Risk Of Maladaptation Research Articles

How climate compatible are livelihood adaptation strategies and development programs in rural Indonesia?

Achieving climate compatible development (CCD) is a necessity in developing countries, but there are few examples of requisite planning processes, or manifestations of CCD. This paper presents a multi-stakeholder, participatory planning process designed to screen and prioritise rural livelihood adaptation strategies against nine CCD criteria. The process also integrated three principles of adaptation pathways: interventions should be (1) ‘no regrets’ and maintain reversibility to avoid mal-adaptation; (2) address both proximate and underlying systemic drivers of community vulnerability; and (3) linked across spatial scales and jurisdictional levels to promote coordination. Using examples of two rural sub-districts in Indonesia, we demonstrate the process and resulting CCD strategies. Priority strategies varied between the sub-districts but all reflected standard development interventions: water management, intensification or diversification of agriculture and aquaculture, education, health, food security and skills-building for communities. Strategies delivered co-benefits for human development and ecosystem services and hence adaptive capacity, but greenhouse mitigation co-benefits were less significant. Actions to deliver the strategies’ objectives were screened for reversibility, and a minority were potentially mal-adaptive (i.e. path dependent, disproportionately burdening the most vulnerable, reducing incentives to adapt, or increasing greenhouse gas emissions) yet highly feasible. These related to infrastructure, which paradoxically is necessary to deliver ‘soft’ adaptation benefits (i.e. road access to health services). Only a small minority of transformative strategies addressed the systemic (i.e. institutional and political) drivers of vulnerability. Strategies were well-matched by development programs, suggesting that current interventions mirror CCD. However, development programs tackled fewer systemic drivers, were poorly coordinated and had a higher risk of mal-adaptation. We conclude that the approach is effective for screening and prioritising no regrets CCD, but more extensive learning processes are necessary to build decision-makers’ capacity to tackle systemic drivers, and to scrutinise potentially mal-adaptive infrastructural investments.

Detoxification and protein quality control markers in the mussel Mytilus edulis (Linnaeus) exposed to crude oil: Salinity-induced modulation

Marine and coastal ecosystems are influenced by oil from chronic contamination or sporadic oil spills. An oil spill was simulated in an aquarium-based experiment designed to reproduce interactions of crude oil with inert environmental components, particularly adhesion on shore gravel and dissolution in sea water. Total experimental oil concentrations were in the range of comparable hydrocarbon concentrations following an oil spill. Furthermore, the possible interaction of a chemical (anthropogenic) stressor, such as oil PAHs, and a “natural” stressor like desalination, was simulated. In order to assess the biological effects of crude oil contamination and desalination (each individually and in combination) on the blue mussel Mytilus edulis L., biochemical responses were estimated including: detoxification capacity by glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity, reduced glutathione (GSH) level, and protein quality control by autophagy-related proteases cathepsin B (CatB), cathepsin D (CatD), and calcium-dependent calpain-like proteases. Oil treatment stimulated defense system response in the mussels with primary effects on GST and protease-mediated reactions such as the activation of CatB, CatD, and calpains. Most of biomarkers responded to oil in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Additional environmental stress, such as desalination, promoted the oil-induced activation of GST and CatD while resulting in a delay or impairement of the defense response to oil by GSH and proteases CatB and calpains. Thus, biomarker data shows that combined effects of oil compounds and desalination can be realized in both a synergistic and an antagonistic manner. The evaluated interaction between oil pollution effects and sub-optimal salinity on M. edulis indicates the potential risk of maladaptation to the biota of estuaries.

