total deconfinement. Participants included 167 children (9-12 year) and their parents recruited in the province of Quebec, Canada. Child behavior problems decreased between lockdown and the two deconfinement assessments, but more sleep and behavior problems were associated with lower levels of relationship quality (more conflict, less closeness, and more insecure attachment). Significant interaction effects showed that changes in externalizing and sleep problems varied as a function of parent-child relationship. Results support the critical importance of the parent-child relationship with regard to child adjustment in middle childhood in times of crisis such as a pandemic. They also highlight resilience in children aged 9 to 12, with a decrease in problems over time.

Potential mechanisms underlying the association between feeding and eating disorders and autism

There is a reliable association between autism and Feeding and Eating Disorders. Concerningly, where these two conditions co-occur, clinical outcomes of Feeding and Eating Disorders are significantly worse, and treatment less effective, than when the Feeding and Eating Disorders occur in neurotypical individuals. Problematically, the reason for the association between autism and Feeding and Eating Disorders is poorly understood, which constrains advances in clinical care. This paper outlines several possible mechanisms that may underlie the observed association and suggests ways in which they may be empirically tested. Mechanisms are split into those producing an artefactual association, and those reflecting a genuine link between conditions. Artefactual associations may be due to conceptual overlap in both diagnostic criteria and measurement, Feeding and Eating Disorders causing transient autistic traits, or the association being non-specific in nature. A genuine association between autism and Feeding and Eating Disorders may be due to common causal factors, autism directly or indirectly causing Feeding and Eating Disorders, and Feeding and Eating Disorders being a female manifestation of autism.

The effects of two types of neighborhood factors on trajectory of internalizing and externalizing symptoms from early childhood to adolescence

Although a robust body of previous empirical studies investigated the long-term trend of child behavior problems, limited research discussed the influences of various types of neighborhood factors on such trajectory (e.g., neighborhood structural characteristics and collective efficacy). Using a nationally representative longitudinal dataset the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), with six waves from 1998 to 2017, this study captures the longitudinal effects of two types of early childhood neighborhood factors on the co-development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Data was collected at the focal child's age 3, age 5, age 9, age 15 (N = 2,385), and the parallel-process growth curve models were applied. Results suggest that the trajectories of both internalization and externalizing symptoms showed U-shape and bidirectional relationships among internalizing and externalizing problems. The long-term effects of neighborhood social cohesion and economic disadvantages were significantly associated with children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The implication of this study was further discussed.

Antecedents of major depressive, bipolar, and psychotic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

Major depressive, bipolar, or psychotic disorders are preceded by earlier manifestations in behaviours and experiences. We present a synthesis of evidence on associations between person-level antecedents (behaviour, performance, psychopathology) in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood and later onsets of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychotic disorder based on prospective studies published up to September 16, 2022. We screened 11,342 records, identified 460 eligible publications, and extracted 570 risk ratios quantifying the relationships between 52 antecedents and onsets in 198 unique samples with prospective follow-up of 122,766 individuals from a mean age of 12.4 to a mean age of 24.8 for 1522,426 person years of follow-up. We completed meta-analyses of 12 antecedents with adequate data. Psychotic symptoms, depressive symptoms, anxiety, disruptive behaviors, affective lability, and sleep problems were transdiagnostic antecedents associated with onsets of depressive, bipolar, and psychotic disorders. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity and hypomanic symptoms specifically predicted bipolar disorder. While transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific antecedents inform targeted prevention and help understand pathogenic mechanisms, extensive gaps in evidence indicate potential for improving early risk identification.

Contextual factors of child behavioral health across developmental stages

This study examines the relative influence of environmental contexts (family, school, neighborhood) on child behavioral health at ages 3, 5, 9, and 15 years. Path analysis was conducted on a sample of 4,898 urban children from a longitudinal dataset called the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Child physical abuse, emotional abuse, maternal depression, substance use, neighborhood social cohesion, neighborhood poverty, school connectedness, and peer bullying had concurrent relationships with child behavior problems at one or more developmental stages. Early childhood abuse (age 3) and school age environmental contexts (age 9) had lasting effects on later behavior problems. Findings underscore the importance of both multilevel contextual factors and developmental timing in determining behavioral health outcomes in children.

