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Numerous studies have established associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and various behavioral and neurodevelopmental conditions. This study explores the links between SNPs in candidate genes involved in central nervous system (CNS) physiology and their implications for the behavioral and emotional aspects in children and teenagers. A total of 590 participants, aged 7–15 years, from the Early Life Exposures In Mexico To Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) cohort study in Mexico City, underwent genotyping for at least one of 15 CNS gene‐related SNPs at different timepoints. We employed multiple linear regression models to assess the potential impact of genetic variations on behavioral and cognitive traits, as measured by the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC) and Conners parent rating scales. Significant associations were observed, including the rs1800497 TC genotype (ANKK1) with the Cognitive Problems/Inattention variable (p value = 0.003), the rs1800955 CT genotype (DDR4) with the Emotional Lability Global index variable (p value = 0.01), and the rs10492138 GA and rs7970177 TC genotypes (GRIN2B) with the Depression variable (p values 0.007 and 0.012, respectively). These finds suggest potential genetic profiles associated with "risk" and "protective" behaviors for these SNPs. Our results provide valuable insights into the role of genetic variations in neurobehavior and highlight the need for further research in the early identification and intervention in individuals at risk for these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the effect of sublingual immunotherapy on clinical efficacy and mental health of children with allergic rhinitis (AR). Methods A total of 53 children diagnosed as AR admitted to the Department of Otolaryngology, Huai'an Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University from June to December 2019 were selected as the observation group, and 53 healthy children with matching age, sex and education level were recruited as the control group. Rhinoconjunctivitis quality-of-life questionnaire (RQLQ), child behavioral checklist (CBCL) and sleep quality were compared between the two groups before treatment and 4 months, 1 year, 2 years and 3 years after treatment respectively. Results After treatment the scores of RQLQ, CBCL and sleep quality scores all decreased compared with those in the pre-operative in the observation group. The scores of RQLQ, CBCL and sleep quality between the two groups were all significantly different before treatment, and 4 months, 1 year and 2 years after treatment (P <0.05). There was no significant difference 3 years after the treatment between them (P <0.05). Conclusion Sublingual immunotherapy can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of pediatric AR and promote their mental health development with less adverse reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the sustainable logistics potential of countries along the Maritime Silk Road (MSR), an essential element of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), against a backdrop of increasing global emphasis on sustainability and efficient trade practices. Addressing the gap in existing literature, it explores how strategic positioning influences countries' logistics capabilities, integrating risk considerations and behavioral decision-making aspects into the assessment. Through a specialized Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model that incorporates Prospect Theory, this research provides a nuanced evaluation of economic performance, energy efficiency, infrastructure robustness, governance quality, and innovation capabilities. The analysis reveals significant findings, such as Vietnam's outstanding economic efficiency, Indonesia's notable achievements in sustainability and governance, and Malaysia's balanced efficiency, which collectively enhance the MSR's logistics framework. Additionally, India, Greece, Djibouti, and Kenya emerge as vital partners due to their diverse strengths. The introduction of a risk-aware DEA model, enriched with behavioral factors, marks a significant advancement in logistics assessment methodologies, offering a more comprehensive understanding of sustainable logistics practices along the MSR. The implications of this study are profound, providing valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and business leaders. It guides strategic decision-making, promoting sustainability in MSR trade activities while aligning with global eco-conscious practices and economic growth within the context of environmental stewardship and sustainable development. However, the research acknowledges limitations related to the indirect measurement of decision-makers' psychological behavioral coefficients and the focus on efficiency metrics without extensive exploration of cultural, political, or legal factors. This work sets a new precedent in sustainable logistics research, encouraging future studies to incorporate direct behavioral data and qualitative factors for a more enriched evaluation. Its innovative approach not only contributes to the academic discourse on sustainable logistics but also offers practical tools for enhancing the MSR's trade efficiency and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Morphometric similarity networks