Development of symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder from preschool to adolescence: the role of bullying victimization and emotion regulation.

BACKGROUND: Childhood oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is associated with adverse outcomes which can continue to impair life well into adulthood. Identifying modifiable etiological factors of ODD is therefore essential. Although bullying victimization and poor emotion regulation are assumed to be risk factors for the development of ODD symptoms, little research has been conducted to test this possibility. METHODS: A sample (n = 1,042) from two birth cohorts of children in the city of Trondheim, Norway, was assessed biennially from age 4 to 14 years. Parents and children (from age 8) were assessed with clinical interviews to determine symptoms of ODD, children reported on their victimization from bullying, and teachers reported on children's emotion regulation. RESULTS: Oppositional defiant disorder symptoms increased from age 4 to 6, from age 8 to 10, and then started to wane as children entered adolescence. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model revealed that increased emotion regulation predicted a reduced number of ODD symptoms across development (ß = -.15 to -.13, p < .001). This prediction was equally strong for the angry/irritable and argumentative/defiant dimensions of ODD. No longitudinal links were observed between bullying victimization and ODD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Improving emotion regulation skills may protect against ODD symptoms throughout childhood and adolescence.

Reciprocal relations between interparental aggression and symptoms of oppositional defiant and conduct disorders: a seven-wave cohort study of within-family effects from preschool to adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Interparental aggression is believed to increase the risk of behavioral disorders in offspring, and offspring behavioral problems may forecast interparental aggression. However, these assumptions have yet to be put to a strong test. This study, therefore, examined whether increased interparental aggression predicted increased symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) from preschool to adolescence and vice versa. METHODS: A sample (n = 1,077; 49.6% girls) from two birth cohorts of children in Trondheim, Norway, was assessed biennially from age 4 to 16. Children's symptoms of ODD and CD were assessed using semi-structured clinical interviews of parents (from age 4) and children (from age 8). One of the parents reported on their own and their partner's verbal and physical aggression. A random intercept cross-lagged model was estimated to test the within-family relations between interparental aggression, CD, and ODD symptoms. RESULTS: Across development, increased interparental aggression predicted increased CD symptoms 2 years later, whereas an increased number of ODD symptoms forecasted increased interparental aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The argumentative/defiant, aggressive, and vindictive behaviors seen in ODD are often directed toward parents and may take a toll on their relationship and possibly foster interparental aggression, whereas aggression between parents may promote symptoms of CD in their offspring, which commonly extend beyond the home. Incorporating effective and non-aggressive means to solve interparental conflict into parental management programs may reduce the development of symptoms of CDs in children.

Validity, Reliability and Internal Consistency of Persian Versions of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale and the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire.

The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale (TESS) and the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) are questionnaires widely used in studies of trauma and dissociation. This study aimed to examine the validity of the Persian versions of these questionnaires among a total of 230 individuals from the cities of Kermanshah and Sarpol-e Zahab that had experienced 2017 Iran earthquake. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original five-factor solution for the TESS. Two principal component analyses resulted in a four-component solution for a revised version of the scale. PDEQ scores, TESS scores, and its sub-scales, were found to significantly correlate with a PTSD measure with their effect sizes ranging from medium to large according to Cohen's guidelines. Furthermore, significant correlations between two sub-scales of the CTQ and a dissociation measure were found with medium effect sizes. Consequently, reliability and validity measures obtained from the sample of this study were supportive of the use of the Persian versions of the TESS, the PDEQ, and the CTQ among Persian-speaking populations. Further research on psychological responses to earthquakes and other natural disasters can provide the opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons in terms of specific resilience factors and vulnerabilities following mass trauma.

The prevalence of deliberate self-harm and its relationships to trauma and dissociation among Iranian young adults.

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of deliberate self-harm and its relationships to childhood and recent trauma and different patterns of dissociative features. A total of 100 male and 100 female college students were administered a 58-item questionnaire designed to detect the extent of dissociation, deliberate self-harm, and trauma history. Participants with deliberate self-harm behaviors reported more traumatic experiences and dissociative features than participants without such behaviors. Furthermore, the prevalence of deliberate self-harm (i.e., 40.5%) was similar to previous studies on college student populations. However, and contrary to earlier research, deliberate self-harm was significantly more prevalent among men (48%) than women (33%). The findings support the notion that trauma, pathological dissociation, and depersonalization/derealization play important functional roles in self-harm behaviors. From this perspective, it is feasible to understand individuals who engage in self-harm as either escaping from uncomfortable dissociative states or experiencing an infra-psychological conflict in which one dissociative part of the self is being abusive toward another.

Risk factors of post-traumatic stress among survivors of the 2017 Iran earthquake: The importance of peritraumatic dissociation.

The aim of this study was to explore the roles of pre-earthquake characteristics (age, gender, years of education, history of childhood and recent trauma and trait dissociation), during-the-earthquake state (peritraumatic dissociation) and post-earthquake difficulties (severity of exposure to earthquake) in post-traumatic stress among survivors of the 2017 Iran earthquake. A total number of 127 individuals in Kermanshah and 103 individuals in Sarpol-e Zahab completed and returned a 105-item questionnaire. Among these, 32 (25.2%) participants in the Kermanshah sample and 80 (77.7%) participants in the Sarpol-e Zahab sample scored equal to, or more than, the cut-off score of 33 on the Impact of Event Scale - Revised and, thus, were considered as having high likelihood of having PTSD. A three-model hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that pre-earthquake characteristics, during-the-earthquake state and post-earthquake difficulties each explained a unique variance of 11.3%, 34.4% and 14.7%, respectively, and together explained a total variance of 60.4% in post-traumatic stress. Earthquake victims who report higher degrees of peritraumatic dissociation during and immediately after the earthquake are more vulnerable to develop PTSD and should be prioritized in terms of receiving psychological interventions.

The Importance of Religious/Ritual Abuse as a Traumatic Predictor of Dissociation.

This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of different types of Religious/Ritual Abuse (RA) among Iranian young adults and to investigate the relationships between RA, childhood and recent trauma, and different patterns of dissociativity. A total of 100 male and 100 female university students completed and returned a 51-item questionnaire designed to detect the extent of dissociation, childhood and recent trauma history, and RA; 12.5% of participants reported history of RA. Pearson correlation analysis showed that RA strongly correlated with dissociativity. The most notable finding of this study is that RA and being victim of violence within the last 3 years are the most important traumatic predictors of dissociativity. More research on the nature of the relationship between RA and dissociation is suggested.