Preadolescent Boys Research Articles

Social Phobia and Separation Anxiety Symptoms in Community and Clinical Samples of Children and Adolescents

To examine the developmental progression and pattern of self-reported symptoms of social phobia (SP) and separation anxiety (SA) in community (n = 2,384) and clinical (n = 217) samples of children and adolescents, using a cross-sectional method. Subjects were cross-classified by age, gender, and race. Using mean scores on the SP and SA subscales of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, 4 categories of children were established: HighSP/HighSA, HighSP/LowSA, LowSP/HighSA, and LowSP/LowSA. Data were analyzed using a generalized logit model. Community sample: Preadolescents and females reported more symptoms of HighSP/HighSA and LowSP/HighSA than adolescents and males. White children reported more symptoms of HighSP/LowSA, while the opposite pattern was found among African-American children. Clinical sample: Similar to the community sample, preadolescents reported more symptoms of HighSP/HighSA. However, clinical males reported more symptoms of LowSP/HighSA than clinical females. In general, adolescents endorsed more symptoms of SP and fewer symptoms of SA than preadolescent children. Irrespective of age, white children endorsed more symptoms of SP and fewer symptoms of SA than African-American children. In the community sample, preadolescent boys endorsed more symptoms of SA and fewer symptoms of SP, suggesting a possible referral bias.

Activity, dietary intake, and weight changes in a longitudinal study of preadolescent and adolescent boys and girls.

To examine the role of physical activity, inactivity, and dietary patterns on annual weight changes among preadolescents and adolescents, taking growth and development into account. We studied a cohort of 6149 girls and 4620 boys from all over the United States who were 9 to 14 years old in 1996. All returned questionnaires in the fall of 1996 and a year later in 1997. Each child provided his or her current height and weight and a detailed assessment of typical past-year dietary intakes, physical activities, and recreational inactivities (TV, videos/VCR, and video/computer games). Our hypotheses were that physical activity and dietary fiber intake are negatively correlated with annual changes in adiposity and that recreational inactivity (TV/videos/games), caloric intake, and dietary fat intake are positively correlated with annual changes in adiposity. Separately for boys and girls, we performed regression analysis of 1-year change in body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)). All hypothesized factors were in the model simultaneously with several adjustment factors. Larger increases in BMI from 1996 to 1997 were among girls who reported higher caloric intakes (.0061 +/-.0026 kg/m(2) per 100 kcal/day; beta +/- standard error), less physical activity (-.0284 +/-.0142 kg/m(2)/hour/day) and more time with TV/videos/games (.0372 +/-.0106 kg/m(2)/hour/day) during the year between the 2 BMI assessments. Larger BMI increases were among boys who reported more time with TV/videos/games (.0384 +/-.0101) during the year. For both boys and girls, a larger rise in caloric intake from 1996 to 1997 predicted larger BMI increases (girls:.0059 +/-.0027 kg/m(2) per increase of 100 kcal/day; boys:.0082 +/-.0030). No significant associations were noted for energy-adjusted dietary fat or fiber. For both boys and girls, a 1-year increase in BMI was larger in those who reported more time with TV/videos/games during the year between the 2 BMI measurements, and in those who reported that their caloric intakes increased more from 1 year to the next. Larger year-to-year increases in BMI were also seen among girls who reported higher caloric intakes and less physical activity during the year between the 2 BMI measurements. Although the magnitudes of these estimated effects were small, their cumulative effects, year after year during adolescence, would produce substantial gains in body weight. Strategies to prevent excessive caloric intakes, to decrease time with TV/videos/games, and to increase physical activity would be promising as a means to prevent obesity.

Temperament and antisocial behavior in preadolescent boys with or without a family history of a substance use disorder.

Temperament and antisocial behavior in preadolescent boys with or without a family history of a substance use disorder.

Temperament and antisocial behavior in preadolescent boys with or without a family history of a substance use disorder.

The goals of this study were to determine the relations between different dimensions of temperament, and their interactions, with antisocial behavior (ASB) in 351 preadolescent boys with (n = 175) or without (n = 176) a family history of a substance use disorder (SUD) and to determine whether these relations are moderated by a family history of SUD. Participants were administered the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS-R) and multiple measures of ASB. Factor analysis reduced the DOTS-R subscales into three factors: Rhythmicity, Behavioral Regulation, and Positive Affectivity. Results indicated that above and beyond the effects of age and socioeconomic status, low rhythmicity, low behavioral regulation, and low positive affectivity, as well as some of their higher order interactive effects, are important indicators of different types of ASB and, in some cases, only in boys with a family history of SUD.