characterized structural brain network integrity. • Brain network integrity is lower among youth living with perinatally acquired HIV. • Emotional symptoms were associated with higher global efficiency in the salience network and lower global efficiency in the default mode network. • Inflammatory and cardiac markers were associated with structural network integrity. Perinatally acquired HIV infection (PHIV) currently affects approximately 1.7 million children worldwide. Youth with PHIV (YPHIV) are at increased risk for emotional and behavioral symptoms, yet few studies have examined relationships between these symptoms and brain structure. Previous neuroimaging studies in YPHIV report alterations within the salience network (SN), cognitive control network (CCN), and default mode network (DMN). These areas have been associated with social and emotional processing, emotion regulation, and executive function. We examined structural brain network integrity from MRI using morphometric similarity networks and graph theoretical measures of segregation (transitivity), resilience (assortativity), and integration (global efficiency). We examined brain network integrity of 40 YPHIV compared to 214 youths without HIV exposure or infection. Amongst YPHIV, we related structural brain network metrics to the Emotional Symptoms Index of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 2nd edition. We also examined the relationship of inflammatory biomarkers in YPHIV to brain network integrity. YPHIV had significantly lower global efficiency in the SN, DMN, and the whole brain network compared to controls. YPHIV also demonstrated lower assortativity or resilience (i.e., network robustness) compared to controls in the DMN and whole brain network. Further, higher emotional symptom score was associated with higher global efficiency in the SN and lower global efficiency in the DMN, signaling more emotional challenges. A significant association was also found between several inflammatory and cardiac markers with structural network integrity. These findings suggest an impact of HIV on developing brain networks, and potential dysfunction of the SN and DMN in relation to network efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sensory processing dysfunction (SPD) is linked to altered white matter (WM) microstructure in school-age children. Sensory over-responsivity (SOR), a form of SPD, affects at least 2.5% of all children and has substantial deleterious impact on learning and mental health. However, SOR has not been well studied using microstructural imaging such as diffusion MRI (dMRI). Since SOR involves hypersensitivity to external stimuli, we test the hypothesis that children with SOR require compensatory neuroplasticity in the form of superior WM microstructural integrity to protect against internalizing behavior, leaving those with impaired WM microstructure vulnerable to somatization and depression. Methods: Children ages 8–12 years old with neurodevelopmental concerns were assessed for SOR using a comprehensive structured clinical evaluation, the Sensory Processing 3 Dimensions Assessment, and underwent 3 Tesla MRI with multishell multiband dMRI. Tract-based spatial statistics was used to measure diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) metrics from global WM and nineteen selected WM tracts. Correlations of DTI and NODDI measures with measures of somatization and emotional disturbance from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 3rd edition (BASC-3), were computed in the SOR group and in matched children with neurodevelopmental concerns but not SOR. Results: Global WM fractional anisotropy (FA) is negatively correlated with somatization and with emotional disturbance in the SOR group but not the non-SOR group. Also observed in children with SOR are positive correlations of radial diffusivity (RD) and free water fraction (FISO) with somatization and, in most cases, emotional disturbance. These effects are significant in boys with SOR, whereas the study is underpowered for girls. The most affected white matter are medial lemniscus and internal capsule sensory tracts, although effects of SOR are observed in many cerebral, cerebellar, and brainstem tracts. Conclusion: White matter microstructure is related to affective behavior in children with SOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the relationships between maternal sensitivity, secure base behavior (SBB), and secure base scripts (SBS) in 34 mother-child dyads from Lima, Peru, assessed at two times during preschool years. The hypothesis was that maternal sensitivity would have a direct relationship with the SBS (representational aspect of attachment), however it has an indirect relationship, through the SBB (behavioral aspect of attachment). The selection of the sample was intentional. At time 1 of the study, children were 45.26 months old on average (SD = 7.132) and in time 2 they were 58.09 (DE = 7.025). The Maternal Behavior for Preschoolers Q-Set (MBPQS) was used to measure maternal sensitivity, the Attachment Q-Set (AQS) to assess SBB, and the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) to assess SBS. A path analysis was performed. The results indicate that maternal sensitivity, measured at time 1, has a direct relationship with the SBS of the children assesed at time 2, and it has an indirect effect on the SBS through the SBB that was