Concordance in Child-Parent Reporting of Social Victimization Experiences in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate child-parent concordance in reporting social victimization experiences and whether parent concordance with child report of victimization was associated with child behavioral symptoms. METHODS: This was an observational study with data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Social Development (ABCD-SD) substudy. The analytic sample was 2415 pre-adolescent children from the United States. We assessed parent-child concordance on six domains of child social victimization: conventional crime, peer victimization, witnessing violence, internet victimization, school victimization, and gun violence. Child behavior symptoms were measured using the parent-report Child Behavior Checklist. Interrater agreement and multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess parent concordance with child report of victimization and its relationship to behavioral symptoms. RESULTS: Interrater agreement in parent-child social victimizations reports was low, with Cohen's Kappa values ranging from 0.10 to 0.23. Compared to parent-child dyads in which neither reported victimization, parent concordance with child report of victimization across multiple domains of social victimization was associated with more internalizing/externalizing behaviors, as was parent discordance with child reports that did not indicate victimization. Among children who reported victimization, parents' perceptions of greater neighborhood safety were associated with lower odds of concordant parent report of conventional crime (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.90-0.98) and witnessing violence (OR = 0.94, 95% CI-0.89-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: Parents and children do not necessarily agree in reporting social victimization experiences. Parent reports of child social victimization, whether they were concordant with positive child reports or discordant with negative child reports, were associated with parent reports of behavioral symptoms and thus may be an indicator of the severity of experiences, underscoring the need to consider multiple informants when screening for adversity.

Examining the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Lifetime History of Head or Neck Injury and Concussion in Children From the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine whether there is an association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and lifetime history of early childhood mild head or neck injury and concussion in a nationally representative US cohort. SETTING AND DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (data release 3.0), a prospective investigation of child brain development and health. PARTICIPANTS: There were 11 878 children aged 9 or 10 years at baseline, recruited from 21 school-based sites in the United States. After excluding children with missing questionnaires for the primary exposure variable and children with severe brain injuries involving more than 30-minute loss of consciousness, the final sample size was 11 230 children. MEASURES: The primary exposure variable was ACEs. We measured eight ACEs: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional neglect, parent domestic violence, parent substance use disorder, parental mental illness, parent criminal involvement, and parent divorce. The primary outcomes were head or neck injury and concussion, measured using the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Screen-Identification Method Short Form. RESULTS: The sample (N = 11 230) was 52% boys with a mean age of 9.9 years (SD = 0.62 years). The racial and ethnic makeup was reflective of national demographics. Having a higher overall ACE count was associated with higher odds of head or neck injury, with greater odds with more ACEs reported. Children with 2 ACEs had 24% greater odds of head or neck injury (AOR = 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.45) and 64% greater odds of concussion (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.18-2.22), and children with 4 or more ACEs had 70% greater odds of head or neck injury (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.14, 2.49) and 140% greater odds of concussion (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.15-4.47). The individual ACE categories of sexual abuse, parent domestic violence, parental mental illness, and parent criminal involvement were significantly associated with increased risk of head or neck injury and parental mental illness with increased risk of concussion. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: ACEs are associated with early childhood mild head or neck injury and concussion and should be integrated in head injury prevention and intervention efforts.

Concordance in Child-Parent Reporting of Social Victimization Experiences in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate child-parent concordance in reporting social victimization experiences and whether concordance was associated with child behavioral symptoms. METHODS: This was an observational study with data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. The analytic sample was 11,235 9- or 10-year-old children from the United States. Exposure variables were demographic and protective factors (child perceptions of parental relationships, school protective factors, neighborhood safety). The outcome was parent-child concordance on 6 domains of child social victimization: conventional crime, peer victimization, witnessing violence, internet victimization, school victimization, and gun violence. Child behavior symptoms were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist. RESULTS: Exposure to social victimization was low (9% of the sample). Concordance ranged from 18% to 50%. The highest levels of concordance were observed for conventional crime (k = 0.48, P < .001) and witnessing violence (k = 0.48, P < .001). Parents' perceptions of greater neighborhood safety was associated with lower odds of concordant conventional crime (odds ratio [OR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.99) and witnessing violence (OR = 0.92, 95% CI0.84-0.99). Concordance was associated with more internalizing/externalizing behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Parents under-report social victimization in relation to children. Concordance in reporting social victimization may be an indicator of the severity of experiences, underscoring the need to consider child reports when screening for adversity.

The Effect of Intimate Partner Violence and Probable Traumatic Brain Injury on Mental Health Outcomes for Black Women.

Severe intimate partner violence (IPV) including loss of consciousness from head injuries and/or strangulation can result in traumatic brain injury (TBI), a brain pathology characterized by altered brain function, cognitive impairment, and mental health disorders, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examines the prevalence of probable TBI (defined as loss of consciousness from a blow to the head and/or strangulation) and its association with comorbid PTSD and depression among Black women, who experience both higher rates of IPV and greater mental health burden than White and Latina women. Data come from a retrospective cohort study of 95 Black women with abuse history including IPV, forced sex, and childhood maltreatment. About one-third of women (n=32) had probable TBI. Among them, 38% (n=12) were hit on the head, 38% (n=12) were strangled to unconsciousness, and 25% (n=8) were strangled and hit on the head. Women with IPV history and probable TBI had significantly greater odds of various physical injuries including those that required medical care compared to other abused women. Probable TBI significantly increased comorbid PTSD and depression by 8.93 points (SE=3.40), after controlling for past violence (F (4, 90)=3.67, p<.01). Findings from this study reinforce the need to screen women who lost unconsciousness due to IPV for TBI and facilitate referrals to IPV interventions and mental health treatment.

