Early executive and school functioning: Protective roles of home environment by income.

This study used data from the Family Life Project (N=1,227), a longitudinal study of child development. We tested a three-way interaction in which positive parenting and learning materials in the home from age 6-36 months and family income predicted children's executive functioning (EF) at 58 months. We also tested whether this interaction predicted early school functioning, specifically behavioral and academic skills in the 1st grade. The interactive effects of positive parenting and learning materials differed by family income. For children in families of lower income, more learning materials and positive parenting predicted better EF, and in turn, better early school functioning. For children in families of higher income, only positive parenting significantly predicted EF, which in turn, predicted better early school functioning. Findings suggest that more targeted policy and program support for enrichment and positive parenting may bolster efforts to combat poverty.

The developmental cascade of early parenting, emergence of executive functioning, and emotional symptoms across childhood.

Many studies focus on proximal associations between parental sensitivity and emotional well-being in early childhood, with less data examining how parenting in infancy predicts children's emotional trajectories across childhood, in particular negative emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, this study utilized data from The Family Life Project (N = 1015), a prospective study of child development in rural poverty, and assessed whether sensitive parenting in the first 4 years of life predicted child internalizing emotional symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depression) from kindergarten to fifth grade and whether early child executive functioning mediated this relationship. Path models indicated that observation of sensitive parenting predicted a decrease in teachers' report of child negative emotional symptoms over time and predicted fewer negative emotional symptoms in fifth grade. Moreover, though executive functioning performance did not mediate change in symptoms over time, executive functioning did mediate the relationship between sensitive parenting and fifth-grade symptoms, suggesting that executive functioning is one mechanism by which early sensitive parenting buffers long-term emotional development. Findings highlight the importance of early parenting and executive functioning in development of anxiety and depression symptoms and suggests potential targets for transdiagnostic intervention.

Muchos estudios se enfocan en asociaciones proximales entre la sensibilidad del progenitor y el bienestar emocional en la temprana niñez, aunque una menor información examina cómo la crianza en la infancia predice las trayectorias emocionales de los niños a lo largo de la niñez, particularmente los síntomas emocionales de ansiedad y depresión. Por tanto, este estudio utilizó datos de [BLINDED FOR REVIEW] (N = 1,015), un estudio en prospecto del desarrollo del niño en la pobreza rural, y evaluó si la crianza sensible en los primeros 4 años de vida predijo los síntomas emocionales de internalización en el niño (v.g. ansiedad y depresión) a partir del kínder hasta el quinto grado y si el temprano funcionamiento ejecutivo del niño mediaba esta relación. Los modelos de trayecto indicaron que la observación de la crianza sensible predijo una baja en los reportes de los maestros sobre síntomas emocionales negativos en el niño a lo largo del tiempo y predijo menos síntomas emocionales negativos en el quinto grado. Es más, a pesar de que el rendimiento del funcionamiento ejecutivo no medió el cambio en los síntomas a lo largo del tiempo, el funcionamiento ejecutivo sí medió la relación entre la crianza sensible y los síntomas en el quinto grado, lo cual sugiere que el funcionamiento ejecutivo es un mecanismo por medio del cual la temprana crianza sensible amortigua el desarrollo emocional a largo plazo. Los resultados subrayan la importancia de la crianza temprana y el funcionamiento ejecutivo en el desarrollo de los síntomas de ansiedad y depresión y sugiere metas probables para la intervención de transdiagnosis.