A prospective longitudinal study of multidomain resilience among youths with and without maltreatment histories

The majority of children with maltreatment histories do not go on to develop depression in their adolescent and adult years. These individuals are often identified as being "resilient", but this characterization may conceal difficulties that individuals with maltreatment histories might face in their interpersonal relationships, substance use, physical health, and/or socioeconomic outcomes in their later lives. This study examined how adolescents with maltreatment histories who exhibit low levels of depression function in other domains during their adult years. Longitudinal trajectories of depression (across ages 13-32) in individuals with (n = 3,809) and without (n = 8,249) maltreatment histories were modeled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The same "Low," "increasing," and "declining" depression trajectories in both individuals with and without maltreatment histories were identified. Youths with maltreatment histories in the "low" depression trajectory reported lower romantic relationship satisfaction, more exposure to intimate partner and sexual violence, more alcohol abuse/dependency, and poorer general physical health compared to individuals without maltreatment histories in the same "low" depression trajectory in adulthood. Findings add further caution against labeling individuals as "resilient" based on a just single domain of functioning (low depression), as childhood maltreatment has harmful effects on a broad spectrum of functional domains.

Annual Research Review: Sex, gender, and internalizing conditions among adolescents in the 21st century - trends, causes, consequences

Internalizing conditions of psychopathology include depressive and anxiety disorders; they most often onset in adolescence, are relatively common, and contribute to significant population morbidity and mortality. In this research review, we present the evidence that internalizing conditions, including depression and anxiety, as well as psychological distress, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and fatal suicide, are considerably increasing in adolescent populations across many countries. Evidence indicates that increases are currently greatest in female adolescents. We present an epidemiological framework for evaluating the causes of these increases, and synthesize research on whether several established risk factors (e.g., age of pubertal transition and stressful life events) and novel risk factors (e.g., digital technology and social media) meet conditions necessary to be plausible causes of increases in adolescent internalizing conditions. We conclude that there are a multitude of potential causes of increases in adolescent internalizing conditions, outline evidence gaps including the lack of research on nonbinary and gender nonconforming populations, and recommend necessary prevention and intervention foci from a clinical and public health perspective.

Relationships Between Recent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Somatic Symptoms in Adolescence

Early identification and interventions are imperative for mitigating the harmful effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Nonetheless, a substantial barrier persists in identifying adolescents experiencing ACEs. One understudied avenue for early identification of ACEs is through the examination of somatic symptoms endorsed by adolescents. Understanding the relationship between recent ACEs exposure and somatic symptoms may serve as a useful indicator for identifying adolescents affected by ACEs. This study examines the relationships between recent exposure to ACEs (within the past one to two years) and somatic symptoms across adolescence (ages 12-16 years). Longitudinal prospective data of 1354 child and caregiver dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect were used in this study. Data from three time points, when adolescents were 12, 14, and 16, were used to conduct longitudinal path analyses. Somatic symptoms- defined as physical symptoms without known medical causes- were measured using the caregiver-report subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Recent ACEs in the past one to two years were measured using an index score summing exposure to nine ACE variables. The results indicated a significant association between recent ACEs and increased somatic symptoms at age 12. However, there were no significant associations between recent ACEs and somatic symptoms at ages 14 and 16. The findings indicate a notably stronger relationship between recent ACEs exposure and the presence of increased somatic symptoms at the age of 12, in contrast to what is observed at ages 14 and 16. This finding suggests that somatic symptoms during early adolescence may suggest underlying issues, potentially stemming from stressors such as ACEs.

Is lower fetal heart rate variability a susceptibility marker to the impact of negative coparenting on infant regulatory capacity?

Lower fetal heart rate variability (FHRV) may be a prenatal endophenotypic susceptibility marker and increase the impact of both positive and negative coparenting on infant regulatory capacity. This study analyzed the moderator role of FHRV in the association between positive and negative coparenting and infant regulatory capacity at 3 months. The sample comprised 86 first-born infants and their mothers and fathers recruited at a public Health Service in Northern Portugal. FHRV was recorded during routine cardiotocography examination at the third trimester of gestation. Mothers and fathers reported on coparenting and infant regulatory capacity at 2 weeks and 3 months postpartum. FHRV moderated the association between mother's and father's negative coparenting at 2 weeks postpartum and infant regulatory capacity at three months. Infants with low FHRV presented higher regulatory capacity when mothers or fathers reported less negative coparenting, while lower regulatory capacity when mothers or fathers reported more negative coparenting, than infants with high FHRV. Findings suggested lower FHRV as a prenatal endophenotypic susceptibility marker that increases the impact of negative coparenting on infant regulatory capacity.

