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In structural neuroimaging studies, reduced cerebral cortical thickness in orbital and ventromedial prefrontal regions is frequently interpreted as reflecting an impaired ability to downregulate neuronal activity in the amygdalae. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted in order to test this conjecture. We examine the extent to which amygdalar reactivity is associated with cortical thickness in a population-based sample of adolescents. Data were obtained from the IMAGEN study, which includes 2,223 adolescents. While undergoing functional neuroimaging, participants passively viewed video clips of a face that started from a neutral expression and progressively turned angry, or, instead, turned to a second neutral expression. Left and right amygdala ROIs were used to extract mean BOLD signal change for the angry minus neutral face contrast for all subjects. T1-weighted images were processed through the CIVET pipeline (version 2.1.0). In variable-centered analyses, local cortical thickness was regressed against amygdalar reactivity using first and second-order linear models. In a follow-up person-centered analysis, we defined a “high reactive” group of participants based on mean amygdalar BOLD signal change for the angry minus neutral face contrast. Between-group differences in cortical thickness were examined (“high reactive” versus all other participants). A significant association was revealed between the continuous measure of amygdalar reactivity and bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortical thickness in a second-order linear model (p < 0.05, corrected). The “high reactive” group, in comparison to all other participants, possessed reduced cortical thickness in bilateral orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, bilateral anterior temporal cortices, left caudal middle temporal gyrus, and the left inferior and middle frontal gyri (p < 0.05, corrected). Results are consistent with non-human primate studies, and provide empirical support for an association between reduced prefrontal cortical thickness and amygdalar reactivity. Future research will likely benefit from investigating the degree to which psychopathology qualifies relations between prefrontal cortical structure and amygdalar reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We characterize the association between age-related cerebral cortical change and conduct problems in a large longitudinal, community-based sample of adolescents (N = 1039). • Higher levels of conduct problems were associated with accelerated age-related cerebral cortical thinning. • Findings were not meaningfully altered when controlling for alcohol use, co-occurring psychopathology, and socioeconomic status. • This work represents the largest study to date of conduct problems and cerebral cortical thickness development. Few studies have examined the association between conduct problems and cerebral cortical development. Herein, we characterize the association between age-related brain change and conduct problems in a large longitudinal, community-based sample of adolescents. 1,039 participants from the IMAGEN study possessed psychopathology and surface-based morphometric data at study baseline (M = 14.42 years, SD = 0.40; 559 females) and 5-year follow-up. Self-reports of conduct problems were obtained using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Vertex-level linear mixed effects models were implemented using the Matlab toolbox, SurfStat. To investigate the extent to which cortical thickness maturation was qualified by dimensional measures of conduct problems, we tested for an interaction between age and SDQ Conduct Problems (CP) score. There was no main effect of CP score on cortical thickness; however, a significant "Age by CP" interaction was revealed in bilateral insulae, left inferior frontal gyrus, left rostral anterior cingulate, left posterior cingulate, and bilateral inferior parietal cortices. Across regions, follow-up analysis revealed higher levels of CP were associated with accelerated age-related thinning. Findings were not meaningfully altered when controlling for alcohol use, co-occurring psychopathology, and socioeconomic status. Results may help to further elucidate neurodevelopmental patterns linking adolescent conduct problems with adverse adult outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the extent to which playing a musical instrument is associated with cortical thickness development among healthy youths. Method: Participants were part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development. This study followed a longitudinal design such that participants underwent MRI scanning and behavioral testing on up to 3 separate visits, occurring at 2-year intervals. MRI, IQ, and music training data were available for 232 youths (334 scans), ranging from 6 to 18 years of age. Cortical thickness was regressed against the number of years that each youth had played a musical instrument. Next, thickness was regressed against an "Age x Years of Playing" interaction term. Age, gender, total brain volume, and scanner were controlled for in analyses. Participant ID was entered as a random effect to account for within-person dependence. False discovery rate correction was applied (p < .05). Results: There was no association between thickness and years playing a musical instrument. The "Age x Years of Playing" interaction was associated with thickness in motor, premotor, and supplementary motor cortices, as well as prefrontal and parietal cortices. Follow-up analysis revealed that music training was associated with an increased rate of thickness maturation. Results were largely unchanged when IQ and handedness were included as covariates. Conclusion: Playing a musical instrument was associated with more rapid cortical thickness maturation within areas implicated in motor planning and coordination, visuospatial ability, and emotion and impulse regulation. However, given the quasi-experimental nature of this study, we cannot rule out the influence of confounding variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies have reported associations between the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) and alcohol, heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine abuse. Other studies have yielded contrary results. There are a number of reasons for non-replication, including inadequate statistical power, population stratification, and poor phenotype definition. This study was to test the association using a meta-analytic approach across a variety of racial and ethnic populations. Using the genotype data of 55 studies (7999 cases, 8264 controls, and 676 families or parent-offspring trios) published in the past 15 years, we have conducted comprehensive meta-analyses to examine the associations of the 5-HTTLPR and STin2 polymorphisms with substance use disorder. The meta-analyses support the associations of 5-HTTLPR with alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine dependence and abuse (eg, the smallest P-values were 0.0058 with odds ratio (OR)=0.54 (0.35, 0.84); 0.0024 with OR=0.77 (0.66, 0.91); 0.018 with OR=1.38 (1.06, 1.81); and 0.028 with OR=0.46 (0.23, 0.92) for alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine dependence/abuse, respectively). When all the phenotypes are combined, the P-value was 0.0006 with OR=0.86 (0.78, 0.94) in the combined European, Asian, and Mexican populations and P-value was 0.0028 with OR=1.41 (1.13, 1.78) in the African populations. Evidence of significant associations was also identified in other subgroup analyses regarding differently combined substance and populations. The effect sizes of 5-HTTLPR were comparable among the European, Asian, and Mexican populations, however, the risk allele was more frequent in Asians than in Europeans and Mexicans. The opposite directions of risk allele in African population might be driven by the opposite directions of risk allele in cocaine dependence. This meta-analysis supports that the association of the SLC6A4 gene with substance use disorder varies depending on substances with different risk allele frequencies in the multi-cultural populations. Further studies using larger sample size are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study examination into the cortical thickness correlates of symptoms of inattention in healthy children in order to highlight the relationship between cortical maturation and the damages of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. A cross-sectional analysis of children's attentive behaviors and cortical thickness is presented. Conclusions are offered highlighting associations between attention problem symptoms and cortical thinness.

