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Social and biological measures of hyperactivity and inattention: are they describing similar underlying constructs of child behavior?

The relationship between 27 different measures of hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior, including those considered to be more objective and those considered more influenced by social factors, is examined using a normal sample of 219 Mexican children, ages 6 to 12. Measures were based on activity monitoring by accelerometry, ethological observation of attentional and movements states in the classroom, cognitive testing using the TOVA continuous performance test (CPT), and parents' and teachers' reports on ratings scales and symptom checklists. Factor analysis was used to examine to what degree these different measures are reporting similar underlying constructs (factors) of hyperactivity and inattention. Parent and teacher ratings appear to be describing underlying constructs that are distinct from those described by the other measures, but measures based on CPT, observation, and activity monitoring did not factor together either, nor more highly correlate to each other. Analysis combining all the measures showed that parent and teacher ratings factored together based on who was reporting the behavior, rather than the behavior being reported. The findings underscore that each type of measurement of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention measures a different aspect of a complex behavioral phenomenon, rather than some better measuring than others the same underlying factor.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

The hospital and the borderline patient: management guidelines for the community mental health center.

Controversy over the treatment of borderline patients in regression has frequently left underfined the practical approaches to hospital management of these patients. The nature and context of the regressive episode, and the implications of potential interventions for specific types of patients are basic considerations in formulating such an approach. Subgroups of borderline patients can be usefully distinguished on the basis of the major management problem to which each is particularly prone.

Acting Out↗

Acute effects of self-paced walking on urges to smoke during temporary smoking abstinence.

RATIONALE: Recent research highlights the need to extend our understanding of how exercise may aid smoking cessation, through exploration of different modes, intensity and duration of exercise. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 1-mile self-paced walk on different measures of urges to smoke following temporary smoking abstinence. METHODS: In a within-subject counterbalanced design, following 15 h of smoking abstinence, participants (N=15) exercised or sat passively on separate days. A single-item measure of strength of desire to smoke was administered during, immediately post, and at 10 and 20 min post-treatment. The two-factor Questionnaire for Smoking Urges, involving intention and desire to engage in smoking behaviour which is anticipated as pleasant, enjoyable and satisfying (desire-behave), and anticipation of relief from negative affect through smoking (desire-affect relief), was administered before and 20 min post-treatment. RESULTS: A two-way repeated-measures MANOVA revealed a significant overall interaction effect for time by condition for strength of desire to smoke, and the two QSU scales. Two-way repeated-measures univariate ANOVAs revealed significant interaction effects for time by condition for each of the three urges to smoke measures. Planned contrasts revealed that exercise reduced cigarette cravings for up to 20 min after exercise, in comparison with the control condition. ANCOVAs revealed mixed support for independent effects of exercise on all measures of urges to smoke. CONCLUSION: A self-paced walk, at a low intensity, lasting 15-20 min can have a rapid and measurable positive effect on both single and multi-item measures of urges to smoke, lasting at least 20 min, during temporary smoking abstinence.

Adolescent↗

Involvement of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens core and shell in inhibitory response control.

RATIONALE: Impaired inhibitory control over behavior is a key feature in various psychiatric disorders, and recent studies indicated an important role for dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptors and the nucleus accumbens (Acb) in this respect. OBJECTIVE: The present experiments were designed to study the role of dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptors in the Acb in inhibitory response control. METHODS: Rats were trained in a five-choice serial reaction time task and received bilateral infusions into the Acb core or shell of either SCH 23390 or eticlopride (representing selective dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptor antagonists, respectively). Subsequently, the effects of systemic amphetamine on inhibitory response control were examined. RESULTS: Eticlopride into either the Acb core or shell did not affect premature responding, a measure for inhibitory response control, but increased reaction time and errors of omission. In contrast, SCH 23390 into both regions reduced premature responding, slightly improved attentional performance in the core and increased errors of omission in the shell. Amphetamine robustly increased premature responding which was dose-dependently blocked by eticlopride in the Acb core and attenuated by eticlopride in the shell. In addition, amphetamine slightly decreased accuracy and reaction time, and these effects were inhibited by eticlopride in both regions. SCH 23390 infusion into the Acb core or shell did not alter amphetamine's effects. CONCLUSION: Our data provide evidence for the involvement of dopamine D(1) and D(2) receptors in the Acb core and shell in inhibitory response control and attentional performance.

Amphetamine↗

Effortful control among low-income preschoolers in three cities: Stability, change, and individual differences.