measured at time 1. This study is pioneer in the Peruvian and Latin American context to evaluate these relationships longitudinally and opens a research line to know better the relationship between these attachment theory constructs. However, results are preliminary given the small size of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is an alarming and constant worldwide progression of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviors in children and adolescents. The present paper summarizes findings from France's 2020 Report Card on physical activity for children and youth, comparing its results to its 2 previous editions (2016 and 2018). Methods: France's 2020 Report Card follows the standardized methodology established by the Active Healthy Kids Global Matrix, grading 10 common physical activity indicators using the best available evidence. The grades were informed by national surveys, peer-reviewed literature, government and nongovernment reports, and online information. Results: The expert panel awarded the following grades: Overall Physical Activity: D; Organized Sport Participation and Physical Activity: C−; Active Play: INC; Active Transportation: C−; Sedentary Behaviors: D−; Family and Peers: D−; Physical Fitness: D; School: B−; Community and the Built Environment: F; Government: C. Conclusions: This 2020 edition of France's Report Card again highlights the alarming levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviors among French children and adolescents, calling for the development of effective national action. It also draws attention to the particular deleterious effects of the COVID-19 confinement on youth's movement behaviors, which significantly worsened the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the effects of the introduction of physically active lessons on movement behaviors, cognitive, and academic performance in schoolchildren. Methods: This was a cluster-controlled trial. A total of 61 students from the second year of elementary school in a public school in Brazil made up 2 intervention classes (n = 34) with the introduction of physically active lessons and 2 control classes (n = 27). Sedentary behavior, physical activity, cognitive, and academic performance were evaluated in 3 moments, which were compared using models of generalized estimating equations. Results: The intervention was effective for reducing the standing time between the baseline and 3 months while increasing the walking time between baseline and 3 months and baseline and 9 months. There was a reduction in time in stationary activities and increased time in light physical activities between all moments. The intervention group increased their performance in the go/no go test, showing a smaller number of errors between the baseline and 3 months and baseline and 9 months, and a reduction in the test time between baseline and 3 months. No impact on students' academic performance was observed. Conclusion: Physically active lessons improve movement behaviors and cognitive functions among elementary schoolchildren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic direct observations (SDOs) and behavior rating scales are integral to multimethod behavioral assessment approaches. The present study investigated the convergent validity of the Behavior Observation of Students in Schools (BOSS) form, a widely utilized SDO system, with the most frequently used teacher rating scales in schools, the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC‐3) and the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System, third edition (BESS‐3). Specifically, the present study compared independent observer data collection of student on‐task and disruptive behaviors on the BOSS with teachers' ratings of behavioral problems on the BASC‐3 and BESS‐3. Data come from a sample of 136 teachers and 349 students with or at risk of disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs). Pearson correlations were computed between BOSS and teacher ratings on the BASC‐3 and BESS‐3. Findings demonstrated significant, small to moderate correlations. Results indicate evidence of convergent validity for the BOSS and BASC3 assessments and highlight multimethod behavioral assessment's utility in supporting students with or at risk of DBDs. Practitioner Points: Increased student engagement in learning was associated with less behavioral risk and symptoms as rated by classroom teachers.Disruptive and off‐task behaviors observed in students' were associated with increased behavioral risk and symptoms as rated by classroom teachers.Externalizing and overt student disruptive behaviors demonstrated stronger relationships with teacher‐rated behavioral risk and symptoms compared to students' internalizing and less disruptive behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In British Columbia, a significant proportion of children with neurodevelopmental disorders are unable to access recommended medical investigations/assessments due to behavioral complexity such as aggression and self-injury; consequently, examinations/investigations under anesthesia are often required. However, difficulties in coordination result in fragmented and traumatic service provision. Methods: Within a larger quality improvement project, an initial chart review of patients aged 2 to 18 years who underwent anesthesia at BC Children's Hospital was conducted to describe