Early Detection of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in School-Aged Children and Adolescents: The Parent Questionnaires

Childhood conduct problems and parent-child talk during social and nonsocial play contexts: a naturalistic home-based experiment

Parent-child interactions are a critical pathway to emotion socialization, with disruption to these processes associated with risk for childhood behavior problems. Using computational linguistics methods, we tested whether (1) play context influenced parent-child socioemotional language, and (2) child conduct problems or callous-unemotional traits were associated with patterns of socioemotional or nonsocial language across contexts. Seventy-nine parent-child dyads (children, 5-6 years old) played a socioemotional skills ("social context") or math ("nonsocial context") game at home. We transcribed and analyzed game play, which had been audio recorded by participants. The social context elicited more socioemotional and cognitive words, while the nonsocial context elicited more mathematical words. The use of socioemotional language by parents and children was more strongly correlated in the social context, but context did not moderate the degree of correlation in cognitive or mathematical word use between parents and children. Children with more conduct problems used fewer socioemotional words in the social context, while children with higher callous-unemotional traits used fewer cognitive words in both contexts. We highlight the role of context in supporting socioemotionally rich parent-child language interactions and provide preliminary evidence for the existence of linguistic markers of child behavior problems. Our results also inform naturalistic assessments of parent-child interactions and home-based interventions for parents and children facing socioemotional or behavioral challenges.

Predictors of Social-Emotional Development and Adaptive Functioning in School-Age Children with Intestinal Failure

OBJECTIVES

Despite a focus on neurocognition in pediatric intestinal failure (IF) to date, we examined social-emotional and adaptive functioning.

METHODS

Children (N = 63) in our IF rehabilitation program underwent neuropsychological assessments including caregiver- and teacher-reported questionnaires. Results were compared to norms using z-tests. Caregiver and teacher reports were compared using t tests. Medical and demographic factors were examined in an exploratory manner using correlation and targeted regression analyses, adjusting for gestational age and full-scale IQ.

RESULTS

Caregiver and teacher reports indicated poorer executive, internalizing, behavioral, and adaptive functioning compared to norms. Teachers reported more executive dysfunctions than caregivers. Necrotizing enterocolitis diagnosis predicted internalizing emotional problems. Immigrant status predicted poorer social and practical adaptive functioning. Living with biological parents predicted fewer externalizing emotional and behavioral problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The group displayed social-emotional and adaptive functioning concerns. Identifying medical and demographic risks can allow for screening and intervention.

Effects of the Counseling Program on Strengthening Mental-Crisis Management to Strengthen Adolescent Life Crisis Awareness

Background

A mental crisis is a dangerous state with many subsequent harmful effects on the adolescent. It is a state in which the adolescent needs help and must get that help immediately. If they do not receive the assistance they require, they may end up isolating themselves from social interaction and become completely preoccupied with themselves. The counseling program is therefore being put into effect to strengthen the mental crisis management capacity of adolescents and to offer counseling and assistance to students who find themselves beset with a mental crisis so that they will be fully able to manage their mental crises, restore a sense of balance to their psyches, and carry on with their lives effectively.

Objective

The aim of the study was to compare the life crisis awareness scores of adolescent students enrolled in a program of study at Thammasat University.

Methods

This research was quasi-experimental and consisted of a two-group pretest-post test design. They were subdivided into two groups of 30 students each by simple random sampling, of which one group was the experimental group and the other was control group. The experimental group underwent a counseling program of bolstering mental crisis management capacity once a week for a period of six weeks. Results were assessed using a crisis awareness evaluation form. Results were assessed twice, before testing and after testing. The data were analyzed by the statistics of percentage, mean, dependent t-test, and independent t-test.

Results

1. The average life crisis awareness scores of the adolescents in the experimental group following acceptance into the counseling program by fortifying their mental crisis management capacity (M=132.77, SD=11.03) were higher than they were prior to program entry (M=113.73, SD=14.40), with a statistical significance (t=6.81, p<0.001).2. The average life crisis awareness scores of the experimental group that had been accepted into the above-mentioned counseling program were higher after undergoing testing (M=132.77, SD=11.03) than the scores for the control group (M=118.83, SD=10.73), with a statistical significance (t=4.95, p<0.001).

