Childhood self-control forecasts the pace of midlife aging and preparedness for old age.

The ability to control one's own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in early life predicts a range of positive outcomes in later life, including longevity. Does it also predict how well people age? We studied the association between self-control and midlife aging in a population-representative cohort of children followed from birth to age 45 y, the Dunedin Study. We measured children's self-control across their first decade of life using a multi-occasion/multi-informant strategy. We measured their pace of aging and aging preparedness in midlife using measures derived from biological and physiological assessments, structural brain-imaging scans, observer ratings, self-reports, informant reports, and administrative records. As adults, children with better self-control aged more slowly in their bodies and showed fewer signs of aging in their brains. By midlife, these children were also better equipped to manage a range of later-life health, financial, and social demands. Associations with children's self-control could be separated from their social class origins and intelligence, indicating that self-control might be an active ingredient in healthy aging. Children also shifted naturally in their level of self-control across adult life, suggesting the possibility that self-control may be a malleable target for intervention. Furthermore, individuals' self-control in adulthood was associated with their aging outcomes after accounting for their self-control in childhood, indicating that midlife might offer another window of opportunity to promote healthy aging.

Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: a Narrative Review of Biological Mechanisms, Treatments, and Outcomes.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous and complex neurodevelopmental disorder related to disruptions in various neuronal structures and pathways, dopamine (DA) transporter, and receptor genes, resulting in cognitive and regulation deficits. This article reviews recent research on the biological mechanisms and markers, clinical manifestations, treatments, and outcomes of adult ADHD as well as current controversies within the field. RECENT FINDINGS: New research identifies white matter disruptions in multiple cortical pathways in adults with ADHD. New treatments for ADHD in adults such as viloxazine ER have shown preliminary effectiveness in addition to research showing transcranial direct current stimulation can be an effective treatment for adults with ADHD. Although questions exist about the effectiveness of current assessments of and treatments for adult ADHD, recent findings represent a step towards improving the quality of life and outcomes for individuals experiencing this life-long, chronic health condition.

Doctoral students' intention to use assessments in their career: The incremental role of self-reported competence.

OBJECTIVE: Attaining competence in assessment is a necessary step in graduate training and has been defined to include multiple domains of training relevant to this attainment. While important to ensure trainees meet these standards of training, it is critical to understand how and if competence shapes a trainees' professional identity, therein promoting lifelong competency. METHODS: The current study assessed currently enrolled graduate trainees' knowledge and perception of their capabilities related to assessment to determine if self-reported and performance-based competence would incrementally predict their intention to use assessment in their future above basic training characteristics and intended career interests. RESULTS: Self-reported competence, but not performance-based competence, played an incremental role in trainees' intention to use assessments in their careers. Multiple graduate training characteristics and practice experiences were insignificant predictors after accounting for other relative predictors (i.e., intended career settings, integrated reports). CONCLUSION: Findings are discussed about the critical importance of incorporating a hybrid competency-capability assessment training framework to further emphasize the role of trainee self-efficacy in hopes of promoting lifelong competence in their continued use of assessments.

An Examination of Sleep as a Mediator of the Relationship between Childhood Adversity and Depression in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Young Adults.

The current study integrates previous research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-term health outcomes to examine associations between ACEs, sleep duration, and depression in a diverse, mostly healthy, sample of young adults. We examine whether sleep duration mediates the association between ACEs and depression among young adults, and whether ethnicity may moderate observed relationships between ACEs, sleep duration and depression. Data were collected from 518 young adults (66.8% female, Mage=19.79 years, SDage=3.43 years) enrolled in undergraduate Psychology courses at a large Southwestern university. Participants primarily reported their racial/ethnic background as Non-Hispanic White (60.6%) and Hispanic/Latino (25.1%). Participants self-reported their ACEs exposure, sleep characteristics, and depressive symptoms. In addition to calculating overall exposure to ACEs, scores for the specific dimensions of adversity were also calculated (Abuse, Neglect, Exposure to Violence). Results supported a mediation model whereby higher reports of ACEs were associated with depressive symptoms both directly and through sleep duration. Results were not moderated by ethnicity. Findings provide support for sleep duration as one potential pathway through which ACEs may be associated with depressive symptoms in young adulthood, and suggest that this pathway is similar in Hispanic and non-Hispanic young adults.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates of Resilience Following Adolescent Traumatic Brain Injury.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with considerable mortality and morbidity in adolescents, but positive outcomes are possible. Resilience is the concept that some individuals flourish despite significant adversity. OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is a relationship between resilience-promoting factors that are known to promote resilience and white matter (WM) microstructure 1 year after complicated mild TBI or moderate or severe TBI that is sustained by adolescents. METHOD: We examined the relationship between performance on a self-report measure of resilience-promoting factors and WM integrity assessed by diffusion tensor imaging in a group of adolescents who had sustained either a TBI (n = 38) or an orthopedic injury (OI) (n = 23). RESULTS: Immediately following injury, the individuals with TBI and the OI controls had comparable levels of resilience-promoting factors; however, at 1 year post injury, the TBI group endorsed fewer resilience-promoting factors and exhibited WM disruption compared with the OI controls. The individuals with TBI who had more resilience-promoting factors at 1 year post injury exhibited increased WM integrity, but the OI controls did not. Findings were particularly strong for the following structures: anterior corona radiata, anterior limb of the internal capsule, and genu of the corpus callosum-structures that are implicated in social cognition and are frequently disrupted after TBI. Relationships were notable for caregiver and community-level resilience-promoting factors. CONCLUSION: The current findings are some of the first to indicate neurobiological evidence of previously noted buffering effects of resilience-promoting factors in individuals with TBI.

