Behavioral Regulation Skills Research Articles

Short-Term Effects of an Outdoor Activities Intervention on Children’s Stress, Socio emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Regulation Skills

ABSTRACT Research Findings: In recent years, interest has grown in the potential benefits of outdoor activities (OA) for children’s development, particularly in promoting socioemotional, behavioral, and cognitive regulation skills and reducing stress. However, empirical evidence on the effects of OA programs for children in the first three years of life on these outcomes still needs to be provided. To address this gap, our study involved 95 infants and toddlers (girls = 48, M age = 23.3 months) attending child care centers in north and south Italy and their teachers. Participants were divided into two groups: the Outdoor group (n = 55), actively involved in the OA program for four months, and the Control group (n = 40), who followed the standard curriculum. We assessed the children’s cortisol levels and emotional, behavioral, and cognitive regulation skills before (T1) and after (T2) the implementation of the OA intervention. After the 4-month intervention, improvements in the children’s adaptive behavior (particularly in social interaction) and cognitive-behavioral regulation skills were observed only in the Outdoor group. Children’s stress levels remained stable. Practice or Policy: Our findings show the benefits of daily OA on young children’s self-regulation, suggesting to schools and families that increasing OA from the first years of life may support cognitive and social growth.

34 Severity of Traumatic Brain Injury Predicts Neurobehavioral Outcomes and White Matter Microstructure

Objective:Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability in children under the age of 15, often resulting in executive function deficits and poor behavioral outcomes. Damage to white matter tracts may be a driving force behind these difficulties. We examined if whether 1) greater TBI severity was associated with worse neurobehavioral outcome, 2) greater TBI severity was associated with tract-based white matter microstructure, and 3) worse neurobehavioral outcome was associated with white matter microstructure.Participants and Methods:Twelve children with complicated-mild TBI (cmTBI; Mage=12.59, nmale=9), 17 with moderate-to-severe TBI (msTBI; Mage =11.50, nmale=11), and 21 with orthopedic injury (OI; Mage =11.60, nmale=16), 3.94 years post injury on average, were recruited from a large midwestern children’s hospital with a Level 1 Trauma Center. Parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) while children completed 64-direction diffusion tensor imaging in a Siemens 3T scanner. White matter microstructure was quantified with FMRIB’s Diffusion Toolbox (FSLv6.0.4). Tract-Based Spatial Statistics computed fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) for the cingulum bundle (CB), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and uncinate fasciculus (UF), bilaterally.Results:Group differences were assessed using one-way ANOVA. Children with msTBI were rated as having worse Sluggish Cognitive Tempo on the CBCL than children with cmTBI and OI (p=.02, eta2=.143); no other parent-rated differences reached significance. Group differences were found in left SLF FA (p=.031; msTBI<cmTBI=OI) and approached significance in left UF FA (p=.062, eta2=.114; msTBI<OI). Group differences were also found in right IFOF MD (p=.048; msTBI>OI) and left SLF MD (p=.013; msTBI>cmTBI=OI). Bivariate correlations assessed cross-domain associations. Higher left IFOF FA was associated with better BRIEF Metacognitive Skills (r=-.301, p=.030) and CBCL School Competence (r=.280; p=.049). Higher left SLF FA was associated with better BRIEF Behavioral Regulation and Metacognitive Skills (r=-.331, p=.017 and r=-.291, p=.036, respectively), and CBCL School Competence and Attention Problems (r=.398, p=.004 and r=-.435, p=.001, respectively). Similarly, higher right UF FA was broadly associated with better neurobehavioral outcomes, including Behavioral Regulation and Metacognitive Skills (r=-.324, p=.019 and r=-.359, p=.009, respectively), and School Competence, Attention Problems, and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (r=.328, p=.020, r=-.398, p=.003, and r=-.356, p=.010, respectively). Higher right CB MD was associated with worse Behavioral Regulation (r=.327, p=.018) and more Attention Problems (r=.278, p=.046); higher left and right SLF MD was associated with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (r=.363, p=.008, r=.408, p=.003, respectively).Conclusions:Children with TBI, particularly msTBI, were rated as having cognitive slowing; while other anticipated group differences in neurobehavioral outcomes were not found, this appears driven by milder difficulties in cmTBI and OI groups. In fact, across CBCL and BRIEF subscales, children with msTBI were rated as approaching or exceeding a full standard deviation deficit based on normative data. TBI severity was also associated with white matter microstructure and cross-domain associations linked microstructure with observable neurobehavioral morbidities, suggesting a possible mechanism post-injury. Future longitudinal studies would be useful to examine the temporal evolution of deficits.