Co-developmental trajectories of aggression and rule-breaking from middle childhood to early adolescence: individual and environmental predictors

This study examined the heterogeneous co-developmental trajectories of aggression and rule-breaking from middle childhood to early adolescence, as well as how these identified, distinct trajectories related to individual and environmental predictors. A total of 1944 Chinese elementary school students in grade 4 (45.5% girls, Mage = 10.06, SD = 0.57) completed measures on five occasions across two and a half years, using six-month intervals. Findings included: (a) Parallel process latent class growth modeling revealed four distinct co-developmental trajectory groups of aggression and rule-breaking: congruent-low (84.0%); moderate-decreasing aggression and high-decreasing rule-breaking (3.8%); moderate-increasing aggression (5.9%); and moderate-increasing rule-breaking (6.3%); (b) Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that children belonging to the high risk groups were more likely to experience multiple individual and environmental difficulties. Implications for prevention of aggression and rule-breaking were discussed.

Developmental cascade models linking contextual risks, parenting, and internalizing symptoms: A 17-year longitudinal study from early childhood to emerging adulthood

Although internalizing problems are the most common forms of psychological distress among adolescents and young adults, they have precursors in multiple risk domains established during childhood. This study examined cascading risk pathways leading to depression and anxiety symptoms in emerging adulthood by integrating broad contextual (i.e., multiple contextual risks), parental (i.e., negative parenting), and child (i.e., internalizing behaviors) characteristics in early and middle childhood. We also compared common and differential pathways to depression and anxiety symptoms depending on the conceptualization of symptom outcomes (traditional symptom dimension vs. bifactor dimensional model). Participants were 235 children (109 girls) and their families. Data were collected at 3, 6, 10, and 19 years of child age, using multiple informants and contexts. Results from a symptom dimension approach indicated mediation pathways from early childhood risk factors to depression and anxiety symptoms in emerging adulthood, suggesting common and distinct risk processes between the two disorders. Results from a bifactor modeling approach indicated several indirect pathways leading to a general internalizing latent factor, but not to symptom-specific (i.e., depression, anxiety) latent factors. Our findings highlighted comparative analytic approaches to examining transactional processes associated with later internalizing symptoms and shed light on issues of early identification and prevention.

Early developmental risks for tobacco addiction: A probabilistic epigenesis framework

Considerable progress has been made in elucidating the relationships between early life psychobiological and environmental risk factors and the development of tobacco addiction. However, a comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneity in tobacco addiction phenotypes requires integrating research findings. The probabilistic epigenesis meta-theory offers a valuable framework for this integration, considering systemic, multilevel, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives. In this paper, we critically review relevant research on early developmental risks associated with tobacco addiction and highlight the integrative heuristic value of the probabilistic epigenesis framework for this research. For this, we propose a four-level systems approach as an initial step towards integration, analyzing complex interactions among different levels of influence. Additionally, we explore a coaction approach to examine key interactions between early risk factors. Moreover, we introduce developmental pathways to understand interindividual differences in tobacco addiction risk during development. This integrative approach holds promise for advancing our understanding of tobacco addiction etiology and informing potentially effective intervention strategies.

Effects of a preventive parenting intervention for bereaved families on the intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes: Mediating processes

This study evaluated whether the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a prevention program for parentally bereaved families, improved parenting attitudes toward parental warmth and physical punishment in young adult offspring 15 years after participation and identified mediational cascade pathways. One hundred fifty-six parents and their 244 offspring participated. Data were collected at pretest (ages 8-16), posttest, and six- and 15-year follow-ups. Ethnicity of offspring was: 67% non-Hispanic Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 7% African American, 3% Native American, 1% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 6% other; 54% were males. There was a direct effect of the FBP on attitudes toward physical punishment; offspring in the FBP had less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. There were also indirect effects of the FBP on parenting attitudes. The results supported a cascade effects model in which intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to fewer externalizing problems in adolescence/emerging adulthood, which in turn led to less favorable attitudes toward physical punishment. In addition, intervention-induced improvements in parental warmth led to improvements in anxious romantic attachment in mid-to-late adolescence/emerging adulthood, which led to more favorable attitudes toward parental warmth in emerging/young adulthood. These findings suggest that the effects of relatively brief prevention programs may persist into subsequent generations.