Projective Identification: A Request for Relationship

Projective identification is commonly recognized as a primitive defense. In group work with ego-impaired preadolescent boys with significant environmental deficits, projective identification is used to communicate a need for a relationship previously unavailable to them. These boys project unwanted aspects of themselves in order to have them contained by the therapist. They induce feelings in the therapist in order to share their internal experience. As the feelings are modified by the therapist and reintrojected by the boys, the boys receive the parenting they missed and are able to form more stable attachments.

HIV in testis: quantitative histology and HIV localization in germ cells

The testes of AIDS patients invariably show decreased spermatogenesis and are atrophic. These testicular changes can be grouped into three categories: (1) spermatogenesis present, but decreased; (2) spermatogenic arrest at primary spermatocyte stage; and (3) Sertoli only (or almost Sertoli only). The purpose of this study is 2-fold: firstly, to quantitate the numbers and types of germ cells in these three groups as compared with normals. In addition the presence of HIV-1 DNA positive germ cells was quantitated by PCR in situ hybridization. HIV-1 was identified in 14 of 15 testes from HIV infected adults, and was present in 25–33% of residual germ cells. There was an average of 18.9 HIV infected germs cells/tubule in the spermatogenesis group, 6.3 HIV infected germs cells in the spermatogenic arrest group, and 0.25 HIV infected germ cells in the almost Sertoli only group. HIV-1 DNA was absent in three of the three preadolescent boys testes (HIV acquired in utero). This study quantitates the degree of germ cell loss in AIDS patients and quantitates the degree of HIV positivity of the residual germ cells, thus shedding more light on the testicular HIV burden, with its possible repercussions for sexual transmission of HIV.

Early adolescent gateway drug use in sons of fathers with substance use disorders

This study determined the relevance of preadolescent psychopathology and substance use for predicting early adolescent alcohol and cannabis involvement in boys of fathers with and without substance use disorders (SUD). Fathers of preadolescent boys (ages 10 through 12 years) were recruited to represent families of boys with paternal SUD (High Risk or HR: N = 102) and boys without paternal SUD (Low Average Risk or LAR: n = 166). These boys and a parental informant participated in semistructured diagnostic interviews at baseline and 2-year follow-up assessments (ages 12 through 14 years). Preadolescent tobacco experimentation and early adolescent regular alcohol use were more prevalent in HR than in LAR subjects. Logistic regression analyses were utilized to develop prediction equations. The presence of oppositional defiant disorder and the absence of anxiety disorders predicted preadolescent tobacco use. Preadolescent conduct disorder predicted early adolescent regular alcohol use. Preadolescent tobacco use and conduct disorder were highly predictive of early adolescent cannabis use, achieving 100% sensitivity with 76% specificity. Children with tobacco use prior to adolescence, as well as those with disruptive behavior disorders, may be important to target for interventions to prevent cannabis use.

Boys' lying and social adjustment in pre‐adolescence: teachers', peers' and self‐reports

AbstractBoys' frequent lying was assessed twice over a 12‐month interval between 11 and 12 years of age, using teacher, peer and self‐reported data. Comparisons between the three sources of data revealed some concordance between peer and teacher reports on the frequency of lying, but a poor concordance between subjects' own and others' report on the frequency of lying. Behavioural characteristics of four groups of boys were compared: perceived and self‐reported liars; perceived and self‐reported non‐liars; not perceived and self‐reported liars; not perceived and self‐reported non‐liars. Boys perceived as liars were rated by peers as more aggressive, less likeable and more withdrawn. They were rated by teachers as fighting more, being more hyper‐active, oppositional and inattentive; the boys also reported more delinquent behaviours. Self‐reported liars were not perceived as having more adjustment problems but they reported more delinquent behaviours. Thus, results confirmed that preadolescent boys perceived as liars are also perceived by others and themselves as having more behaviour problems; however, the self‐reported liars are perceived as having behaviour problems only by themselves. These results indicated that the association between lying and social adjustment problems cannot be reduced to a negative reputation effect, but further studies were proposed to clarify the developmental links underlying the association. Copyright © 1998 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Darth Vader vs. Superman: Aggression and Intimacy in Two Preadolescent Boys' Groups

