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Ahmed SP, Piera Pi-Sunyer B, Moses-Payne ME, Goddings AL, Speyer LG, Kuyken W, Dalgleish T, Blakemore SJ. The role of self-referential and social processing in the relationship between pubertal status and difficulties in mental health and emotion regulation in adolescent girls in the UK. Dev Sci 2024:e13503. [PMID: 38576154 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Adolescence is marked by the onset of puberty, which is associated with an increase in mental health difficulties, particularly in girls. Social and self-referential processes also develop during this period: adolescents become more aware of others' perspectives, and judgements about themselves become less favourable. In the current study, data from 119 girls (from London, UK) aged 9-16 years were collected at two-time points (between 2019 and 2021) to investigate the relationship between puberty and difficulties in mental health and emotion regulation, as well as the role of self-referential and social processing in this relationship. Structural equation modelling showed that advanced pubertal status predicted greater mental health and emotion regulation difficulties, including depression and anxiety, rumination and overall difficulties in emotion regulation, and in mental health and behaviour. Advanced pubertal status also predicted greater perspective-taking abilities and negative self-schemas. Exploratory analyses showed that negative self-schemas mediated the relationships between puberty and rumination, overall emotion regulation difficulties, and depression (although these effects were small and would not survive correction for multiple comparisons). The results suggest that advanced pubertal status is associated with higher mental health and emotion regulation problems during adolescence and that negative self-schemas may play a role in this association. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study investigates the relationship between puberty, mental health, emotion regulation difficulties, and social and self-referential processing in girls aged 9-16 years. Advanced pubertal status was associated with worse mental health and greater emotion regulation difficulties, better perspective-taking abilities and negative self-schemas. Negative self-schemas may play a role in the relationships between advanced pubertal status and depression, and advanced pubertal status and emotion regulation difficulties, including rumination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saz P Ahmed
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Anne-Lise Goddings
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lydia G Speyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Willem Kuyken
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Talty A, Speyer LG, Eisner MP, Ribeaud D, Murray AL, Obsuth I. The role of student-teacher relationships in the association between negative parenting practices and emotion dynamics - Combining longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment data. J Res Adolesc 2023; 33:1268-1280. [PMID: 37395433 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Emotion dysregulation is increasingly implicated as a transdiagnostic risk factor in the etiology of mental health problems. This project aimed to explore the links between emotion regulation, negative parenting and student-teacher relationships using longitudinal and ecologically valid data. A sample of n = 209 young people enrolled in the 'Decades-to-Minutes' (D2M) study, based in Zurich, Switzerland, provided data from the ages of 7-20 via parent- and self-report questionnaires and ecological momentary assessment. Data were analyzed using Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM). Worse student-teacher relationships predicted increased negative affectivity and emotional lability. Negative parenting practices predicted emotional lability only via their impact on student-teacher relationships. The findings point to worse student-teacher relationships as risk factors in the socioemotional development of children and young people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Talty
- Clinical & Health Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lydia G Speyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Manuel P Eisner
- Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Denis Ribeaud
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Aja L Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ingrid Obsuth
- Clinical & Health Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Kwok J, Khanolainen DP, Speyer LG, Murray AL, Torppa MP, Auyeung B. Examining Maternal Cardiometabolic Markers in Pregnancy on Child Emotional and Behavior Trajectories: Using Growth Curve Models on a Cohort Study. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci 2023; 3:614-622. [PMID: 37881536 PMCID: PMC10593919 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Poor maternal cardiometabolic health in pregnancy is associated with negative effects on child health outcomes, but there is limited literature on child and adolescent socioemotional outcomes. The study aimed to investigate associations between maternal cardiometabolic markers during pregnancy with child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories. Methods Growth curve models were run to examine how maternal cardiometabolic markers in pregnancy affected child socioemotional trajectories from ages 4 to 16. Models were adjusted for all pregnancy trimesters and maternal, child, and socioeconomic covariates. This study used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (United Kingdom) cohort. Participants consisted of mother-child pairs (N = 15,133). Maternal predictors of fasting glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and body mass index were taken from each pregnancy trimester (T1, T2, T3). Child outcomes included emotional problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity problems from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results Fully adjusted models showed significant associations between elevated T1 fasting glucose and increased conduct problems, higher T1 body mass index and increased hyperactivity problems, lowered T1 high-density lipoprotein and decreased hyperactivity problems, and elevated T2 triglycerides and increased hyperactivity problems. Conclusions Maternal cardiometabolic risk is associated with conduct and hyperactivity outcomes from ages 4 to 16. This study suggests that maternal markers of fasting glucose, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides during pregnancy could be added as supplements for clinical measures of risk when predicting child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janell Kwok
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lydia G. Speyer
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Aja L. Murray
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Minna P. Torppa
- Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Bonnie Auyeung
