Aspects Of Psychopathology Research Articles

Evolutionary psychology and social work

ABSTRACT Evolutionary psychology (EP) has become an important metatheory over the past three decades. EP is centered upon Darwin’s theory of natural selection and how this process has played an important role in the development of the human brain and behavior. Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain biological phenomena in terms of evolutionary forces, in this case brain structure and function, which directly impacts human behavior. There has been a remarkable increase in empirical evidence in regards to the merits of this theory and it has been able to partially explain certain features of aggression, sexual behavior, anxiety, depression, and numerous other aspects of cognition, emotions, and psychopathology. This literature review examines the origins, actors, principles, and evidence in the development of this theory and how evolutionary psychology can be applied to the social work profession.

Epidemiological profile of perinatal mental disorders at a tertiary hospital in Yaoundé- Cameroon.

In developing countries, 15.6% of pregnant women and 19.8% after childbirth experience a mental disorder. In the absence of data on the situation in Cameroon, we carried out a study to determine the prevalence of perinatal mental illness in this hospital and its risk factors among women in perinatal period and the relationship between both at the Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital, a reference mother and child hospital. We conducted a hospital-based, cross sectional, observational study. Data was collected using structured and semi-structured interviews. There were six sub-themes covered: participants' socio-demographic profile, clinical profile, perinatal history, psychopathology aspects with the Mini International Psychiatric Interview, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the perinatal mental illness risk factors. Data entry was done using Microsoft Excel 2010 and transferred to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23.0 for analysis. Among 194 women who participated in the study, the general prevalence for perinatal mental disorders was 53.6% (104/194), 25.8% among pregnant women and 27.8% among postnatal women. Comorbidities were present in 17.5% of our study population. We observed that 45.8% suffered from depression, 17% had a risk of suicide, 10.3% suffered from perinatal anxiety, 3.1% presented with post-traumatic stress disorder, 3.6% acute stress disorder, 7.7% had adjustment disorder. Concerning risk factors, we found a significant link between depression and severe anxiety before delivery (p < 0.05) and the absence of social support (p = 0.005). We found that women with at least four risk factors were 1.6 times more likely to present with a perinatal mental disorder. The prevalence of perinatal mental disorders at this Hospital is very high. This highlights the need for institutional screening and management of perinatal mental disorders, which suggests that we explore the situation in others and other health facilities in Cameroon.

COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF DEPRESSION IN VICTIMS OF RADIATION ACCIDENTS, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND WARS.

The relevance of the work is due to the significant increase in depression with cognitive disorders (CD) worldwide, and in Ukraine in particular, in victims of emergencies situations (ES), and the importance, but insufficient development of clinical and psychopathological aspects of medical and psychological-psychiatric care for this contingent of people. Despite the modern achievements of psychiatry in the study of depression in ES, an important problem is CD, which worsen the quality of life of patients, increase the risk of relapse, progressive course, and suicidal behavior. In order to improve the level of psychological and psychiatric care for depressed patients with CD in post-stress disorders by radiation accidents, the COVID-19 pandemic, and wars, the study of domestic and foreign literature on these disorders, which have both common features and certain differences, was conducted.Conclusions. The study confirms the significant prevalence of depression with CD in victims of radiation accidents, the COVID-19 pandemic, and wars, the insufficient development of clinical and psychopathological aspects and theneed for further study of this problem, as well as the creation of state measures of psychological and psychiatric care for these patients.

Psychopathological intersection of OCD and PTSD: scoping review of similitudes and differences.

Although Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder have distinct diagnostic criteria, some psychopathological phenomena seem to be shared, what may lead to misdiagnosis and to wrong therapeutical decisions. This scoping review explores the psychopathological similitudes and differences of both disorders. It followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations and included articles published in Portuguese, English or Spanish in the last 50 years in the PubMed database. Case-reports were excluded. Fifty-three studies with different designs were included (30(56.5%) were cross-sectional; 8 (15.1%) were case control; 1 (1.9%) was cohort; 3 (5.7%) were clinical trials; 9 (17.0%) were reviews/systematic reviews; and 2 (3.8%) were meta-analysis.). The main described interfaced psychopathological aspects by the included studies were flashbacks x obsessions; avoidant behavior; depressive, anxious, and somatic symptoms; sexuality, sleep, and appetite; psychiatric comorbidities; and suicidality. The intersection of clinical features seems to be on the extrinsic psychopathological dimension. The psychopathological symptoms core (intrinsic characteristics) is distinctly different, since flashbacks and obsessions are consequences of predominant diverse defective mental function: the former from memory, the last from thought. In the same way, the avoidant behaviors are derived from different purposes and inner necessities.