Effective therapeutic components in Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) for borderline personality disorder.

The study aimed to examine the relative contribution to borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptom change of two potential effective therapeutic components in a manualized group psychotherapy (Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving; STEPPS): development of emotional/behavior regulation skills and group alliance. A repeated measures design assessed BPD symptom change over time, use of behavior and emotion regulation skills taught in STEPPS, and perceptions of global alliance within the group. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Additional qualitative feedback was analyzed using quantitative content analysis. Data were collected from 14 STEPPS groups across three NHS Trusts. Forty participants completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Self-reported skill acquisition throughout STEPPS treatment and satisfaction with intragroup relationships at the group midpoint were associated with improvement in BPD symptoms at the end of treatment, once symptoms at the start and mid-point of treatment had been controlled for. These two factors also emerged as the top two factors cited in qualitative feedback to explain subjective improvements observed as a result of STEPPS treatment. This is the first study to investigate and find support for acquisition of emotion and behavior regulation skills in STEPPS and satisfaction with intragroup relationships as potential effective therapeutic components in the treatment. Causal relationships cannot be concluded from this study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Relationship Between Preschool Children's Self-Regulation Skills and Their Mothers' Parental Attitudes

The present study aimed to determine the link between self-regulation skills of pre-school children and mothers’ attitudes towards parenting. The research was performed with 392 mothers living in Hatay/Turkey with children aged 4-6. The data were collected using “The Self-Regulation Skills Scale for 4-6 year-old Children” and “The Parental Attitude Scale-Mother Form”. The results indicate that girls have higher attention and behavioral regulation skills compared to boys. While children’s working memory varies by age, it was seen that the order of birth did not change self-regulation scores. Parental attitudes are more negative among mothers aged 40 and over than those of younger ones, and mothers who completed primary education have lower levels of efficacy perceptions and show less affection to their children compared with high school and higher education graduates. A moderate positive correlation was discovered between the self-regulation skills of children and mothers’ parental attitudes. The results are discussed within the scope of the related literature and recommendations are offered.

Profiles and Risk Factors for Teen Dating Violence in Spain.

Teen dating violence (TDV) refers to a wide range of partner-directed harmful behaviors among adolescents. Since it was first documented in the 1980s, there is a growing interest in TDV due to its potentially devastating mid- and long-term consequences. Aiming at the early detection of TDV onset with prevention purposes, research has focused on the detection of typologies of perpetrators and/or victims as well as on identifying risk and protective factors for its occurrence. Research with Spanish adolescents, however, is very limited. To fill this gap, we recruited a total of 2,319 adolescents from different regions in Spain, out of which, 1,079 reported having had a romantic partner during the last year. These filled out measures of TDV (perpetration and victimization), school aggression, hostile and benevolent sexism, empathy, assertiveness, psychological inflexibility (general measures), and psychological inflexibility with prejudice thoughts. A cluster analysis revealed that adolescents could be divided into two clusters as a function of their TDV profile: Cluster 1, including close to 76% of the sample (boys and girls), presented low TDV perpetration and victimization; Cluster 2, including 24% of the sample (boys and girls), presented higher TDV perpetration and victimization. Regression analyses revealed that, as compared to those in Cluster 1, adolescents in Cluster 2 were more likely to be older boys who scored high in benevolent sexism, overt and relational school aggression, and personal distress, and low in behavior regulation skills, perspective taking, and practical personal ability. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design of evidence-based TDV prevention campaigns.