Existing developmental models of effortful control focus more on the roles of child characteristics and parenting and focus less on the contributions of poverty-related stressors to individual differences in children's self-regulatory competence. Using a representative sample of low-income, predominantly African American and Latino children (n = 439), the author examined effortful control at ages 2-4 and again 16 months later. Delayed gratification showed moderate stability and improvement over time. Risk factors were associated with individual differences in these developmental patterns, net of child age, gender, temperament, and child-mother connectedness. Low birth weight compromised preschoolers' delayed gratification and executive control. Exposure to more sociodemographic and residential stressors jeopardized children's executive control but did not jeopardize delayed gratification.

Black People↗

Factor structure of psychopathy among methadone maintenance patients.

The proposed two-factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist (Revised) was assessed by confirmatory factor analyses on a sample of 376 community and prison based methadones maintenance patients. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the two-factor model proposed by previous researchers did not fit well with the data from this population. Exploratory analyses extracted five interpretable factors, three psychological factors (glibness/manipulative, callousness, irresponsibility), and two behavioral factors (criminal behaviors, promiscuity), which accounted for 61% of the variance. The data provided support for the psychometric reliability of the PCL-R, as indicated by a Chronbach's alpha of 0.83, weighted kappas for concordance between raters ranging from 0.51 to 1.00, and 100% agreement on diagnoses of psychopathy between raters. The data indicate that a two-factor structure does not adequately capture the dimensions of psychopathy in this population. While the factors do fall into distinct psychological and behavioral dimensions, more than two general factors are required to describe the dimensions of psychopathy.

Adult↗

Impulsivity and verbal deficits associated with domestic violence.

While neurobiological factors are known to play a role in human aggression, relatively few studies have examined neuropsychological contributions to propensity for violence. We previously demonstrated cognitive deficits among men who committed domestic violence (batterers) compared to non-violent controls. Batterers had deficits in verbal ability, learning and executive problem-solving ability. These findings led us to examine whether executive control problems involving impulsivity contribute to problems with behavioral control among batterers, and to further examine their deficits in verbal functioning. Batterers (n = 41) enrolled in a domestic violence program were compared to 20 non-violent men of similar age, education, and socioeconomic background on neuropsychological tests of executive functioning, including impulsivity. Questionnaires and structured clinical interviews were used to assess emotional distress, aggression and self-reported impulsivity. Batterers showed greater impulsivity compared to non-batterers on several neuropsychological measures. Yet, the severity of these deficits was relatively mild and not evident in all batterers. Consistent with our previous findings, significant verbal deficits were again observed among the batterers. These findings suggest that while impulsivity may be a factor associated with domestic violence, it probably is not the sole determinant of the strong relationship between cognitive functioning and batterer status that we previously observed. Both verbal expressive deficits and behavioral impulsivity appear to be relevant variables in predisposing men to domestic violence.

Adult↗

Reduced electrodermal response to conflict, failure to inhibit dominant behaviors, and delinquency proneness.

Antisocial behavior patterns have been hypothesized to result in part from a reduced physiological component of fear, anxiety, and avoidance responses. Electrodermal correlates of antisocial personality have been consistent with such a model, but evidence that the reduced electrodermal response (EDR) of sociopathic and delinquency-prone individuals actually plays a role in their behavior is sparse. This article examines whether the reduced EDR of undersocialized individuals should be conceptualized in terms of reduced inhibitory control rather than in terms of reduced aversive processes and whether the reduced EDR actually relates to relevant behavior of undersocialized young adults. Subjects high and low on a socialization scale (California Psychological Inventory) performed a nonstressful response-conflict (or interference) task while the EDR was recorded. As predicted by the weak inhibitory conflict than on control trials less frequently than did high-socialization subjects and, correspondingly, committed more errors by failing to inhibit a dominant behavioral response.

Adolescent↗

[Pharmacological treatment of the intermittent explosive disorder. Report of three cases and literature review].

The treatment of intermittent explosive disorder is still empirical, although it tries to use drugs according to present knowledge on neurobiology of aggression. We report three patients in which a good control of aggressive behavior was achieved using inhibitors of serotonin reuptake and carbamazepine. We review the literature on pharmacologic treatment of aggressive behavior.

Adult↗

Neural basis of individual differences in impulsivity: contributions of corticolimbic circuits for behavioral arousal and control.

The objective of the current study was to analyze the neural correlates of behavioral arousal and inhibitory control as they relate to individual differences in impulsivity via well-established functional MRI amygdala reactivity and prefrontal inhibitory control paradigms in healthy adult subjects. Impulsivity correlated positively with activity of the bilateral ventral amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 32), and bilateral caudate. Conversely, impulsivity correlated negatively with activity of the dorsal amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex (BA 47). Together, these findings suggest that dispositional impulsivity is influenced by the functional interplay of corticolimbic behavioral arousal and control circuits.