Intimate Female Partner Homicide Suicide: demographic and psychopathology aspects of perpetrators and a potential not yet classified diagnostic entityAnalyses of data taken from newspapers in Italy from 2009 to 2019.

The homicide of the female partner followed by suicide of the perpetrator (Intimate Female Partner Homicide Suicide - IFPHS) has been a growing phenomenon over last years, but its psychosocial and psychopathological aspects have not been analyzed in-depth yet. The aim of this study was to investigate common psychopathological elements in different IFPHS and a specific risk profile for both the couple and the male partner, with the possibility to define a new serial mental condition not classified to date. A series of 50 cases of greater media coverage was reconstructed from the Italian newspapers in the period from 2009 to 2019 and information was collected through a predefined form. The characteristics of the perpetrators and the modalities through which the events occurred have been considered. No definite mental disorder is present in the history of almost all cases. A more common psychological profile is found for the homicide/suicide male partner, mainly characterized by jealousy, possessiveness, mood reactivity, rage, and impulsiveness. It can be hypothesized that such a severe act may express a form of mental disorder not yet classified, with main features of an acute state of mixed depressive mood, emotional discontrol and aggressive impulsiveness, on a personality basis of jealousy and possessiveness, possibly reinforced by previous dependent traits of the female partner. But the methodological limitations of gathering information from the press make it necessary the study in depth, based on more direct and objective methodologies, of such a highly dramatic and heterogeneous phenomenon.

Testing the internet addiction model based on psychopathological aspects, personality, and social cognition mediated by coping strategies and internet use expectations

Testing the internet addiction model based on psychopathological aspects, personality, and social cognition mediated by coping strategies and internet use expectations

Whole brain correlates of individual differences in skin conductance responses during discriminative fear conditioning to social cues.

Understanding the neural basis for individual differences in the skin conductance response (SCR) during discriminative fear conditioning may inform on our understanding of autonomic regulation in fear-related psychopathology. Previous region-of-interest (ROI) analyses have implicated the amygdala in regulating conditioned SCR, but whole brain analyses are lacking. This study examined correlations between individual differences in SCR during discriminative fear conditioning to social stimuli and neural activity throughout the brain, by using data from a large functional magnetic resonance imaging study of twins (N = 285 individuals). Results show that conditioned SCR correlates with activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/anterior midcingulate cortex, anterior insula, bilateral temporoparietal junction, right frontal operculum, bilateral dorsal premotor cortex, right superior parietal lobe, and midbrain. A ROI analysis additionally showed a positive correlation between amygdala activity and conditioned SCR in line with previous reports. We suggest that the observed whole brain correlates of SCR belong to a large-scale midcingulo-insular network related to salience detection and autonomic-interoceptive processing. Altered activity within this network may underlie individual differences in conditioned SCR and autonomic aspects of psychopathology.

Claustration, hikikomori, visites à domicile : la Société Médico-Psychologique en 1953 avec Louis Gayral

The 170th anniversary of the Société Médico-Psychologique is an opportunity to update the work of a great clinician from Toulouse, Professor Louis Gayral, and the foresight of the Annales Médico-Psychologiques for having published in 1953 his voluminous article of 27 pages on “claustration”, we say today “acute social withdrawal/hikikomori”. This conduct consists in withdrawing from society and relationships with others, at least from real life relationships. This is a difficulty encountered by our contemporary societies which, like an addiction, tends to recur. It includes a young person, an entourage, a particular state of society. Gayral's work shows that this conduct was described in 1953, and we propose to compare his description with the current description. This clinician generally identifies the transnosographic and dimensional aspects, what he calls the “choice of the symptom”, approached at the level of the individual, his unconscious and his own experience. This symptom seems to him a major symptom in mental pathology. It would not only be symptoms of a disease but of a conflict between a sick person and the world, while recognizing that the societal aspect cannot be identical today. It supports ideas that are the common thread today of transnosographic and societal reflection concerning social withdrawal/hikikomori. Thus, mental illness is for him the encounter of a personality, at a particular given moment, with a series of circumstances or multiple and entangled causes. Clinician “from theorization to pragmatism”, he therefore develops the dimensional aspects. His definition of claustration is that of a narrowing of existence to a restricted and materially enclosed space, with a reference to the rules and uses of social life. There are negative signs such as the absence of organic disorders and in particular paralyzing neurological disorders, the absence of psychomotor disorders, the absence of asthenia of organic origin. The refusal of receiving visits from doctors would in practice be an excellent symptom of morbidity. It compares to the definition of hikikomori as confinement at home for more than 6 months, with a significant restriction of social and family relations, without motor or psychiatric disorders likely to explain the confinement, associated with impaired faculties or a feeling of hardship. Several questions are detailed in the article according to the 2 clinical themes of claustration and social withdrawal/hikikomori: transnosographic aspects at the borders of psychosis or its prodromal stage, psychopathological aspects with attachment ties, sociological aspects of opposition to the world, the position of the entourage in the face of such a conduct disorder. Returning as Gayral suggests to a clinical attitude joins the current advances in the field.