Beaucoup d'études portent sur les liens proximaux entre la sensibilité parentale et le bien-être émotionnel dans la petite enfance, avec moins de données examinant comment le parentage dans la petite enfance prédit les trajectoires émotionnelles des enfants durant l'enfance, en particulier les symptômes émotionnels négatifs d'anxiété et de dépression. Donc, cette étude a utilisé des données du Project de Vie Familiale (en anglais Family Life Project) (N = 1015), une étude prospective du développement de l'enfant en pauvreté rurale, et évalué si la sensibilité de parentage dans les quatre premières années de vie prédisaient l'internalisation de symptômes émotionnels de la part de l'enfant (comme l'anxiété et la dépression) de la maternelle au CM2 (ou 5ème au Québec) et si le fonctionnement exécutif précoce de l'enfant servait de médiateur à la relation. Les analyses causales ont indiqué que l'observation d'un parentage sensible prédisait une baisse des rapports faits par les enseignants de symptômes émotionnels négatifs de la part des enfants et prédisaient moins de symptômes émotionnels négatifs au CM2 (5ème au Québec). De plus, bien que la performance du fonctionnement exécutif n'a pas médié les changements dans les symptômes au fil du temps, le fonctionnement exécutif a médié la relation entre le parentage sensible et les symptômes au CM2 (5ème au Québec), suggérant que le fonctionnement exécutif est un mécanisme par lequel le parentage sensible précoce sert de tampon au développement émotionnel à long terme. Les résultats mettent en lumière l'importance du parentage précoce et du fonctionnement exécutif dans le développement de symptômes d'anxiété et de dépression et suggèrent des cibles potentielles pour une intervention trans-diagnostique.

An Investigation of Executive Functioning in Pediatric Anxiety.

Although science's understanding (e.g., etiology, maintaining factors, etc.) of pediatric anxiety and related problems has grown substantially over recent years, several aspects to anxiety in youths remain elusive, particularly with relation to executive functioning. To this end, the current study sought to examine several facets to executive functioning (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibition, planning, working memory) within a transdiagnostic sample of youths exhibiting varying degrees of anxiety symptoms. One hundred six youths completed a comprehensive battery, including several self-report measures (e.g., Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children [MASC] or MASC-2) and an automated neurocognitive battery of several executive functioning tasks (Intradimensional/Extradimensional [IDED], Stop Signal [SST], Spatial Span [SSP], Stockings of Cambridge [SOC] tasks). Regression analyses indicated that youths exhibiting marked anxiety symptoms demonstrated increased planning time and probability of inhibition compared with youths with minimal or no anxiety symptoms. Youths with marked anxiety symptoms similarly demonstrated better cognitive flexibility (i.e., set shifting) compared with youths with minimal anxiety. In addition, analyses indicated a trend such that youths exhibiting marked anxiety symptoms demonstrated poorer working memory compared with youths with no anxiety symptoms. Group classification did not predict remaining outcomes. Limitations and future areas of research are discussed.

The Parenting Anxious Kids Ratings Scale-Parent Report (PAKRS-PR): Initial Scale Development and Psychometric Properties.

Developmental models of pediatric anxiety posit multiple, maladaptive parenting behaviors as potential risk factors. Despite this, a standardized means of assessing multiple of these practices (i.e., anxiogenic parenting) in a comprehensive and efficient manner are lacking. In Study 1531 parents of children 7-17 years old completed an online survey via Amazon Mechanical Turk. In Study 2, a separate community sample (N = 109; 9-17 years old) was recruited and completed a comprehensive assessment battery as part of a larger study. All parents (Study 1 and 2 samples) completed the Parenting Anxious Kids Ratings Scale-Parent Report (PAKRS-PR), a measurement tool designed to assess anxiogenic parenting. Factor analysis conducted as part of Study 1 revealed a 32-item scale consisting of five factors: conflict, overinvolvement, accommodation/beliefs, modeling, and emotional warmth/support. Four of these factors were significantly correlated with parent-report of anxiety severity. Within Study 2, the parents of children diagnosed with an anxiety or related disorder reported significantly higher levels of anxiogenic parenting practices as compared to the parents of healthy controls. The PAKRS-PR and respective subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in both the internet (Study 1) and community (Study 2) samples. The PAKRS-PR may be a beneficial multidimensional parenting scale for use among anxious youths.

IMPAIRED EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN PEDIATRIC TRICHOTILLOMANIA (HAIR PULLING DISORDER).