What Do We Know About Depression Among Youth and How Can We Make Progress Toward Improved Understanding and Reducing Distress? A New Hope

This paper summarizes many findings about depression among children and adolescents. Depression is prevalent, highly distressing, and exerts considerable burden worldwide. Rates surge from childhood through young adulthood and have increased over the last decade. Many risk factors have been identified, and evidence-based interventions exist targeting mostly individual-level changes via psychological or pharmacological means. At the same time, the field appears stuck and has not achieved considerable progress in advancing scientific understanding of depression's features or delivering interventions to meet the challenge of youth depression's high and growing prevalence. This paper adopts several positions to address these challenges and move the field forward. First, we emphasize reinvigoration of construct validation approaches that may better characterize youth depression's phenomenological features and inform more valid and reliable assessments that can enhance scientific understanding and improve interventions for youth depression. To this end, history and philosophical principles affecting depression's conceptualization and measurement are considered. Second, we suggest expanding the range and targets of treatments and prevention efforts beyond current practice guidelines for evidence-based interventions. This broader suite of interventions includes structural- and system-level change focused at community and societal levels (e.g., evidence-based economic anti-poverty interventions) and personalized interventions with sufficient evidence base. We propose that by focusing on the FORCE (Fundamentals, Openness, Relationships, Constructs, Evidence), youth depression research can provide new hope.

Socioeconomic and home educational resource risk factors and Children's literacy and social skills in Guyanese families: Mediating role of parental cognitive engagement and parental guidance

This study examined the mediating role of parental cognitive engagement and parental guidance on the associations between family socioeconomic and home environment resource risk factors and children's literacy and social skills in Guyana. The sample consisted of 1208 families from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds drawn from the 2019 to 2020 country-level UNICEF MICS data. Caregivers provided assessments of socioeconomic conditions, educational resources in the home environment, cognitive engagement, parental guidance and children's literacy and social skills. Family socioeconomic risk had an indirect association with social skills through cognitive engagement. Home environment educational resource risk had indirect associations with children's literacy and social skills through parental guidance. Findings are discussed in terms of identifying protective factors within families in low- and middle-income Caribbean countries that can better inform intervention efforts geared at reducing risks to childhood development.

Longitudinal Associations Between White Matter Microstructure and Psychiatric Symptoms in Youth

OBJECTIVE

Associations between psychiatric problems and white matter (WM) microstructure have been reported in youth. Yet, a deeper understanding of this relation has been hampered by a dearth of well-powered longitudinal studies and a lack of explicit examination of the bidirectional associations between brain and behavior. We investigated the temporal directionality of WM microstructure and psychiatric symptom associations in youth.

METHOD

In this observational study, we leveraged the world's largest single- and multi-site cohorts of neurodevelopment: the Generation R (GenR) and Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Studies (ABCD) (total n scans = 11,400; total N = 5,700). We assessed psychiatric symptoms with the Child Behavioral Checklist as broad-band internalizing and externalizing scales, and as syndrome scales (eg, Anxious/Depressed). We quantified WM with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), globally and at a tract level. We used cross-lagged panel models to test bidirectional associations of global and specific measures of psychopathology and WM microstructure, meta-analyzed results across cohorts, and used linear mixed-effects models for validation.

RESULTS

We did not identify any longitudinal associations of global WM microstructure with internalizing or externalizing problems across cohorts (confirmatory analyses) before, and after multiple testing corrections. We observed similar findings for longitudinal associations between tract-based microstructure with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and for global WM microstructure with specific syndromes (exploratory analyses). Some cross-sectional associations surpassed multiple testing corrections in ABCD, but not in GenR.

CONCLUSION

Uni- or bi-directionality of longitudinal associations between WM and psychiatric symptoms were not robustly identified. We have proposed several explanations for these findings, including interindividual differences, the use of longitudinal approaches, and smaller effects than expected.

STUDY REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Bidirectionality Brain Function and Psychiatric Symptoms; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PNY92.