Understanding Changes in Adolescent Physical Activity Behaviors and Cognitions Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Despite accumulating evidence that has found significant negative declines in physical activity (PA) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, little work has sought to understand how PA cognitions have changed during this period and in relation to behavior change during the pandemic. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the changes in adolescents' PA behaviors and cognitions associated with COVID-19 and prospective predictors of PA using the Multi-Process Action Control (M-PAC) framework. Adolescents were recruited from a large school board and a total of 588 participants (Mage = 15.87 ± 0.43 years, 60% female) completed data collection in both Fall 2019 and 2020—prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed self-reported measures of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), participation in organized activities, and variables derived from the M-PAC framework. Mixed effects models were computed to examine longitudinal changes in MVPA and cognitions as well as whether cognitions prior to COVID-19 predict MVPA during COVID-19. A generalized estimating equations model was computed to examine longitudinal changes for participation in organized activities. Findings indicated that MVPA (B = −56.41, p < 0.01) and participation in organized activities (OR = 0.33, p < 0.01) significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correspondingly, there were significant decreases in intentions (B = −0.34), identity (B = −0.19), and habit (B = −0.20), though there were increases in behavioral regulation (B = 0.18). No significant changes were found in affective attitudes, instrumental attitudes, perceived opportunity, and perceived capability. Among the baseline M-PAC cognitions, habit (B = 46.28) was the lone significant predictor of MVPA during COVID-19. Overall results suggest that adolescents' PA behaviors and cognitions were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with promising evidence that restrictions prompted adaptive utilization of behavioral regulation skills. Moreover, habit appears to play a salient role in predicting PA behaviors during uncertain times involving major life disruptions. These findings highlight the need to dedicate additional attention to PA promotion as COVID-19 moves toward an endemic phase, and that interventions targeting habit formation may be critical for helping adolescents better sustain healthy active lifestyles during major life changes.

Differential Impact of a Universal Prevention Program on Academic Self-Efficacy: the Moderating Role of Baseline Self-Control

Self-control (SC) plays a critical role in development across the life course; poor SC is a common antecedent of outcomes with high public health and societal burden including lower educational and occupational attainment, problem substance use, depression, obesity, and antisocial behavior. Further, SC is associated with academic self-efficacy and academic success; therefore, optimizing SC in early childhood could have long-term health and educational implications. However, it remains unknown whether the impact of early childhood prevention programs varies by baseline levels of SC, and whether better SC in early childhood leads to better self-efficacy in adolescence. This study leverages a sample of predominately low-/middle-income Black participants (n = 678) who were part of a randomized universal preventive trial in first grade (1993-1995). Teacher-reported SC was measured at baseline. Utilizing a three-step latent transition analysis, transitions between SC classes and academic self-efficacy trajectories were explored. Intervention status was explored as a predictor of the transition. Results suggest that teacher-rated SC in early childhood predicts academic self-efficacy up to 11 years later. Moderation analyses suggest that there are individual differences in prevention program effectiveness by baseline behavioral regulation skills. Implications for school-based universal prevention programming having an impact on low risk children and methods for exploring moderation within a prevention context are discussed.

20.2 DISSEMINATING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PARENTCORPS TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM TO SCHOOLS IN UGANDA, NEPAL, AND THE UNITED STATES: STRATEGIES AND IMPACTS

Environments characterized by extreme poverty and violence, in which children are victims of abuse and neglect, occur around the globe. Toxic stressors and a range of social determinants combine to yield high levels of child social-emotional problems. Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) targeted at improving mental health in these populations that can be delivered in schools, might be transportable globally to populations with similar experience. Our study tests the transportability of the EBI ParentCorps-Professional Learning (PL) from a developed country (United States) to Uganda (U) and Nepal (N). ParentCorps-PL is a school-based early-childhood intervention that provides training for teachers and families in evidence-based strategies to promote children’s social-emotional and behavioral regulation skills. Based on the Framework of Translational and Implementation in Health Service Research, we examine implementation effectiveness with 40 schools (U/N = 10/30), 301 teachers (U/N = 99/202), and 700 students/families (U/N = 154/550). Teacher EBI practice and child social-emotional and mental health outcomes were assessed. Our study supported the fit and feasibility of transporting ParentCorps to different countries. Specifically, ParentCorps targets knowledge and skills that are relevant to Ugandan and Nepali teachers and families; the ParentCorps model that relies on school staff for implementation is pertinent and appealing to teachers; and the EBI is in line with governments’ policies. In addition, teacher and child outcome evaluation also found expected impacts, with significant effect on teachers’ knowledge (d = 1.03-1.36), use of EBI strategies (d = 0.55-1.74), and children’s social-emotional and behavioral outcomes (d = 0.30-1.03). Findings suggest the transportability of PL to diverse global populations. Also, reciprocal learning is effective in generating new implementation knowledge that improves the impacts of EBIs globally.