Abstract: Background: The development of the fetal endocannabinoid receptor system may be vulnerable to maternal cannabis use during pregnancy and may produce long-term consequences in children. In this study, we aimed to determine the relationship between gestational cannabis use and childhood attention problems and aggressive behavior. Methods: Using a large general population birth cohort, we examined the associations between parental prenatal cannabis and tobacco use and childhood behavior problems at 18 months measured using the Child Behavior Checklist in N =4077 children. Substance use was measured in early pregnancy. Results: Linear regression analyses demonstrated that gestational exposure to cannabis is associated with behavioral problems in early childhood but only in girls and only in the area of increased aggressive behavior (B =2.02; 95% CI: 0.30–3.73; p =0.02) and attention problems (B =1.04; 95% CI: 0.46–1.62; p <0.001). Furthermore, this study showed that long-term (but not short term) tobacco exposure was associated with behavioral problems in girls (B =1.16; 95% CI: 0.20–2.12; p =0.02). There was no association between cannabis use of the father and child behavior problems. Conclusions: Our results suggest that intrauterine exposure to cannabis is associated with an increased risk for aggressive behavior and attention problems as early as 18 months of age in girls, but not boys. Further research is needed to explore the association between prenatal cannabis exposure and child behavior at later ages. Our data support educating future mothers about the risk to their babies should they smoke cannabis during pregnancy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and basal ganglia have been implicated in pathological aggression. This study aimed at identifying neuroanatomical correlates of impulsive aggression in healthy children. Methods: Data from 193 representative 6- to 18-year-old healthy children were obtained from the National Institutes of Health Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Normal Brain Development after a blinded quality control. Cortical thickness and subcortical volumes were obtained with automated software. Aggression levels were measured with the Aggressive Behavior scale (AGG) of the Child Behavior Checklist. AGG scores were regressed against cortical thickness and basal ganglia volumes using first- and second-order linear models while controlling for age, gender, scanner site, and total brain volume. Gender by AGG interactions were analyzed. Results: There were positive associations between bilateral striatal volumes and AGG scores (right: r = .238, p = .001; left: r = .188, p = .01). A significant association was found with right ACC and subgenual ACC cortical thickness in a second-order linear model (p < .05, corrected). High AGG scores were associated with a relatively thin right ACC cortex. An AGG by gender interaction trend was found in bilateral OFC and ACC associations with AGG scores. Conclusions: This study shows the existence of relationships between impulsive aggression in healthy children and the structure of the striatum and right ACC. It also suggests the existence of gender-specific patterns of association in OFC/ACC gray matter. These results may guide research on oppositional-defiant and conduct disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Nigg and colleagues on gene x environment (GxE) interaction, one by Grafodatskaya on epigenetics that are associated with the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and one by Pine and colleagues on neuroimaging genomic studies on the treatment of child psychiatric illness.

