Impact of birth weight and genetic liability on psychopathology in children of bipolar parents

OBJECTIVE: To test different models for ways in which birth weight and familial loading influence the risk for psychopathology in bipolar offspring. METHOD: DSM-IV diagnoses of 140 bipolar offspring (12-21 years of age) were assessed with the K-SADS-PL. Parents were interviewed using the Family History-Research Diagnostic Criteria to determine familial loading of mood and substance use disorders. Parents reported the birth weight of their offspring. Age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios were calculated. RESULTS: Low birth weight was associated with mood and non-mood disorders in bipolar offspring (hazard ratio = 0.6, confidence interval = 0.4-0.8), even after controlling for familial loading of unipolar disorder, bipolar disorder, or substance use disorder. There were no significant interactions between birth weight and familial loading of unipolar disorder, familial loading of bipolar disorder, and familial loading of substance use disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight is associated with mood as well as non-mood disorders. This association is independent from the association of familial loading of mood and substance use disorder with mood- and non-mood disorders in bipolar offspring.     

Help seeking for emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents

In order to understand the discrepancy between rates of child and adolescent psychopathology and rates of mental health service use, variables influencing the help-seeking process need to be investigated. The present article aims to extend and refine previous findings by reviewing 47 recent empirical studies on parental and adolescent problem recognition and help seeking, and problem recognition by the general practitioner (GP). Several variables (child age, the presence of medical and school-related problems, informal help seeking, past treatment of parents or relatives, family size, and type of maltreatment) were discovered to influence parental/adolescent problem recognition and/or help seeking,while refinements were found for the effects of type of psychopathology, child gender, adolescent attitudes and personality, parental psychopathology, social support, and sociodemographic variables. Although recent studies uncovered several determinants of problem recognition by the GP (child gender, age, past treatment, academic problems, family composition, life events, type of visit, and acquaintance with child), this aspect of the help-seeking pathway remains relatively uncharted and, therefore, needs to be the focus of future research.     

Cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning of young children awaiting elective cardiac surgery or catheter intervention

AIMS: To assess the cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning of children aged 3 months to 7 years shortly before elective cardiac surgery or elective interventional catheterisation. METHODS: We used the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, to measure cognitive functioning. The Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess behavioural and emotional problems. RESULTS: We found no significant differences in mean cognitive scores for children scheduled for cardiac surgery or interventional catheterisation when compared with reference groups. This was also the case for children awaiting cardiac surgery as opposed to those awaiting interventional catheterisation, and for those below as compared to those above the age of 2.5 years. Overall, our results regarding behavioural and emotional functioning were comparable to those of normative reference groups. The only difference found was that the children scheduled for cardiac surgery and aged from 2 to 3 years had significantly higher scores on the Child Behavior Checklist than did peers from normative groups. CONCLUSION: Cognitive, and behavioural and emotional functioning, both for young children awaiting elective cardiac surgery and interventional catheterisation, can be considered as quite favourable.     

A pilot study of a test for visual recognition memory in adults with moderate to severe intellectual disability

Objective assessment of memory functioning is an important part of evaluation for Dementia of Alzheimer Type (DAT). The revised Picture Recognition Memory Test (r-PRMT) is a test for visual recognition memory to assess memory functioning of persons with intellectual disabilities (ID), specifically targeting moderate to severe ID. A pilot study was performed to investigate whether the r-PRMT could differentiate DAT-related memory decline from pre-existing poor memory functioning of persons with moderate to severe ID. The r-PRMT scores were compared between 26 participants with DAT and moderate to severe ID and 33 controls with similar levels of ID. The results revealed that the controls with DS showed uniformly high scores in contrast to those with DAT on the r-PRMT and the score distributions of two groups were distinctly different with no overlap. On the other hand, the controls with non-DS etiologies scored much lower with a wider score spread, resulting in significant overlap with the score distribution of the participants with DAT. In conclusion, the r-PRMT may be effective in identifying persons with DAT among persons with moderate to severe ID from DS. However, the r-PRMT may result in a high false positive error rate in discriminating those with DAT among persons with moderate to severe ID from non-DS etiologies, if the judgment is based on a single point assessment.     

Cognitive coping and childhood anxiety disorders

To investigate differences in cognitive coping strategies between anxiety-disordered and non-anxious 9–11-year-old children. Additionally, differences in cognitive coping between specific anxiety disorders were examined. A clinical sample of 131 anxiety-disordered children and a general population sample of 452 non-anxious children were gathered. All children filled out the child version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-k). Structured clinical interviews were used to assess childhood anxiety disorders. Results showed that anxiety-disordered children experience significantly more ‘lifetime’ negative life events than non-anxious children. Adjusted for the ‘lifetime’ experience of negative life events, anxiety-disordered children scored significantly higher on the strategies catastrophizing and rumination, and significantly lower on the strategies positive reappraisal and refocus on planning than non-anxious children. No significant differences in cognitive coping were found between children with specific anxiety disorders. Anxiety-disordered children employ significantly more maladaptive and less adaptive cognitive coping strategies in response to negative life events than non-anxious children. The results suggest that cognitive coping is a valuable target for prevention and treatment of childhood anxiety problems.     

A re-evaluation of k0 and related nuclear data for the 555.8 keV gamma-line emitted by the Rh-Rh mother–daughter pair for use in NAA

A re-evaluation is made of the k₀-factor and related nuclear data for the 555.8 keV gamma-ray of the ^104mRh-¹⁰⁴Rh mother–daughter pair that are important in neutron activation analysis (NAA). This study considers that the relevant level is also fed by the 4.34 min ^104mRh mother (with an absolute gamma-ray emission probability γ₂=0.13%) and not only, as assumed in former work, by the 42.3 s ¹⁰⁴Rh daughter isotope (with γ₃=2.0%). In view of this, generalised equations were developed for both the experimental determination and the analytical use of the k₀-factor and of the associated parameters k₀(m)/k₀(g), Q₀(m) and Q₀(g) [(m):^104mRh; (g): ¹⁰⁴Rh], requiring the introduction of the γ₂ and γ₃ data and also of the ^104mRh→¹⁰⁴Rh fractional decay factor F₂(=0.9987). The experimental determinations were based on irradiations performed in the BR1 reactor in Mol and the WWR-M reactor in Budapest. Furthermore, considering the special formation of the 555.8 keV gamma-ray, the procedure for true-coincidence correction was revised as well. All this led to the compilation and recommendation of a new set of ‘k₀-NAA’ data.     

Assessment of child psychopathology: relationships between different methods, different informants and clinical judgment of severity

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between information on children's problem behavior obtained by different methods (rating scales and clinical interviews) and from different sources (adolescent, parents and teacher). From a sample of 132 14-year-old international adoptees and their parents, information was obtained via the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Youth Self-Report and the Teacher's Report Form, the Child Assessment Schedule, and the Graham and Rutter Parent Interview. Agreement between the CBCL and the clinical judgment of the severity of psychopathology was substantial. Assessment procedures providing data on the adolescents' functioning derived from different sources revealed less agreement than those derived from the same informant. Agreement was higher for externalizing than for internalizing behaviors. Data from different sources made unique contributions to clinicians' judgments of the severity of psychopathology.