A long-term genetic study reveals complex population dynamics of multiple-source plant reintroductions

A major challenge of using multiple-source populations in reintroductions for restoration and species conservation is to adequately assess the trade-off between the benefits of counteracting inbreeding depression via heterosis, and the risks of maladaptation and reduced fitness through outbreeding depression. In the 1990s, populations of the perennial plant Arenaria grandiflora rapidly declined and were nearing extinction in the Fontainebleau forest, France. This was likely due to inbreeding depression and/or fixation of deleterious alleles. To restore A. grandiflora in the Fontainebleau forest, a reintroduction experiment was conducted in 1999 using transplants from both local and non-local populations. Eight and twelve years later, we carried out a genetic study using microsatellite markers to assess the temporal dynamics of the genetic composition of reintroduced populations. We show that genetic diversity increased significantly in the reintroduced populations compared to the local-source population and that this increased diversity has been maintained for over ten years, highlighting the benefits of mixing individuals of multiple-source populations for restoration of small and inbred populations. Our results also suggest that the level of individual admixture between local and non-local genetic sources might affect individual fitness, which is influenced by the opposing effects of heterosis, inbreeding and outbreeding depressions and local adaptation.

Assessing the potential for maladaptation during active management of limber pine populations: a common garden study detects genetic differentiation in response to soil moisture in the Southern Rocky Mountains

Active management is needed to sustain healthy limber pine (Pinus flexilis E. James) forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains (henceforth, Southern Rockies), as they are threatened by the interaction of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic, climate change, and the spread of the non-native pathogen that causes white pine blister rust disease (Cronartium ribicola A. Dietr.). Appropriate source material for restoration and proactive introduction needs to be selected, taking into account potential genetic differentiation that would hamper management success. We conducted a common garden study in a greenhouse to determine the degree of genetic differentiation among limber pine populations in the Southern Rockies. We evaluated the differential responses of populations from northern and southern portions of the Southern Rockies to different moisture regimes during early seedling growth by measuring primary needle length, stem diameter, water potential, biomass allocation between root and shoot, and carbon isotope ratios (δ13C; a proxy for water-use efficiency). There were significant (p < 0.05) effects of source region for root length, stem diameter, needle length, and total dry mass, with seedlings from southern sources bigger than seedlings from northern sources. Furthermore, there was a marginally significant interaction between soil moisture regime and source region for carbon isotope ratio (p = 0.0778), suggesting possible local adaptation. These data indicate that genetic differentiation exists among populations in the Southern Rockies, potentially increasing the risk of maladaptation when moving seed far from its source for active management.

An integrated method for assessing climate-related risks and adaptation alternatives in urban areas

The urban environment is a complex structure with interlinked social, ecological and technical structures. Global warming is expected to have a broad variety of impacts, which will add to the complexity. Climate changes will force adaptation, to reduce climate-related risks. Adaptation measures can address one aspect at the time, or aim for a holistic approach to avoid maladaptation. This paper presents a systematic, integrated approach for assessing alternatives for reducing the risks of heat waves, flooding and air pollution in urban settings, with the aim of reducing the risk of maladaptation. The study includes strategies covering different spatial scales, and both the current climate situation and the climate predicted under climate change scenarios. The adaptation strategies investigated included increasing vegetation; selecting density, height and colour of buildings; and retreat or resist (defend) against sea-level rise. Their effectiveness was assessed with regard to not only flooding, heat stress and air quality but also with regard to resource use, emissions to air (incl. GHG), soil and water, and people’s perceptions and vulnerability. The effectiveness of the strategies were ranked on a common scale (from −3 to 3) in an integrated assessment. Integrated assessments are recommended, as they help identify the most sustainable solutions, but to reduce the risk of maladaptation they require experts from a variety of disciplines. The most generally applicable recommendation, derived from the integrated assessment here, taking into account both expertise from different municipal departments, literature surveys, life cycle assessments and publics perceptions, is to increase the urban greenery, as it contributes to several positive aspects such as heat stress mitigation, air quality improvement, effective storm-water and flood-risk management, and it has several positive social impacts. The most favourable alternative was compact, mid-rise, light coloured building design with large parks/green areas and trees near buildings.

Policy Considerations for Adapting Power Systems to Climate Change

Risks of maladaptation, efforts to integrate local knowledge, and considerations for other policy priorities will help ensure a more robust adaptation process for power systems. Existing modeling tools can be used to provide an assessment of adaptation measures that moves toward incorporating these insights, although future work is still necessary to incorporate factors like cost and risks for imposition of path-dependency.