Negative and positive personification of multiple sclerosis: Role in psychological adaptation

ObjectiveIllness personification theory posits that individuals suffering from chronic illness ascribe human characteristics to their illness, which impacts their adaptation. Whereas negative or malevolent personification of chronic illness derails adaptation, positive or benevolent personification yields a complex pattern with aspects of adaptation. This study aimed to examine, for the first time, the role of personification of multiple sclerosis (MS). MethodA two-wave design was implemented with 90 people with MS (PwMS) at T1 (2019) and 60 at T2 (2020). The Ben-Gurion University Illness Personification Scale (BGU-IPS) was administered alongside a host of adaptation-related variables relating to salutogenic, psychological, psychopathological and health aspects. The intent was to replicate the 2-factor structure of the IPS and examine associations with adaptation variables. ResultsThe 2-factor structure of the BGU-IPS was replicated by Principal Component Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, with good to excellent test-retest reliability.for negative (ICC = 0.81; p < .001) as well as for positive personification scale (ICC = 0.76; p < .001). Negative personification was associated with elevated levels of psychological and psychopathological aspects, as well as low levels of heath related-adaption and salutogenic adaption. Positive personification was associated with salutogenic adaption. In addition, exploratory longitudinal analyses revealed that negative personification at T1 significantly predicted anxiety, physical problems, pain frequency and fatigue frequency at T2, while controlling for the variable's T1 measurements, while positive personification at T1 significantly predicted intolerance of uncertainty at T2. ConclusionThe findings depict negative personification as a risk factor for adaptation in MS and call for a detailed exploration of the meaning of positive personification.

Pandemic experiences and psychopathological aspects in individuals with mood disorders and other mental disorders.

Individuals with different personality traits, temperaments, and psychological symptoms have different attitudes toward the pandemic experiences and restrictive measures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the associations between the psychological factors and the attitudes toward COVID-19, experienced during the third pandemic wave in Italy, in a sample of individuals with psychiatric disorders. Between March and September 2021, 53 patients with mood disorders and other mental disorders completed a survey composed of self-report questionnaires that assessed sleep quality, depressive and hypomanic symptoms, and temperament and personality traits. Positive and negative attitudes toward the pandemic experience were assessed using an ad hoc questionnaire. The results showed that individuals with more severe depressive symptoms were less prone to adhere to government guidelines, and were more convinced that the pandemic was not a real problem. Reduced sleep quality was associated with increased skepticism toward official explanations concerning the causes of COVID-19. Lastly, negative affect and cyclothymic temperament predicted the disposition toward COVID-19 vaccines. In conclusion, these findings highlighted that some psychological aspects and psychiatric symptoms could influence the beliefs about COVID-19 and compliance with government recommendations. Further research is needed to provide indications on how to improve the current healthcare policies.

Psychopathological aspects of sexting and IBSA perpetrators: A brief research report.

IntroductionIBSA has been defined as taking, distributing, and/or making threats to distribute, a sexual image without a person's consent, and up to date there is still limited research on IBSA perpetration and characteristics of IBSA perpetrators. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify characteristics of IBSA perpetrators, in order to guide future intervention and prevention programs.MethodsAn online survey was conducted regarding IBSA related behaviors and psychopathology. The original sample comprised 1,370 Spanish college students (74% females).ResultsThe IBSA perpetrator subsample comprised 284 participants (49.5% females). Our findings indicate that perpetrators are more commonly males, with higher psychopathology scores, especially in hostility scales, with previous IBSA victimization experiences, and who usually target friends, to have fun or as a joke, or partners, to flirt. Furthermore, when examining intragroup differences regarding perpetration level of severity, results showed that those who reported engaging in the most severe forms of IBSA reported higher rates of psychopathology and hostility. Yet, to intervene in those who present more severe behaviors, we must also pay attention to depression, somatization and sleep disturbances.ConclusionsIBSA perpetrators share key factors that could be targeted in forensic and clinical interventions, and that should be taken into account when designing effective offender intervention programs. Intervention programs should focus on anger-management issues that help reduce perpetrators' hostility and anxiety symptoms, and should also be aimed at modifying attitudes that justify perpetration behaviors and contribute to harmful interactions with their friends or to intimate partner violent dynamics.

