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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Selective alteration of personality and social behavior by serotonergic intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to test the causal hypothesis that serotonergic function modulates aspects of the normal spectrum of individual differences in affective experience and social behavior in humans. METHOD: A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), paroxetine, 20 mg/day (N = 26), or placebo (N = 25) was administered to normal volunteers in a double-blind manner for 4 weeks, and personality variables and social behavior were assessed at baseline and at weeks 1 and 4 of treatment. RESULTS: Relative to placebo, SSRI administration reduced focal indices of hostility through a more general decrease in negative affect, yet did not alter indices of positive affect. In addition, SSRI administration increased a behavioral index of social affiliation. Changes in both negative affect and affiliative behavior were significantly related to volunteers' plasma SSRI levels at the end of the experiment. CONCLUSIONS: Central serotonergic function may modulate a dimension of normal personality characterized by reduced negative affective experience and increased affiliative behavior. SSRI administration has significant and detectable effects on these measures even in the absence of baseline clinical depression or other psychopathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Dosage effects of methylphenidate on the social behavior of adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Research participants were 46 adolescents (mean age = 13.8 years) who completed an intensive summer treatment program including a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial of 3 doses of methylphenidate (MPH) totaling 25, 50, or 75 mg per day. Dependent measures focused on social behavior and included observed behavior frequencies and ratings completed by counselors and parents, including side effects. Multiple data analytic methods were used with the goal of (a) describing the shape of the dose-response curves across multiple measures of social functioning, (b) determining the percentage of adolescents whose social behavior improved in response to MPH, and (c) assessing the incremental gains that result from increases in dose. The results show that (a) the shape of the dose-response curve is influenced by the measurement method, (b) the majority of adolescents exhibited improved social behavior when treated with MPH, (c) the bulk of the positive effects of MPH were achieved at the lowest dose, and (d) there appear to be diminishing positive effects and an increased risk of negative effects with successively higher doses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Social behavior, cortisol, and sIgA levels in preschool children.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the possible existence of behavioral states in early stages of development, which are associated with specific cortisol production profiles and consequently with changes in the immune response [secreted immunoglobulin A (sIgA)]. METHODS: The subjects were 27 boys and 21 girls of preschool age whose behavior was videotaped in free play interactions. Their behavior was then evaluated using an ethogram of the social behavior of the child. Cortisol levels were measured using a radioimmunoassay in saliva samples, and sIgA levels were measured by means of an ELISA, also in saliva samples. RESULTS: No correlation between cortisol and sIgA levels was found. Variance analysis revealed that the only behavioral pattern, which showed significant differences with regard to cortisol levels, was isolation. CONCLUSIONS: There seems to be a connection between cortisol levels and isolation behavior; we found no relation between high cortisol levels and a lower sIgA secretion.

Child Development↗
PubMed1977

The training and validation of youth-preferred social behaviors of child-care personnel.

This research sought to identify, train, and validate social behaviors preferred by youths to be used by youth-care personnel (called teaching-parents). With training, consistent increases in seven preferred behaviors were observed for the six teaching-parent trainees. These behaviors included offering to help, "getting to the point", giving reasons why a behavior is important to a youth, providing descriptions of alternative behaviors, positive feedback, smiling, and positive motivational incentives (i.e., points for task mastery exchanged for tangible reinforcers). Increases in these behaviors correlated with increases in the youths' ratings of the quality of the trainees' interactions. Posttraining levels of preferred social behavior and youth ratings for trainees also compared favorably with levels for successful professional teaching-parents. These results suggest that teaching-parents can be successfully trained to interact with youths in ways that are preferred by the youths.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Neuropeptides and the evolution of social behavior.

Comparative studies over the past year have revealed two new insights into the role of neuropeptides in the evolution of social behaviors. First, across vertebrate taxa, certain neuropeptide effects appear to be gender-specific. Second, species variations in receptor gene structure can alter neuropeptide receptor distribution and thereby contribute to species differences in social behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Paternal effects on the development of social behavior in Mus musculus.

In order to extend the determination and description of effects of the father's phenotype on the development of social behavior in male mice, we tested 24 males from each of 2 highly inbred strains of Mus musculus, A/J and C57BL/6J. Approximately 1 week before the birth of the subjects, we replaced natural fathers with a foster parent such that, within each strain, 8 subjects had preweaning experience with same-strain males, 8 with other-strain males, and 8 with same-strain females, in addition to their natural mothers. Observations of social behavior were conducted at 21, 50, and 60 days of age. The results showed effects of the foster parent's phenotype on the development of social exploration in both strains and, possibly, on agonistic behavior in C57BL/6J mice. The different effects in the 2 strains indicate mechanisms dependent on genotype.

Aggression↗
PubMed1992

Deficits in social behavior in autism and their modification by a synthetic adrenocorticotrophic hormone (4-9) analog.