The article presents a study which investigates whether data assessing attention problems were able to provide distinct subtypes of attention problems (AP). The study gathered data containing attention problems from the maternal ratings on the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). It suggests that the CBCL AP syndrome demonstrates that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at the extreme of continuum.

Objective The assessment of symptoms of ADHD in children is usually based on a clinical interview or a behavior checklist. The aim of the present study is to investigate the extent to which these instruments measure an underlying construct and to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in ADHD. Methods Maternal ratings were collected on 10,916 twins from 5,458 families. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) ratings were available for 10,018, 6,565, and 5,780 twins at the ages 7, 10, and 12, respectively. The Conners Rating Scale (4,887 twins) and the DSM interview (1,006 twins) were completed at age 12. The magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on the variance of the three measures of ADHD and the covariance among the three measures of ADHD was obtained. Results Phenotypic correlations range between .45 and .77. Variances and covariances of the measurements were explained mainly by genetic influences. The model that provided the best account of the data included an independent pathway for additive and dominant genetic effects. The genetic correlations among the measures collected at age 12 varied between .63 and 1.00. Conclusions The genetic overlap between questionnaire ratings and the DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD is high. Clinical and research implications of these findings are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More boys than girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) receive treatment. One explanation for this bias may be that boys score higher on disruptive behavior scales than girls. Although this was supported by findings in clinical samples, recent studies in nonreferred samples showed that boys and girls with ADHD are similar with respect to their levels of disruptive behavior as reported by their mother. In this report, we investigate whether the difference in treatment rate is associated with higher teacher problem scores in boys with ADHD than in girls with ADHD. Data were obtained from mothers and teachers in a nonreferred sample of 283 boys and 291 girls with and without ADHD. Children were selected when they scored either low (controls) or high (probands) on attention problems. Mothers completed DSM-IV interviews, Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL) and the Conners Rating Scale (CRS). Teachers filled in the Teacher Report Form (TRF), and the CRS. Boys and girls with ADHD had similar levels of psychiatric illness and school impairment (such as being held back, special class placement and learning problems) by mother report. Mothers reported similar levels of aggression and attention problems in boys and girls with ADHD. In contrast, teachers consistently rated boys with ADHD as having higher scores on reports of attention problems and aggression than girls with ADHD. Gender differences vary across settings: boys and girls with ADHD are rated as behaving differently at school, but not at home. The higher level of teacher reported problem behavior at school may explain the high male-female ratio for ADHD in clinical settings. These findings have implications for the results of genetic studies that rely on referred samples, as these studies may give a distorted view of sex differences in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cross-gender behavior during childhood, to estimate the influence of genotype and environment on variation in cross-gender behavior, and to explore the association of cross-gender behavior with maternal ratings of behavior problems as indexed by the Internalizing and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Cross-gender behavior was assessed by two items from the CBCL: “behaves like opposite sex” and “wishes to be of opposite sex.” As part of an ongoing longitudinal study of the Netherlands Twin Registry, mothers were asked to complete the CBCL for their twins when they were 7 ( n∼14,000 twins) and 10 years old ( n∼8,500 twins). The prevalence of cross-gender behavior (as measured by maternal report of behaving like or wishing to be the opposite sex) was 3.2% and 5.2% for 7-year-old boys and girls, respectively, and decreased to 2.4% and 3.3% for 10-year-old boys and girls. Surprisingly, the prevalence rate of cross-gender behavior of girls with a male co-twin was lower than of girls with a female co-twin. At both ages, the similarity for cross-gender behavior was greater in monozygotic than in dizygotic twins pairs. Genetic structural equation modeling showed that 70% of the variance in the liability of cross-gender behavior could be explained by genetic factors, at both ages and for both sexes. Cross-gender behavior was associated with higher scores on Internalizing and Externalizing problems, both in boys and in girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine a score on the Obsessive Compulsive Scale (OCS) from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to screen for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and to rigorously test the specificity and sensitivity of a single cutpoint. Methods: A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to data from 61 patients with clinically determined OCD, 64 clinical controls and 73 general population controls to determine the best sum score on the CBCL-OCS to predict confirmed OCD in children. Using the ROC-determined cutoff, this score was applied to a national sample of CBCL data from 2460 singleton children ages 4–18 and to 20,016 children ages 7–18 from three large general population twin samples to determine the estimated prevalence in the general population. Results: Using a CBCL-OCS score of 5 demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of .88 with high sensitivity (92%) and moderate specificity (67%) compared to clinical controls. Compared to the general population controls, the AUC was .96 with high sensitivity (92%) and specificity (89%). In the twin samples, the number of participants with CBCL-OCS scores above this cutpoint was 2.3–7.1%. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the OCS of the CBCL may provide a highly effective way to screen for childhood OCD, and that the prevalence of childhood OCD may have been underestimated, thus prompting the need for further research into screening children for this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No consensus has been reached yet on how best to characterize children with juvenile bipolar disorder (JBD). Several groups have shown that children on the attention problems (AP), aggressive behavior (AGG), and anxious-depressed (AD) syndromes of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) are likely to meet criteria for DSM-JBD. We aimed to use a large population-based twin sample to evaluate the prevalence and genetic architecture of the CBCL-JBD (deviant on AP, AGG, and AD) phenotype and compare these data to children who are deviant on just the CBCL-AP syndrome. Methods: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to CBCL data from 5418, 3562, and 1971 Dutch twin pairs at ages 7, 10, and 12 years. Results: The CBCL-JBD phenotype occurs in ∼1% of children at each age. Among the children who meet criteria for the CBCL-AP phenotype (∼ 5%), between 13 and 20% also meet criteria for CBCL-JBD. The best SEM for CBCL-JBD includes additive genetic, shared and unique environmental factors. The best SEM for CBCL-AP includes dominant and additive genetic and unique environmental factors. Conclusions: These data suggest that CBCL-JBD is common, and even more common among children who have severe attention problems. CBCL-JBD shows familial aggregation due to both genetic and shared environmental factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The majority of published reports on twin studies of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have indicated robust additive genetic influences and unique environmental influences. These studies typically used DSM ADHD symptoms collected by telephone or interviews with mothers. The purpose of this study was to test the genetic architecture of ADHD by using the ADHD index from Conners' Rating Scales—Revised. Method: From the Conners' scale forms, data for the ADHD index were collected from the mothers of 1,5957-year-old twin pairs from the Netherlands Twin Registry. Rates of ADHD diagnoses were computed by using Conners' gender- and age-specific cutoff points. Contributions from additive, dominant, unique environmental, interaction, and gender effects were computed by using gender-genetic models. Results: The prevalence of ADHD across the sample of 7-year-old twin pairs was about 4% according to the mothers' reports, consistent with other reported rates of ADHD. However, using the gender norms provided with the ADHD index, the authors found slightly higher rates of ADHD in girls than previously reported. Genetic analyses yielded a model that includes genetic dominance (48%), additive genetic factors (30%), and unique environmental factors (22%). Conclusions: The ADHD index from Conners' Rating Scales—Revised identified an appropriate percentage of children across this epidemiologic twin sample as being at risk for ADHD. The results of the genetic analyses are consistent with prior reports that ADHD is predominantly influenced by genetic factors that are both dominant and additive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to oppositional defiant behavior (ODB) from mother, father, and teacher report using the Conners Revised Short Forms in a large twin sample. Method: ODB data were collected from 1,595 mothers, 1,114 fathers, and 793 teachers of 7-year-old twin pairs from the Netherlands Twin Registry in the 1990-1992 cohort with an 80% response rate. Models were fit for each informant to determine the genetic, environmental, gender, and informant influences on ODB. Results: Genetic analyses of the ODB quantitative scale showed additive genetic (A) by mother (55%), by father (57%), and by teacher (21% girls, 38% boys) unique environmental (E) (mother, 22%; father, 29%; teacher, 48% girls, 39% boys) and shared environmental (C) (mother, 14%; father, 23%; teacher, 31 % girls, 23% boys) influences. Conclusions: Additive genetic and unique environmental factors account for the majority of the influences on ODB for boys and girls by all informants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the diagnostic accuracy of the CBCL syndrome AS scales for predicting DSM-IV Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder with or without Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD). The sample included 370 children (187 probands and 183 siblings) participating in a family genetic study of attention and aggressive behavior problems. Univariate and stepwise logistic regression analyses were used to derive models for predicting two diagnostic conditions: ADHD and ODD/CD. The Attention Problems syndrome