How does sensitivity influence early executive function? A critical review on hot and cool processes

There is compelling evidence that the quality of caregiver-child interactions during toddlerhood and the preschool years supports the development of executive function (EF) (Bernier et al., 2010; 2015; 2016; Fay-Stammbach et al., 2014; Geeraerts et al., 2021). Based on such findings, we make the case herein that sensitivity may be one of the most important dimensions of parenting contributing to early EF. In the present article, we will review empirical evidence, integrating findings from a wide range of scientific disciplines - cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and developmental psychopathology - and present theoretical ideas about how two contexts of sensitive caregiving - i.e. sensitivity to distress and non-distress cues - may be contributing differently to hot and cool EF development. Implications for future investigations on the environmental contributors of early EF, and its mechanisms, are discussed.

Positive coparenting previous to the COVID-19 pandemic can buffer regulatory problems in infants facing the COVID-19 pandemic

Coparenting can be a development-enhancing or risk-promoting environment for infant regulatory capacity, mainly in the presence of adversity. This study aimed to analyze the association between positive and negative coparenting previous to the COVID-19 pandemic and infant regulatory capacity in the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, an adverse condition. A sample of 71 first-born infants and their mothers and fathers from a longitudinal cohort in Portugal were assessed at 2 weeks postpartum before the COVID-19 pandemic and again at 6 months postpartum, before (n = 35) or during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 36). Parents completed measures of positive and negative coparenting and infant regulatory capacity in both assessment waves. Results revealed that the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic moderates the association between mothers' and fathers' positive coparenting previous to the COVID-19 pandemic and infant regulatory capacity at 6 months. The association between positive coparenting and regulatory capacity was stronger in infants facing the COVID-19 pandemic, than in infants who did not face the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive coparenting previous to the COVID-19 pandemic may be a development-enhancing environment for infant regulatory capacity in the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive coparenting may buffer regulatory problems in infants facing adverse conditions.

Promoting Empathy and Affiliation in Relationships (PEAR) study: protocol for a longitudinal study investigating the development of early childhood callous-unemotional traits

INTRODUCTION

Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits are at high lifetime risk of antisocial behaviour. Low affiliation (ie, social bonding difficulties) and fearlessness (ie, low threat sensitivity) are proposed risk factors for CU traits. Parenting practices (eg, harshness and low warmth) also predict risk for CU traits. However, few studies in early childhood have identified attentional or physiological markers of low affiliation and fearlessness. Moreover, no studies have tested whether parenting practices are underpinned by low affiliation or fearlessness shared by parents, which could further shape parent-child interactions and exacerbate risk for CU traits. Addressing these questions will inform knowledge of how CU traits develop and isolate novel parent and child targets for future specialised treatments for CU traits.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The Promoting Empathy and Affiliation in Relationships (PEAR) study aims to establish risk factors for CU traits in children aged 3-6 years. The PEAR study will recruit 500 parent-child dyads from two metropolitan areas of the USA. Parents and children will complete questionnaires, computer tasks and observational assessments, alongside collection of eye-tracking and physiological data, when children are aged 3-4 (time 1) and 5-6 (time 2) years. The moderating roles of child sex, race and ethnicity, family and neighbourhood disadvantage, and parental psychopathology will also be assessed. Study aims will be addressed using structural equation modelling, which will allow for flexible characterisation of low affiliation, fearlessness and parenting practices as risk factors for CU traits across multiple domains.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was granted by Boston University (#6158E) and the University of Pennsylvania (#850638). Results will be disseminated through conferences and open-access publications. All study and task materials will be made freely available on lab websites and through the Open Science Framework (OSF).

The effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on the psychological flexibility and inflexibility of undergraduate students: A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis

Rising rates of mental health problems in undergraduate students is a critical public health issue. There is evidence supporting the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in decreasing psychological symptoms in undergraduates, which is thought to be facilitated through increases in psychological flexibility (PF) and decreases in psychological inflexibility (PIF). However, little is known about the effect of ACT on these processes in undergraduates. We conducted a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis examining this effect in 20 studies, which provided 56 effect sizes. A combined sample of 1,750 undergraduates yielded a small-to-medium overall effect (g = .38, SE = .09, p < .001, 95% CI: [0.20, 0.56]). This effect did not depend on control group type, intervention modality, number of sessions, the questionnaire used, whether PF or PIF was measured, or participant age. However, there was a significant mean effect only in studies with a specific clinical target, but not in those without one. Furthermore, the higher the percentage of female participants, the lower the reported effect size. Results suggested that ACT may increase PF and decrease PIF in undergraduates and highlighted various conceptual and measurement issues. Study protocol and materials were preregistered (https://osf.io/un6ce/).