Group work reaches out to preadolescent boys with impulse and affect regulation problems by coinciding with their natural inclination toward peer relations and mastery. In group, boys recreate their peer culture and through the use of therapist interventions modify peer relationships into viable support networks. Collectively, they stimulate biological strivings for developmental maturity. The boys motivate each other to develop observing egos and alter problematic behavior. Boys growing up without fathers benefit from a safe environment where they can develop realistic masculine identities through their identification with group norms. Research shows that an identification with a benign masculine authority is the single most significant factor in a child developing affect regulation and socialization skills.

Event-related potential negative shift in sons of polysubstance- and alcohol-use disorder fathers

Previous research has considered event-related potentials (ERPs) in relation to liability for alcohol and other substance use. This study explored ERPs in preadolescent boys at elevated risk for substance use due to paternal history of substance abuse or dependence. Sons (age 10–12) of fathers with an alcohol-use disorder (ALC, n = 29) were matched by age, IQ, education and parental alcohol use with sons of fathers with a polysubstance abuse or dependence diagnosis (POLY, n = 37). These two groups were matched with a low-risk comparison group (LOW, n = 29) of boys whose fathers had no substance-use disorder diagnosis. No boy in the study met criteria for a substance-use disorder. ERPs were collected from midline (Fz, Cz, Pz) and parietal (P3, P4) electrode leads during an auditory oddball task. ERPs of boys from the ALC and POLY groups showed a slow negative shift prominent at Cz and Pz. This negative shift, evident by 100 ms post-stimulus and lasting for the duration of the 1000-ms recording period, overlapped temporally with N1, N2 and P3 amplitude differences distinguishing the ALC and POLY groups from the LOW group. The ALC and POLY groups differed from each other in N2 amplitude at Cz, which was larger for ALC subjects. These findings offer a possible alternative explanation for previously observed amplitude anomalies noted in children at risk for substance-use disorders and suggest new avenues of inquiry.

Field Independence–Dependence and Self-Esteem in Preadolescents: Does Gender Make a Difference?

This study investigated the relationship between field independence–dependence (FD) and self-esteem in preadolescent girls and boys. Sixty-three Grade 6 students (33 girls, 30 boys) completed the Group Embedded Figures Test [H. Witkin, P. Oltman, E. Raskin, and S. Karp (1971). A Manual for the Embedded Figures Test, consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA] and the Self-Esteem Inventory [S. Coopersmith, (1967)]. The Antecedents of Self-Esteem, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA]. Results indicated that, contrary to prediction, girls did not have lower self-esteem than boys. The hypothesis that field independence and self-esteem correlated negatively for girls and positively for boys was confirmed. The implications of these findings for educational practice and future research are discussed.

HIV Education for Teens and Preteens in a High-Seroprevalence Inner-City Neighborhood

In several New York City neighborhoods more than 1 in 10 adults and adolescents are infected with HIV. Children in these neighborhoods are exposed both directly and indirectly to the effects of the HIV epidemic. Exploratory group interviews were conducted to discover the HIV-related concerns of adolescent and pread-olescent girls and boys living in a high-sero-prevalence neighborhood and to specify the context within which children experienced those concerns. Results indicated that explanations about HIV focusing only on transmission and transmission prevention, whether in educational or family settings, may ignore compelling concerns of youth. Both risk of HIV and loss of neighbors and relatives to HIV permeate daily life but in a way that prevents open discussion. Children are eager to talk about social and personal issues regarding HIV.