BACKGROUND: No neurocognitive examinations of pediatric trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder; HPD) have taken place. As a result, science's understanding of the underlying pathophysiology associated with HPD in youths is greatly lacking. The present study seeks to begin to address this gap in the literature via examination of executive functioning in a stimulant-free sample of children with HPD. METHODS: Sixteen and 23 children between 9 and 17 years of age meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for HPD or classified as a healthy control, respectively, were recruited (N = 39) to complete structured interviews, self-reports, and a subset of tests from the Cambridge Automatic Neurocognitive Test Assessment Battery (CANTAB) assessing cognitive flexibility/reversal learning (intradimensional/extradimensional; IED), working memory (spatial span; SSP), and planning and organization (Stocking of Cambridge; SOC). RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for appropriate covariates, diagnostic status predicted impaired performance on both the IED (reversal learning only) and SOC (planning and organization) but failed to predict cognitive flexibility or working memory capacity. Correlational analyses revealed that pulling severity was strongly related to working memory capacity, while disparate relationships between pulling styles (automatic, focused pulling) were evident with respect to working memory and planning and organization. CONCLUSIONS: Children with HPD performed more poorly on tasks of executive functioning as compared to controls. Correlational analyses suggest potentially distinct pathophysiology underlying automatic and focused pulling warranting further research. Limitations and future areas of inquiry are discussed.

An Examination of Executive Functioning in Young Adults Exhibiting Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors.

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), including hair pulling, nail biting, and skin picking are repetitive, habitual, and compulsive in nature. Although characteristic of disorders such as trichotillomania and skin picking disorder, BFRBs are associated with other psychiatric conditions as well. To date, research has failed to examine neurocognitive risk factors, particularly executive functioning, implicated in BFRBs utilizing a transdiagnostic approach. The present study recruited 53 participants (n = 27 demonstrating BFRBs and n = 26 randomly selected controls) from a larger sample of young adults. Participants completed an automated neurocognitive test battery including tasks of cognitive flexibility, working memory, and planning and organization. Results revealed that participants in the BFRB group demonstrated significantly poorer cognitive flexibility (d = 0.63) than controls. No differences were noted in other neurocognitive domains. However, planning and organization demonstrated a significant relationship with various BFRB severity measures. Implications, limitations, and avenues for further research are discussed.

Family functioning in paediatric obsessive compulsive and related disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Research among youths with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has shown a significant relationship between illness severity, treatment outcome, and the family environment yet little work has been undertaken among the broader class of obsessive compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) - Trichotillomania, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), skin picking disorder (SPD), and hoarding. The aim of this study was to (1) review the family functioning literature among paediatric OCRDs, (2) address limitations to previous studies, and (3) highlight areas in need of further research. METHODS: A review of the literature was conducted using several databases (i.e., Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect) and employing key search terms (e.g., 'family functioning', 'paediatric OCD'). The resultant articles examined several domains subsumed under the broader heading of family environment including parental mental health, parenting practices, family dynamics, family involvement with symptoms, and family emotional climate. RESULTS: The literature reviewed demonstrated a strong relationship between paediatric OCD and adverse family functioning (e.g., parental symptoms of anxiety and depression, family accommodation, family strain and stress, parental guilt and fear) in all identified domains. While family functioning research in paediatric HPD was relatively scant, research suggested similar familial dysfunction (e.g., limited independence, low family cohesion, family violence). Collectively, only 1 article, examining BDD, assessed family functioning within other OCRDs. CONCLUSIONS: This review supports the need for further research in the OCRDs. Limitations to the available literature and targeted suggestions for future research are discussed. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The domains of family environment in this study indicate specific family functioning deficits that may serve as aetiological and/or maintenance factors in paediatric OCRDs, possibly contributing to the understanding of these complex disorders. The recognition of family deficits in paediatric OCRDs may prove beneficial in developing or bolstering preventative and/or therapeutic interventions. Insufficient number of articles pertaining to family functioning in some paediatric OCRDs (i.e., hoarding, skin picking) inhibits formal conclusions. Magnitudes of family functioning effects were not calculated; therefore, future research should consider meta-analytic analyses.