Adult↗

Impulsivity in suicidal and nonsuicidal adolescents.

Nonsuicidal and suicidal adolescent inpatients were compared to community high school students using behavioral measures of impulsivity. Measures of problem solving ability, hopelessness, and depression were also administered to all groups. The suicidal inpatients were characterized by greater impulsivity, hopelessness, and depression than both nonsuicidal inpatients and community high school students. There were no differences in problem-solving abilities found between the suicidal inpatients and either the nonsuicidal inpatients or the community controls.

Adolescent↗

Temperament, social competence, and adrenocortical activity in preschoolers.

The relations among temperament, social competence, and levels of a stress-sensitive hormone (salivary cortisol) were examined in two studies of preschoolers children (Study 1, N = 29; Study 2, N = 46). In both studies, we sampled cortisol daily for the initial weeks of school year (Group Formation period) and for several weeks later in the year (Familiar Group period). For each child, we examined two measures of cortisol activity (separately for each period) based on the distribution of cortisol levels across days: (a) median cortisol (50th percentile) and (b) cortisol reactivity (the difference between the 75th and 50th percentile). Median cortisol was modestly stable across periods, but cortisol reactivity was not. Children who showed high cortisol reactivity (75th minus 50th percentile > or = 0.10 micrograms/dl) during the Group Formation period but low-to-normal cortisol reactivity during the Familiar Group period were outgoing, competent, and well liked by their peers. In contrast, children who changed from low/normal to high cortisol reactivity and those who maintained high cortisol reactivity from the Group Formation to Familiar Group period were affectively negative and solitary. Children who showed high median cortisol during the Familiar Group period or over both periods scored lower on a measure of attentional and inhibitory control. Together, these results suggest that relations among temperament, social competence, and neuroendocrine reactivity reflect both individual and contextual differences.

Affect↗

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity in kindergarten children: importance of gender and associations with behavioral/emotional difficulties.

The current cross-sectional study investigated basal and stress-challenged hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system function in 102 five-year old kindergarten children (59 boys, 43 girls) who had been assessed by a comprehensive psychological and behavioral test battery. Baseline HPA system activity was significantly increased in girls when compared to boys (p<0.001). Furthermore, basal HPA system activity predicted a high hormonal release during stress with--again--girls showing higher hormonal responses than boys (p<0.01). Importantly, increased HPA system activity (baseline and stress-challenged) was significantly associated with hyperactivity/impulsivity and emotional problems in boys and with positive emotions in girls (p<0.05). These results suggest an occurrence of neurobiological alterations early in development. The observed neurobiological changes are gender specific already at the age of 5 years. Prospective long-term follow up of the identified subjects with HPA axis alterations will clarify if these markers are predictive for the onset of psychiatric disorders.

Affective Symptoms↗

Endogenous plasma testosterone levels and commission errors in women: A preliminary report.

A correlation between elevated testosterone and aggressive behavior has been demonstrated in animals and to a lesser degree in humans, primarily in the context of dominance. Some aggression, namely non-premeditated aggression, is characterized by impaired impulse control. Real-world aggressive histories and self-reported impulsivity have correlated with commission errors (failures to withhold responses to nontarget stimuli) in versions of the continuous performance test (CPT). To begin exploring whether testosterone may play a role in aggression due more to a direct relationship with impaired impulse control, we related plasma total testosterone concentrations of 27 psychiatrically healthy women to commission errors in two variants of the CPT - with and without interstimulus distracters. Controlling for age and IQ, testosterone did not relate to rates of correct detections in either task, but correlated positively with commission errors in the distracter CPT variant. In light of the fact previous studies find commission errors on the CPT are associated with impulsivity, the results of this study support a positive relationship between testosterone and impulsivity.

Aggression↗

The child is father of the man: personality continuities from childhood to adulthood.

This article presents findings about continuities in personality development that have been uncovered in the Dunedin study, an investigation of a cohort of children studied from age 3 to 21. At age 3, children were classified into temperament groups on the basis of observations of their behavior. In young adulthood, data were collected from study members themselves, from people who knew them well, and from official records. Undercontrolled 3-year-olds grew up to be impulsive, unreliable, and antisocial, and had more conflict with members of their social networks and in their work. Inhibited 3-year-olds were more likely to be unassertive and depressed and had fewer sources of social support. Early appearing temperamental differences have a pervasive influence on life-course development and offer clues about personality structure, interpersonal relations, psychopathology, and crime in adulthood.

Adult↗