Dysregulated Irritability as a Window on Young Children's Psychiatric Risk: Transdiagnostic Effects via the Family Check-Up.
Dev Psychopathol
; 31(5): 1887-1899, 2019 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31370913
ABSTRACT
Building on prior work using Tom Dishion's Family Check-Up, the current article examined intervention effects on dysregulated irritability in early childhood. Dysregulated irritability, defined as reactive and intense response to frustration, and prolonged angry mood, is an ideal marker of neurodevelopmental vulnerability to later psychopathology because it is a transdiagnostic indicator of decrements in self-regulation that are measurable in the first years of life that have lifelong implications for health and disease. This study is perhaps the first randomized trial to examine the direct effects of an evidence- and family-based intervention, the Family Check-Up (FCU), on irritability in early childhood and the effects of reductions in irritability on later risk of child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. Data from the geographically and sociodemographically diverse multisite Early Steps randomized prevention trial were used. Path modeling revealed intervention effects on irritability at age 4, which predicted lower externalizing and internalizing symptoms at age 10.5. Results indicate that family-based programs initiated in early childhood can reduce early childhood irritability and later risk for psychopathology. This holds promise for earlier identification and prevention approaches that target transdiagnostic pathways. Implications for future basic and prevention research are discussed.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Irritable Mood
/
Family
/
Frustration
/
Mental Disorders
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Dev Psychopathol
Journal subject:
PSICOLOGIA
/
PSIQUIATRIA
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article