Bidirectionality in behavioral regulation, emotional competence, and expressive vocabulary skills: Moderation by preschool social-emotional programs

This study sought to explore the bidirectional associations between children's behavioral regulation (BR), emotional competence (EC), and expressive vocabulary (EV) skills. We examined the bidirectional relations between children's BR, EC, and EV within the context of an impact study of three social-emotional learning (SEL) programs and whether the bidirectional relations are moderated by the SEL program implemented. The findings revealed bidirectionality between these developmental skills across the full sample (n = 2114). The moderation analysis suggests that Preschool PATHS and Incredible Years' programs had similar cross-lagged paths between EC and EV skills. No bidirectional relations were found among children in Tools of the Mind classrooms. The SEL programs' moderating effect speaks to the unique role that these programs can play in directly improving children's skills and supporting the dynamic nature of skills development. Therefore, preschool programs can consider implementing SEL programs to support children's language and social and emotional needs.

Perceived organizational politics and turnover intentions: critical roles of social adaptive behavior and emotional regulation skills

AbstractWith a basis in conservation of resources theory, this study investigates how social adaptive behavior might mediate the relationship between employees' perceptions of organizational politics and their turnover intentions, as well as a buffering role of their emotional regulation skills as a critical personal resource. Data collected from employees in the food sector reveal that beliefs about dysfunctional political games spur turnover intentions, driven by employees' unwillingness to adjust themselves to the actions of their organizational colleagues. This mediating role of social adaptive behavior, or its lack, is less salient when employees have a greater ability to control their own emotions though. For organizations, this study accordingly pinpoints a key mechanism—a reluctance to accommodate other members' preferences—by which perceived organizational politics can escalate into a desire to leave the organization. It also reveals how this mechanism can be better contained by employees' ability to remain calm, even in difficult situations.

Behavior regulation skills are associated with adaptive functioning in children and adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure

Children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) experience a range of adverse outcomes that impact multiple domains of functioning, including cognitive, physical, mental health, behavioral, social-emotional, communication, and learning. To inform tailored clinical intervention, the current study examined the relation between caregiver-reported cognitive skills (executive function; EF) and adaptive functioning. The study conducted a secondary analyses of data provided by caregivers of 87 children and adolescents (aged 5–18 years, M = 11.7; 52% male) with confirmed PAE, including a subset (n = 70) with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), who reported on their child’s EF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) and adaptive function (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, 2nd Edition) skills. Findings from the current study showed that caregivers reported significantly poorer EF and adaptive functioning skills for children with PAE as compared to normative samples. Poorer behavior regulation skills were associated with all aspects of adaptive functioning (i.e., practical, conceptual, and social skills). Specifically, shifting skills emerged as the best predictor of adaptive functioning among children with PAE. These results highlight the possibility that targeting particular EF domains among individuals with PAE may benefit behavior regulation, which may also extend to adaptive skills. This highlights the need to develop EF interventions for children and adolescents who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol.

Adhering to COVID-19 health guidelines: Examining demographic and psychological predictors of adherence.

The effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID‐19) has relied heavily on the general public's compliance with health guidelines limiting social contact and mitigating risk when contact occurs. The aim of this study was to identify latent variables underlying adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines and to examine demographic and psychological predictors of adherence. A sample of US adults (N = 1,200) were surveyed in late April to mid‐May 2020. The factor structure of adherence was examined using exploratory factor analysis. Machine learning regression models using elastic net regularization were used to examine predictors of adherence. Two factors characterized adherence: avoidance and cleaning. Elastic net models identified differential demographic and psychological predictors of these two forms of adherence. Religious affiliation, denial coping, full‐time employment, substance use coping, and being 60 or older predicted lower avoidance adherence. Behavioral and mindfulness emotion regulation skills, agreeableness, and Democrat political affiliation predicted greater avoidance adherence. For cleaning adherence, interpersonal and behavioral emotion regulation skills and conscientiousness emerged as strong predictors of greater cleaning. Efforts to promote compliance with COVID‐19 health guidelines may benefit from distinguishing avoidance and cleaning adherence and considering predictors of each of these aspects of adherence.

