The lifespan is influenced by adverse childhood experiences that create predispositions to poor health outcomes. Here we propose an allostatic framework of childhood experiences and their impact on health across the lifespan, focusing on Latin American and Caribbean countries. This region is marked by significant social and health inequalities nested in environmental and social stressors, such as exposure to pollution, violence, and nutritional deficiencies, which critically influence current and later-life health outcomes. We review several manifestations across cognition, behavior, and the body, observed at the psychological (e.g., cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral dysfunctions), brain (e.g., alteration of the development, structure, and function of the brain), and physiological levels (e.g., dysregulation of the body systems and damage to organs). To address the complexity of the interactions between environmental and health-related factors, we present an allostatic framework regarding the cumulative burden of environmental stressors on physiological systems (e.g., cardiovascular, metabolic, immune, and neuroendocrine) related to health across the life course. Lastly, we explore the relevance of this allostatic integrative approach in informing regional interventions and public policy recommendations. We also propose a research agenda, potentially providing detailed profiling and personalized care by assessing the social and environmental conditions. This framework could facilitate the delivery of evidence-based interventions and informed childhood-centered policy-making.
Allostasis , Humans , Allostasis/physiology , Latin America/epidemiology , Adverse Childhood Experiences , Stress, Psychological
Despite its significant growth over the past fifteen years, research on parental burnout is just beginning to explore the relationships of the syndrome with child behavior. Previous research with adolescents has shown the existence of associations between parental burnout and internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the offspring. The current study is an attempt to (i) replicate this preliminary evidence specifically among Chilean preschool children and (ii) explore the mediating/moderating effects of positive parenting that may be involved in these putative associations. A sample of 383 Chilean mothers participated in this cross-sectional online study. The results confirmed the associations between parental burnout and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors. We also observed that positive parenting was a mediator in the relationship linking parental burnout and the child's internalizing (full mediation) and externalizing (partial mediation) behaviors. Positive parenting also partially mediated the association between the child's externalizing behavior and parental burnout. Our results further suggested that the child's externalizing behavior was possibly a more substantial contributing factor to parental burnout than the child's internalizing behavior.
This study focuses on understanding the relationship between moral disengagement mechanisms in adolescents who engage in law-breaking activities and those who violate school norms. To do so, we administered the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS), which evaluates moral justification, euphemistic labeling, advantageous comparison, deflection of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distortion of consequences, dehumanization, and attribution of blame, to 366 adolescents (60.1% males (n = 220) and 39.9% females (n = 146)). Our results confirmed the hypothesis that law-breaking adolescents presented a higher degree of moral disengagement than those adolescents who violate school norms. Additionally, we found that adolescents who violated school norms displayed significantly higher levels of dehumanization than the controls, and law-breaking adolescents obtained the highest score in this domain. Our findings allow us to suggest that the presence of the dehumanization mechanism in adolescents who violate school norms could be used as an early indicator of the emergence of antisocial behaviors, since this was the only component of moral disengagement that significantly differentiated this group from the controls in the study.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition, that continues to have an elusive etiological background. A number of extant models and theories have historically intended to explain the many factors contributing to ADHD behaviors. One of the most accepted hypotheses has been the executive dysfunction theory associating reduction in executive control to abnormalities in structure and operational dysfunction of dopaminergic signaling networks. Nevertheless, executive functions are not always impaired in ADHD, and the literature describes other symptoms commonly reported suggesting individuals with ADHD would appear to suffer from a more general deficit. Another existing line of research, that has gained much attention recently, establishes that ADHD would have dysregulated states of brain arousal that would account for its commonly observed cognitive deficits and behavioral symptoms, described as the state regulation theory, which has now included measures of autonomic function. This article describes some important aspects that compose and challenge these two most influential theoretical constructs, executive dysfunction and state-regulation, based on their empirical evidence, implying the need to reevaluate the norms used to classify individuals and establish ADHD diagnosis. Large number of controversial results continue to exist within the study of ADHD biological and/or performance markers, possibly due to such heterogeneity and variability within the same diagnosis. The need to resolve these issues and establish newly revised diagnostic criteria for ADHD is critical, as therapeutic success depends on having accurately identified underlying neurophysiological factors in order to appropriately address them in treatment.