Body Image and Body Mass Index Influence on Psychophysical Well-Being in Bariatric Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Psychophysical factors may have an impact on the disease of obesity, and it is important to explore which aspects may play an important role on the well-being of obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the associations of a high body mass index (BMI) and greater dissatisfaction with body image with higher levels of psychopathological aspects, feelings of hopelessness, and psychological and physical health in patients undergoing evaluation for bariatric surgery. Methods: Fifty-nine patients undergoing bariatric surgery filled out the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Body Uneasiness Test, the 12-item Short Form Survey, the Beck Inventory Scale II, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Correlations and hierarchical regressions between measures were performed. Results: Dissatisfaction with the perception of one’s own body image was strongly correlated with a worse psychophysiological health. On the contrary, BMI showed no significant correlation with the previous variables. Furthermore, the perception of one’s own body image significantly predicted the state of psychological health. Conclusions: The findings showed a more relevant role of body image compared to the BMI in the association with psychological outcomes, suggesting the importance of considering body image in the assessment and treatment of obese patients requiring bariatric treatment.

Examining patterns of executive functioning across dimensions of psychopathology

Background and objectivesThe current study examined relationships between psychopathology and individual domains of executive functioning (EF) amongst adults. While previous studies have examined these relationships using diagnostic groups, we compared factor structures of both dimensional psychopathology and EF and used an approach to better isolate EF-specific task variance within each domain. MethodsThis study analyzed the data of 722 individuals between the ages of 18–59 years, who took part in the Nathan Kline Institute (NKI)-Rockland project. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to derive a three-factor model of EF (i.e., inhibition, shifting, and fluency) proposed by Karr et al. (2019) with scores primarily from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), as well as a three-factor model of psychopathology (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorder symptoms) from the Adult Self-Report (ASR) and Peter's et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI). These models were compared using structural equation modeling. ResultsResults demonstrated an adequate fit for both model structures and indicated that internalizing and externalizing psychopathology had positive and negative relationships with different factors of EF, while thought disorder traits were not related to EF. LimitationsThis study examines pathological traits within a non-clinical sample that excluded individuals with severe mental illness. Additionally, analyses were limited by the availability of certain variables, and potential shared method variance within factors. ConclusionsPatterns of associations with EF were unique to all three aspects of dimensional psychopathology. When examined together, different dimensions of psychopathology were related to both better and worse EF performance.

A study of the association between polymorphisms in the genes for interleukins IL-6 and IL-10 and negative symptoms subdomains in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness manifested by various symptoms. Negative symptoms (NS) are associated with disability and poor function of patients. The study of NS neurobiology is complicated by their heterogeneity. Factor analysis revealed two distinct NS subdomains with different pathophysiological mechanisms: volitional pathology, including avolition and apathy (AA), and diminished expression (DE). Inflammation is one mechanism that may underlie NS, including their heterogeneity. To search for the association between genes for interleukins (IL-6 -174 G/C, IL-10 -592 C/A, and IL-10 -1082 G/A) and NS subdomains. The study included 275 patients with schizophrenia. NS factors were calculated based on the Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale. There was a significant main effect of IL-10 polymorphisms on the AA, but not the DE subdomain. Mean score on the AA subdomain was higher in the IL-10 -592 AA compared to the CC genotype. Differences between IL-10 -1082 G/A genotypes were dose dependent. The lowest score was observed for the IL-10 -1082 GG genotype. The association between the IL-6 -174 G/C polymorphism and AA scores was close to the level of significance. Patients with the IL-6 -174 GG genotype had higher score compared to the AA genotype. The results provide further neurobiological evidence for the validity of the NS factor categorization. An imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines because of genetic variations is associated with the AA NS subdomain that is supposed to be a more severe aspect of psychopathology compared to the DE.

Development and validation of a scale for the tendency to exercise in response to mood, eating, and body image cues: the Reactive Exercise Scale (RES).