Conclusion

This program thus helps the adolescent restore a sense of mental balance and live a normal happy life.

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neurobehavioural development and volume of rostral cingulate cortex subregions

BACKGROUND

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy can have widespread and long-lasting effects on children's cognition, behaviour, brain function and structure. The pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior midcingulate cortex (MCC) mediate emotional and cognitive behaviours that are affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. However, the neurobehavioural development of the pregenual ACC and anterior MCC has not been examined in people with prenatal alcohol exposure.

METHODS

We recruited 30 children and adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure and 50 age- and gender-matched unexposed controls. We acquired structural MRI data sets on a 3 T scanner. We manually delineated 2 areas of the rostral cingulate cortex - the pregenual ACC and the anterior MCC - and compared them between groups. We measured behavioural and emotional problems using the Behaviour Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition, Parent Rating Scale, and then explored their associations with rostral cingulate cortex volumes.

RESULTS

Intracranial-normalized volumes of the right pregenual ACC and the right total rostral cingulate cortex were significantly smaller in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure than in unexposed controls. The volume of the right anterior MCC had a significant positive association with scores on the Internalizing Problems scale in individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure.

LIMITATIONS

This study was cross-sectional, and detailed information about the timing and amount of exposure was not always available.

CONCLUSION

Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with lower volumes in the right pregenual ACC. This finding may underlie some of the emotional and behavioural problems experienced by individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Assessment of child psychological attributes using strength and difficulties questionnaire for prediction of child behavior at first dental visit: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

Predicting child behavior before the first dental visit is considered an effective approach that enables the dentist to guide child behavior during the dental treatment.

AIM

The present study aimed to detect psychological attributes of children seeking dental treatment for the first time using the strength and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), evaluate actual child behavior during the dental treatment using Frankl Behavior Rating Scale, and test the association between these attributes and child behavior.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The study was conducted on 128 children aged between 4 and 7 years attending the outpatient Pediatric Dentistry clinic for the first time. Parents were asked to answer the SDQ, then a simple restorative treatment under local anesthesia was performed for children to evaluate their behavior using Frankl Behavior Rating Scale.

RESULTS

About 19.5% of the study sample were categorized as psychologically abnormal, where emotional and conduct problems were the most prevalent psychological attributes by a percentage of 22.7% and 20% respectively. A strong correlation was detected between the total difficulty score and child behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychological problems are common among children aged from 4 to 7 years and they also affect their dental behavior.

Children’s ADHD and Dysregulation Problems, DAT1 Genotype and Methylation, and their Interplay with Family Environment

Background

International literature has underlined the complex interplay between genetic and environmental variables in shaping children’s emotional-behavioral functioning.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the dynamic relationship between children’s Dopamine Transporter (DAT1) genotype and methylation, and maternal and paternal affective environment, on children’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) problems and dysregulation problems.

Method

In a community sample of 76 families with school-aged children, we assessed children’s DAT1 genotype and methylation, their own ADHD problems and dysregulation profile (CBCL 6–18 DP), and maternal and paternal psychopathological risk, parenting stress, and marital adjustment. Hierarchical regressions were carried out to verify the possible moderation of children’s genotype on the relationship between children’s methylation and psychopathological risk, parental environment and children’s methylation, and parental environment and children’s psychopathological risk.

Results

The levels of methylation at M1 CpG significantly predicted ADHD problems among children with 10/10 genotype, whereas high levels of methylation at M6 CpG predicted low ADHD problems for children with 9/x genotype. High levels of methylation at M3 CpG were associated with high scores of CBCL DP. DAT1 genotype moderated the relationship between maternal and paternal variables with children’s methylation and psychopathological risk. The scores of maternal and paternal Dyadic Adjustment Scale showed indirect effects on children’s methylation and psychopathological risk in relation to those exerted by risk factors.

Conclusion

Our study has supported the emerging evidence on the complex nature of children’s emotional-behavioral functioning and the associated risk and protective factors, with important implications for the planning of preventive programs.