Resumen El COVID-19 ha afectado la salud mental de la población pudiendo incrementar el riesgo de burnout parental (Griffith, 2020), definido como un síndrome resultante de la exposición duradera al estrés crónico de los padres en su rol de cuidadores (Mikolajczak et al. 2019). Este fenómeno puede tener graves implicancias en la crianza y el desarrollo normal de los niños, niñas y adolescentes, puesto que afecta múltiples áreas del funcionamiento de los padres, y lesiona el vínculo que mantienen con sus hijos (Mikolajczak et al, 2018). El objetivo de este estudio es comprender la relación entre las estrategias de regulación y el burnout parental en contexto de pandemia. La muestra se compuso de 693 participantes, recolectados mediante un muestreo no aleatorio que incluyó 133 padres y 560 madres mayores de 18 años que habitan actualmente en Chile, viviendo con al menos un hijo/a menor. Se utilizó el instrumento Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) para evaluar el burnout parental, y comprender su relación con el impacto negativo percibido de la pandemia sobre las prácticas de crianza; el rol las estrategias de regulación emocional de supresión y reevaluación -medidas a través del Cuestionario de Regulación Emocional (ERQ)-; y el género. Los resultados arrojaron niveles más altos de burnout parental en las madres, quienes reportaron mayor impacto negativo de la crisis por COVID-19, usando más estrategias de supresión y menos de reevaluación. A partir de este estudio, se puede concluir que existe una interacción significativamente positiva entre la apreciación subjetiva que hacen los padres y madres de las consecuencias que la pandemia ha tenido sobre sus prácticas de crianza, y sus niveles de burnout parental.
Abstract: COVID-19 has affected the population's mental health, increasing the risk of parental burnout (Griffith, 2020), defined as a syndrome resulting from long-term exposure to chronic stress of parents in their role as caregivers (Mikolajczak et al. 2019). This phenomenon can have serious implications for the upbringing and normal development of children and adolescents, since it affects multiple areas of parental functioning, as well as damage the bond they maintain with their children (Mikolajczak et al, 2018). This study included 693 participants, collected through a non-random sample that included 133 fathers and 560 mothers over 18 years of age who currently live in Chile, living with at least one child. Linear regressions were performed to understand the relationship between parental burnout -measured using the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA)- and the perceived negative impact of the pandemic on parenting practices; the role of emotional regulation strategies of suppression and reappraisal -measured through the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ)-; and gender. Higher levels of parental burnout were found in mothers, who reported a greater negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis, using more suppression strategies and less reappraisal.
Humans , Male , Female , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Young Adult , Parents/psychology , Emotional Regulation , Child Rearing , Chile , Quarantine , Cross-Sectional Studies , Regression Analysis , Pandemics
Parental burnout is a unique and context-specific syndrome resulting from a chronic imbalance of risks over resources in the parenting domain. The current research aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) across Spanish-speaking countries with two consecutive studies. In Study 1, we analyzed the data through a bifactor model within an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) on the pooled sample of participants (N = 1,979) obtaining good fit indices. We then attained measurement invariance across both gender and countries in a set of nested models with gradually increasing parameter constraints. Latent means comparisons across countries showed that among the participants' countries, Chile had the highest parental burnout score, likewise, comparisons across gender evidenced that mothers displayed higher scores than fathers, as shown in previous studies. Reliability coefficients were high. In Study 2 (N = 1,171), we tested the relations between parental burnout and three specific consequences, i.e., escape and suicidal ideations, parental neglect, and parental violence toward one's children. The medium to large associations found provided support for the PBA's predictive validity. Overall, we concluded that the Spanish version of the PBA has good psychometric properties. The results support its relevance for the assessment of parental burnout among Spanish-speaking parents, offering new opportunities for cross-cultural research in the parenting domain.
Working memory (WM) impairments in ADHD have been consistently reported along with deficits in attentional control. Yet, it is not clear which specific WM processes are affected in this condition. A deficient coupling between attention and WM has been reported. Nevertheless, most studies focus on the capacity to retain information rather than on the attention-dependent stages of encoding and retrieval. The current study uses a visual short-term memory binding task, measuring both behavioral and electrophysiological responses to characterize WM encoding, binding and retrieval comparing ADHD and non-ADHD matched adolescents. ADHD exhibited poorer accuracy and larger reaction times than non-ADHD on all conditions but especially when a change across encoding and test displays occurred. Binding manipulation affected equally both groups. Encoding P3 was larger in the non-ADHD group. Retrieval P3 discriminated change only in the non-ADHD group. Binding-dependent ERP modulations did not reveal group differences. Encoding and retrieval P3 were significantly correlated only in non-ADHD. These results suggest that while binding processes seem to be intact in ADHD, attention-related encoding and retrieval processes are compromised, resulting in a failure in the prioritization of relevant information. This new evidence can also inform recent theories of binding in visual WM.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/physiopathology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention , Cognition , Memory, Short-Term , Adolescent , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Event-Related Potentials, P300 , Evoked Potentials , Female , Humans , Male , Reaction Time
La monoparentalidad en contexto de pobreza ha sido asociada a dificultades en el desempeño parental, afectando negativamente en la salud mental infantil. Producto de los recientes cambios sociales de incorporación de la mujer al mundo laboral y el aumento en la cantidad de mujeres jefas de hogar, han aumentado las investigaciones que buscan comprender la situación de niños y niñas que cada vez ingresan a las salas cuna y jardines infantiles a menor edad. El presente artículo estudia la relación entre desarrollo psico-motor infantil, jornada laboral de la madre y configuración familiar en una muestra de 199 niños(as) de 8 a 24 meses de edad, de nivel socioeconómico bajo, que asisten a las salas cuna en Santiago de Chile. El desarrollo psicomotor de los infantes fue evaluado con la Escala de Evaluación del Desarrollo Psicomotor 0-24 meses (EEDP) de Rodríguez, Arancibia y Un-durraga (1976). La información concerniente a la configuración familiar y la jornada laboral fue extraída de la entrevista a los padres que realiza la educadora responsable de la institución. Los resultados muestran que los niños que asisten a salas cuna y cuyas madres trabajan jornada completa y provienen de una familia monoparental puntúan en desarrollo psicomotor significativamente más bajo que los niños cuyas madres también trabajan jornada completa, pero provienen de una familia biparental.