Future-oriented cognition: links to mental health problems and mental wellbeing in preschool-aged and primary-school-aged children

Future-oriented cognition plays a manifold role for adults' mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between future-oriented cognition and mental health in N = 191 children aged between 3 and 7 years. Parents completed an online-questionnaire including children's future-oriented cognition (e.g., episodic foresight; Children Future Thinking Questionnaire; CFTQ), children's mental health problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ), and wellbeing (Parent-rated Life Orientation Test of children; PLOT and Positive-Mental-Health Scale; PMH). More externalizing problems (especially hyperactivity) related to lower future-oriented cognition. For mental wellbeing, higher levels of optimism were associated with higher episodic foresight. Future-oriented cognition increased with age cross-sectionally. This increase was flatter at higher levels of wellbeing (indicated by lower pessimism). Results are discussed considering findings on the role of future-oriented cognition for mental health in adults and adolescents. Suggestions for future work are presented regarding the direction of the observed links and underlying mechanisms.

Domain specificity of differential susceptibility: Testing an evolutionary theory of temperament in early childhood

According to differential susceptibility theory (DST), some children may be more sensitive to both positive and negative features of the environment. However, research has generated a list of widely disparate temperamental traits that may reflect differential susceptibility to the environment. In addition, findings have implicated these temperament × environment interactions in predicting a wide variety of child outcomes. This study uses a novel evolutionary model of temperament to examine whether differential susceptibility operates in a domain-general or domain-specific manner. Using a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 243 preschoolers and their parents (56% female; 48% African American), we examined the interactions between maternal and paternal parenting quality and two evolutionary informed temperament profiles (i.e., Hawks and Doves) in predicting changes in teacher-reported conduct problems and depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade. Results suggest that differential susceptibility operates in a domain-specific fashion. Specifically, the "Hawk" temperament was differentially susceptible to maternal parenting in predicting externalizing problems. In contrast, the "Dove" temperament was susceptible to both paternal and maternal parenting quality in predicting changes in depressive symptoms. Findings provide support for an integrative framework that synthesizes DST with an evolutionary, function-based approach to temperament.

Deconstructing the heterogeneity of alcohol use disorder: lifetime comorbid non-alcohol substance use disorder as a distinct behavioral phenotype?

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is an etiologically and clinically heterogeneous condition. Accumulating evidence suggests that persons with lifetime histories of comorbid AUD and non-alcohol substance use disorder (DRUG) constitute an important subgroup of AUD. This study evaluated the distinctiveness of the comorbid AUD/DRUG behavioral phenotype in a community sample with respect to risk factors, AUD course features, and outcome variables assessed at age 30. Contrast groups included persons with histories of AUD only, DRUG only, and neither AUD nor DRUG.

METHODS

This research utilized a prospective study design with an age-based cohort (n = 732). Participants completed four comprehensive diagnostic evaluations during the high-risk periods of adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood.

RESULTS

The comorbid AUD/DRUG group was distinguished from the AUD only group by risk factors, AUD course features, and outcomes. Group differences in outcomes were also explained by overall substance use disorder (SUD) severity. Persons with AUD/DRUG comorbidity were indistinguishable from those with DRUG only histories with respect to risk factors and outcomes but demonstrated greater overall SUD severity. Persons with AUD only were indistinguishable from those with neither AUD nor DRUG histories in risk factor endorsements and were mostly similar in outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings collectively suggest that young adults with histories of AUD only and those with comorbid AUD/DRUG are drawn from dissimilar populations. Similarities between the AUD only group with those absent AUD or DRUG histories are likely related to the former group's developmentally limited AUD course accompanied by relatively few or short-lived alcohol-related problems.