Psychological conditions for the formation of adaptation potential of an individual in the learning process

&amp;nbsp; This article is dedicated to examination of psychological conditions of the formation of adaptation potential of an individual in the learning process. It is established that the personal adaptation potential is the interconnected psychological characteristics of a person that determine success of adaptation to the external environment. Leaning on the analysis of literature sources, the author built a research model that reveals the following factors affecting formation of adaptation potential: psychic stability, adequate self-esteem, communication skills, behavioral regulation, coping behavior and group interaction skills. For assessing the adaptive capabilities and individual psychological characteristics of the students, the author applied the following methods: empirical (multi-level personal questionnaire &amp;ldquo;Adaptability&amp;rdquo; by A. G. Maklakov, S. V. Chermyanin; methodology &amp;ldquo;Socio-psychological comfort of the environment&amp;rdquo; by A. G. Maklakov; coping-test of R. Lazarus, S. Folkman, translated by T. L. Kryukova, E. V. Kuftyak and M. S. Zamyshlyaeva; Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire; mathematical-statistical (correlation analysis) Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient; nonparametric comparison method of the two related samples (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The scientific novelty of the presented materials consists in the development of scientific representation of psychological conditions of the formation of adaptation potential of an individual in the learning process, as well as in identification of the causes of maladaptation (emotional instability, low self-control, propensity for authoritarian behavior, low conformity and normativity of behavior). The acquired experimental data on the level of development of adaptation potential of the students allow predicting the success of their learning process. The provided materials can be used by psychologists and pedagogues in organization of work aimed at prevention of maladaptative conditions among adolescents. &amp;nbsp;

Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD): Outcomes From the Application of an Adapted Alert Program

Abstract Date Presented 03/26/20 Children with FASD experience self-regulation deficits. This study identified the effects of the Alert Program on children with FASD. All participants had sensory, emotional, and behavioral regulation deficits identified by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function 2 (BRIEF 2) and Sensory Profile 2. Results on the BRIEF 2 were both clinically and statistically significant with a specific increase in behavioral and emotional regulation skills. Primary Author and Speaker: Lindsay Layer Contributing Authors: Jeryl Benson

The association of peer behavioral regulation with motor-cognitive readiness skills in preschool

An increasing number of young children nationally participate in preschool education, yet very little is known about the influence of peers' behavioral regulation, such as maintaining focus on a task in the face of distractions and inhibiting a dominant response (attentionimpulse control), and remembering instructions (engagement) on children's motor-cognitive readiness skills (i.e., peer effects). This study determined whether peer effects are present in this earliest sector of schooling. Research has shown that a child's own behavioral regulation is associated with his or her academic outcomes. However, not much is known about how children are affected by classmates with poor behavioural regulation. This study begins to fill the gaps in our understanding of preschool peer effects in the form of peers' behavioral regulation relative to children's motor-cognitive readiness skills. It addresses two research questions: (1) Is the average level and amount of variation of peers' behavioral regulation skills (i.e., engagement and attentionimpulse control) in a classroom associated with growth in children's motor-cognitive readiness outcomes in preschool (motor, content knowledge, and language)? (2) Do these associations differ for children with high and low initial levels of behavioral regulation? The analytic sample is drawn from a cluster (school) randomized controlled trial testing a family-centered, school-based intervention (N=1050 children in 99 classrooms drawn from 10 high-poverty schools). Results indicated that classroom-level peer engagement skills made a unique contribution to children's growth of motor skills during the preschool academic year.Furthermore, children with higher engagement skills at the beginning of the preschool year had higher motor-cognitive readiness skills (motor, content knowledge, and language) at the end of the year when they were in classrooms with peers with high engagement skills. This study extends previous work with older children and indicates that after adjusting for an assortment of demographic, preschool program-related factors, and motor-cognitive readiness at entry into preschool, peers' engagement skills may make a unique contribution to children’s motor-cognitive readiness skills during the preschool academic year.