Does Stress Mediate the Relation between Caregivers' Victimization and Child Behavioral Outcomes? A Prospective Examination.

Children with internalizing and externalizing difficulties are at risk for long-term negative effects in adulthood and are impacted by several caregiver factors. Findings of the present study are consistent with previous studies that found direct associations between caregiver victimization history (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) and child behavior problems. Examination of potential mechanisms revealed that caregiver everyday stress related to relationships/responsibilities (RR) served as a mediator between caregiver victimization history and increased children's internalizing symptoms. Though there may be other pathways that contribute to this relation, there does seem to be clinical and policy utility of this knowledge, particularly for at-risk families that are faced with high levels of everyday RR stress. Attenuation of this impact may be accomplished through connection to community resources such as access to family counseling to mitigate relational stress and policy addressing disparities.

Identifying the Contributions of Maternal Factors and Early Childhood Externalizing Behavior on Adolescent Delinquency.

We examined whether childhood externalizing group subtypes were uniquely related to maternal depression and victimization and whether these subtypes differentially predicted adolescent delinquency. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study on Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) consortium (N = 1091; 51.3% female, 52.2% African American). Latent class analysis indicated three groups at age 4 (titled "well-adjusted," "hyperactive/oppositional," and "aggressive/rule-breaking"). Caregiver victimization and depression significantly predicted group membership such that aggressive/rule-breaking group had higher levels of maternal depression and victimization although the well-adjusted group had higher levels of maternal victimization relative to the hyperactive/oppositional group. Further, membership in higher externalizing groups at age four is associated with greater risk of adolescent delinquency at age 16. These findings underscore the need to address maternal risk factors in the treatment of childhood disruptive behavior and provide evidence of the continuity of disruptive behaviors from early childhood to adolescence.

Applicant factors contributing to interview selection, ranking determination, and judgement of "Fit" among health service psychology internship training programs.

BACKGROUND: The predoctoral internshipAQ4 training year is the capstone training experience for health service doctoral students. Previous research has explored what applicant characteristics are desired by internship sites and has not thoroughly explored differences between types of sites or criteria importance at different stages of applicant consideration (interview vs. ranking). AIMS: We evaluate current perceptions of doctoral student internship applications by training directors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Internship training directors of APA-accredited sites report on the importance of different application materials during interview and ranking decisions. We also compare these rankings across site types. RESULTS: Results indicate that internship sites were generally consistent in their criteria rankings; however, there were also some differences. Intern applicant "fit" continues to be the most important criteria by which applicants are judged at all stages of consideration. Qualitative analysis found that "fit" varied by site across themes of treatment, applicant, and site characteristics. DISCUSSION: We discuss implications in their preparation of internship applications. In addition to the practical guidance for students, we discuss how program changes can increase applicant site competitiveness.

Mentors' experiences of mentoring justice-involved adolescents: A narrative of developing cultural consciousness through connection.

Mentoring provides a relational intervention that can promote positive youth development among adolescents who are involved in the juvenile justice system. The perspectives of mentors engaging these youth, particularly insights considered through a cultural humility lens, have been largely absent from the literature to date. This study examined predominately White, middle- to upper-class adult mentors' experiences mentoring racially diverse, working-class youth. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were completed with 23 mentors participating in a community-based mentoring program. Themes were derived from inductive content analysis. Emergent themes illustrative of the mentoring process included (a) establishing a connection despite differences, (b) identifying mentees' personal and environmental challenges, and (c) raising consciousness around structural issues. Despite coming from different backgrounds and experiences, mentors who worked with justice-involved adolescents were motivated to connect with their mentees. Mentors developed a greater awareness of structural challenges influencing adolescents by learning about the multifaceted experiences and needs of their mentees.