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Brown RH, Speyer LG, Eisner MP, Ribeaud D, Murray A. Exploring the effect of ADHD traits on the moment-to-moment interplay between provocation and aggression: Evidence from dynamic structural equation modeling. Aggress Behav 2023; 49:469-479. [PMID: 36891623 DOI: 10.1002/ab.22081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
The relation between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and aggression is well documented; however, the processes that account for higher levels of aggression associated with ADHD in the course of daily life are little understood. The current study used ecological momentary assessment to explore how ADHD traits relate to individual differences in perceiving provocation from others and the resultant aggressive behaviors; and the strengths of the links between provocation and aggression in the flow of daily life. A dynamic structural equation model was fit using data from a subpopulation of young adults involved in the longitudinal z-proso study (n = 259, median-age 20). Data on provocation and aggression was collected at four quasi-random time periods per day over a 14-day period. Individuals with higher ADHD trait levels reported higher instances of provocation and aggression, with ADHD traits significantly moderating aggression inertia such that those with higher levels of ADHD traits showed greater persistence of aggressive behavior over time. However, ADHD trait levels did not significantly moderate any of the observed cross-lagged effects. Our findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of ADHD traits are at greater risk of exposure to interpersonal interactions involving interpersonal provocation, show higher levels of aggressive behavior in daily life, and find it more difficult to reduce their aggression once triggered. These findings support the importance of targeting factors such as social skills and emotion regulation that may underpin the increased difficulties in interpersonal interactions often experienced by individuals with high levels of ADHD symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth H Brown
- School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lydia G Speyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Manuel P Eisner
- Violence Research Centre, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Denis Ribeaud
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aja Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Piera Pi-Sunyer B, Andrews JL, Orben A, Speyer LG, Blakemore SJ. The relationship between perceived income inequality, adverse mental health and interpersonal difficulties in UK adolescents. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:417-425. [PMID: 36377042 PMCID: PMC10100326 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is a period of life when young people increasingly define themselves through peer comparison and are vulnerable to developing mental health problems. In the current study, we investigated whether the subjective experience of economic disadvantage among friends is associated with social difficulties and poorer mental health in early adolescence. METHODS We used latent change score modelling (LCSM) on data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, collected at ages 11 and 14 (N = 12,995). Each LCSM modelled the mean of an outcome related to mental health and interpersonal difficulties at age 11 (including self-esteem, well-being, emotional difficulties, peer problems, bullying, victimisation and externalising difficulties), the change of the outcome from ages 11 to 14 and its predictors, including perceived income inequality among friends (i.e. perceiving oneself as belonging to a poorer family than the families of one's friends). RESULTS Perceived income inequality predicted adverse mental health and a range of interpersonal difficulties during adolescence, even when controlling for objective family income. Follow-up analyses highlighted that, at 11 years, young people who perceived themselves as belonging to poorer families than their friends reported worse well-being, self-esteem, internalising problems, externalising problems and victimisation at the same age (relative to those who perceived themselves as richer than or equal to their friends, or who did not know). Longitudinal analyses suggested that victimisation decreased from ages 11 to 14 to a greater extent for adolescents who perceived themselves as poorer than other adolescents. CONCLUSIONS The salience of economic inequalities in proximal social environments (e.g. among friends) in early adolescence could further amplify the negative effects of economic disadvantage on mental health and behavioural difficulties during this period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jack L Andrews
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.,School of Psychology, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Amy Orben
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Lydia G Speyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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Speyer LG, Marryat L, Auyeung B. Impact of COVID-19 public health safety measures on births in Scotland between March and May 2020. Public Health 2022; 202:76-79. [PMID: 34922177 PMCID: PMC8572698 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To combat the widespread transmission of COVID-19, many countries, including the United Kingdom, have imposed nationwide lockdowns. Little is known about how these public health safety measures affect pregnant mothers and their offspring. This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 public health safety measures on births in Scotland. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS Using routinely collected health data on pregnancy and birth in Scotland, this study compares all births (N = 7342) between 24th March and May 2020 with births in the same period in 2018 (N = 8323) to investigate the potential negative impact of public health safety measures introduced in Scotland in spring 2020. Birth outcomes were compared using Mann-Whitney-U tests and chi-square tests. RESULTS Mothers giving birth during the pandemic tended to combine breastfeeding and formula-feeding rather than exclusively breastfeed or exclusively formula-feed, stayed in hospital for fewer days, and more often had an epidural or a spinal anaesthetic compared to women giving birth in 2018. CONCLUSION Overall, results suggest little impact of public health safety measures on birth outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the longer-term impacts of being born in the pandemic on both maternal mental health and child development.
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Affiliation(s)
- L G Speyer
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
| | - L Marryat
- School of Health Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom; Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - B Auyeung
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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