significantly predicted ADHD, and ODD/CD was significantly predicted by the Aggressive Behavior syndrome. Both scales demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy, as assessed through receiver operating characteristics analyses. Cut-point analyses confirmed the utility of low T-scores, 55 on the respective syndromes, for efficiently discriminating cases from noncases. CBCL syndromes display good diagnostic efficiency for assessing common externalizing disorders in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Studies on 3-, 7-, and 10-year-old twins' internalizing and externalizing problems have emphasized the importance of understanding sources of agreement and disagreement between maternal and paternal ratings. A psychometric model that assumes that each parent assesses rater-specific aspects of the child's behavior provided the best explanation for parental disagreement. This study investigates two models that have been used to explain the agreement and disagreement between mothers and fathers in the ratings of their children. Method: Child Behavior Checklists filled in by mothers and fathers were collected for a sample of 1,481 twelve-year-old twin pairs. Genetic and environmental influences on Internalizing and externalizing problems were estimated using models that corrected for rater bias, rater-specific effects, and unreliability. Results: The psychometric model fitted the data significantly better than a rater bias model. Significant influences of genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors were found for internalizing and externalizing behavior. Parent-specific views, rater bias, and unreliability were significant. Conclusions: The best-fitting model implies that disagreement between parents is due to the fact that mothers and fathers provide information from their own perspective. This information should be seen as important and adding to the diagnostic formulation rather than as a point of disagreement. The finding that internalizing and externalizing problems are influenced by genetic and environmental factors fosters the understanding that it is the interaction of nature and nurture that puts children at risk for common behavioral disorders. Key Words: parental rating; rater bias; problem behavior; twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated substantial genetic influences on many child psychiatric disorders, including autism. In this study the authors attempted to quantify the degree to which genetic influences on deficits in reciprocal social behavior (a defining feature of pervasive developmental disorders) are shared with genetic influences on other domains of behavior in children. Method: Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL) and Social Responsiveness Scales (SRS) were completed for an epidemiological sample of 219 pairs of male twins. The SRS (formerly known as the Social Reciprocity Scale) is a measure of social impairment that distinguishes children with autism spectrum disorders from those with other child psychiatric disorders. Results: Regression analysis indicated that CBCL syndromes account for 43% of the variance in SRS scores. Bivariate analyses revealed that SRS scores are affected, in part, by phenotypic influences from the CBCL Social Problem syndrome. Forty-four percent of the causal influences on SRS scores, however, are independent from those on CBCL syndromes and are genetic in nature (90% confidence interval: 0.38-0.49). Conclusion: These results support the existence of a continuous distribution of deficits in reciprocal social behavior in the population, which are substantially genetically independent from other domains of child psychopathology. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2003, 42(4):458-467. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the prevalence and agreement of DSM-IV diagnoses based on Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV) and clinician assignment for youths receiving public mental health services between 1996 and 1997 and to examine potential predictors of diagnostic agreement. Method: Participants included 240 youths aged 6-18 years. Past-year prevalence rates and κ statistics were calculated for four diagnostic categories: anxiety, mood, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Potential predictors of diagnostic agreement were examined with logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of ADHD, DBD, and anxiety disorders was significantly higher based on the DISC-IV, while the prevalence of mood disorders was significantly higher based on clinician assignment. Diagnostic agreement was poor overall. The κ values ranged from -0.04 for anxiety disorders to 0.22 for ADHD. Significant predictors of agreement varied by diagnosis and included symptom severity, comorbidity, youth age and gender, and school-based problem identification. Conclusions: Consistent with previous findings of poor diagnostic agreement between structured interviews and clinicians, these results call for a better understanding of factors affecting diagnostic assignment across different methods. This is especially important if researchers continue to use structured interviews to determine prevalence, establish diagnosis-based treatment guidelines, and disseminate evidence-based treatments to community mental health settings. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2003, 42(3):349-356. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which assessed the latent class structure of the Anxious/Depressed syndrome of the Child Behavior Checklist. Methodology and results; Clinical implications; Limitations of the study.