Traumatic brain injury and lifetime suicidality: Applying the interpersonal-psychological theory perspective.

The present article investigates the traumatic brain injury (TBI)-suicide link, assessing whether (a) TBI accounts for variance in suicide risk, and (b) the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide can be applied to TBI status. Matched case-control procedures applied to archival college student health data identified TBI and non-TBI subsamples (84 total). Individuals with a TBI possessed higher suicide risk than those without. Even accounting for the relative influence of strong suicide risk factors (i.e., depression, perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and acquired capability), TBI was robustly associated with suicide risk. TBI history would be valuable to ascertain in assessing suicide risk.

Understanding the Influence of Mental Health Diagnosis and Gender on Placement Decisions for Justice-Involved Youth.

Justice-involved youth have high rates of psychiatric diagnoses, and these youth are often placed out-of-home, although evidence identifies several negative implications of juvenile confinement, especially for youth with psychopathology. Furthermore, youth in the justice system may be processed differently based on gender. As males and females tend to manifest symptoms differently, the psychopathology of youth may act to moderate the relationship between gender and placement in the juvenile justice system. The present study used a large, diverse sample (n = 9 851, 19.8 % female) to examine whether youth placed in various types of out-of-home facilities differed in terms of externalizing, internalizing, substance use, or comorbid disorders, and to determine the predictive value of mental health diagnoses in placement decisions. The moderation effect of psychopathology and substance use on the relationship between gender and placement also was explored. The results indicated that each type of disorder differed across placements, with internalizing being most prevalent in non-secure, and externalizing, comorbid, and substance use being most prevalent in secure settings. Mental health diagnoses improved the prediction of placement in each out-of-home placement beyond legal and demographic factors such that externalizing and substance use disorders decreased the likelihood of placement in non-secure settings, and internalizing, externalizing, and substance use disorders increased the likelihood of placement in secure and state-secure facilities. The relationship between internalizing pathology and placement in more secure facilities was moderated by externalizing pathology. The relationship between gender and placement was significantly moderated by mental health such that females with mental health diagnoses receive less secure placements. Implications for policymakers and practitioners are discussed, as well as implications for reforming juvenile justice within a developmental approach.

Multidimensional Predictors of Treatment Outcome in Usual Care for Adolescent Conduct Problems and Substance Use.

This study investigated baseline client characteristics that predicted long-term treatment outcomes among adolescents referred from school and community sources and enrolled in usual care for conduct and substance use problems. Predictor effects for multiple demographic (age, sex, race/ethnicity), clinical (baseline symptom severity, comorbidity, family discord), and developmental psychopathology (behavioral dysregulation, depression, peer delinquency) characteristics were examined. Participants were 205 adolescents (52 % male; mean age 15.7 years) from diverse backgrounds (59 % Hispanic American, 21 % African American, 15 % multiracial, 6 % other) residing in a large inner-city area. As expected, characteristics from all three predictor categories were related to various aspects of change in externalizing problems, delinquent acts, and substance use at one-year follow-up. The strongest predictive effect was found for baseline symptom severity: Youth with greater severity showed greater clinical gains. Higher levels of co-occurring developmental psychopathology characteristics likewise predicted better outcomes. Exploratory analyses showed that change over time in developmental psychopathology characteristics (peer delinquency, depression) was related to change in delinquent acts and substance use. Implications for serving multiproblem adolescents and tailoring treatment plans in routine care are discussed.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Sleep Quality in Adolescents and Young Adults After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: We examined sleep-related problems in adolescents and young adults after a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or orthopedic injury. We extended the analysis of data from a study of early emotional and neuropsychological sequelae in these populations (McCauley et al. 2014. J Neurotrauma. 31:914). METHODS: We gave the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to 77 participants with MTBI, 71 with orthopedic injury, and 43 non-injured controls. The age range was 12 to 30 years. We tested sleep quality within 96 hours of injury and at 1- and 3-month follow-up. Participants also completed measures of pain and fatigue, drug and alcohol use, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. RESULTS: Older participants (mean age=25 years) in the MTBI group exhibited a sharp increase in sleep-related symptoms between the baseline assessment and 1 month, and still had difficulties at 3 months. Younger participants with MTBI (mean age=15 years) and older participants with an orthopedic injury had modest increases in sleep difficulties between baseline and 1 month. The participants with MTBI also had more clinically significant sleep difficulties at all 3 assessments. At 3 months, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores in younger participants with MTBI and all participants with orthopedic injury did not differ significantly from the non-injured controls'. The controls had no significant change in their sleep symptoms during the 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep difficulties in young adults may persist for ≤3 months after MTBI and exceed those after orthopedic injury. Clinicians should seek and treat sleep-related problems after MTBI.

