Reactive and control processes in the development of internalizing and externalizing problems across early childhood to adolescence.

Reactive and control processes - e.g., negative emotionality and immediacy preference - may predict distinct psychopathology trajectories. However, externalizing and internalizing problems change in behavioral manifestation across development and across contexts, thus necessitating the use of different measures and informants across ages. This is the first study that created developmental scales for both internalizing and externalizing problems by putting scores from different informants and measures onto the same scale to examine temperament facets as risk factors. Multidimensional linking allowed us to examine trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from ages 2 to 15 years (N = 1,364) using near-annual ratings by mothers, fathers, teachers, other caregivers, and self report. We examined reactive and control processes in early childhood as predictors of the trajectories and as predictors of general versus specific psychopathology in adolescence. Negative emotionality at age 4 predicted general psychopathology and unique externalizing problems at age 15. Wait times on an immediacy preference task at age 4 were negatively associated with age 15 general psychopathology, and positively associated with unique internalizing problems. Findings demonstrate the value of developmental scaling for examining development of psychopathology across a lengthy developmental span and the importance of considering reactive and control processes in development of psychopathology.

Explaining Brain-Behavior Relations: Inhibitory Control as an Intermediate Phenotype Between the N2 ERP and the Externalizing Spectrum in Childhood.

Identifying neural and cognitive mechanisms in externalizing problems in childhood is important for earlier and more targeted intervention. Meta-analytic findings have shown that smaller N2 event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes, thought to reflect inhibitory control, are associated with externalizing problems in children. However, it is unclear how (i.e., through which cognitive processes) N2 amplitudes relate to externalizing problems. We examined whether inhibitory control may be a cognitive process that links N2 amplitudes and externalizing problems in early childhood. Children (N = 147, 74 girls) were assessed at four time points, spanning 3-7 years of age. Children's externalizing behavior was assessed via questionnaires completed by mothers, fathers, and teachers/secondary caregivers. Children's inhibitory control was assessed using eleven performance-based tasks and two questionnaires. Developmental scaling linked differing measures of inhibitory control and externalizing behavior across ages onto the same scale. Children's N2 amplitudes were extracted from electroencephalography data collected during a go/no-go task. Smaller N2 amplitudes were associated with externalizing problems and poorer inhibitory control. A concurrent analysis of indirect effects revealed that poorer inhibitory control partially explained the association between smaller N2 amplitudes and externalizing problems, even when controlling for the child's age, sex, and socioeconomic status. This is among the first studies to link N2 amplitudes, inhibitory control, and externalizing problems during early childhood. Findings suggest that smaller N2 amplitudes may be an early neural indicator of inhibitory control deficits and externalizing psychopathology. Moreover, inhibitory control may be an important target for early intervention in the development of externalizing psychopathology.

A Developmentally Informed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Strength of General Psychopathology in Childhood and Adolescence.

Considerable support exists for higher-order dimensional conceptualizations of psychopathology in adults. A growing body of work has focused on understanding the structure of general and specific psychopathology in children and adolescents. No prior meta-analysis has examined whether the strength of the general psychopathology factor (p factor)-measured by explained common variance (ECV)-changes from childhood to adolescence. The primary objective of this multilevel meta-analysis was to determine whether general psychopathology strength changes across development (i.e. across ages) in childhood and adolescence. Several databases were searched in November 2021; 65 studies, with 110 effect sizes (ECV), nested within shared data sources, were identified. Included empirical studies used a factor analytic modeling approach that estimated latent factors for child/adolescent internalizing, externalizing, and optionally thought-disordered psychopathology, and a general factor. Studies spanned ages 2-17 years. Across ages, general psychopathology explained over half (~ 56%) of the reliable variance in symptoms of psychopathology. Age-moderation analyses revealed that general factor strength remained stable across ages, suggesting that general psychopathology strength does not significantly change across childhood to adolescence. Even if the structure of psychopathology changes with development, the prominence of general psychopathology across development has important implications for future research and intervention.

The P3 ERP in Relation to General Versus Specific Psychopathology in Early Childhood.