the current state of sedation in children with behavioral complexity. Patients were identified from the operating room slate for a randomly selected week in January 2021. Results: Seventeen percent of patients (31/185) who accessed the operating room during the review period met the criteria for behavioral complexity. Of these, 16% received an add-on procedure in the operating room. Fifty-two percent of patients had not had any blood work done for at least 1 year before the date of their procedure. Conclusions: It was impossible to efficiently characterize all missed opportunities to conduct physical examinations and medical assessments of children with behavioral complexity who are seen at BC Children's Hospital for sedated procedures, which highlights significant gaps in care optimization for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at researching whether students with formally diagnosed behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) differ in their self-perceived emotional and social inclusion as well as in their academic self-concept, depending on individual behavioural pattern (externalising and internalising behaviour) and school setting (inclusive and special education). In order to examine these research issues, N = 119 students with diagnosed BESD from grade five to eight in inclusive and special school classes in Germany, North-Rhine Westphalia were questioned about their school-linked self-perceptions. Two-way analyses of variance were applied in order to investigate the relations between the included variables. The results indicate that academic self-concept of students with BESD is significantly more positive in special education than in inclusive education. Self-perceived social inclusion and academic self-concept of students with internalising behaviour prove to be significantly more negative in comparison to students with externalising behaviour. Descriptive statistics indicate that especially students with internalising behaviour in inclusive education are affected by low self-perceptions in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Several studies have highlighted that internalizing problems have not received all the attention it deserves because they are not visible in children's observable behavior. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between differences in parenting practices and internalizing problems in children and adolescents. Methods: Our study sample consisted of 554 children (288 boys and 266 girls) between 3 and 13 years of age who participated in the study. Their respective parents provided the information about them. The instruments used have been the Behavioral Assessment System for Children and Adolescents and parenting style, defined according to the Parental Parenting Questionnaire. The Parenting Questionnaire considers 7 factors: social and emotional support received by a mother or father, satisfaction with parenting, involvement, communication, limit setting, autonomy, and role orientation. Results: The results showed that children with high scores in internalizing problems tended to have parents with low levels of support, limit setting, and autonomy, along with low levels of maternal satisfaction with parenting. A regression analysis was also conducted, producing a model capable of predicting 14% of the variance in internalizing problems. The model was based on the following parenting variables: maternal support, autonomy and satisfaction with parenting, and paternal limit setting and role orientation. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the information obtained is very useful for the design of parenting programs related to certain aspects of current educational practice. Furthermore, parents' responses to the instruments used revealed patterns of behavior that can be modified in both parents and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores a specific – but highly plastic – activity-tracking platform. Marketed to parents, 'Milo Champions' encourages the monitoring and rewarding of children, based on their activities and behaviours. The platform incorporates a popular Australian food brand – Nestlé's Milo – and is designed for children aged between 6 and 12. Utilising walkthrough and software studies methodologies, the platform is traced by analysing app interfaces and online promotional material. Milo Champions is a niche example in the growing category of children's activity-tracking apps: one that wraps masculinised logics of self-tracking around a multitude of parenting practices and envisages them, being deployed through feminised practices of caregiving. This article adds to prescient discussions about the 'datafied child' of the 21st century, and how health and wellbeing informatics are entangled with corporate interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the emotional plague described as a bioemotional disease unique to armored humans and destroys its victims by producing confusion, uncertainty, and paralysis. Cited are how the disease goes beyond the person's neurotic's unhealthy, self-torturing behavior and suffering, the widespread and proliferating emotional plague activity, contagion, harm to the health of individuals and society, and the difference between intent and effects of emotional plague.