Provides information on a study which examined the ways diagnostic techniques may bias the results of a twin behaviors study. Estimation of genetic, environmental, and rater contrast which may have influenced parental report on behavioral problems in twin pairs; Analysis of the parental report on the Child Behavior Checklist.

Performs latent class analyses (LCA) of items from the Attention Problems scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to test whether problems in children are continiously distributed or categorically discrete. Merits of categorical versus continous approaches in psychiatric diagnosis; Factor analysis as one advantage of LCA to other approaches; Description of LCA as a statistical technique.

Presents a study which attempted to validate the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for females with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while investigating the distribution of the symptoms. Details on data from a large general population of adolescent female twins; Definition of ADHD; Methodology used to conduct the study; Results of the study.

Determines whether systematic assessment of patients with borderline personality disorder would reveal characteristic features of that condition which would distinguish it from other conditions. Relation of borderline personality disorder with Briquet's syndrome of hysteria, somatization disorder, antisocial personality disorder and substance abuse disorders.

The goal of this session is to equip practicing clinicians with the ability to implement family-based wellness and health promotion interventions as part of their day-to-day practice. The first component of the Workshop will explain the scientific rationale for making wellness and health promotion activities a core element of child psychiatry practice. Family-wide wellness and health promotion activities, as described in models such as the Vermont Family-Based Approach, can be readily brought into a clinician's standard practice. [Extracted from the article]

Meditation has been proven to be an effective tool for treatment in adults and children. We will review some basic meditation techniques for young children, adolescents, and parents, and we will examine the efficacy of meditation as a treatment technique. Evidence-based literature on the basics on meditation and the relationship between meditation and mental health in children, adolescents, and families will be presented. [Extracted from the article]

The University of Vermont Wellness Environment (UVM WE) was created based on the principles of behavior change neuroscience and incentivizes college students to make healthy choices. This study aims to determine the most effective ways to target the WE student population by surveying current WE students regarding their use of various communication platforms. WE uses email as the primary form of communication with students, but results showed that only 35.12% of WE student respondents open their emails from WE between 67 and 100% of the time. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented for a section on longitudinal research in developmental psychopathology with specific attention given to a report on the Netherlands Twin Registry, a longitudinal birth cohort.