Gender-specific co-developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from middle childhood to early adolescence: Environmental and individual predictors

This study aimed to identify gender-specific co-developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from middle childhood to early adolescence, along with key environmental and individual predictors among Chinese youth. A total of 1653 Chinese elementary school students (M age = 9.40; SD = 0.51; 54.57% boys) participated in assessments at six time points, using 6-month assessment intervals. Parallel process latent class growth modeling identified four trajectories for boys: Congruent-low (65.74%), moderate-decreasing internalizing and moderate-stable externalizing problems (18.40%), high increasing-internalizing and low-stable externalizing problems (8.20%), and high decreasing-internalizing and low-stable externalizing problems (7.65%). Three trajectories were identified for girls: Congruent-low (81.09%), moderate co-occurring (7.19%), and high increasing-internalizing and low-stable externalizing problems (11.72%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that peer victimization served as an environmental risk predictor for the adverse co-developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems for boys and girls. High sensation-seeking and low self-control served as individual risk variables predicting the trajectories of high increasing-internalizing and low-stable externalizing problems, and low self-control also predicted the trajectories of high decreasing-internalizing and low-stable externalizing problems for boys. The findings highlight the importance of gender differences in understanding the progression of internalizing and externalizing problems and inform effective strategies for prevention and intervention.

Heterotypic and homotypic continuity in psychopathology: a narrative review

Psychopathology is a process: it unfolds over time and involves several different factors. To extend our knowledge of such process, it is vital to understand the trajectories that lead to developing and maintaining a specific disorder. The construct of continuity appears very useful to this aim. It refers to the consistency, similarity, and predictability of behaviors or internal states across different developmental phases. This paper aims to present a narrative review of the literature on homotypic and heterotypic continuity of psychopathology across the lifespan. A detailed search of the published literature was conducted using the PsycINFO Record and Medline (PubMed) databases. Articles were included in the review based on the following criteria: (1) publication dates ranging from January 1970 to October 2022; and (2) articles being written in the English language. To ensure a thorough investigation, multiple combinations of keywords such as "continuity," "psychopathology," "infancy," "childhood," "adolescence," "adulthood," "homotypic," and "heterotypic" were used. Articles were excluded if exclusively focused on epidemiologic data and if not specifically addressing the topic of psychopathology continuity. The literature yielded a total of 36 longitudinal studies and an additional 190 articles, spanning the research published between 1970 and 2022. Studies on continuity focus on the etiology of different forms of mental disorders and may represent a fundamental resource from both a theoretical and clinical perspective. Enhancing our understanding of the different trajectories beneath psychopathology may allow clinicians to implement more effective strategies, focusing both on prevention and intervention. Since literature highlights the importance of early detection of clinical signs of psychopathology, future research should focus more on infancy and pre-scholar age.

Developmental Sequela for Sexual Homicide: Testing an Integrated Multi-Theoretical Model

Research focusing on the role of adverse childhood experience (ACE) of individuals involved in sexual homicide (SH) is scarce. Theoretical models of SH have postulated a connection between these adverse experiences and the development of internal risk factors. However, such assumptions have never been empirically tested. Therefore, the current research aims to identify how ACEs affect the development of personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence, which constitute internal risk factors for the commission of SH. The sample comes from a database including 613 individuals involved in sexual crimes in Canada among which 60 committed a SH. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify personality disorders and problematic behaviors during adolescence associated with the presence of ACEs. Next, path analysis was used to identify the direct and indirect relationships between ACEs, internal risk factors, and the commission of SH. Results showed that individuals who experienced ACEs were more likely to develop internal risk factors involved in the commission of SH. Moreover, findings suggest that the impact of these adverse experiences will differ, depending on whether the child has been victim of violence or if he/she has witnessed it.

Developmental competencies, temperament, parenting practices and psychosocial adversities in children with internalising disorders - A pilot study

Research on the aetiology of internalising disorders has focussed on biological and environmental factors, however, the role of developmental competencies that a child acquires has not been explored much. The current report aimed to understand the association among the developmental competencies, temperament, parenting practices and psychosocial adversities in internalising disorders. The sample consisted of 30 children and adolescents with internalising disorders belonging to the age group of six to 18, and one of their parents. All the participants were assessed for functional impairment, temperament, interpersonal competence, emotion regulation, executive function, self-concept, adaptive behaviour, parenting practices, life events and family environment using standardised tools. The findings revealed that positive parenting shares a negative relationship with functional impairment(ρ=-0.62; p <.001). On comparison with non-clinical samples in previous studies, interpersonal competence and self-concept were found to be at lower levels in the current sample. In conclusion, the current study indicates that children with internalising disorders differ from control groups in specific developmental competences. These findings have specific implications for intervention and research in the area of internalising disorders in children and adolescents.