Psychopathology in Preadolescent Sons of Fathers With Substance Use Disorders

While preadolescent children of parents with substance use disorders (SUDs) are known to have more behavior problems, depression, and anxiety than expected, psychiatric disorders in these children and their relationships with parental disorders have not been systematically investigated. This study compares the psychiatric disorders of preadolescent boys of fathers with and without SUDs and examines the relationships between offspring and parental psychopathology. Fathers (i.e., probands) of boys 10 through 12 years old were recruited to represent families of boys with paternal SUD (high risk or HR: n = 113) and boys without paternal SUD (low average risk or LAR: n = 170). These boys (i.e., index cases) and their biological parents participated in structured diagnostic interviews, and diagnoses were determined by the best-estimate method. Disruptive behavior disorders and anxiety disorders were more prevalent in HR than in LAR index cases. Logistic regression analyses examining the relationships between parental and index case psychopathology indicated that parental childhood psychiatric disorders were more strongly predictive of index case psychiatric disorders than parental adulthood psychiatric disorders, including SUDs. Inasmuch as HR boys had increased rates of disruptive behavior disorders and anxiety disorders, these disorders may be important targets for early intervention to prevent the development of SUD, as well as the morbidity associated with these disorders. Prevention efforts and studies of the transmission of liability for psychiatric disorders in children should carefully consider parental childhood characteristics.

The D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene and family stress; interactive effects on cognitive functions in children.

TaqI A D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) alleles, family stress, and cognitive markers, including visuospatial ability (Benton's Line Orientation) and event-related potentials (P300 amplitude and latency), were obtained in preadolescent boys of alcoholic and nonalcoholic fathers. In the presence of the DRD2 minor allele (A1+), the Family Stress score negatively correlated with the Line Orientation score and P300 amplitude. No significant correlations were found in boys lacking this allele (A1-). The interaction of the A1+ allele and the Family Stress score produced significant regression coefficients for both Line Orientation score (p = .002) and P300 amplitude (p = .04). Together, these two cognitive markers account for 37% of the variance in the Family Stress score of 47 A1 allele boys (p = .0002) but less than 1% in 71 A1- allele boys (p > .9). This provides the first evidence of a specific gene-environment interaction involving human cognitive functioning.

Bone age in children of diverse ethnicity.

Determination of skeletal or bone age is often used in pediatrics and orthopedics. The most commonly used bone age standards in the United States, those published by Greulich and Pyle, were derived from white children of the upper socioeconomic class in 1931-1942. We examined whether these standards apply to the current assessment of bone age in children of diverse ethnicity. Hand radiographs of children less than 19 years old at our institution were evaluated for bone age using the standards of Greulich and Pyle. Differences between bone age and chronologic age were calculated, and the mean differences were compared among subgroups of children on the basis of sex, age, and ethnicity. In Asian and white girls, bone age approximated chronologic age throughout childhood, with the only significant discrepancy being in adolescent white girls, in whom bone age exceeded chronologic age by an average of 4 months. In black girls, bone age exceeded chronologic age except during middle childhood. In late childhood and adolescence, bone age exceeded chronologic age by approximately 10 months. In Hispanic adolescent girls, bone age exceeded chronologic age by nearly 9 months. In black adolescent boys, bone age exceeded chronologic age by 5 months, with no significant discrepancies between bone age and chronologic age at other ages. In white preadolescent boys, bone age lagged behind chronologic age to a statistically significant degree, ranging from approximately 4 to 8 months. Preadolescent Asian boys also showed significant delays in bone age, particularly in middle childhood, when bone age lagged behind chronologic age by nearly 15 months. In adolescent Asian boys, bone age exceeded chronologic age by 9 months 15 days. In adolescent Hispanic boys, bone age exceeded chronologic age by 11 months 15 days. In younger Hispanic boys, delays in bone age occurred but were significant only in early childhood (4-month delay). Using the standards of Greulich and Pyle to determine bone age must be done with reservations, particularly in black and Hispanic girls and in Asian and Hispanic boys in late childhood and adolescence, when bone age may exceed chronologic age by 9 months to 11 months 15 days.

The Interpersonal Context of Emotion: Anger with Close Friends and Classmates

While a great deal of work in recent years has focused on the role of cognitive evaluation of events in the elicitation of anger, little has been said about how the interpersonal context of events colors such evaluation. In this study, we varied critical features of events identified by theorists (provocation, intent, and apology) along with the interpersonal context of the events. We examined the reactions of preadolescent and young adolescent boys and girls to hypothetical situations involving anger-provoking actions by best friends and classmates (casual acquaintances). The situations involving best friends elicited higher ratings of personal violation, more intense and prolonged negative emotion (including sadness and hurt feelings in addition to anger), and more coping attempts geared toward relationship preservation than did the situations involving classmates. Girls seemed to be particularly sensitive to relationship differences, consistently reporting different responses when friends and classmates were involved. Findings associated with the theoretical features of anger elicitation (provocation, intent, and apology), while generally fitting predictions, were less clear and convincing, overall, than the effects of relationship context. Findings related to age were limited but were consistent with research on the changing nature and meaning of friendship as children enter adolescence. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of relationship context as a backdrop against which emotional experience must be viewed.

