Association between developmental patterns of single and concurrent externalizing behaviors and internalizing problems over the preschool years.

The present study investigated whether distinct developmental patterns of externalizing behaviors (EBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity, noncompliance, physical aggression) based on parent reports were repeatedly and differentially associated with separate dimensions of internalizing problems such as general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the early, middle, and late preschool years in a population birth cohort (N = 2,057, 50.7% boys). Six high trajectory classes obtained by latent growth modeling were used as longitudinal indicators of single EB and co-occurrent EBs. Children following low or moderate trajectories for all EBs served as the reference class. Results revealed that children in trajectory classes reflecting high levels of co-occurring EBs showed higher levels of general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the preschool years. In contrast, children in trajectory classes reflecting single EB manifested higher levels of some, but not all, dimensions of internalizing problems. In addition, their scores varied from one period to another. No sex differences were observed in the above associations. These results underline the need for comprehensive assessments across distinct types of EBs and internalizing problems to better reflect the characteristics that distinguish individual children. Finally, results suggest that children showing early co-occurrent EBs and internalizing symptoms may be an important group to target for in-depth assessment and possibly preventive intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Are Children Following High Trajectories of Disruptive Behaviors in Early Childhood More or Less Likely to Follow Concurrent High Trajectories of Internalizing Problems?

The developmental association between disruptive behaviors (DBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity, non-compliance, physical aggression) and internalizing problems in early childhood is not well understood and has generated competing hypotheses and mixed results. Using a person-centered strategy, the present study aimed to examine concurrent trajectories of DBs and trajectories of internalizing problems from age 1.5 to 5 years in a population-representative sample (N = 2057; 50.7% boys). Six trajectories of DBs and three trajectories of internalizing problems, based on parent reports and obtained via latent growth modeling across five periods of assessment, were used as longitudinal indicators of each type of behaviors. Children following low or moderate trajectories served as the reference class. Compared to children in the reference class, those in trajectory classes characterized by high levels of co-occurring DBs (OR = 6.60) and, to a lesser extent, those in single high DB classes (OR = 2.78) were more likely to follow a high trajectory of internalizing problems simultaneously. These results support a multiple problem hypothesis regarding the association between DBs and internalizing problems, consistent with a developmental perspective that includes a general factor underpinning different psychopathologies. These findings highlight the importance of considering the co-occurrence between DBs and internalizing problems when studying either construct in children.

Intergenerational transmission of genetic risk for hyperactivity and inattention. Direct genetic transmission or genetic nurture?

Background: Hyperactivity and inattention, the symptoms of ADHD, are marked by high levels of heritability and intergenerational transmission. Two distinct pathways of genetic intergenerational transmission are distinguished: direct genetic transmission when parental genetic variants are passed to the child's genome and genetic nurture when the parental genetic background contributes to the child's outcomes through rearing environment. This study assessed genetic contributions to hyperactivity and inattention in childhood through these transmission pathways. Methods: The sample included 415 families from the Quebec Newborn Twin Study. Twins' hyperactivity and inattention were assessed in early childhood by parents and in primary school by teachers. The polygenic scores for ADHD (ADHD-PGS) and educational attainment (EA-PGS) were computed from twins' and parents' genotypes. A model of intergenerational transmission was developed to estimate (1) the contributions of parents' and children's PGS to the twins' ADHD symptoms and (2) whether these variances were explained by genetic transmission and/or genetic nurture. Results: ADHD-PGS explained up to 1.6% of the variance of hyperactivity and inattention in early childhood and primary school. EA-PGS predicted ADHD symptoms at both ages, explaining up to 1.6% of the variance in early childhood and up to 5.5% in primary school. Genetic transmission was the only significant transmission pathway of both PGS. The genetic nurture channeled through EA-PGS explained up to 3.2% of the variance of inattention in primary school but this association was non-significant. Conclusions: Genetic propensities to ADHD and education predicted ADHD symptoms in childhood, especially in primary school. Its intergenerational transmission was driven primarily by genetic variants passed to the child, rather than by environmentally mediated parental genetic effects. The model developed in this study can be leveraged in future research to investigate genetic transmission and genetic nurture while accounting for parental assortative mating.