The purpose of this study was to describe the profile of individual, relational, and contextual resilience resources reported by youth with FASD and their caregivers and examine how these resources related to early childhood adversity, potential protective factors, and concurrent emotional and behavioral functioning. Nineteen youth with FASD (aged 13 to 23 years) and their caregivers (foster or adoptive parents) completed the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28), the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2), and a detailed developmental history questionnaire. Youth with FASD were reported to have comparable relational resilience resources to a typically developing reference group, but lower contextual resources compared to the reference group. Caregivers reported youth to have low individual resilience resources, but youth with FASD reported individual resources commensurate with the normative reference group. Early childhood adversity, age, sex, and IQ were not significantly associated with resilience resources. However, earlier age of stable caregiving placement and earlier age at FASD diagnosis were associated with greater caregiver-reported relational and contextual resilience resources. Finally, higher youth- and caregiver-reported individual resources were associated with less mental health symptomology, and higher youth- and caregiver-reported individual and contextual resources were associated with better adaptive functioning behavior. These findings complement previous research documenting the necessity of ensuring early stable relationships for youth with FASD and permitting timely access to diagnostic services. The results also highlight the need to better understand and strengthen individual and contextual resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study validated the How(e) Happy Scale (HHS) for measuring children's real-time physical activity (PA) enjoyment across PA type, intensity, sex, and weight status and compared state versus trait enjoyment. Methods: Children's (N = 31; 9.7 [1.7] y) PA intensity was measured during sport, play, and locomotive PA. Following each activity, children rated their perceived state (HHS) of enjoyment across 4 constructs (social engagement). Questionnaires measured trait PA enjoyment prior to play. Rasch Rating Scale analysis assessed model-data fit and probability distribution of HHS responses. Analyses of variance compared state versus trait PA enjoyment across main effects, and correlations assessed relationships between measured PA intensity versus state and trait PA enjoyment. Results: Trait PA enjoyment was neither different across sex and weight status nor correlated with PA intensity (r = −.16 to.22). By contrast, HHS responses differed across sex, weight status, and PA type and intensity and correlated with PA type (r = −.56 to −.28) and intensity (r = −.29 to −.32). HHS responses were ordered along the probability curve and showed good infit (0.76–1.22) and outfit (0.71–1.28) statistics and good person (r =.62) and item (r =.88) reliability. Conclusion: HHS is valid for detecting differences in real-time enjoyment across PA type and intensity in all children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropsychologists evaluate children and adults with ADHD to establish a diagnosis, quantify cognitive deficits associated with ADHD and other common comorbid conditions, and provide recommendations for education and vocational planning. Standardized instruments that align with DSM ADHD symptom criteria are recommended for increasing ADHD diagnostic accuracy. This study examined whether a brief DSM-based symptom rating scale would assist in differentiating subtypes of ADHD. Participants were 253 children diagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive (n = 163) or ADHD-Combined (n = 90). Parents completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) and DSM-IV ADHD Symptom Rating Scale (SRS) as part of a comprehensive evaluation to establish ADHD diagnoses. The SRS displayed expected convergent and discriminant validity with BASC-2 subscales. The diagnostic accuracy of the SRS subscales to differentiate ADHD was also examined and compared with the BASC-2. Results indicated that SRS Impulsivity, SRS Hyperactivity, and BASC-2 Hyperactivity had significantly better classification accuracy than BASC-2 Attention Problems and SRS Inattention, although they did not differ from each other. The SRS produced symptom profiles consistent with ADHD-Inattentive and Combined subtypes with good classification accuracy when differentiating subtypes. Overall, the SRS is an economical measure that can assist in ADHD presentation differentiation when used as a component of ADHD evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the validity of the Behavior Assessment System for Children 2nd Edition, by providing evidence based on a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) analysis performed on data obtained with a culturally adapted form of the test. The study included two Romanian samples (161 adolescents aged 12-18 years and 91 children aged 8-12 years) that were each assessed with all the three age corresponding forms (self, parent, and teacher) of the test. We used a confirmatory factor analytic framework in order to test the convergent and discriminant validity of BASC-2, by generating a CFA-based multi-trait, multi-method latent factor correlation matrix. Results showed that, for both the Adolescent and Child