VTA GABA(A) receptors mediate maladaptive disinhibition of dopamine release in the NAc ő a potential mechanism for increased risk taking behavior following adolescent voluntary alcohol intake (658.9)

Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug among adolescents and shows the highest liability of all abused drugs. We have previously demonstrated that voluntary alcohol consumption by adolescent rats results in maladaptive risk‐taking behavior and phasic dopamine release in adulthood, as assessed by a probability discounting task and fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). These findings suggest that adolescent alcohol exposure‐induced changes in striatal dopamine release could bias choice by assigning greater value to the risky option, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. GABAA receptors located in the VTA are a potential candidate for mediating these effects. Using electrical stimulation of PPT glutamatergic afferents to VTA DA neurons, here we demonstrate that adult rats previously exposed to alcohol during adolescence show increased phasic dopamine release in the NAc, as compared to controls. PPT stimulation elicits GABAA receptor dependent current in VTA DA neurons, raising the possibility that adolescent alcohol intake produces this increased phasic dopamine release through downregulation of GABAA receptors on VTA DA neurons. Systemic administration of L‐838,417, a GABAA receptor α2, α3, and α5 subunit allosteric agonist, causes a dose‐dependent decrease in phasic DA release elicited by PPT stimulation in control rats, and this decrease is enhanced in rats exposed to alcohol during adolescence. Additionally, imaging flow cytometry was used to measure expression of GABAA receptor subunits on neurons of the ventral midbrain. Preliminary results suggest that GABAA receptor α3, but not α1, subunit surface expression is decreased following adolescent alcohol intake. Taken together, these results provide unique insight into the potential role that GABAergic modulation of dopamine neurons plays in the maladaptive risk taking behavior seen following adolescent alcohol exposure and highlights new potential therapeutic targets.Grant Funding Source: R01AA021121 and T32AA07455

Belgrade adolescent personality inventory: Bridging the gap between personality assessment in children and adults

Personality inventories for assessment and study temperament and character of adolescents, an age critical for the finalisation of both normal and pathological mental development, have not been specifically developed. In this paper, we introduce a new personality inventory based on Cloninger's Psychobiological model of personality to assess adolescents from 14 to 18 years of age (the Belgrade Adolescent Personality Inventory - BAPI), which bridges the gap between personality assessment in children and adults. The BAPI is a 46-item Likert scale inventory derived from previous studies using the TCI and JTCI on the Serbian sample. The psychometric properties of the BAPI were tested on the sample of 535 secondary school students in Serbia, aged 15 to 16. In order to assess the fit of the model, the Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. The differences between sexes were analysed by MANOVA, while the Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied in order to identify different adaptation profiles among adolescents. The BAPI scales had a satisfactory internal consistency (.66 - .80.) considering the small number of items (5-6) in each scale. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) generally supported the main dimensions of temperament and character, as postulated by Cloninger. The only exception was Novelty Seeking, which best fitted a two-factor solution, Explorative curiosity and Impulsivity, separating the 'good' (curious, inquisitive, creative) and 'bad' (impulsive, impatient, disorderly) facets of this trait. Such polarity of Novelty Seeking could be specific for personality development and behaviour disorders in adolescence. The LCA differentiated the personality profiles of well-adapted adolescents from those at risk for maladaptation that manifested low character traits, lack of Persistence and high Novelty seeking Impulsivity subscale. The results support the construct validity of the BAPI and thus provide the basis for its practical application in personality assessment of adolescents and contribute to the theoretical understanding of personality structure and the risk of psychopathology in adolescence.