An evaluation of Snoezelen(®) compared to 'common best practice' for allaying the symptoms of wandering and restlessness among residents with dementia in aged care facilities.

Snoezelen has become an increasingly popular therapy in residential aged care facilities in Australia and elsewhere, despite no conclusive evidence of its clinical efficacy. This paper reports on an evaluation of the use of Snoezelen compared to 'common best practice' for allaying the dementia related behaviors of wandering and restlessness in two residential aged care facilities in Victoria, Australia. Sixteen residents had their behavior and responses to Snoezelen or 'common best practice' observed and recorded over three time periods. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed there was a significant improvement in behaviors immediately after the intervention and after 60 min. However, no significant differences were found between residents receiving Snoezelen and 'common best practice' interventions for the reduction of the dementia related behaviors.

Esophageal wishbone extraction: not for the chicken-hearted.

OBJECTIVE: Ingestion of foreign bodies in the pediatric population is common and in the majority of cases involves spontaneous passage through the esophagus; however, they can become lodged in spaces of anatomical narrowing. Sharp foreign bodies are of particular concern due to a higher chance of perforation and other complications. The goal of this case report is to describe the safe removal of a chicken wishbone and 3 alternate options in the event that the initial choice was unsuccessful. METHODS: We report the case of a 2-year-old boy who presented to our pediatric tertiary center after unsuccessful endoscopic removal of a chicken wishbone from the esophagus. RESULTS: Radiologically, the wishbone was oriented with the tines pointing up. Endoscopic examination revealed the tips of both tines to be embedded deeply into the lateral walls of the esophageal mucosa. Esophagoscopy and protecting the sharp points of the wishbone were used to successfully extract the intact wishbone. CONCLUSION: Previous techniques have involved cutting the bone; however, in this case, tension was so high that it was felt that cutting the bone would result in perforation. Proper management of such cases requires planning and often multiple strategies.

Progressive age-related changes in the attentional blink paradigm.

Previous studies on aging and attention typically examine group differences between younger and older adults, rather than seeing aging as a continuous process. Using correlational analyses, this study examined progressive changes in the magnitude of the attentional blink (AB) associated with aging. Increased age was found to be significantly associated with the ability to detect the second target (T2), whereby older age was correlated with the production of a longer and more pronounced AB; this supports the proposition that aging is associated with reduced inhibitory processes and selective attention. It was also found that AB performance somewhat improves between ages 18-39 years, but tends to decline from 40 years of age onward, providing an interesting and novel finding that AB effects may become more sensitive at this point in time. The AB task may prove useful in the assessment of selective attention in normal healthy adults, as well as changes associated with pathological aging.

Sun and water: on a modulus-based measurement of happiness.

Most happiness researchers use semantic differential or Likert scales to assess happiness. Such conventionally used scales are susceptible to scale renorming (interpretation of scales differently in different contexts) and can produce a specious relativism effect (e.g., rating a low-income person happier than a high-income person in situations where the low-income person is not happier). Building on related psychophysical measurements, the authors propose a simple, survey-friendly, modulus-based scale of happiness and show that it is less susceptible to specious relativism than conventional rating scales but can still catch genuine relativism (e.g., rating a low-income person to be happier than a high-income person in situations where the low-income person is indeed happier).

Age-related differences in cognitive function using a global local hierarchical paradigm.

While research suggests that normal ageing is associated with compromised divided attentional processing abilities, such studies are comparatively few in comparison to other areas of attention (e.g. selective attention). The current study sought to examine age-related effects in divided attention using a global/local paradigm in three normal healthy age groups: younger adults (20-40 years), middle-aged (40-60 years), and older adults (61-80 years). In three experiments we sought to examine the ability to process local/global stimuli, ability to divide and switch attention, as well as the influence of a cue on target performance. Experiment 1 revealed global precedence and interference for all age groups; older adults were overall significantly slower in their response times. Experiments 2 and 3 suggest an age-related impairment in dividing and switching attention, which may begin as early as middle age. The findings are considered to reflect reduced inhibitory mechanisms, as well as possible neurobiological changes in the normal ageing process.

A psychophysical evaluation of the relationship between trait anxiety, pain perception, and induced state anxiety.

UNLABELLED: The present study examined the interactive effects of state and trait anxiety on pain threshold and subjective pain intensity. State anxiety was manipulated in 15 low trait anxious (LTA) individuals and 17 high trait anxious (HTA) individuals, who rated their anxiety level and subjective pain intensity in response to noxious electrical experimental pain stimuli. A difference in pain threshold between HTA and LTA participants was not found; however, higher state anxiety led to an increase in reported pain intensity for all participants. Furthermore, HTA individuals reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and pain intensity than LTA individuals across all pain and anxiety conditions. There was no interaction between state and trait anxiety on pain perception and anxiety ratings. These findings show an additive rather than synergistic effect between state-trait anxiety and subjective pain intensity. PERSPECTIVE: Use of anxiety-reducing techniques for individuals experiencing pain might reduce the perceived severity/intensity of pain. Furthermore, individuals with higher trait anxiety (a greater disposition to experience anxiety) might benefit from these techniques because higher trait anxious individuals tend to exacerbate perceived pain stimulations more than lower trait anxious individuals.