The absence of the father in poverty contexts has been related to difficulties in the exercise of parenting, affecting negatively infantsmental health. Because of the recent social changes, in respect with the participation of women in work and the growth in the number of woman who are managing their homes alone, there has been an increasing interest in comprehending the situation of boys and girls that are entering nurseries and playgrounds in a younger age. This article studies the relation between the infant psychomotor development, the mothersworking day and the family configuration, in a sample of 199 children between ages 8 to 24 months, in a low socioeconomic level who attend nurseries in Santiago, Chile. The psychomotor development of the infants was evaluated with the Scale of psychomotor development 0-24 months (EEDP) of Rodríguez, Arancibia and Undurraga (1976). The information regarding the family configuration and the working day was extracted from the interview to the parents made by the person responsible of the institution. The results show that children who attend nurseries and whose mothers work a complete working day and who come from a single-parent family, score meaningfully lower in psychomotor development than the children whose mothers have a complete working day, but come from a bi-parental families.
Poverty , Child Development , Single-Parent Family , Chile
El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la validez de la versión chilena de un instrumento para la identificación de diferentes niveles de riesgo asociado al consumo de alcohol, tabaco, marihuana y cocaína(Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test, ASSIST).Se evaluó la fiabilidad y consistencia del instrumento además dela validez concurrente y discriminante. La muestra fue de 400usuarios de servicios de tratamiento drogas y alcohol ambulatorios y residenciales de la atención primaria de salud, comisarías y empresas. La consistencia interna obtenida fue alta (Alcohol α= .86. marihuana α= .84 y cocaína α= .90). El coeficiente de correlación intraclase (CCI) con la comparación test-retest fue buena para Alcohol (CCI = .66), marihuana (CCI = .74) y cocaína (CCI =.80). Se observó una buena correlación entre los puntajes del ASSIST el puntaje del AUDIT (r de Pearson = .85), ASI-Lite (r entre .66 y .83 para tabaco, alcohol, marihuana y cocaína) y SDS (r = .65). El punto de corte original para la detección del riesgo alto es de 27 puntos, sin embargo, considerando un mejor balance entre sensibilidad y especificidad se modificó ese corte a 21. Los resultados obtenidos en éste estudio demostraron las buenas propiedades psicométricas del ASSIST para la detección de distintos niveles de riesgo asociados al consumo de sustancias en población general de Chile
This study aims to psychometrically validate the Chilean version of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test ASSIST. Specifically, this study is interested in evaluating the reliability, consistency and concurrent and discriminant validity of this instrument. The sample was composed for a total of 400 people from four different settings: treatment centers (residential and ambulatories), primary health care, police stations and companies. The reliability of the ASSIST was high (α = .86 for Alcohol, α = .84 for marijuana and α = .90 for cocaine). The intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) with test-retest comparison was statistically significant for Alcohol (ICC = .66), marijuana (ICC = .74) and cocaine (ICC = .80). There were statistically significant correlations between the ASSIST and the AUDIT score (Pearsons r = .85), the ASSIST and the ASI-Lite score (r between .66 and .83 for tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine), and the ASSIST and the SDS score (r = .65). The original cutoff point for high risk detection was 27 points, however, in order to have a better balance between sensitivity and specificity the cut was changed to 21 points. The ASSIST presents good psychometric properties and therefore is a reliable and valid instrument to be used as a mechanism to detect risk levels of substance use in the Chilean population
Humans , Psychometrics/instrumentation , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Tobacco Use Disorder/diagnosis , Reproducibility of Results , Reproducibility of Results , Smoking/psychology
The present study examined neural responses associated with moral sensitivity in adolescents with a background of early social deprivation. Using high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG), brain activity was measured during an intentional inference task, which assesses rapid moral decision-making regarding intentional or unintentional harm to people and objects. We compared the responses to this task in a socially deprived group (DG) with that of a control group (CG). The event-related potentials (ERPs) results showed atypical early and late frontal cortical markers associated with attribution of intentionality during moral decision-making in DG (especially regarding intentional harm to people). The source space of the hdEEG showed reduced activity for DG compared with CG in the right prefrontal cortex, bilaterally in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and right insula. Moreover, the reduced response in vmPFC for DG was predicted by higher rates of externalizing problems. These findings demonstrate the importance of the social environment in early moral development, supporting a prefrontal maturation model of social deprivation.