The role of beginner's luck in learning to prefer risky patches by socially foraging house sparrows

Although there has been extensive research on the evolution of individual decision making under risk (when facing variable outcomes), little is known on how the evolution of such decision-making mechanisms has been shaped by social learning and exploitation. We presented socially foraging house sparrows with a choice between scattered feeding wells in which millet seeds were hidden under 2 types of colored sand: green sand offering ~80 seeds with a probability of 0.1 (high risk-high reward) and yellow sand offering 1 seed with certainty (low risk-low reward). Although the expected benefit of choosing variable wells was 8 times higher than that of choosing constant wells, only some sparrows developed a preference for variable wells, whereas others developed a significant preference for constant wells. We found that this dichotomy could be explained by stochastic individual differences in sampling success during foraging, rather than by social foraging strategies (active searching vs. joining others). Moreover, preference for variable or constant wells was related to the sparrows' success during searching, rather than during joining others or when picking exposed seeds (i.e., they learn when actively searching in the sand). Finally, although for many sparrows learning resulted in an apparently maladaptive risk aversion, group living still allowed them to enjoy profitable variable wells by occasionally joining variable-preferring sparrows.

A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment exemplifies a pathogenic relational environment that confers considerable risk for maladaptation across diverse psychological and biological domains of development. Deprived of many of the experiences believed to promote adaptive functioning across the life span, maltreated children traverse a probabilistic pathway characterized by an increased likelihood for compromised resolution of stage-salient developmental tasks. Because the maltreating home represents such a dramatic violation of the average expectable environment, research on child maltreatment informs developmental theory by elucidating the conditions necessary for normal development and healthy adaptation. Moreover, research on child maltreatment enhances clinical, legal, and policy decisions aimed to promote children’s safety and well-being.

Economics of climate change adaptation at the local scale under conditions of uncertainty and resource constraints: the case of Durban, South Africa

This paper describes the design and application of a benefit-cost model to the city of Durban’s (South Africa) climate change adaptation options. The approach addresses the inability to compile an accurate damage-cost function for economic prioritizations at the local level. It proposes that uncertainty over climate impacts and the efficacy of adaptation responses, in conjunction with the lack of economic data, high levels of economic informality and inequality make it difficult to link adaptation efforts to positive GDP impact in Durban. Instead, the research based its calculations of “benefits” on the number of people impacted and the extent of the welfare benefits imparted by the respective adaptation efforts. It also took into account the uncertainty over future events, capacity constraints, priorities of decision makers and the risk of maladaptation. The results were reported as benefit-cost ratios for 16 clusters of interventions (many of which were primarily the responsibility of one municipal department or agency) in each of four future scenarios (defined by minor or major climate change and weak or strong socio-institutional capacity). The paper presents and discusses the benefit-cost ratios and total benefits for each of the intervention clusters in each of the future scenarios. It emphasizes how these are influenced by choices of time frames. It also highlights how the most efficient interventions across all futures and time frames tend to be socio-institutional – for instance the creation of a cross-sectoral disaster management forum, sea level rise preparedness and early warning system, and creating climate change adaptation capacity within the water services unit. Ecosystem-based adaptation measures had moderate benefit-cost ratios, probably because in Durban the land that needs to be purchased for this is relatively expensive. Infrastructure-based clusters generally had the lowest benefit-cost ratios.

Impulsivity in hoarding

Acquisition in hoarding appears to have impulsive features likely to be evident in behavioral impulsivity and response inhibition. This study used a multi-dimensional model of impulsivity to examine this construct in participants with hoarding (n=32) and anxiety disorders (n=32) who received a diagnostic assessment and completed self-report forms and neuropsychological tasks measuring impulsivity. A diagnosis of hoarding predicted higher levels of self-reported urgency, as well as greater difficulties with response inhibition and lowered adaptive and maladaptive risk taking, independent of social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. However, when age was controlled, hoarding ceased to predict these outcomes independent of other psychiatric diagnoses. Although specific symptoms of hoarding appeared significantly related to some aspects of impulsivity, analyses indicated that age accounted for these findings. In the present study, as in other studies, hoarding participants averaged approximately 25 years older than those with anxiety disorders, rendering examination of response inhibition and risk taking in hoarding versus anxiety disorders more difficult. Further research on other aspects of impulsivity (e.g., reward delay, planning/foresight) in hoarding and other psychiatric conditions with age matched comparison samples can advance understanding of these disorders and potentially lead to innovative treatments.

Multifactor modeling of emotional and behavioral risk of preschool-age children.