Executive cognitive functioning and aggressive behavior in preadolescent boys at high risk for substance abuse/dependence.

This study had three purposes; (1) to assess the underlying factor structure of a battery of neuropsychological tests putatively measuring executive cognitive functioning (ECF) in a sample of boys at high and low risk for substance abuse/dependence; (2) to assess the relationship between ECF and aggressive behavior; and (3) to determine the interactive effects of ECF and a family history (FH) of substance dependence on aggressive behavior. Multiple measures of ECF and aggressive behavior were used to test these relationships in a sample of 291 10-12 year old boys with and without a FH of substance dependence. Analyses indicated that the measures of ECF loaded on one factor. ECF was related to aggressive behavior even when accounting for IQ and SES. The interaction between ECF and a FH of substance dependence was also associated with aggressive behavior. The central finding of this investigation indicates that ECF and its interaction with a FH of substance dependence are associated with aggressive behavior. These results suggest that violence prevention and treatment efforts in high risk groups should incorporate cognitive habilitation focusing on training in ECFs.

Does self-disclosure in friendship increase following group counseling/therapy? A different case for boys and girls

This study, conducted in Israel, investigated the effect of group counseling/therapy on self-disclosure in a close friendship of preadolescent boys and girls. A short monologue to a close friend was recorded and analyzed before and after the intervention and compared to a control group. Results indicated gender differences: The adjusted post scores for girls were higher than those for boys both in quality and quantity of self-disclosure. Moreover, the group by gender effect suggests that experimental girls gained more than boys from the experience in their ability to share more meaningful and private information; boys actually adjusted their level of disclosure to that of the control boys. Finally, experimental boys and girls adjusted their levels of quantity of disclosure, whereas control boys and girls grew apart, in this respect. The results are discussed in the context of gender subcultures.

Changes in Daily Mood and Self-Restraint among Undercontrolled Preadolescents: A Time-Series Analysis of “Acting Out”

Acting out among boys with disruptive behavior disorders was investigated by evaluating how changes in their daily moods predicted changes in their behavior. During a 6-week period, 20 preadolescent boys enrolled in day treatment programs rated their mood upon arrival at school, and teachers rated their behavior at the end of the day. Time-series and path-analytic methodologies were used to analyze the data. The boys did engage in emotional acting out, in that their morning moods predicted their subsequent disruptive behavior, controlling for both individual differences and their behavior the previous day. Boys' mood changes served as a mediator between the intensity of interpersonal conflicts in their lives (with peers and among significant adults) and decrements in their self-restraint. Acting-out behavior was associated with defensive processes, in that boys who reported low subjective distress and whom the teachers rated as high in denial of distress had the strongest links between their moods and behavior. Individual differences in levels of conduct problems, but not hyperactivity, also predicted acting out. Emotional processes and defensive acting out may often be integral aspects of conduct-disordered behavior.

The Experience and Expression of Homesickness in Preadolescent and Adolescent Boys

This study is the first prospective longitudinal and clinical investigation of homesickness in children. The moods of 329 boys ages 8-16 were assessed on a daily basis during either a 2- or 4-week period of separation from primary caregivers. Results supported 4 hypotheses: (1) homesickness was prevalent and varied in intensity. 83% of the boys reported some homesickness on at least 1 day during their stay, and 5.8% experienced severe depression and anxiety; (2) homesickness was experienced as a combination of depression and anxiety, particularly the former; (3) younger boys were at greater risk for homesickness than older boys; and (4) homesickness presented most often as internalizing behavior and was sometimes detectable to observers who knew the boys. 63% of the boys who self-reported moderate or high levels of homesickness were judged by observers to be homesick. Inconsistent with popular notions, the most homesick boys became progressively more homesick over the course of their separation, experiencing a significant drop in homesickness just before reuniting with parents. The phenomenology of homesickness is discussed, as are issues of simultaneous depression and anxiety in children.