Substantiated and unsubstantiated reports of maltreatment are associated with similar risk of emotional and behavioral problems. However, substantiation status often determines service provision. We examined substantiated and unsubstantiated reports to identify patterns of recurrence over a five-year period and identified family risk factors that predicted recurrence patterns. We studied a subsample (N = 246,021) of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System from 2011–2015. Measures included child, caregiver, and child protective services case characteristics obtained in 2011. We used latent class analysis to identify heterogeneous classes, then entered class membership as the outcome variable in a multinomial logistic regression to identify risk factors. Four latent classes emerged: (1) initial unsubstantiation and moderate recurrence, (2) initial unsubstantiation and low recurrence, (3) initial substantiation and moderate recurrence, and (4) initial substantiation and low recurrence. Domestic violence (relative risk ratio (RRR) = 2.56, β = 0.94, SE =.02, p <.001), caregiver substance abuse (RRR=2.23, β=0.80, SE=.02, p <.001), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (RRR=1.67, β=0.52, SE=.11, p <.001), predicted initial substantiation status but were not meaningful predictors of long-term recurrence. Prior substantiated report and poverty predicted initial substantiation status (report RRR=1.50, β=0.41, SE=.02, p <.001; poverty RRR=1.50, β=0.41, SE=.02, p <.001) and long-term recurrence (report RRR=2.60, β=0.96, SE=.02, p <.001; poverty RRR = 1.35, β=0.30, SE=.02, p <.001). Asian American race predicted low recurrence rates (RRR=2.09, β=0.74, SE=.12, p <.001). Similar recurrence patterns between substantiated and unsubstantiated reports emphasize the importance of providing services regardless of substantiation status. Integrating administrative databases may reveal more variables that predict long-term recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

David Orme-Johnson, PhD, will report results from 3 RCTs of transcendental meditation (TM) at 3 high schools in Taiwan. Chris Busch, PhD, will report on an RCT of TM for students at 6 public high schools in Chicago. Data from these presentations suggest that TM may confer a host of beneficial outcomes to high school students, including reduced criminal activity, increased school attendance, and improvements in cognitive ability, basic skills, behavior, grade point average, dropout rate, and ADHD symptoms. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the need to support all expectant mothers especially if the mother has had adverse childhood experiences (ACE) as of 2018. It references the article "Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Infant Development" by N Racine et al in a "Pediatrics" 2018 issue. Topics covered include a mother's transmission of vulnerability to her child's development through maternal behavior, and the impact of ACEs on parenting and subsequent child development.