Screening for emotional and behavioral risk has become more prevalent with young children; however, not much is known about the latent structure for many of the brief instruments currently being used to assess children. Information concerning the latent structure of an instrument is necessary to support use of the scoring information. The underlying structure of the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System, Teacher Rating Form-Preschool (Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007) was investigated. A sample of ratings of more than 1,400 preschoolers was used to test 4 different confirmatory factor analysis models: (a) unidimensional model, (b) correlated factor model, (c) higher order factor model, and (d) bifactor model. Results showed support for the bifactor model, suggesting that an overall score is useful for interpreting preschoolers' level of emotional and behavioral risk. Relationships between items and the maladaptive risk general factor varied according to content area.

Geographic variation and adaptation to current and future climates of Callitropsis nootkatensis populations

Forty-one range-wide Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Orsted (syn. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don) Spach) populations were tested at 12 geographically and ecologically diverse sites throughout British Columbia, Canada. There were significant region and population within region effects for 15-year height at most sites but not for adaptability, a binary trait combining survival and cold hardiness. Across-site analysis revealed significant site by population within region interaction for both traits. These interactions were less pronounced when just the core sites were analysed and without two southern disjunct populations. Based on a productivity index that combined height, survival, and cold hardiness, populations were adapted to broad temperature gradients compared with most temperate tree species and were relatively insensitive to moisture. Only the northern California population from the extreme southernmost part of the species’ range had consistent and significant adaptive differentiation, showing maladaptation characterized by severe cold damage and mortality at all test sites. Northern populations grew slowly but survived well. Productivity of this montane species is likely to increase in situ with projected warming across the range of tested sites. Transfer to sites warmer than the population origin increases productivity. Currently and in the long term, populations from the core of the species’ range can be widely transferred for reforestation with minimal risk of maladaptation, provided highly inbred sources from isolated, small populations and sites at risk for yellow cypress decline are avoided.

Clonal variation in growth, chemistry and calorific value of new poplar hybrids at nursery stage

Bioenergy from plants could make a substantial contribution to alleviation of global problems in climate change and energy security. The rapid growth rates of hybrid poplar (Populus spp.) exhibit a great potential for biofuels and selecting superior clones is critical to increase biomass production and ecological effects. Variation in growth, chemistry and calorific value of the 25 poplar clones were examined at nursery stage. The significant clonal differences in growth, leaf traits, wood basic density, chemical compositions and calorific values were observed among the 25 clones. Total leaf area per plant varied along a two-fold range (7146.7–18065.0 cm2), mean single leaf area varied between 273.4 and 496.9 cm2 and specific leaf area ranged from 158.7 to 204.9 cm2 g−1. After one growing season, the mean stem biomass production per plant ranged from 173.5 g to 485.8 g, while the average wood basic density varied from 224 kg m−3 to 310 kg m−3 among the tested clones. Mean gross calorific value of the stem on an oven-dry weight basis was within the range of 18.5–19.1 kJ g−1, while mean ash free calorific value varied between 18.7 and 19.3 kJ g−1. All the chemical compositions measured both in stem wood and stem bark also presented a broad variation and clonal effects. Based on a comparison of component score coefficients, twenty-five hybrid clones were classified into four distinct groups by means of hierarchical cluster analysis, and clones 208, 328 and 75 showed excellent growth and combustion traits. Clones for further long-term trials in large-scale were also recommended to reduce loss of superior genetic material and risks of maladaptation.

Rolling the Dice: The Importance of Mesolimbic Dopamine Signaling in Risky Decision Making