Exploring the longitudinal associations of functional network connectivity and psychiatric symptom changes in youth

BACKGROUND

Functional connectivity has been associated with psychiatric problems, both in children and adults, but inconsistencies are present across studies. Prior research has mostly focused on small clinical samples with cross-sectional designs.

METHODS

We adopted a longitudinal design with repeated assessments to investigate associations between functional network connectivity (FNC) and psychiatric problems in youth (9- to 17-year-olds, two time points) from the general population. The largest single-site study of pediatric neurodevelopment was used: Generation R (N = 3,131 with data at either time point). Psychiatric symptoms were measured with the Child Behavioral Checklist as broadband internalizing and externalizing problems, and its eight specific syndrome scales (e.g., anxious-depressed). FNC was assessed with two complementary approaches. First, static FNC (sFNC) was measured with graph theory-based metrics. Second, dynamic FNC (dFNC), where connectivity is allowed to vary over time, was summarized into 5 states that participants spent time in. Cross-lagged panel models were used to investigate the longitudinal bidirectional relationships of sFNC with internalizing and externalizing problems. Similar cross-lagged panel models were run for dFNC.

RESULTS

Small longitudinal relationships between dFNC and certain syndrome scales were observed, especially for baseline syndrome scales (i.e., rule-breaking, somatic complaints, thought problems, and attention problems) predicting connectivity changes. However, no association between any of the psychiatric problems (broadband and syndrome scales) with either measure of FNC survived correction for multiple testing.

CONCLUSION

We found no or very modest evidence for longitudinal associations between psychiatric problems with dynamic and static FNC in this population-based sample. Differences in findings may stem from the population drawn, study design, developmental timing, and sample sizes.

Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and mother-infant neurophysiological and behavioral co-regulation during dyadic interaction: study protocol

BACKGROUND

Mother's childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have a negative impact on mother and infant's behaviors during dyadic interactions which may increase mother-infant neurophysiological and behavioral co-regulation difficulties, leading to dysregulated mother-infant interactions. This study was specifically designed to analyze: (1) the sociodemographic and obstetric factors associated with mother's childbirth-related PTSD symptoms; (2) mother-infant neurophysiological functioning and behavioral co-regulation during dyadic interaction; (3) the impact of mother's childbirth-related PTSD symptoms on neurophysiological and behavioral mother-infant co-regulation during dyadic interaction; (4) the moderator role of previous trauma on the impact of mother's childbirth-related PTSD symptoms on neurophysiological and behavioral mother-infant co-regulation during dyadic interaction; and (5) the moderator role of comorbid symptoms of anxiety and depression on the impact of mother's childbirth-related PTSD symptoms on neurophysiological and behavioral mother-infant co-regulation during dyadic interaction.

METHODS

At least 250 mothers will be contacted in order to account for refusals and dropouts and guarantee at least 100 participating mother-infant dyads with all the assessment waves completed. The study has a longitudinal design with three assessment waves: (1) 1-3 days postpartum, (2) 8 weeks postpartum, and (3) 22 weeks postpartum. Between 1 and 3 days postpartum, mothers will report on-site on their sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics. At 8 weeks postpartum, mothers will complete online self-reported measures of birth trauma, previous trauma, childbirth-related PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. At 22 weeks postpartum, mothers will complete online self-reported measures of childbirth-related PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Mothers and infants will then be home-visited to observe and record their neurophysiological, neuroimaging and behavioral data during dyadic interactions using the Still-face Paradigm. Activation patterns in the prefrontal cortices of mother and infant will be recorded simultaneously using hyperscanning acquisition devices. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel linear regression models will be performed to analyze objectives 1 to 3. Moderation models will be performed to analyze objectives 4 and 5.

DISCUSSION

Data from this study will inform psychological interventions targeting mother-infant interaction, co-regulation, and infant development. Moreover, these results can contribute to designing effective screenings to identify mothers at risk of perinatal mental health problems and those who may need specialized perinatal mental health care.