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Temperamental vulnerabilities (e.g., behavioral inhibition, anxiety sensitivity) and cognitive biases (e.g., interpretive and judgment biases) may exacerbate feelings of stress and anxiety, particularly among late adolescents during the early years of college. The goal of the present study was to apply person-centered analyses to explore possible heterogeneity in the patterns of these four risk factors in late adolescence, and to examine associations with several anxiety outcomes (i.e., worry, anxiety symptoms, and trait anxiety). Cluster analyses in a college sample of 855 late adolescents revealed a Low-Risk group, along with four reliable clusters with distinct profiles of risk factors and anxiety outcomes (Inhibited, Sensitive, Cognitively-Biased, and Multi-Risk). Of the risk profiles, Multi-Risk youth experienced the highest levels of anxiety outcomes, whereas Inhibited youth experienced the lowest levels of anxiety outcomes. Sensitive and Cognitively-Biased youth experienced comparable levels of anxiety-related outcomes, despite different constellations of risk factors. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study followed 106 international adoptees over an 18-month period. Mothers completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at 6, 12, and 24 months post-adoption, assessing their children's development in multiple domains. Results revealed that the sample overall demonstrated linear improvement over time in most domains, but children with initially low scores remained significantly lower than others at the 18-month follow-up. ASQ scores were unrelated to age at adoption, but significant differences by birth country emerged. Across most domains, children from Eastern Europe had generally lower scores than children from other birth regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to examine the interrelations between the sensitivity of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and attentional network functioning (i.e., the orienting, alerting, and executive attentional networks), with the aim of identifying a potentially relevant mechanism for understanding the relation between BIS sensitivity and the pathogenesis of anxiety and its disorders. To this end, 99 participants were recruited from the community and administered a questionnaire assessing BIS sensitivity, as well as the Attentional Network Test. Results demonstrated a significant association between BIS sensitivity and enhanced orienting attention. Further, BIS sensitivity predicted orienting attention above and beyond relevant covariates, including state negative affect. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of BIS sensitivity in the pathogenesis of pathological anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work is a descriptive study of preadoptive characteristics of families pursuing international adoptions. Families were recruited through six adoption agencies and two Internet-based support groups for internationally adopting parents. The sample included 256 prospective parents who responded to a survey assessing various aspects of preadoptive psychological functioning, family demographics and social support, preparation for the adoption, satisfaction with the agency, and expectations for the prospective adopted child. Results revealed that parents reported high levels of social support and low levels of psychological distress. Systematic birth country differences emerged in tile amount of information parents had regarding their prospective adopted children, with parents adopting from Korea having significantly more information than others. Expectations for children were related more consistently to child characteristics than to family variables, and most parents reported very positive expectations. Positive expectations for the prospective child were related to child age and family social support. Expectations of mild problems were related to the child's birth country, with parents adopting from Korea and Latin America expecting fewer mild problems than parents adopting from other countries. Expectations of serious problems were few and were related to children's age at adoption and anticipated special needs status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]