Earlier work on engaging in physical exercise when experiencing negative affect demonstrated robust associations with eating disorder (ED) behaviors and attitudes; however, measurement of the behavior was primitive, relying on one yes/no question that cannot capture much variability. We report on the development of a self-report measure, the Reactive Exercise Scale (RES), that disentangles the tendency to engage in exercise in response to negative mood cues from the tendency to engage in exercise in response to eating and body image cues, which themselves may be associated with negative mood. The measure also assesses exercising in response to positive mood cues. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) guided item and factor selection. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in an independent sample tested a 3-factor solution-exercising in response to negative mood cues, eating and body image cues, and positive mood cues. Correlations with exercise attitudes, eating disorder and body image attitudes, mood, and personality were used to evaluate construct validity. Results supported the 3-factor structure and indicated that exercising in response to negative mood cues may not uniquely relate to most aspects of ED psychopathology when accounting for eating and body image cues, which themselves are associated with negative mood. The RES captures the tendency to exercise in response to negative mood, positive mood, and eating and body image cues. Together, these constructs allow researchers to examine the unique relations of negative mood cued exercise with ED constructs, while accounting for appearance-related motives for which exercise may also be used. Level III: evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case-control analytic studies.

Positive and psycho-pathological aspects between shame and shamelessness.

Interpersonal relationships represent an essential aspect of mental wellbeing and social functioning. If all the symptoms contain a relational meaning, shame represents the relational affect par excellence both in terms of its origin and its purpose. This paper aims to highlight the role of shame as an affect inherent in the rhythmic nature of the encounter with the other, as well as the pathological elements of this aspect in both its conscious and unconscious dimensions. There is a heterogeneous quantitative and qualitative declination of shame, or of the defenses against this affect, among the various pathologies. We consider the fundamental needs of belonging and acceptance and the parallel abandonment anguish from various psychoanalytic and philosophical theoretical perspectives and then analyze the link between their dissatisfaction and the origin of shame. We also touch on the different interpretaions of shame based on eastern and western cultural norms. These hypotheses are closely intertwined with the beliefs of classical psychopathology. The role of the body in the encounter with the other and in the experience of shame is also examined. In particular, we study the role of this affect in schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, and personality disorders.

Eating Disorder Symptoms as a Risk Factor for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Women: A Pilot-study

ABSTRACT Introduction Eating and sexual behavior are driven by neurological mechanisms that are extremely intertwined; emerging evidence indicates that their deep relationship can be mediated by the presence of specific psychopathologies. Objective To investigate the relationship between female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and eating disorders (EDs). Methods 123 retrospectively recruited women consulting for FSD underwent physical examination and completed the following validated questionnaires: Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (FSDS-R), Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Binge Eating Scale (BES), Emotional Eating Scale (EES), Barrat Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Y (STAI Y), Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R), Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES). Moreover, demographic, medical and psycho-sexuological data were obtained through a structured interview. Results In relation to menopausal status, we did not observe any significant difference in all the investigated questionnaires in pre- vs. postmenopausal women. When stratifying patients for BMI (&amp;lt;25, 25-30, &amp;gt;30 kg/m2) we found that all the scores related to EDE-Q subscales were significantly different among the three subgroups (all p&amp;lt;0.001). Furthermore, patients with a history of Unwanted Sexual Experience (USE) had significantly higher BES (p=0.034) and EES (p=0.027) total scores compared with those without. Moreover, when we stratified our patients according to the clinical diagnosis of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), we found that those with HSDD showed a worst psychological profile than those without, in particular a higher score at EDE-Q and BDI (all p&amp;lt;0.05). In contrast, when stratifying patients for the other two main FSD diagnosis, Female Genital Arousal Disorder (FGAD) and Female Orgasm Disorder (FOD), no significant differences among all the investigated questionnaires were observed. To further verify the impact of the different psychopathological aspects on the risk of having HSDD, we found that the only questionnaires scores that contributed to this dysfunction were EDE-Q (OR 1.678, IC [1.164-2.421]; p=0.006), total BDI (OR 1.055, IC [1.006-1.107]; p=0.027) and SIS1 (OR 1.101, IC [1.109-1.190]; p=0.015), after adjustment for age. After simultaneous analysis in a multivariate model of the three questionnaires, we found that both a higher EDE-Q score and a higher SIS1 score were significant risk factors for HSDD (p=0.007 and p=0.034, respectively). Finally, we subdivided our patients into three groups: no Binge Eating (BE), sporadic BE and frequent BE, observing a significant positive association between frequency of BE and sexual distress, as assessed by FSDS-R total score. Conclusions In a population of women affected by FSD, ED traits could negatively affect sexual desire, representing a relevant risk factor for the clinical diagnosis of HSDD. Among all the investigated psychopathological aspects, the psychological alterations related to EDs seem to play a more pronounced effect on HSDD than other commonly accepted risk factors for sexual desire disorders, such as depression and increased inhibitory trait. In a clinical perspective, it would worth to investigate the relative change in FSD and ED after treatment for ED and vice versa. Disclosure No