When charting the structure of the social behavior of autistic children by means of an ethologically analyzed playroom session, deficits appeared in the reciprocity of eye-contact and in the location of verbal initiatives. These deficits in social behavior were beneficially influenced by treatment with the adrenocorticotrophic hormone (4-9) analog ORG 2766.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed2003

[Peer communication skills and social behavioral characteristics of preschool children].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between peer communication skills and social behavioral characteristics of preschool children. Data for 42 preschool children, five to nine years old, were analyzed in the study. Teachers were asked to rate the children on a number of social behavior measures, and classify them into competent, aggressive and withdrawn groups. It was shown that children of the withdrawn group accepted more requests from others than those of the other groups. Generally, in terms of feedback they gave, the withdrawn were not much different from the competent, but forms of feedback were more often nonverbal. As for the aggressive, feedback was more verbal than the withdrawn when another directly spoke to them, but tended to be equally nonverbal when it was not clear whom other were speaking to.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Social behavior and peer relationships of victims, bully-victims, and bullies in kindergarten.

BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of bully/victim problems in school-age children and adolescents has been investigated in many countries, only a few studies have been carried out among younger children. This study examines social behaviors and peer relationships of children involved in bully/victim problems in kindergarten. METHODS: Three hundred and forty-four five- to seven-year-old children participated. Children were categorized as victims, bully-victims, bullies, and non-involved by means of teacher ratings and peer nominations. Teachers completed questionnaires on children's social behavior patterns. Peer relationships were assessed by means of peer nominations and social cluster mapping. RESULTS: Compared to non-involved children, victims were more submissive, had fewer leadership skills, were more withdrawn, more isolated, less cooperative, less sociable, and frequently had no playmates. As expected, bullies and bully-victims were generally more aggressive than their peers. In addition, bully-victims were less cooperative, less sociable, and more frequently had no playmates than non-involved children. Bullies were less prosocial, and had more leadership skills than non-involved children. Bullies belonged to larger social clusters and were frequently affiliated with other bullies or bully-victims. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to establish distinct behavior patterns for bullies, bully-victims, and victims. Some of these social behaviors may be considered as risk factors for being victimized or becoming a bully. Our findings also emphasize the significance of peer relationships in bully/victim problems. On the one hand, victimized children's lack of friends might render them psychologically and socially vulnerable, and thus more prone to becoming easy targets. On the other hand, bullies seemed to be preferred playmates, particularly for other aggressive boys. This affiliation of aggressive children might lead to an increase in bullying behavior. Our understanding of the social and interactional nature of bullying and victimization has practical implications for prevention and intervention against bully/victim problems.

Aggression↗
PubMed1986

Gender, adult structuring of activities, and social behavior in middle childhood.

The study was designed to test the relations among gender, adult-provided activity structure, and social behavior for children in middle childhood. Adult-provided structure was defined as verbally presented rules, guidelines, suggestions, and modeling. Children aged 7-11 years attended a 1-week summer day camp in which activities characterized by high or low adult structure were available. As predicted, girls spent more time in highly structured activities, whereas boys spent more time in low-structure activities. Once in high-structure activities, however, both genders displayed high rates of adult-directed bids for recognition, leadership attempts, and compliance and low rates of peer interaction. In low-structure activities, children directed high rates of leadership and other social behaviors to same-sex peers. Children who chose high-structure activities most often were also most likely to interact with adults in those activities. Those who chose low-structure activities showed the highest rates of interaction with male peers. Sex-typed personality attributes were not related to activity choice. The results are interpreted in a framework encompassing the interactions of "person" attributes, environmental variables, and behavior.

Child↗
PubMed1998

Health-related behaviors, social support, and community morale.

The relation among health behaviors, social support, and community morale--attitudes toward one's community, such as attachment and social participation--was examined in 597 adults living in a Japanese community. Logistic models revealed that strong spousal support was related to reduced alcohol drinking and enhanced family support was related to a reduction in smoking. The support of friends was positively associated with the frequency of alcohol drinking by men. Among women, family support was positively related to the frequency of consuming Japanese-style food. Community morale was positively associated with consuming Japanese-style side dishes and negatively associated with alcohol consumption. The results indicate that there are varied associations between social relationships and health-related behavior and that these associations are gender-related. Knowing the specific associations between an individual's social relationships and his or her health-related behavior will he helpful for community-based intervention.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Neonatal amygdala lesions and juvenile isolation in the rat: differential effects on locomotor and social behavior later in life.

Pervasive developmental disorders such as autism are characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication. Disturbed development of limbic structures such as the amygdala might underlie these deficits. The authors examined the effects of amygdala lesions on Postnatal Day 7 and juvenile isolation (2 weeks of individual housing during Weeks 4 and 5 of life) on rat locomotor and social activity later in life. Before puberty, but more pronounced after puberty, lesioned rats displayed enhanced locomotor activity. Adult social behavior was selectively disturbed by the lesion and the isolation procedure. In particular, the combination of neonatal lesions and juvenile isolation severely disrupted social interaction. These results suggest that a combination of neonatal amygdala damage and juvenile isolation may serve as an animal model of certain psychopathological neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Pubertal hormones, the adolescent brain, and the maturation of social behaviors: Lessons from the Syrian hamster.