A tailored cognitive behavioral program for juvenile justice-referred females at risk of substance use and delinquency: A pilot quasi-experimental trial.

This pilot quasi-experimental trial tested a gender-responsive cognitive behavioral group intervention with 87 court-involved female adolescents (5 juvenile courts) who were at indicated risk for substance use disorder. Participants in the intervention (n = 57) received twice weekly group sessions for 10 weeks (20 sessions) focused on building emotional, thought and behavior regulation skills and generalizing these skills to relationally-based scenarios (GOAL: Girls Only Active Learning). Youth in the control condition (n = 30) received services as usual, which included non-gender-specific aggression management training, individual counseling and no services. The GOAL program was found to be acceptable to youth and parents and feasible to implement within a juvenile court setting using skilled facilitators. Compared to services as usual, the program significantly and meaningfully reduced self-reported delinquent behavior (β = 0.84, p < 0.05) over 6 months, and exhibited trend level effects for reduced substance use (β = 0.40, p = 0.07). The program had mixed or no effects on family conflict and emotion regulation skills. These findings are discussed in light of treatment mechanisms and gender-responsive services.

Art of Learning - An Art-Based Intervention Aimed at Improving Children's Executive Functions.

Executive functions (EFs) can be conceptualized as a mean of behavioral self-regulation, and difficulties with EFs may adversely affect school success, social function, and cognitive and psychological development. Research about EFs and how they are affected by various educational and psychosocial factors is sparse. EFs are of great importance to understand how children can handle the challenges that they meet at various stages of development. There has been an increased focus on programs aimed at improving EFs, either as a primary outcome, or as a supplemental result of a specific activity. In this randomized controlled study, 66 children (31 girls, mean age 7:1 years) were given an arts and culture rich intervention (Art of Learning) aimed at improving EFs. EFs were assessed with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-teacher version (BRIEF-teacher form) before, immediately after, and 6 months after intervention. Outcome in the intervention group was compared to children from two schools serving as controls (n = 37, 18 girls, mean age 7:3 years). In addition, teachers from intervention schools were also interviewed both individually and in focus groups. The results reveal that both groups improved their EFs, as measured with BRIEF, over time on the global executive composite (GEC) score, the metacognition index, and on behavioral regulation index (BRI). However, the intervention group displayed a significantly greater improvement than the control group on GEC and BRI. The teacher interviews reveal positive effects for the children when it comes to several aspects: collaboration, conflict management, inclusion, vocabulary, and confidence. These factors are regarded as important for EFs development and academic outcome. The results support the notion of best training transfer effects for tasks addressing global executive functioning and specifically behavioral regulation skills (BRI).

4- 6 yaş çocuklarının Davranış Düzenleme Becerileri ile Ses Bilgisel Farkındalık, Görsel Eşleştirme ve Yazı Yazma Öncesi Becerileri Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Behavior regulation skills are associated with early academic skills in pre-school children in the studies. In addition to this, limited number of studies has been shown relations between behavioral regulation skills and early literacy skills; phonological awareness, matching images and pre-writing skills. The study aims at assessing the relation between phonological awareness, matching images and pre-writing skills which are early literacy skills and behavior regulation skills in preschool children with regard to age, gender, period of attending school, number of siblings.144 pre-school children, 68 of whom are girls and 76 boys, participated from Bursa central districts in the research. Results show that behavior regulation skills are associated with phonological awareness and pre-writing skills. When age increases, phonological awareness scores and matching images scores increase; according to number of siblings, there is a statistically significant difference pre-writing skills scores; period of attending school does not affect phonological awareness scores, matching images scores and pre-writing skills; there is a statistically significant difference between pre-writing scores by gender; the difference shows that girls’ pre-writing scores are higher than the boys’ pre-writing scores.

