A challenge to the expected: Lack of longitudinal associations between the early caregiving environment, executive functions in toddlerhood, and self-regulation at 6 years.

Previous research and theory indicate an importance of the quality of the early caregiving environment in the development of self-regulation. However, it is unclear how attachment security and maternal sensitivity, two related but distinct aspects of the early caregiving environment, may differentially predict self-regulation at school start and whether a distinction between hot and cool executive function is informative in characterizing such predictions through mediation. In a 5-year longitudinal study (n = 108), we examined these associations using measures of maternal sensitivity and attachment security at 10-12 months, executive function at 4 years, and self-regulation at 6 years. Surprisingly, and despite methodological rigor, we found few significant bivariate associations between the study variables. We found no credible evidence of a longitudinal association between maternal sensitivity or attachment security in infancy and self-regulation at 6 years, or between executive function at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. The lack of bivariate longitudinal associations precluded us from building mediation models as intended. We discuss our null findings in terms of their potential theoretical implications, as well as how measurement type, reliability, and validity, may play a key role in determining longitudinal associations between early caregiving factors and later self-regulation and related abilities. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The early caregiving environment has been implicated in the development of later self-regulation, which includes more basic skills, such as hot and cool executive functions (EF). In a 5-year longitudinal study, with a sample of 108 children, we rigorously measured aspects of early caregiving, EF, and self-regulation. We found no significant longitudinal associations between early caregiving and self-regulation at 6 years, nor between EF at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. These null results highlight the complexity of modeling self-regulation development and raise critical questions about general methodological conventions within self-regulation development research.

Behavior problems, social relationships, and adolescents' future orientation. Links from middle to late adolescence.

INTRODUCTION: As adolescents leave high school, plans for the future are of great importance. Future orientation reflects positive thoughts regarding further education, employment, and family life. While future orientation has been found to affect behavior problems, the influence of behavior problems on future orientation is mainly unknown. Positive parent-child and peer relations may boost positive outlooks, but the interplay of behavior problems and social relations for future orientation remains to be studied. METHODS: Participants were 485 adolescents, 54% girls, living in Mid-Sweden. At age 15, parents and adolescents rated ADHD- and internalizing symptoms, parents rated ODD-symptoms, and adolescents rated their relationship with parents and peers. At age 18, adolescents rated future orientation regarding education, employment, and family, and reported on delinquent acts. RESULTS: Low levels of inattention symptoms and of delinquency were important for all higher future orientation aspects. In contrast, higher levels of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms were associated with more positive outlooks on work and family life. Relationships with parents and peers were stronger predictors of future outlooks, compared with behavior problems. There were few interaction effects of behavioral symptoms and social relationship quality. CONCLUSIONS: Behavior problems in middle adolescence may negatively affect future outlooks. However, positive social relations, especially relations with peers, seem more important for optimistic views than behavior problems and thus may have a compensatory effect. The clinical implications should be to address the young person's social world, in the case of misgivings about the future, also in the presence of problematic behaviors.

Disrupted Attention to Other's Eyes is Linked to Symptoms of ADHD in Childhood.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with impaired social interaction. Other's eyes are important for understanding the social world. Here, we examined concurrent and longitudinal links between attention to other's eyes and symptoms of ADHD and comorbid externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Eighty-two 8 to 13-year-old children (40% with ADHD) participated. The latency to a first gaze shift to and away from the eye region of human faces, when primed to look at either the eyes or the mouth, was recorded with eye tracking. Parents rated ADHD, externalizing and internalizing symptoms at the time of testing and at 2-year follow-up. The results show that longer looking at the eyes before reorienting was specifically associated with concurrent and future symptoms of inattention, even when accounting for comorbid symptoms. We conclude that the temporal microstructure of attention to other's eyes is altered in children with symptoms of ADHD, which may contribute to social impairments.

Inhibitory control and problem solving in early childhood: Exploring the burdens and benefits of high self-control.