Short measures of youth psychopathology: psychometric properties of the brief problem monitor (BPM) and the behavior and feelings survey (BFS) in a Norwegian clinical sample

BackgroundTracking clinical outcomes during therapy can be useful for improving both clinical practice and research. For repeated data collection, short, reliable, and valid measures of central aspects of psychopathology are necessary. The current paper investigates the psychometric properties of two short surveys for measuring central dimensions of psychopathology in youth.MethodsWe investigated the factor structure and validity of the Norwegian translations of the Behavior and Feelings Survey (BFS) and the Brief Problem Monitor (BPM). The BFS has previously shown a two-factor structure and indications of validity as a measure of internalizing and externalizing problems in youth. The BPM has support for a three-factor structure of internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems. In our sample of 503 patients (56% female, age 6 to 18) in a Norwegian outpatient clinic, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses to test the assumed measurement models and further considered the concurrent validity of the measures.ResultsInternal reliability of both measures were good. The results suggest that the assumed measurement models for both questionnaires only partly fit our data but that subscales of the BFS and BPM still indicate convergent validity. Scores on subscales (internalizing and externalizing problems) on both measures converged with relevant subscales as well as with relevant groups of diagnoses.ConclusionsAlternative measurement models, and the usefulness and limitations of these short-form questionnaires for internalizing and externalizing problems, are discussed.

The persistent effects of foetal growth on child and adolescent mental health: longitudinal evidence from a large population-based cohort.

Low birth weight for one's gestational age is associated with higher rates of child psychopathology, however, most studies assess psychopathology cross-sectionally. The effect of such foetal growth restriction appears to be strongest for attention problems in childhood, although adult studies have found associations with a range of outcomes, from depression to psychosis. We explore how associations between foetal growth and psychopathology change across age, and whether they vary by sex. We used a large nationally representative cohort of children from Ireland(N ~ 8000). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at 3 time points (age 9, 13 and 17). Outcomes included a total problems scale and subscales measuring attention/hyperactivity, peer, conduct and emotional problems. Foetal growth had significant associations with all problem scales, even after controlling for sex, socioeconomic factors and parental mental health. The magnitude of these effects was small but relatively stable across ages 9-17. In males, foetal growth had the strongest associations with attention/hyperactivity and peer problems, whereas females showed more widespread associations with all four subscales. There was a trend for the association between foetal growth and emotional problems to increase with advancing age, approaching the borderline-abnormal threshold by age 17. Reduced foetal growth predicted persistently higher scores on all measured aspects of child and adolescent psychopathology. Associations with child attention/hyperactivity may generalize to a wider array of adult psychopathologies via adolescent-onset emotional problems. Future studies should explore potential age-dependent effects of foetal growth into the early 20s.

A network analysis of post-traumatic stress among youth aging out of the foster care system

Network analysis is increasingly being used to explore interrelationships between symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS); nevertheless, no study to date has applied network theory to explore PTS in youth who are transitioning from foster care to independence. The present study estimated Adaptive LASSO and relative importance networks of PTS symptoms using the CIDI-PTSD Short Form (CIDI-SF) index from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs Study (2001–2010). Graph-theoretic algorithms including community detection and minimum spanning tree (MST; a unique, acyclic subnetwork with a fixed number of connections) were implemented to identify interconnected network symptom clusters. Two symptoms of emotional numbing (restricted affect and feeling detached) and two symptoms of intrusive reexperiencing (flashbacks, distressing dreams) emerged as the most important items in the network. The MST algorithm further revealed a backbone structure of PTSD that was centered on negative evaluations of the future. Feedback loops within the network were identified as well as symptoms that were highly predictive and potentially causal. Results strongly suggest that emotional numbing is a central aspect of psychopathology following experiences of complex trauma and home removal that merits special consideration in the diagnostic and treatment evaluation process of youth involved in the foster care system.