Having a Sibling With ADHD or ASD Increases Risk for Both Disorders

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Clinical and Research NewsFull AccessHaving a Sibling With ADHD or ASD Increases Risk for Both DisordersNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:18 Jan 2019https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2019.1a4AbstractOverall, about 15 percent of later-born siblings in the ADHD and ASD risk groups were diagnosed with ADHD or ASD, compared with about 2 percent of children whose older siblings had neither disorder.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are distinct childhood conditions, but they share many traits. Children with both disorders often display impulsivity, difficulties with social skills, and repetitive behaviors. A study published December 10, 2018, in JAMA Pediatrics identified a hereditary overlap as well. Children who have an older sibling who has been diagnosed with ASD are not only at an increased risk of ASD themselves, but also at an increased risk of developing ADHD. Similarly, children who have an older sibling diagnosed with ADHD are at an increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD or ASD.iStock/romrodinka“[L]ater-born siblings of children with ASD and ADHD appear to be at elevated risk within and across diagnostic categories and thus should be monitored for both disorders,” wrote lead author Meghan Miller, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, Davis, and colleagues. “Practitioners may wish to share such information with families given the potential relevance of monitoring social communication, attention, and behavior regulation skills in later-born siblings of children with ASD or ADHD.”Miller and colleagues analyzed medical records from two large U.S. health care systems: Wisconsin’s Marshfield Clinic and Kaiser Pacific Northwest, which covers Oregon and Washington. They looked for families who had at least one more child after having a child diagnosed with ADHD or ASD. The authors did this to overcome the effect of “reproductive stoppage,” in which parents decide to stop having children after one is diagnosed with a developmental disorder. Family analyses that look only at the total number of siblings with or without a disorder likely underestimate the true inheritance risks, the authors wrote.The final dataset included 15,175 non-firstborn children; of these, 730 had an older sibling diagnosed with ADHD (the ADHD risk group) and 158 had an older sibling diagnosed with ASD (the ASD risk group).Compared with children whose older siblings had neither disorder, children in the ASD risk group were about 30 times more likely to also be diagnosed with ASD and 3.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Children in the ADHD risk group were about 13 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and 4.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with ASD than children whose older siblings had neither disorder.Overall, about 15 percent of later-born siblings in the ADHD and ASD risk groups were diagnosed with ADHD or ASD, compared with about 2 percent of children whose older siblings had neither disorder. Miller told Psychiatric News that the analysis could not rule out that some of the increased prevalence of ADHD and/or ASD among the siblings in the ASD and ADHD risk groups was due to shared environmental factors. However, she said there is a lot of evidence that shows these two disorders are highly heritable.As expected, the odds of ASD or ADHD in later-born siblings increased even more if the child was a boy. In the ADHD risk group, the odds of an ADHD diagnosis in a later born sibling also increased if the older diagnosed sibling was a girl.“Some studies have suggested that there may be a ‘female protective effect’ for male-predominant disorders like ASD and ADHD,” Miller told Psychiatric News. That means females need to inherit a greater amount of genetic risk factors before they manifest a disorder. Therefore, if a daughter develops ADHD, it suggests the parents are carrying a greater genetic burden, which would make ADHD in boys more likely. The authors did not observe this same trend with older female siblings in the ASD risk group, which they suggested may have been due to the smaller number of diagnoses in the dataset.This study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health. ■ An abstract of “Sibling Recurrence Risk and Cross-Aggregation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder” can be accessed here. “Later Sibling Recurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Clinical and Mechanistic Insights,” here. ISSUES NewArchived

Inhibition and behavioral self-regulation: An inextricably linked couple in preschool years

A modified version of the flanker task was used to investigate how children deal with increasing inhibitory control demands. Additional variables such as age, cue salience and behavioral regulation were also considered in the present research. Preschoolers and first graders alike, showed a performance decline once inhibitory control demands increased. When taking behavioral regulation skills into account, an age-related interaction effect was found: Compared to their peers with high behavioral regulation skills, preschoolers with low to moderate behavioral regulation skills showed a weaker performance when faced with increased inhibitory control demands. No such effects were found for first graders. The results suggest that in particular in preschool years inhibition and behavioral regulation are highly intertwined.