forms, the coefficients falling under the validity diagonal (mono-trait, hetero-method) have the highest median values, compared to the coefficients encountered in the monomethod block and those in the heteromethod-heterotrait triangles. The study provides evidence for the construct validity of the multi-trait, multi-rater assessment system that is the basis of the BASC-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To screen types of behavioral problems among children with hemophilia and their relation to the disease parameters. Methods: Fifty boys, 6‐18 years old, with moderate and sever hemophilia were subjected to: history taking, joint evaluation using the Hemophilia Joint Health Score, and behavioral assessment using the Child Behavioral Check List. Results: Patients experienced different patterns of behavior disorder. Patients' age significantly correlated with anxious/depressed behavior, somatic complaints, social problems, aggressive behavior, internalizing behavior, and total behavior problems. Hemophilia severity significantly correlated with social problems, thought problems, aggressive behavior, internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, and total behavior disorders. Affected joint number significantly correlated with withdrawn/depressed behavior, social problems, thought problems, aggressive behavior, internalizing behavior, and total behavior disorders. A high Hemophilia Joint Health Score of the target joints was significantly correlated with social problems, rule‐breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, externalizing behavior, and total behavior disorders. Hemophilic arthropathy duration significantly correlated with somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, aggressive behavior, internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, and total behavior problems. Conclusion: Children with hemophilia had behavioral disorders. The most affected scale was aggressive behavior. The least affected scale was attention problems. Behavioral disorders in children with hemophilia are influenced by the age of the patient, the severity of the disease, the number of joints affected, the duration of hemophilic arthropathy, and the score of joint affected by Hemophilia Joint Health Score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the behavioral and emotional adjustment of 77 children and adolescents 3 months post-treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), compared to 52 age and sex-matched healthy peers. Parents, teachers, and self-report ratings on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) were utilized to measure psychological function. While overall mean scores were in the average range for both groups, parents and teachers rated patients higher on behavior symptoms, internalizing problems and adaptive skill difficulties. No significant differences between groups were observed on self-report, and inter-rater correlations were low to moderate. For the ALL group, maternal university completion was associated with elevations on parent report of behavioral problems, while no other factors predicted either parent or teacher report on other scales. Findings indicate that a subset of patients will require specialist psychosocial support to optimise their adjustment following treatment completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term academic outcomes for many students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are strikingly poor. It has been decades since students with ADHD were specifically recognized as eligible for special education through the Other Health Impaired category under the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and similarly, eligible for academic accommodations through Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. It is time to acknowledge that these school-policies have been insufficient for supporting the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes for students with ADHD. Numerous reasons for the unsuccessful outcomes include a lack of evidence-based interventions embedded into school approaches, minimizing the importance of the general education setting for promoting effective behavioral supports, and an over-reliance on assessment and classification at the expense of intervention. Contemporary behavioral support approaches in schools are situated in multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS); within this article we argue that forward-looking school policies should situate ADHD screening, intervention, and maintenance of interventions within MTSS in general education settings and reserve special education eligibility solely for students who require more intensive intervention. An initial model of intervention is presented for addressing ADHD within schools in a manner that should provide stronger interventions, more quickly, and therefore more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) is a well-established risk factor for psychological problems in children; however, little is known about the sustained impact of persistent PPD patterns and severity on these problems in children.Methods: Data were obtained from mothers (N = 714) and children (N = 768) from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children. Maternal depression was measured using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale at 2, 4, 10 weeks and 10 months