Withdrawn behavior is present in many psychological problems and it is often used interchangeably with other psychological constructs, making accurate classification difficult. In an effort to better understand the classification and developmental course of withdrawn behavior in youth, the current study used parent-report to assess 649 Dutch youth at three time points across eight years, using the Withdrawn/Depressed (W/D) scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Mean age of participants at each time point are 7.52 (Wave 1), 11.77 (Wave 2), and 15.53 (Wave 3) years. Latent class analysis and latent transition analysis was employed to empirically derive distinct subclasses of withdrawn youth and to examine how these youth transition between classes over time. Most youth fell within a low symptom class (Time 1 = 79.4%, Time 2 = 79.2%, Time 3 = 68.5%). A shy/secretive class also emerged (Time 1 = 20.6%, Time 2 = 20.8%, Time 3 = 31.5%). For girls, the interpretation of the shy/secretive class changed at Time 3 (e.g., ages 14–17 years), such that the majority of girls in this class also exhibited depressed mood. The majority of youth remained in the same class over time. This study used a model-based person-centered approach to derive classes of withdrawn behavior over time. The W/D subscale could be used as a brief screening tool for early detection of the shy/secretive behavioral phenotype, which may be a risk factor for later psychopathology. It is recommended that future studies identify predictors of class transition and investigate whether withdrawn classes predict diagnostic outcome. Highlights: This study was the first latent class and transition analysis of the CBCL W/D scale. A low symptom withdrawn class and shy/secretive withdrawn class emerged. For adolescent girls, the shy/secretive class included elevated depressed mood. Most youth remained in the same withdrawn class over time. This study used a model-based person-centered approach to study youth withdrawn behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Vermont Wellness Environment (WE) was created based on the principles of behavior change neuroscience and is a health promotion program that incentivizes college students to make healthy choices. The primary objective of this research was to test the efficacy and effectiveness of the University of Vermont WE program through the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) intervention. For the AUDIT measure, only the CAU group reflected a statistically significant decrease in referrals from the SBIRT criteria from survey 1 (47.0%) to survey 2 (42.3%) [ SP 2 sp (1, N = 814) = 4.78, p = 0.0288]. [Extracted from the article]

"Big Data" refers to a massive volume of data that usually require large computational resources to be processed. This Symposium will provide an update and future perspective on big data for child and adolescent psychiatry practice, provide the audience with information that helps to interpret current and future big data studies, and discuss ethical issues. [Extracted from the article]

The goal of this session is to review articles chosen by the Lifelong Learning Committee addressing current concepts and understanding on topical areas of brain development, health promotion and illness prevention, and genetic testing approaches. 1) Understanding brain development during the transitional-age period (ages 14-25 years) is essential for all child and adolescent psychiatrists to better understand how to prevent lifelong suffering. 3) Emotional behavioral health promotion and illness prevention should be principle components of all preschool-age programs. [Extracted from the article]

Child and adolescent psychiatrists generally operate in a model that focuses on the identification and treatment of illness once a youth is symptomatic, yet this belies the substantial and growing literature addressing effective primary and secondary prevention measures to scaffold healthy brain development. These evidence-based wellness modules are then implemented via mindfulness-based health promotion (MBHP) to enhance focus, compassion, and awareness in the process of promoting family well-being, preventing mental illness morbidity, and addressing the remaining symptoms. MBHP presents a new opportunity to combine evidence-based mindfulness practices with a health-promotion approach to foster development of neuroprotective habits to buoy healthy youth and family development. [Extracted from the article]

2.0 Impact on Youth by Marijuana's Changing Legal Status and Access: Implications for Clinicians. [Extracted from the article]

An abstract of the article "Bullying, Externalizing Problems and Team Sports" by James J. Hudziak and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "University of Vermont Wellness environment, year one: A neuroscience-inspired behavioral change program for college students" by James J. Hudziak and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Early Environmental Exposures as Shared and Unique Risk Factors in Childhood Mental Illness: Results From Large-Scale Epidemiological Studies" by Dorothy E. Grice and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Exercise, Music, Mindfulness, and Parent Training: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Prescriptions for Health Promotion" by James J. Hudziak is presented.

An abstract of the article "Health and Resilience in an Integrated Care Model" by James J. Hudziak is presented.

The article discusses the significance of behavioral genetics (BG) in child and adolescent psychiatry. It mentions that BG would provide sensible foundation on understanding the causality in child psychiatry. It states that BG would use large samples of twins, siblings and families to do molecular genetic studies.

In this article the authors discuss their sentiments on the report which examines the role of life stressors in psychiatric illness. They say that the ramifications of the findings of the study for the treatment of psychopathology among low socioeconomic status (SES) youth are striking. They emphasize that the child appraisal of the illness severity of his parents can elevate or mitigate his risk for psychiatric disorders. They stress that further studies should be conducted.