Brain/physiology , Evoked Potentials/physiology , Morals , Social Perception , Adolescent , Adoption/psychology , Attention/physiology , Brain Mapping , Child , Electroencephalography/methods , Female , Frontal Lobe/physiology , Humans , Male , Neuropsychological Tests , Prefrontal Cortex/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Social Environment , Socioeconomic Factors
This study aims to psychometrically validate the Chilean version of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test ASSIST. Specifically, this study is interested in evaluating the reliability, consistency and concurrent and discriminant validity of this instrument. The sample was composed for a total of 400 people from four different settings: treatment centers (residential and ambulatories), primary health care, police stations and companies. The reliability of the ASSIST was high (α = .86 for Alcohol, α = .84 for marijuana and α = .90 for cocaine). The intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) with test-retest comparison was statistically significant for Alcohol (ICC = .66), marijuana (ICC = .74) and cocaine (ICC = .80). There were statistically significant correlations between the ASSIST and the AUDIT score (Pearsons r = .85), the ASSIST and the ASI-Lite score (r between .66 and .83 for tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine), and the ASSIST and the SDS score (r = .65). The original cutoff point for high risk detection was 27 points, however, in order to have a better balance between sensitivity and specificity the cut was changed to 21 points. The ASSIST presents good psychometric properties and therefore is a reliable and valid instrument to be used as a mechanism to detect risk levels of substance use in the Chilean population.
Smoking , Substance Abuse Detection , Substance-Related Disorders/diagnosis , Adolescent , Adult , Alcoholism/diagnosis , Chile , Female , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Young Adult
BACKGROUND: Research suggests that individuals with different attachment patterns process social information differently, especially in terms of facial emotion recognition. However, few studies have explored social information processes in adolescents. This study examined the behavioral and ERP correlates of emotional processing in adolescents with different attachment orientations (insecure attachment group and secure attachment group; IAG and SAG, respectively). This study also explored the association of these correlates to individual neuropsychological profiles. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a modified version of the dual valence task (DVT), in which participants classify stimuli (faces and words) according to emotional valence (positive or negative). Results showed that the IAG performed significantly worse than SAG on tests of executive function (EF attention, processing speed, visuospatial abilities and cognitive flexibility). In the behavioral DVT, the IAG presented lower performance and accuracy. The IAG also exhibited slower RTs for stimuli with negative valence. Compared to the SAG, the IAG showed a negative bias for faces; a larger P1 and attenuated N170 component over the right hemisphere was observed. A negative bias was also observed in the IAG for word stimuli, which was demonstrated by comparing the N170 amplitude of the IAG with the valence of the SAG. Finally, the amplitude of the N170 elicited by the facial stimuli correlated with EF in both groups (and negative valence with EF in the IAG). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that individuals with different attachment patterns process key emotional information and corresponding EF differently. This is evidenced by an early modulation of ERP components' amplitudes, which are correlated with behavioral and neuropsychological effects. In brief, attachments patterns appear to impact multiple domains, such as emotional processing and EFs.
Neurons/metabolism , Recognition, Psychology/physiology , Social Behavior , Adolescent , Child , Electroencephalography , Emotions/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Neurons/physiology
Este artículo es una revisión teórica de los postulados de Peter Fonagy respecto a los Trastornos de Personalidad Borderline (TPB) y su propuesta de abordaje a través de la psicoterapia basada en la mentalización. A partir de la revisión se concluye que el modelo planteado para comprender el desarrollo de TPB y los lineamientos para realizar intervenciones psicoterapéuticas, resultan en gran medida un aporte al manejo de estos pacientes. Ya que el mismo ha mostrado empíricamente ser efectivo en la disminución de riesgo suicida y conductas de autoagresión; siendo estos los síntomas de mayor severidad del trastorno.
This article is a theoretical review of the principles of Peter Fonagy about borderline personality disorder (BPD) and its proposed approach through the mentalization-based psychotherapy. From the review it is concluded that the proposed model for understanding the development of TPB and guidelines for psychotherapeutic interventions, are both a key contribution to the management of these patients. The same model and guidelines have proven empirically to be effective in reducing suicide risk and self-harm behaviors; which are the more severe symptoms of the disorder.
Humans , Object Attachment , Psychotherapy , Theory of Mind , Borderline Personality Disorder/therapy