To maximize resources, organisms must learn to predict the outcome of various options and choose the most valuable alternative. Behavioral choices such as ‘playing it safe' vs ‘taking a risk' engage a complex circuit that includes the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. A seminal study by Schultz et al (1997) showed that mesolimbic DA neurons function as a ‘teaching signal' and encode cues that predict rewards and errors in those predictions. DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) reflects this learning signal, and also processes information about reward value as animals are actively making decisions. For example, DA release in the NAc core is higher for cues that predict more valuable rewards, and signals the most valuable available option (Day et al, 2010). Organisms rarely encounter situations in which simple stimulus-outcome associations are in effect, and thus must rely on multiple factors to make appropriate decisions including the representations of internal needs and external states, possible courses of action, and the consequences of those actions (Rangel et al, 2008). Risky decision making involves this type of complex evaluation and is of particular interest because it is implicated in several psychiatric disorders, including gambling and drug addiction. Risk-taking behavior has been modeled in rats using a task where subjects are allowed to choose between larger more uncertain rewards or smaller certain rewards. Importantly, in this task, it is not more advantageous to make one response over the other, and as such it is possible to evaluate intrinsic subjective value and individual risk attitudes. We have found that DA release in the NAc encodes the subjective value of future outcomes and, when given a free choice, may bias animals toward a risk or safe preference (Sugam et al, 2012). However, the mesolimbic DA-NAc system does not function in isolation. Disruptions of the basolateral amygdala (BLA), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and NAc circuitry have resulted in differential effects on risk-taking. The BLA-NAc circuit appears critical for encoding reward probabilities, thus biasing animals to more valuable options when risks are lower. The PFC appears critical for tracking reward omissions and is important for shifting behavior as rewards become more uncertain and less valuable (St Onge et al, 2012). These findings suggest that each discrete region in this larger circuit has different roles in mediating appropriate decision making, and signaling from these structures likely modulate the value signaling of the mesolimbic DA system in risky decision making. Recent advances in optogenetic techniques allow for the probing of individual portions of the reward circuit in mediating risk-taking behavior. For example, using a genetic line of rats, researchers were able to selectively activate DA fibers arising from the ventral tegmental area and showed that this manipulation is sufficient to drive motivated behaviors (Witten et al, 2011). Thus, future studies can apply optogenetic tools to selectively manipulate DA signaling while rats are deciding to engage in risk-taking behavior, and examine the causal relationship between rapid DA signaling in each discrete region of the mesolimbic circuit and risky behaviors. Determining the mechanisms that underlie appropriate risk-taking behavior will not only enhance our understanding of the role of this circuitry in normal decision making, but will also provide insight into what goes wrong during maladaptive risk taking. This approach may help identify optimal targets for therapeutic treatments of maladaptive decision making that occur, for example, in drug or gambling addiction or in eating disorders.

Growing Up Too Soon? Parentification Among Immigrant and Native Adolescents in Germany

Parentification (adolescents' adoption of adult family roles by providing instrumental or emotional support for their parents) is assumed to be higher in immigrant than native families. An often discussed reason for parentification is the adolescent-parent acculturation gap in immigrant families whereby immigrant adolescents acculturate faster and outperform their parents socio-culturally. The aim of this multi-informant, multi-group study was to investigate levels, predictors, and psychosocial outcomes of instrumental and emotional parentification. The sample comprised 197 native (adolescents: mean age 14.7 years, 52% female) and 185 ethnic German immigrant (adolescents: mean age 15.7 years, 60% female) mother-adolescent dyads. Results revealed higher levels of emotional and instrumental parentification among immigrant adolescents. Parents' partnership dissatisfaction predicted instrumental and emotional parentification only in the native German sample. Among immigrants, language brokering related to instrumental and emotional parentification, and a larger mother-adolescent acculturation gap was associated with higher levels of emotional parentification. The positive psychosocial outcome, self-efficacy, was predicted by instrumental parentification in both adolescent groups. Exhaustion, the negative outcome, however, was related to higher levels of instrumental and lower levels of emotional parentification only in the immigrant group. The results of this study highlight that family systems can change due to migration to another country, with adolescents becoming more responsible for family matters than is normative for their age. However, only some of these premature responsibilities carry a risk of maladaptation, with others seeming to provide opportunities for positive developmental growth.