Hair steroid before and after COVID-19 in preschoolers: the moderation of family characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Frequent or prolonged exposure to stressors may jeopardize young children's health. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with disruptions in daily routines and social isolation resulting from public health preventive measures, have raised concerns about its potential impact on children' experienced stress, particularly for young children and vulnerable families. However, whether the pandemic was accompanied by changes in physiological stress remains unknown as perceived stress is not a good proxy of physiological stress. This study examined if preschoolers showed increasing hair steroid concentrations following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and whether family characteristics may have exacerbated or buffered these changes. METHODS: 136 preschoolers (2-4 years) provided hair for steroid measurement (cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), cortisone, cortisol-to-DHEA ratio, cortisol-to-cortisone ratio) in October-November 2019 (T0) and in July-August 2020 (T1). A 2-centimeter hair segment was analyzed, reflecting steroid production over the two months leading up to collection. Family income, conflict resolution and lack of cohesion, as well as parents' COVID-19 stress were reported by parents. Linear mixed models for repeated measures and Bayes factors were used. RESULTS: No significant changes were noted from before to after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for most hair steroids. However, a moderating role of family conflict resolution was noted. Children living with parents with a better ability to resolve conflicts had lower levels of DHEA compared to those who had more difficulty managing conflicts. Additionally, lower levels of family cohesion and income were linked to some steroids, especially DHEA, suggesting that these factors may relate to children's physiological stress. Finally, boys had higher DHEA levels than girls. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that stress biomarkers were comparable from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. This observation holds true despite the pandemic being perceived by many as a novel, unpredictable, and potentially threatening event. Findings further suggest that family characteristics are associated with hair steroid, especially DHEA, which deserves further investigation.

Longitudinal study of childhood sleep trajectories and adolescent mental health problems.

Study Objective: To investigate whether childhood sleep trajectories are associated with mental health symptoms such as social phobia, generalized anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct problems, and opposition at age 15. Methods: A total of 2120 children took part in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Childhood sleep trajectories were computed from maternal reports at 2.5, 3.5, 4, 6, 8, 10, and/or 12 years. At age 15, 1446 adolescents filled out mental health and sleep questions. A path analysis model was assessed in the full sample. Results: Four childhood nocturnal sleep duration trajectories were identified: (1) a short pattern (7.5%), (2) a short-increasing pattern (5.8%), (3) a 10 hours pattern (50.7%), and (4) an 11 hours pattern (36.0%). Three childhood sleep latency trajectories were found: (1) a short pattern (31.7%), (2) an intermediate pattern (59.9%), and (3) a long pattern (8.4%). Finally, two childhood wakefulness after sleep-onset trajectories were found: (1) a normative pattern (73.0%) and (2) a long pattern (27.0%). The path analysis model indicated that children following a long childhood sleep latency trajectory were more likely to experience symptoms of depression (ß = 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.12), ADHD (ß = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.13), conduct problems (ß = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.10) and opposition (ß = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.13) at age 15. Conclusions: This longitudinal study revealed that children presenting a long sleep latency throughout childhood are at greater risk of symptoms of depression, ADHD, conduct problems, and opposition in adolescence.

Trajectories of Adolescent Media Use and Their Associations With Psychotic Experiences.