There is considerable covariation between externalizing and internalizing problems across the lifespan. Partitioning general and specific psychopathology is crucial to identify (a) processes that confer specific risk for externalizing versus internalizing problems and (b) transdiagnostic processes that confer risk for the covariation between externalizing and internalizing problems. The oddball P3 event-related potential (ERP) component, thought to reflect attentional orienting, has been widely examined in relation to psychopathology. However, prior studies have not examined the P3-or other aspects of neural functioning-in relation to general versus specific psychopathology in children. The present study examined whether children's (N = 124, ages 3-7 years) P3 amplitudes were associated with general versus specific psychopathology. Children's electroencephalography data were recorded during an oddball task. Parents rated their children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Using bifactor models to partition variance in parents' ratings of children's psychopathology symptoms, we examined children's P3 amplitudes in relation to three latent factors: (1) the general factor of psychopathology-the covariation of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology, (2) unique externalizing problems-the variance in externalizing problems after controlling for the general factor, and (3) unique internalizing problems. Results indicated that smaller P3 amplitudes were associated with unique externalizing problems at ages 3-5, and with general psychopathology at ages 6-7. Findings suggest that smaller P3 amplitudes may be associated with externalizing problems from a very young age. Moreover, there may be a developmental shift in the functional significance of the P3 in relation to general and specific psychopathology in childhood.

Studying children's growth in self-regulation using changing measures to account for heterotypic continuity: A Bayesian approach to developmental scaling.

Self-regulation is thought to show heterotypic continuity-its individual differences endure but its behavioral manifestations change across development. Thus, different measures across time may be necessary to account for heterotypic continuity of self-regulation. This longitudinal study examined children's (N = 108) self-regulation development using 17 measures, including 15 performance-based measures, two questionnaires, and three raters across seven time points. It is the first to use different measures of self-regulation over time to account for heterotypic continuity while using developmental scaling to link the measures onto the same scale for more accurate growth estimates. Assessed facets included inhibitory control, delayed gratification, sustained attention, and executive functions. Some measures differed across ages to retain construct validity and account for heterotypic continuity. A Bayesian longitudinal mixed model for developmental scaling was developed to link the differing measures onto the same scale. This allowed charting children's self-regulation growth across ages 3-7 years and relating it to both predictors and outcomes. Rapid growth occurred from ages 3-6. As a validation of the developmental scaling approach, greater self-regulation was associated with better school readiness (math and reading skills) and fewer externalizing problems. Our multi-wave, multi-facet, multi-method, multi-measure, multi-rater, developmental scaling approach is the most comprehensive to date for assessing the development of self-regulation. This approach demonstrates that developmental scaling may enable studying development of self-regulation across the lifespan.

Objective Measurement of Hyperactivity Using Mobile Sensing and Machine Learning: Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Although hyperactivity is a core symptom of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there are no objective measures that are widely used in clinical settings. OBJECTIVE: We describe the development of a smartwatch app to measure hyperactivity in school-age children. The LemurDx prototype is a software system for smartwatches that uses wearable sensor technology and machine learning to measure hyperactivity. The goal is to differentiate children with ADHD combined presentation (a combination of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive presentations) or predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation from children with typical levels of activity. METHODS: In this pilot study, we recruited 30 children, aged 6 to 11 years, to wear a smartwatch with the LemurDx app for 2 days. Parents also provided activity labels for 30-minute intervals to help train the algorithm. Half of the participants had ADHD combined presentation or predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation (n=15), and half were in the healthy control group (n=15). RESULTS: The results indicated high usability scores and an overall diagnostic accuracy of 0.89 (sensitivity=0.93; specificity=0.86) when the motion sensor output was paired with the activity labels. CONCLUSIONS: State-of-the-art sensors and machine learning may provide a promising avenue for the objective measurement of hyperactivity.

Development and Validation of the Parenting Skill Use Diary (PSUD) in a Nationally Representative Sample.

Objective: We describe the development and psychometric properties of an instrument designed to assess the use of effective parenting skills reported with a daily diary. The Parenting Skill Use Diary (PSUD) was developed iteratively relying on a "common elements" approach to quantify the use of evidence-based parenting techniques for responding to child misbehaviors and positive behaviors.Method: The PSUD was administered online daily for seven days to parents/guardians of children aged 5-12. The nationally representative sample (N = 1,570) was selected to match the US population of such parents/guardians on key demographic variables.Results: The instrument demonstrated the ability to capture significant between person variability in the appropriate use of parent management skills. A weekly summary score discriminated between parents/guardians whose children screened positive versus negative for Conduct Disorder (AUC = .72) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (AUC = .70).Conclusions: The results supported the reliability of validity of the diary as a research tool for examining mean differences.

Workforce Turnover in Community Behavioral Health Agencies in the USA: A Systematic Review with Recommendations.