Low inhibitory control (IC) is sometimes associated with enhanced problem-solving amongst adults, yet for young children high IC is primarily framed as inherently better than low IC. Here, we explore associations between IC and performance on a novel problem-solving task, amongst 102 English 2- and 3-year-olds (Study 1) and 84 Swedish children, seen at 18-months and 4-years (Study 2). Generativity during problem-solving was negatively associated with IC, as measured by prohibition-compliance (Study 1, both ages, Study 2 longitudinally from 18-months). High parent-reported IC was associated with poorer overall problem-solving success, and greater perseveration (Study 1, 3-year-olds only). Benefits of high parent-reported IC on persistence could be accounted for by developmental level. No concurrent association was observed between problem-solving performance and IC as measured with a Delay-of-Gratification task (Study 2, concurrent associations at 4-years). We suggest that, for young children, high IC may confer burden on insight- and analytic-aspects of problem-solving.

Increased pupil dilation to happy faces in children with hyperactive/impulsive symptoms of ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with disrupted emotional processes including impaired regulation of approach behavior and positive affect, irritability, and anger. Enhanced reactivity to emotional cues may be an underlying process. Pupil dilation is an indirect index of arousal, modulated by the autonomic nervous system and activity in the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic system. In the current study, pupil dilation was recorded while 8- to 12- year old children (n = 71, 26 with a diagnosis of ADHD and 45 typically developing), viewed images of emotional faces. Parent-rated hyperactive/impulsive symptoms were uniquely linked to higher pupil dilation to happy, but not fearful, angry, or neutral faces. This was not explained by comorbid externalizing symptoms. Together, these results suggest that hyperactive/impulsive symptoms are associated with hyperresponsiveness to approach-related emotional cues across a wide range of symptom severity.

ADHD symptoms and callous-unemotional traits as predictors of violent media use in adolescence.

We investigated ADHD symptoms and CU traits as predictors of violent media use in adolescence, controlling for delinquency and ODD symptoms. The effects on of disinhibition and arousal to negative stimuli, core characteristics of ADHD symptoms and CU traits, and of gender were investigated. At age 15, 88 adolescents, 50 % boys reported on CU traits, ADHD symptoms and delinquency. Parents rated the adolescents' CU traits, ADHD- and ODD symptoms. At age 16, adolescents reported on their media habits and performed tests of disinhibition and arousal to negative stimuli. Boys had higher levels of CU traits and violent media use and girls had higher levels of arousal to negative pictures. CU traits and inattention symptoms predicted violent media use, the latter association applying only to boys, with CU traits being the strongest predictor. Low arousal to threat pictures explained variance in violent media use, above CU traits. Attraction to violent media seems affected by problem behaviors, with CU traits coming forth as especially important.

Mind-wandering in children with and without ADHD.

OBJECTIVES: Mind-wandering (MW) is a commonly experienced phenomenon, characterized by focus of attention drifting away from the present situation to intrinsically originated thoughts. Studies in adults show that MW is related to ADHD symptoms, but this association is understudied in children. We set out to investigate the associations of MW in children with and without ADHD and to simultaneously validate the self-report Mind Excessively Wandering Scale (MEWS) in children. DESIGN: We used a cross-sectional, correlational, design to examine the research questions. METHODS: The sample consisted of 82 children (61 boys) aged 8-13 years (m = 10.46), of which 35 had a diagnosis of ADHD. Children rated MW; parents and teachers rated ADHD symptoms, emotion regulation and academic achievement. Working memory was assessed with Digit Span. RESULTS: MW was positively related to ADHD symptoms, and the MEWS could differentiate between cases and controls with a sensitivity of 0.71 and specificity of 0.81. Psychometric properties of the MEWS were satisfactory. In addition, MW contributed independently to working memory (R2 Δ = .05, p = .01) and emotion regulation (R2 Δ = .04, p = .04) beyond ADHD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: MW is elevated in children with ADHD and contributes to functional domains. The MEWS is a valid tool for assessing MW in children, and the results are mostly comparable to that of adults (Mowlem et al., 2016, Journal of Attention Disorders, 23, 624), suggesting a similar relationship of MW to ADHD across the lifespan. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Spontaneous mind-wandering is elevated in children with ADHD compared to children without a diagnosis. Elevated spontaneous mind-wandering predicts lower working memory, emotion regulation and academic achievement beyond ADHD symptoms, IQ and socio-economic status. Clinicians should consider evaluating excessive spontaneous mind-wandering and targeting it as an important outcome when treating children with ADHD. The MEWS is a valid tool for assessing excessive mind-wandering in children.