Static and Dynamic Factors Promoting Resilience following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Brief Review.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the greatest contributing cause of death and disability among children and young adults in the United States. The current paper briefly summarizes contemporary literature on factors that can improve outcomes (i.e., promote resilience) for children and adults following TBI. For the purpose of this paper, the authors divided these factors into static or unmodifiable factors (i.e., age, sex, intellectual abilities/education, and preinjury psychiatric history) and dynamic or modifiable factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, family functioning/social support, nutrition, and exercise). Drawing on human and animal studies, the research reviewed indicated that these various factors can improve outcomes in multiple domains of functioning (e.g., cognition, emotion regulation, health and wellness, behavior, etc.) following a TBI. However, many of these factors have not been studied across populations, have been limited to preclinical investigations, have been limited in their scope or follow-up, or have not involved a thorough evaluation of outcomes. Thus, although promising, continued research is vital in the area of factors promoting resilience following TBI in children and adults.

Dimensions of trauma and specific symptoms of complex posttraumatic stress disorder in inner-city youth: a preliminary study.

We examined relations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with dimensions of trauma, including environment (Domestic vs. Community) and proximity (Indirect vs. Direct trauma) among inner-city youth. Participants (n = 65) reported traumatic events they had experienced on a version of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index Trauma Exposure Screen, and reported PTSD symptoms with the PTSD Checklist--Civilian version (PCL-C). High rates of trauma and PTSD were found, consistent with other reports of inner-city youth. The 49% of youth surveyed met criteria for PTSD on the PCL-C symptom scale with a score cutoff of 35. Females reported elevated PTSD symptom scores and a higher incidence of Domestic trauma than did males but similar incidence of other trauma types. When males and females were combined, Domestic trauma significantly correlated with each of the PTSD symptom clusters of intrusions, numbing/avoidance, and hyperarousal. When participants with Community trauma were excluded from analyses to reduce confounding environmental influence, Domestic trauma marginally correlated with numbing/avoidance symptoms. Our findings suggest that Domestic trauma may result in more emotional numbing/avoidance symptoms than other types of trauma. Further analyses suggested that Community trauma may result in more intrusions and hyperarousal symptoms rather than emotional numbing. Environmental aspects of trauma, rather than the proximity of trauma, may have greater impact on presentation of PTSD. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.

Caregiver adverse childhood experiences and preschool externalizing problems: The role of factors that contribute to caregiver resilience.

BACKGROUND: Preschool children with externalizing problems are at risk for short- and long-term difficulties and preschool externalizing problems (PEP) are influenced by several caregiver factors. One such factor is caregiver adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Researchers have investigated how caregiver ACEs are related to PEP by identifying risk factors to account for this association. However, research on caregiver factors associated with fewer PEP is limited. Particularly, factors that contribute to caregiver resilience may be adaptive caregiver characteristics that negatively relate to PEP, even when adjusting for caregiver ACEs. OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to address a gap in the literature by examining the impact of different types of factors that contribute to caregiver resilience (e.g., caregiver social-ecological factors or caregiver positive childhood experiences) as promotive factors of lower PEP. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants included 125 caregiver-child dyads recruited from the community. METHOD: Participating caregivers completed measures of their own and their child's demographic information, caregiver ACEs, caregiver social-ecological factors, caregiver positive childhood experiences, and PEP. RESULTS: Overall, positive caregiver childhood experiences (r = -0.25, p < .01), and not caregiver social-ecological factors (r = -0.13, p = .15), demonstrated a significant negative association with PEP. However, this relation became statistically non-significant when adjusting for caregiver ACEs (ß = -0.12, p = .20). CONCLUSIONS: Given the association between caregiver ACEs and PEP, this study highlights the importance of assessing a caregiver's ACEs, specifically when working with caregivers seeking parent training for disruptive child behaviors. There should be a continued focus on ecological and family strengths and differential impacts as they relate to PEP.

