Characteristics of child psychiatric outpatients with slow processing speed and potential mechanisms of academic impact.

While slow processing speed (PS) is well documented in youth with ADHD, growing evidence suggests that this difficulty affects children with other neuropsychiatric conditions. Clarifying the relationship between slow PS and different forms of psychopathology is important clinically, given the potential impact of PS on academic functioning, and conceptually. In 751 youth, ages 6-21, consecutively referred for neuropsychiatric evaluation, we examined the association between slow PS (i.e., Wechsler PS Index < 85) and seven neuropsychiatric diagnostic groups. In 492 of these youth, we also related slow PS to eight psychopathology symptom dimensions. Finally, we modeled the relationship between PS, other cognitive functions and academic achievement. Data are from the Longitudinal Study of Genetic Influences on Cognition. Analyses included one-sample t tests, ANOVA, logistic regression, mixed modeling, and structural equation modeling (SEM), controlling for age, sex, and medication. Compared to normative data, all clinical groups showed PS decrements. Compared to referred youth without full diagnoses and accounting for other psychopathology, risk for slow PS was elevated in youth with autism spectrum disorder (OR = 1.8), psychotic disorders (OR = 3.4) and ADHD-inattentive type (OR = 1.6). Having multiple comorbidities also increased risk for slow PS. Among dimensions, inattention (OR = 1.5) associated with slow PS but did not fully explain the association with autism or psychosis. In SEM, PS had direct effects on academic achievement and indirect effects through working memory. Findings extend evidence that PS relates to multiple aspects of child psychopathology and associates with academic achievement in child psychiatric outpatients.

Sleep is in for Summer: Patterns of Sleep and Physical Activity in Urban Minority Girls.

OBJECTIVE: Urban minority girls are at risk for summertime weight gain, and may also experience insufficient summertime sleep. Few studies have objectively measured sleep in this population or examined correlates, including physical activity (PA). This study is the first to objectively describe summertime sleep among urban minority girls. METHODS: Data were collected at a community-based summer program that promoted PA (n = 60 girls, ages 10-14 years), at two time points: before beginning programming (T1; unstructured context) and during the final week of programming (T2; structured context). RESULTS: At both time points, participants experienced shorter nighttime sleep than the recommended amount for girls their age. African American girls recorded significantly less sleep than Latina girls in the unstructured context. Findings also suggest that sleep schedules have an influential role in youths' abilities to obtain adequate sleep. CONCLUSION: Overall, summertime sleep is an understudied health behavior that may be important to consider among minority youth.

Active summers matter: evaluation of a community-based summertime program targeting obesogenic behaviors of low-income, ethnic minority girls.

Low-income minority females are disproportionately affected by obesity. The relevance of summer months to weight gain is often overlooked. Some evidence suggests that summer programming, such as day camps, may offer increased opportunities for structured physical activities resulting in less weight gain. This study examined the effectiveness of Girls in the Game, a six-hour four-week sports and fitness summer camp program, in increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing body mass index and media use. Statistically significant increases were observed in four physical activity measures including total PA, MVPA, average number of ten-minute bouts of MVPA, and minutes participants spent in bouts of at least ten minutes of MVPA. This chapter highlights the importance of investigating the potential relationships among weight, physical activity, sedentary time, media use, and participation in summer camp programming.

Improving Urban Minority Girls' Health Via Community Summer Programming.

Summertime has emerged as a high-risk period for weight gain among low-income minority youth who often experience a lack of resources when not attending school. Structured programming may be an effective means of reducing risk for obesity by improving obesogenic behaviors among these youth. The current multi-method study examined sedentary time, physical activity, and dietary intake among low-income urban minority girls in two contexts: an unstructured summertime setting and in the context of a structured 4-week community-based summer day camp program promoting physical activity. Data were analyzed using paired-sample t tests and repeated-measure analyses of variance with significance at the p < .05 level. Results evidenced no significant differences in total calories and fat consumed between the unstructured and structured settings. Participants exhibited significant increases in fruit consumption and physical activity and significant decreases in sedentary time of over 2 h/day and dairy consumption when engaged in structured summer programming. All improvements were independent of weight status and age, and African-American participants evidenced greater changes in physical activity during programming. The study concludes that structured, community-based summertime programming may be associated with fewer obesogenic behaviors in low-income urban youth and may be a powerful tool to address disparities in weight gain and obesity among high-risk samples.