Can auditory warning signals normalize eye movements in children with ADHD?

Attenuated baseline arousal has been hypothesized to underlie symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A behavioral signature of reduced baseline arousal is an increased beneficiary effect of warning signals in reaction tasks. This paradoxical effect is believed to be caused by a temporary increase in arousal induced by warning signals. In a preregistered study, we tested the hypothesis that children with high levels of ADHD symptoms would be hyperresponsive to warning signals in a well-established visual attention task (the gap/overlap paradigm). Previous studies using this task have found slower and more variable saccadic reaction times in children with ADHD compared to typically developing children, suggesting that these eye movement metrics are candidate biomarkers. We examined 71 children, of which 1/3 had a diagnosis of ADHD, using both dimensional analyses and group comparisons. Previously reported findings of reduced saccadic latency and increased latency variability were replicated. Importantly, saccadic latency was normalized by auditory warning signals. Analyses of pupil dilation, a physiological index of arousal and locus coeruleus-noradrenergic activity, confirmed that warning signals led to enhanced arousal. Our findings are novel and contribute to our understanding of arousal and attention in ADHD and have implications for treatment and interventions.

Disorganized attachment representations, externalizing behavior problems, and socioemotional competences in early school-age.

Multifactorial research must examine if disorganized attachment is specifically associated with either ODD- or ADHD-symptoms,and the mechanisms through which disorganization may become associated with externalizing problems. The present short-term longitudinal study therefore examined attachment representations, and several competences important for socio-emotional functioning, in relation to ODD- and ADHD-symptoms at T1 (N = 105, M age = 80 months) and T2 (N = 80, M age = 104 months). There was a main effect of disorganized attachment on ODD-symptoms at both time points but not on ADHD-symptoms. Disorganized children also showed lowered attention to facial expressions, a diminished ability to discriminate facial expressions, and elevated emotional reactivity. Emotional reactivity mediated the link between disorganization and ODD-symptoms at T1, but not at T2. The findings support disorganized attachment as a risk-factor for ODD-symptoms rather than ADHD-symptoms, and suggest that disorganization may become associated with ODD-symptoms through broad effects on multiple competences.

Can reactivity and regulation in infancy predict inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behavior in 3-year-olds?

A need to identify early infant markers of later occurring inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behaviors has come to the fore in the current attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder literature. The purpose of such studies is to identify driving mechanisms that could enable early detection of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder liability and thus facilitate early intervention. Here we study independent and interactive effects of cognitive regulation (inhibition and sustained attention), temperament (reactive and regulatory aspects), and maternal sensitivity (as external regulation) in a sample of 112 typically developing 10-month-old infants (59 boys, 52.7%), in relation to inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behavior at 3 years. The results showed that infant temperamental regulation and maternal sensitivity made independent contributions to both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, in that higher levels of temperamental regulation and maternal sensitivity were related to less inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behavior. In addition, the temperamental factor positive affectivity/surgency made a significant contribution to later hyperactivity/impulsivity, in that higher levels of positive affectivity/surgency were related to more hyperactive/impulsive behavior. No interaction effects were found. Our findings suggest temperament and parental regulation as potential and independent markers of later inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behavior.