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This case study analyzed the cognitive strategies of Ethan, a gifted youth, when performing a Stop Signal Task assessing cognitive control processes including response inhibition as well as proactive and reactive adjustments of response. In the case of Ethan, the response inhibition score was biased, revealing that Ethan did not follow the instructions but challenged them and was successful in doing this. Specifically, he made important proactive adjustments, by both slowing down and speeding up (i.e., risk taking) his responses according to the likelihood of the apparition of the stop signal (triggering response inhibition). Ethan's performance indicated that he perfectly understood the procedure behind the task and completed it according to his own comprehension. Ethan's results showed that researchers and clinicians must be careful when assessing gifted children and adolescents by using tasks that they cannot defeat.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine measurement invariance and discriminant validity of the French Lausanne version (FLV) of the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised, Short Form (CPRS-R:S) and assess its convergent validity against the ADHD Symptoms Rating Scale (ADHD-SRS) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Method: A confirmatory factor analysis and Tobit models were used in 108 ADHD children (aged 6-17) vs. 794 controls (aged 9-15) and score correlations were examined between FLV and ADHD-SRS then CBCL. Results: The factorial structure and reliability of the FLV is confirmed in ADHD children. The FLV showed configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance. FLV scores were significantly higher in ADHD than in control children in all three dimensions (p < .001). There were strong correlations between FLV Hyperactivity and Cognitive problems/Inattention scores and ADHD-SRS scores of Impulsivity/Hyperactivity (r = .90) and Inattention (r = .68) and also strong correlations between FLV Opposition score and the CBCL scores of Aggressive behavior (r = .84) and Rule-breaking behavior (r = .66). Conclusion: The study brings support for validation of the FLV regarding invariance in ADHD children, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: ADHD is one of the most frequent neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition to clinical assessment, its diagnosis requires the use of validated and reliable behavior questionnaires such as the Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised: Short Form (CPRS-R:S). Though various French versions of the CPRS-R:S have been already put to use in clinical practice and research, only a few have undergone a stringent validation process. After a previous validation of the factorial structure of Lausanne French version, we sought here for the analysis of its invariance across sex and age. Method: This validation step was carried out in a rather homogeneous French population of 365 boys and 374 girls from a single school. Two-age classes were considered: children (boys and girls) aged 9 to 11 years (n = 258) and adolescents aged 12 to 15 years (n = 481). Results: Regarding age, dimension Oppositional showed a strong invariance whereas dimensions Hyperactivity and Cognitive problems/Inattention showed a partially strong invariance. Regarding sex, dimensions Oppositional and Hyperactivity showed a partially strong invariance whereas dimension Cognitive problems/Inattention showed a partially weak invariance. The distribution of the CPRS-R:S scores is given by sex and age class. Conclusion: The Lausanne French version of the CPRS-R:S, already validated regarding its factorial structure, internal consistency, and reliability, is here validated regarding its invariance across sex and age. Caution should be taken in using dimension Cognitive problems/Inattention in comparisons between boys and girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to examine the influence of strain, anger-irritability problems and depressed-anxious symptoms on delinquent behavior problems as well as the moderating effect of depressed-anxious symptoms on the relationship between anger-irritability problems and delinquent behaviors in a sample of 248 institutionalized boys and 128 girls. Results showed that both strain and anger-irritability problems were independently related to delinquent behavior problems in boys and in girls. Depressed-anxious symptoms were related to delinquent behavior problems in girls only, and they did not moderate the relationship between anger anxiety problems and delinquent behavior problems. The model explained two times more variance (42% in girls; 19% in boys) of the delinquent behavior problems in girls than in boys, thus suggesting that a higher level of negative emotions seem to play a larger part in girls' offending behavior than in boys'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youths with conduct disorders (CD) are particularly studied for their violent and aggressive behaviors. Many researchers considered aggressive behaviors as being either reactive or proactive. Moreover, factors such as age of CD onset, impulsivity, and callous-unemotional traits, separately, have been related to these different types of aggressive behaviors. However, very few studies addressed the combined contribution of these three factors on proactive and reactive aggression. This question was tested in a sample composed of 43 male adolescents with CD. A single regression analysis including all predictors and outcomes, using Bayesian statistics, was computed. Results indicated that impulsivity was related to reactive aggression, while CU traits were related to proactive aggression. These results suggest first, an important heterogeneity among youth with CD, probably leading to different trajectories and, second, that youths with callous-unemotional traits should receive special attention and care as they are more at risk for proactive aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: Appropriate social integration has been shown to be a protective factor against substance use among adolescents and associated negative consequences. Promoting social integration through early intervention with adolescents using substances is thus necessary and is the aim of the Identification, Assessment and Follow‐up of Adolescents with Substance Use (in French, Dépistage ‐ évaluation ‐ parrainage d'adolescents consommateurs de substances (DEPART) programme. The present study aimed to describe this programme and its participants from 2009 to 2013 as well as to assess its effects on social integration. Methods: Data from 398 adolescents using substances who attended the DEPART programme were analysed. Results: The results showed that almost 80% of the adolescents admitted to the DEPART programme were boys, with a large proportion using cannabis. Globally, social integration did not increase from admission to discharge from the programme, but a shift was observed for school and professional integration. Additionally, after the intervention, we observed that social integration was more important in younger patients. Conclusions: This study showed that adolescents with problematic substance use mostly consumed soft drugs and that those who were integrated into the DEPART programme at a younger age were more likely to be socially integrated at the end of the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance user adolescents were asked to report on each contact they had had with any type of care providers since they had begun to use alcohol or illegal drugs regularly. Primary care doctors and social workers represent the main access to the care network. In one out of two contacts substance use was not discussed.