postpartum. Children's internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at 6 years and 8-9 years old. Mothers were divided into 4 groups based on the trajectory of their PPD persistence: "No PPD," "Transient PPD," "Worsening PPD" and "Persistent PPD." Linear regression analysis was used to examine the association of PPD persistence and severity with children's internalizing and externalizing problems.Results: "Persistent PPD" was significantly associated with children's internalizing problems at 6 years old (Coefficient [95%CI] = 2.74 [1.30-4.19], P < .001), but no association was found at 8-9 years old. No associations were found between PPD severity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems in either age category.Limitations: "Persistent PPD" and "Worsening PPD" groups had a relatively small sample size. The mothers' depression statuses were not ascertained simultaneously with the children's behavioral assessments. There was no information regarding the mothers' treatment for PPD.Conclusion: PPD persistence negatively affected children's internalizing problems but was not long-lasting. Future studies are needed to identify protective factors against PPD persistence in children's psychological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effect of hypercortisolism on the developing brain we performed clinical, cognitive, and psychological evaluation of children with Cushing disease (CD) at diagnosis and 1 year after remission. Study Design: Prospective study of 41 children with CD. Children completed diverse sets of cognitive measures before and 1 year after remission. Neuropsychological evaluation included the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, California Verbal Learning Test, Trail Making Test, the combined subset scores of Wide Range Achievement Test and Woodcock‐Johnson Psychoeducational Battery Test of Achievement, and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children. Results: Comprehensive cognitive evaluations at baseline and 1 year following cure revealed significant decline mostly in nonverbal skills. Decrements occurred in most of the various indices that measure all aspects of cognitive function and younger age and early pubertal stage largely contributed to most of this decline. Results indicated that age at baseline was associated with positive regression weights for changes in scores for verbal, performance, and full intelligence quotient (IQ) scores and for subtests arithmetic, picture completion, coding, block design, scores; indicating that older age at baseline was associated with less of a deterioration in cognitive scores from pre‐ to posttreatment. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that chronic glucocorticoid excess and accompanying secondary hormonal imbalances followed by eucortisolemia have detrimental effects on cognitive function in the developing brain; younger age and pubertal stage are risk factors for increased vulnerability, while older adolescents have cognitive vulnerabilities like that of adult patients affected with CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) is one of the most diffused tools for assessing teachers' self-efficacy. Despite a strong background, professionals brought concerns on TSES structural feasibility due to changes experienced by education in the last decade. The aim of this study is to test an alternative structure of TSES (A-TSES) that includes a fourth factor, efficacy in student misbehaviour. A sample of 775 teachers were asked to fill TSES. Results showed that, while the original TSES is a good fit for the dataset, A-TSES represents a more appropriate model. Future research should focus on testing A-TSES in different educational systems, as well as on delving into the development of its four-factor structure for future practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cannabis is among the most used recreational drugs during pregnancy, the impact of maternal cannabis use (mCB) on fetal and child development remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effects of mCB on psychosocial and physiological measures in young children along with the potential relevance of the in utero environment reflected in the placental transcriptome. Children (~3 to 6 y) were assessed for hair hormone levels, neurobehavioral traits on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC-2) survey, and heart rate variability (HRV) at rest and during auditory startle. For a subset of children with behavioral assessments, placental specimens collected at birth were processed for RNA sequencing. Hair hormone analysis revealed increased cortisol levels in mCB children. In addition, mCB was associated with greater anxiety, aggression, and hyperactivity. Children with mCB also showed a reduction in the high-frequency component of HRV at baseline, reflecting reduced vagal tone. In the placenta, there was reduced expression of many genes involved in immune system function including type I interferon, neutrophil, and cytokinesignaling pathways. Finally, several of these mCB-linked immune genes organized into coexpression networks that correlated with child anxiety and hyperactivity. Overall, our findings reveal a relationship between mCB and immune response gene networks in the placenta as a potential mediator of risk for anxiety-related problems in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]