Rates of behavioral health workforce turnover are chronically high, with detrimental effects on the agency and remaining staff, as well as hypothesized negative impacts on client care and outcomes. Turnover also creates challenges for studies investigating the effectiveness and/or implementation of behavioral health interventions. Research examining factors that precede and predict behavioral health staff turnover has become increasingly important, as have studies that include recommendations for preventing and reducing turnover. The current paper systematically reviews the body of research on factors associated with behavioral health staff turnover, synthesizes recommendations made for combating turnover, and identifies gaps in this important area of research.

A Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) for knowledge of parent management skills: Prototype development and preliminary psychometrics.

The Knowledge of Effective Parenting Test (KEPT) is a measure of parent management skills that was developed as an outcome measure for clinical trials of psychosocial treatments for disruptive behavior disorders. In the current study, we developed a computer adaptive test (CAT; KEPT-CAT) prototype and compared it to the full item bank (21 items; KEPT-Full) and to a brief static version (10 items; KEPT-Brief) using simulations from a large (N = 1,570) nationally representative dataset. Results showed that the KEPT-CAT prototype (median = 8 items) was slightly more efficient than the KEPT-Brief and had a significantly higher (p < .001) correlation with scores from the full item bank (r = .97) than the KEPT-Brief (r = .94). The KEPT-CAT prototype has additional advantages over the static KEPT-Brief, including the potential selection of different items from one administration to the next. This flexibility can reduce practice effects that might result from repeated administration of the same fixed items. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and validation of the Knowledge of Effective Parenting Test (KEPT) in a nationally representative sample.

We report on the development and psychometric properties of an instrument for the assessment of knowledge of effective parenting skills specific to conduct problems using an item response theory (IRT) framework. The initial item pool (36 items) for the Knowledge of Effective Parenting Test (KEPT) was administered online to a national sample (N = 1,570) selected to match the U.S. population on key demographic variables. Items with strong psychometric properties and without significant differential item functioning (DIF) by race/ethnicity were retained, resulting in a 21-item version of the KEPT with excellent reliability and validity. We also created a brief 10-item version of the KEPT to reduce respondent burden and to enhance its utility for repeated measurement in longitudinal and intervention research. We report norms and percentiles for both the 21-item version (KEPT-Full) and the 10-item version (KEPT-Brief). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between maternal depression and maternal sensitivity from birth to 12 months: a meta-analysis.

Maternal sensitivity plays a central role in shaping children's development across a number of domains, and may be disrupted by depression. The current meta-analysis quantified the magnitude of the association between depression and maternal sensitivity, defined broadly as timely, contingent, and appropriate responding to infants' cues, from birth to 12 months. Across k = 48 studies and n = 4,934 mother-infant dyads, the aggregate effect size between depression and maternal sensitivity was r = -.16, p < .0001, indicating that mothers with higher depression levels were less sensitive than mothers with lower depression levels. Studies that compared a depressed group with a nondepressed/control group had larger effect sizes (r = -.35, p < .0001) than studies that examined depression within a single sample of either unselected cases or clinical-only cases (r = -.11, p < .001), suggesting that clinical levels of depression may pose a particular threat to sensitive parenting. Clinical implications (e.g. screening, prevention) are discussed.

Bacterial Leaf Scorch in the District of Columbia: Distribution, Host Range, and Presence of Xylella fastidiosa Among Urban Trees.

A survey of urban trees affected by bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) caused by Xylella fastidiosa was conducted in the District of Columbia during 2011 and 2012. Over 20 species of urban trees were evaluated at 95 sites. Symptomatic and asymptomatic foliage from trees with BLS symptoms and foliage from neighboring asymptomatic trees were sampled. An X. fastidiosa-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a polymerase chain reaction assay were used to detect and identify the strains from environmental samples. Symptomatic trees testing ELISA-positive for X. fastidiosa occurred most frequently with Quercus palustris, Q. rubra, Ulmus americana, and Platanus occidentalis. The bacterium was also less frequently identified on eight other symptomatic and five asymptomatic tree species. On infected trees, the bacterium was also detected on the asymptomatic portion of seven tree species. All strains were identified as the X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex genotype ALSII except on Morus alba, where the genotype ALSI and the subsp. sandyi were detected. The occurrence of crown dieback was found significantly associated with X. fastidiosa-infection on Q. palustris, Q. rubra, U. americana, and P. occidentalis. Because this pathogen continues to perpetuate uncontrolled in urban environments, there is a pressing need to identify long-term management strategies that abate disease.