Emotional prosody and diffusion tensor imaging in children after traumatic brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Brain structures and their white matter connections that may contribute to emotion processing and may be vulnerable to disruption by a traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurring in childhood have not been thoroughly explored. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The current investigation examines the relationship between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and 3-month post-injury performance on a task of emotion prosody recognition and a control task of phonological discrimination in a group of 91 children who sustained either a moderate-to-severe TBI (n = 45) or orthopaedic injury (OI) (n = 46). MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Brain-behaviour findings within OI participants confirmed relationships between several significant white matter tracts in emotional prosody performance (i.e. the cingulum bundle, genu of the corpus callosum, inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF). The cingulum and genu were also related to phonological discrimination performance. The TBI group demonstrated few strong brain behaviour relationships, with significant findings emerging only in the cingulum bundle for Emotional Prosody and the genu for Phonological Processing. CONCLUSION: The lack of clear relationships in the TBI group is discussed in terms of the likely disruption to cortical networks secondary to significant brain injuries.

Conner's Continuous Performance Test and Adult ADHD: A Systematic Literature Review.

OBJECTIVE: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting millions of adults worldwide. Continuous performance tests (CPTs) are widely used as assessment and diagnostic tools; however, their use in diagnosing undiagnosed ADHD in adults has been questioned due to their lack of specificity and sensitivity. This review sought to outline relevant findings concerning the diagnostic utility of the Conner's Continuous Performance Test (CCPT) in adults. METHOD: This systematic review followed the a priori guide outlined by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. Articles were gathered from PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cochrane, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed. RESULTS: Thirty-five articles were reviewed and analyzed. Most articles reviewed used outpatient and university populations. Moderate reliability, subpar discriminant and ecological validity, and mixed sensitivity and specificity were noted. CONCLUSION: The results of this review lend support to previous critiques of the CCPT's diagnostic and utility as a treatment measure.

The Relations Between an Inventory-Based Measure of Executive Function and Impulsivity Factors in Alcohol- and Cannabis-Relevant Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: While the lack of relation between performance- and inventory-based executive function (EF) measures is well documented, there remains ambiguity between self-report EFs and closely related constructs (e.g., impulsivity) assessed via the same method. The degree of convergence between purported EF measures with similar yet distinct constructs contain important theoretical implications for available EF assessment strategies and their construct validity. A newer measure of EF, the Behavior Regulation Inventory of Executive Functions-Adult (BRIEF-A), allows for more direct comparisons to self-reported measures of impulsivity, such as the commonly used Urgency, Planning, Perseverance, Sensation Seeking-Positive Urgency (UPPS-P) assessment. METHOD: The present study used factor analysis and hierarchical regression to explore the associations between the BRIEF-A and UPPS-P, using alcohol and cannabis consumption across various outcomes (i.e., quantity-frequency and consequences) as an external criterion. Participants were 339 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.35; Female = 63%) from a large southwestern university. RESULTS: The BRIEF-A and UPPS-P demonstrated strong correlations at both higher- and lower order facets. While the BRIEF-A was a significant correlate to many substance use outcomes, these relations were generally weaker than those seen with the UPPS-P. Hierarchical regression suggested limited contributions of the BRIEF-A over and above the UPPS-P. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study suggested substantial overlap between impulsigenic factors and EFs when measured by self-report, and limited utility of EF measures to account for unique variance with substance use outcomes in this sample.

Evaluation of the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Questionnaire and its Relations to Cannabis-Related Problems.

Cannabis use and the prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) among emerging adults are on the rise. Several indicators of cannabis use (e.g., quantity, frequency) as they relate to negative outcomes have been posited in the extant literature. Despite research examining links between indicators and cannabis outcomes, few assessments of cannabis use indicators exist. The Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (DFAQ-CU) was developed to assess cannabis use across a range of factors. However, the factor structure of the DFAQ-CU has not been replicated. Further, the DFAQ-CU was modeled using reflective strategies despite formative strategies being conceptually appropriate. The present study utilized principal components analyses (PCA) and principal axis factoring (PAF) to evaluate the structure of the DFAQ-CU. PCA yielded a four-component solution; PAF resulted in a five-factor solution. Linear regression found significant relations between PCA components and PAF factors with CUD symptoms and cannabis-related problems; however, effect sizes were larger for the PAF suggesting possible misdisattenuation. The PCA components demonstrated evidence of discriminant and convergent validity with measures of cannabis and alcohol behavior. The study informs research and clinical work through the refinement of cannabis use assessment and enhancing our understanding of the importance of model selection.