Comparison of fixed and focal point seed transfer systems for reforestation and assisted migration: a case study for interior spruce in British Columbia

In forestry, science-based seed transfer systems, the foundation of effective reforestation programs, will likely be used in some form to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. In this study, we developed fixed and focal point seed transfer systems for interior spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and their hybrids) in British Columbia, Canada, and compared the effectiveness of both systems. Growth, phenology, and physiology traits were measured for 112 populations, and population means were transformed to principal components that were modeled using climate variables and multiple regression analysis. Compared with the fixed seed zone system, the focal point system had a greater area of seed use for a given risk of maladaptation. The relationship between growth and adaptive distance (i.e., adaptive similarity between test populations and populations local to test sites) was used to calculate critical seed transfer distances for focal point seed zones, which were defined according to expected forfeiture of growth. Changes in climate observed over the past 100 years and predicted in the next one third of a rotation were used to calculate appropriate assisted migration distances and develop methods for incorporating assisted migration into a focal point seed transfer system.

Impact sur les parents de la paralysie cérébrale chez l’enfant : revue de la littérature

Cerebral palsy is the commonest cause of motor impairment in childhood. Parents of children with this particular neurodevelopmental disorder face many problems encountered by disabled children's parents. The aim of the present paper is to report the current knowledge on this parental impact, highlighting consensus and disagreement. A literature search was conducted using the key words "Cerebral palsy" and "Parents/Father/Mother" and "Adapt/Adjust/Cost/Economic/Impact/Well-being" in the Medline and PsycInfo databases searching for articles published between 1989 and 2009. Seven parental impact dimensions were distinguished: time spent, occupational restrictions, social relationships, family relationships, psychological well-being, physical health, and financial burden. Of 40 selected references, the studies were mostly cross-sectional, although longitudinal surveys highlighted the causal relationship between factors. Despite various methodologies, this review confirms that parents of CP children have greater risk of experiencing a sense of burden than parents of typically normally developing children. Time spent caring for the child appears to be an important factor that depends on the child's autonomy. The 7 impact dimensions seem to be related to each other and to child's and caregiver's characteristics. The severity of motor impairment is not unanimously viewed as a worsening factor: however, the child's behavioral problems influence the impact experienced by the parents. The level of intellectual impairment also has a negative influence on family relationships and on the parent's psychological well-being. The child's developmental stage seems to be related to the level of parental impact, but there is no agreement on the dimensions involved. We also observed that the mother and father do not experience this situation in the same way, probably because of the role played by each one in the family. The current literature lacks data on caregiver characteristics, identifying families at risk of burden, and the environmental context that would allow for a less negative impact on parents. In addition, the tools measuring the impact lack standardization. No questionnaire covering all 7 dimensions exists, but useful validated questionnaires for different dimensions were identified. We consider that the caregiver's occupation and physical health needs further research. The current knowledge is insufficient for proposing an overall model taking all the dimensions into account. Research is needed before a complete model of the CP child's impact on parents can be tested in view of providing guidelines to professionals for identifying families with a risk of maladaptation and suggesting solutions to decrease the negative impact.

Risk and Protective Factors Distinguishing Profiles of Adolescent Peer and Dating Violence Perpetration

Violence profiles were created on the basis of whether adolescents used violence against both peers and dates, against dates but not peers, against peers but not dates, or against neither peers nor dates. We determined (1) whether risk and protective factors from five domains (individual attributes and behaviors, the peer, family, school, and neighborhood contexts), based primarily on social learning and social control theories, were associated with violence profiles, (2) whether factors distinguishing profiles varied by gender, and (3) which of the domains was most important in distinguishing profiles. Data are from adolescents in grades 8 through 10 from schools in three nonmetropolitan Counties (n = 2,907). Adolescents who used violence against both peers and dates used more of each type of violence compared with those who used only one type of violence. They also had more maladaptive risk and protective scores than adolescents perpetrating only peer violence or neither type of violence, although they had few differences from those perpetrating only dating violence. Most social learning theory risk factors and social control theory protective factors distinguished the profiles as did psychological attributes and substance use. Factors distinguishing profile membership were generally the same for boys and girls, although some associations were stronger for boys than for girls. The model fit statistics suggest that the individual attributes and behaviors and the peer context models fit the data the best. Suggestions for developing theoretically based interventions for preventing both peer and dating violence are presented.