Conventional wisdom holds that gonadal steroid hormones organize and sexually differentiate neural circuits perinatally, and at puberty they activate these circuits to facilitate expression of social behaviors. Using the Syrian hamster to study the role of pubertal hormones in behavioral maturation, we have found that pubertal hormones also organize the adolescent brain. Initial studies revealed that male reproductive behavior cannot be activated by gonadal steroids prepubertally, indicating that the brain acquires behavioral responsiveness during adolescence. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that the presence of gonadal hormones during adolescence masculinize and defeminize behavioral responses of males to hormones in adulthood. Preliminary data also suggest that ovarian hormones defeminize but do not masculinize behavioral responses of females to hormones in adulthood. Furthermore, pubertal hormones program the adult expression of agonistic behaviors that are both steroid-dependent and steroid-independent in adulthood. Thus, the interaction between pubertal hormones and the adolescent brain is key for the maturation of adult social behaviors, and perturbations in the timing of this interaction have long-lasting consequences on adult behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Effects of exposure to 30 kV/m, 60-Hz electric fields on the social behavior of baboons.

We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a 30-kV/m, 60-Hz electric field produces significant change (stress) in the social behavior of adult male baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis). One group of eight baboons was exposed to an electric field (12 hours per day, 7 days per week for 6 weeks) while a second group of eight baboons was maintained in a sham-exposure (control) condition. Exposed subjects and control subjects were compared over three, six-week experimental periods (pre-exposure, exposure, and post-exposure). Performance rates of six categories of social behaviors (passive affinity, active affinity, approach, tension, threat, and attack) and four categories of nonsocial behaviors (forage, manipulate, posture, and stereotypy) were used to compare the two groups. The results of our study indicate that 1) there were no significant differences between the two groups during the pre-exposure or post-exposure periods; 2) during the exposure period, experimental and control groups exhibited statistically significant differences in the mean performance rates of three behavior categories; 3) within-group comparisons across periods indicate that the experimentally exposed group exhibited statistically significant changes in passive affinity, tension, and stereotypy; and 4) changes in behavior performance among the exposed subjects reflect a stress response to the electric field.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The social behavior of depressed children: an observational study.

Few investigations have examined directly the psychosocial functioning of depressed children. In the present study, 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed fourth- and fifth-grade children were observed in free play during their recess period at school, and their self-perceptions were assessed in subsequent individual sessions. The 10 boys and 10 girls in each group were selected according to their scores on both the Child Depression Inventory and the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression. Analyses conducted on the eight categories of behavioral observations revealed significant differences between the social behavior of the depressed and the nondepressed children. Although the depressed children made more overtures for social contact than did the nondepressed children and were approached by other children more frequently, they spent more time alone and engaged in a higher frequency of negative interactions with their peers. Consistent with these results, the depressed children's responses to the Self-Perception Profile for Children indicated that they experienced themselves as less socially competent in general, as well as less competent across several specific domains of functioning. These findings are discussed as they relate to developmental processes, theories of adult depression, and recent studies on socially isolated children, and directions for future research in this area are offered.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Behavioral, social and mental health aspects of home care for older Americans.

Ninety-five percent (95 percent) of the elderly live in the community. At least five million of them need help with activities of daily living. Eighty percent have one or more chronic illness. Eighteen to 25 percent of the elderly have significant mental symptomatology. Only four percent of the elderly visit the community mental health centers (Ernst 1977; Talbott 1985). The primary providers of mental health services to the elderly are the general practitioners, the primary health care nurse, the home health aide psychiatric social workers, members of the family, and a few clinical geropsychologists (German 1987). Over half of the home health care clients are elderly. The primary home health care providers are "challenged" in providing comprehensive health services to the elderly in their homes--often because of a lack of training of the primary home health care provider or because of lack of access because of agencies' policies regarding the acceptance of patients with behavioral, social and mental disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. In this paper, I have profiled the behavioral, social and mental health needs of the elderly with physical illnesses as well as those with behavioral, social and mental disorders. I have dealt with those specific conditions which home health care providers and families find specifically challenging and worrisome, namely: Delirium (confusional states) Suicidal ideation and attempts Psychological assessment Dementia of Alzheimer's type Depression Delirium: (confusion and other behavioral problems associated with hip fractures) Psychotropic drug interaction Wandering Every effort must be made to respect the privacy of the elderly, protect the elderly from research risk, get informed consent when indicated, provide counseling and always assure a high quality of care and supervision. There must be a current plan of care in which both the patient and family participate when feasible. Every effort and plan of care must focus on the maintenance of independence and self-care capabilities and prevention of excessive disabilities.

Aged↗