Importance: Adolescent media use is thought to influence mental health, but whether it is associated with psychotic experiences (PEs) is unclear. Objective: To examine longitudinal trajectories of adolescent media use and their associations with PEs at 23 years of age. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included participants from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (1998-2021): children who were born in Québec, Canada, and followed up annually or biennially from ages 5 months through 23 years. Data were analyzed between January 2023 and January 2024. Exposures: Participants reported their weekly amount of television viewing, video gaming, computer use, and reading at ages 12, 13, 15, and 17 years. Main Outcome and Measures: Lifetime occurrence of PEs was measured at 23 years of age. Covariables included sociodemographic, genetic, family, and childhood characteristics between ages 5 months and 12 years. Results: A total of 1226 participants were included in the analyses (713 [58.2%] female, 513 [41.8%] male). For each media type, latent class mixed modeling identified 3 group-based trajectories, with subgroups following trajectories of higher use: television viewing, 128 (10.4%); video gaming, 145 (11.8%); computer use, 353 (28.8%); and reading, 140 (11.4%). Relative to lower video gaming, higher video gaming was preceded by higher levels of mental health and interpersonal problems at age 12 years. Adjusting for these risk factors mitigated the association between higher video gaming and PEs at age 23 years. The curved trajectory of computer use (189 [15.4%] participants), characterized by increasing levels of use until age 15 years followed by a decrease, was associated with higher PEs (estimated difference, +5.3%; 95% CI, +1.5% to +9.3%) relative to lower use (684 [55.8%] participants). This association remained statistically significant after covariable adjustment. Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that longitudinal trajectories of media use during adolescence were modestly associated with PEs at age 23 years, likely reflecting the influence of shared risk factors. Understanding the environmental determinants and psychosocial functions of media use during adolescence may help better integrate digital technologies in the prevention and management of PEs.

Genetic and phenotypic evidence of the predictive validity of preschool parent reports of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention.

To determine the validity of parent reports (PRs) of ADHD in preschoolers, we assessed hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) and inattention (IN) in 1114 twins with PRs at 1.5, 2.5, 4, 5, 14, 15, and 17 years, and teacher-reports at 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12. We examined if preschool PRs (1) predict high HI/IN trajectories, and (2) capture genetic contributions to HI/IN into adolescence. Group-based trajectory analyses identified three 6-17 years trajectories for both HI and IN, including small groups with high HI (N = 88, 10.4%, 77% boys) and IN (N = 158, 17.3%, 75% boys). Controlling for sex, each unit of HI PRs starting at 1.5 years and at 4 years for IN, increased more than 2-fold the risk of belonging to the high trajectory, with incremental contributions (Odds Ratios = 2.5-4.5) at subsequent ages. Quantitative genetic analyses showed that genetic contributions underlying preschool PRs accounted for up to a quarter and a third of the heritability of later HI and IN, respectively. Genes underlying 1.5-year HI and 4-year IN contributed to 6 of 8 later HI and IN time-points and largely explained the corresponding phenotypic correlations. Results provide phenotypic and genetic evidence that preschool parent reports of HI and IN are valid means to predict developmental risk of ADHD.

The intergenerational continuity of alcohol use in a population sample.

INTRODUCTION: Research shows that parental alcohol use predicts youths' alcohol use, but this intergenerational continuity may vary across countries, and little is known about its moderators. This study examined for the first time the intergenerational continuity in alcohol use in a population sample of families in Canada, and tested whether it varied by youths' sex, family income, or family structure. METHODS: We used prospective longitudinal data on 1632 families from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), a representative sample from the province of Quebec, Canada. Youths self-reported alcohol use and binge drinking frequency at seven timepoints from early adolescence to early adulthood. Predictors were mothers' and fathers' self-reported alcohol use from youths' infancy through age 13, and mother-reported socioeconomic variables. RESULTS: We identified three trajectories of alcohol use from ages 13 to 21 years: normative, late-onset and early-onset. Maternal alcohol use increased the youths' risk of following the early-onset trajectory of alcohol use, while both parents' alcohol use decreased the odds of the youths following the late-onset trajectory, compared to the normative trajectory. Insufficient family income increased youths' risk of following either the early-onset or late-onset trajectories. Mothers' and fathers' alcohol use did not interact in predicting youths' trajectory, and we found no moderating effects of the youths' sex, insufficient income, or years as a single-parent family. CONCLUSION: The results suggest modest intergenerational continuity of alcohol use in Quebec families which may be used, with income insufficiency, to help identify at-risk children for targeted interventions.