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A science-based informational blog on child disorders, parenting, and child development.
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- July 17, 2009
- 10:54 AM
- 1,829 views
ADHD medication use may prevent future psychiatric disorders
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
The totality of the available data on the short term effects of ADHD stimulant is relatively consistent: these medications are safe and result in significant improvement in symptoms, especially for children with severe forms of the disorder. However, little previous research on the long term effects of these medications has been used by critics of [...]... Read more »
Biederman, J., Monuteaux, M., Spencer, T., Wilens, T., & Faraone, S. (2009) Do Stimulants Protect Against Psychiatric Disorders in Youth With ADHD? A 10-Year Follow-up Study. PEDIATRICS, 124(1), 71-78. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-3347
- June 1, 2009
- 09:11 AM
- 1,763 views
ADHD medications and academic achievement in elementary school
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
A few weeks ago I discussed a research study that examined the effects of the medication Concerta (methylphenidate) on performance variability during cognitive tasks in children with ADHD. But does this translate to improvements in school work? Does the research support the effectiveness of ADHD meds in more tangible outcomes, such as grades or academic [...]... Read more »
Scheffler, R., Brown, T., Fulton, B., Hinshaw, S., Levine, P., & Stone, S. (2009) Positive Association Between Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder Medication Use and Academic Achievement During Elementary School. PEDIATRICS, 123(5), 1273-1279. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-1597
- May 14, 2009
- 09:15 AM
- 1,695 views
Does child depression exist as a categorical construct?
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
One of the most controversial and complex issues affecting the field of clinical psychology and psychiatry is how to integrate two distinct conceptualization of psychiatric conditions. Our field has been dominated by a disease model, in which psychiatric disorders are viewed as discrete categories. That is, a disorder is either present or absent (e.g., you [...]... Read more »
Richey, J., Schmidt, N., Lonigan, C., Phillips, B., Catanzaro, S., Laurent, J., Gerhardstein, R., & Kotov, R. (2009) The latent structure of child depression: a taxometric analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02085.x
- June 10, 2009
- 10:19 AM
- 1,677 views
Big babies, big heads, big IQ, and thoughts on eugenics.
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
I spent the weekend helping my sister work on her dissertation. She is at MIT studying the role of eugenics in urban planning and architectural design in South America. So most of my weekend was spent reading about how in the early to mid 1900s scientists, physicians and public health scientists in particular, promoted the [...]... Read more »
Broekman, B., Chan, Y., Chong, Y., Quek, S., Fung, D., Low, Y., Ooi, Y., Gluckman, P., Meaney, M., Wong, T.... (2009) The Influence of Birth Size on Intelligence in Healthy Children. PEDIATRICS, 123(6). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-3344
- April 10, 2009
- 09:50 PM
- 1,669 views
Breastfeeding and happy babies: EEG asymmetry in at-risk infants.
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
This afternoon, as I worked on a study on children of depressed mothers, I came across an article about the effects of breastfeeding on the brain electrical activity of babies. I usually only review recent research, but this study is worth an exception, especially in light of our recent review of Hanna Rosin's article on the Atlantic magazine questioning the strength of the link between
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Jones, N. (2004) Patterns of brain electrical activity in infants of depressed mothers who breastfeed and bottle feed: the mediating role of infant temperament. Biological Psychology, 67(1-2), 103-124. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.010
- April 14, 2009
- 09:53 AM
- 1,617 views
Children with Psychopathic traits may have difficulty hearing the victim
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
A study examining the perception of victim distress signals among children with psychopathic traits indicates that these children have the capacity to identify and respond to the victim's distress, but these children may have their "distress radar" turned to "low". A review of: van Baardewijk, Y., Stegge, H., Bushman, B., & Vermeiren, R. (2009). Psychopathic traits, victim distress and aggression
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van Baardewijk, Y., Stegge, H., Bushman, B., & Vermeiren, R. (2009) Psychopathic traits, victim distress and aggression in children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02023.x
- June 8, 2009
- 10:29 AM
- 1,578 views
Boys, girls, science, math, and sex intellectual differences
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
In 2006, Dr. Lawrence Summers resigned as president of Harvard University partly due to a non-confidence vote by Harvard’s faculty, which resulted from Summers’ controversial remarks that women are under-represented at the top end of math, science, and engineering fields because women have “different availability of aptitude at the high end”. In his remarks he [...]... Read more »
Haworth, C., Dale, P., & Plomin, R. (2009) Sex differences and science: the etiology of science excellence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02087.x
- July 31, 2009
- 10:19 AM
- 1,546 views
Long term effects of prematurity: A glass half full of girls.
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
Back in June I commented on an article that examined the mechanisms behind the type of cognitive disabilities experienced by very preterm children. That study showed marked impairment among premature kids, which is consistent with a long line of research showing significantly increased risks for cognitive deficits among children born under 30-week gestation. However, most [...]... Read more »
Johnson, S., Fawke, J., Hennessy, E., Rowell, V., Thomas, S., Wolke, D., & Marlow, N. (2009) Neurodevelopmental Disability Through 11 Years of Age in Children Born Before 26 Weeks of Gestation. PEDIATRICS, 124(2). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-3743
- April 23, 2009
- 08:55 AM
- 1,539 views
Weight loss for teens: Family support effective. Family therapy, not so much.
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
A family-based psychoeducational weight loss treatment for teens appears to be more effective than traditional family therapy. Psychologists often work on the premise that any therapy is better than no therapy. Usually this tenet applies, in that most research shows that for most conditions therapy is better than no therapy. But unfortunately there are exceptions. Some interventions, in very specific conditions, may actually do more harm than good. It seems that short-term family systems therapy as part of a weight loss program for teenage girls may be one of such cases.A team from the University of South Carolina conducted a controlled clinical trial of a family-based weight loss intervention program for teen girls. The authors were primarily interested in examining the effects of two family variables in weight loss: family nurturance (warmth) and family cohesion (closeness). These family factors are associated with a number of positive behavioral outcomes in teens, so it was hypothesized that interventions that help foster nurturance and cohesion would facilitate the effectiveness of weight loss programs.In the study the authors randomly assigned 42 families with an overweight teenage girl to one out of three treatment conditions: 1) a family-based psychoeducational program, 2)a family-based psychoeducational program PLUS a multi-family therapy group, and 3) and a non-treatment (waiting list) condition. The psychoeducational program encouraged weight-loss behaviors and parental support but it did not include a specific caloric restriction goal, as the authors indicated that this is usually not effective with adolescents. The multi-family therapy program consisted of weekly 45 minute sessions of traditional group therapy during which families were able to address many issues, including the challenges they were encountering during the implementation of the psychoeducational program. Finally, the waiting list group simply waited until the end of the first phase of the study and then were given the opportunity to receive the treatment. These interventions lasted for 16 weeks.The Results:After 4 months, the average BMI of the participants of all three groups did not change significantly, and this index was practically identical between the groups. That is, the two treatment conditions were not more effective than the non-treatment group in reducing the body mass index.However, a major difference between the groups was observed in energy intake. The girls in the 'psychoeducational group only' displayed a significant reduction in energy intake. Instead, the girls in the 'family therapy plus psychoeducation' displayed an increase in energy intake and this was comparable to the increase observed in the non-treatment group. Therefore, it seems that the psychoeducational intervention helped these girls eat less, but when family therapy was added, the benefits of the psychoeducational intervention vanished. Concerning the effects of family nurturance and cohesion. The authors found that families that improved in family nurturance during the intervention also showed a significant reduction in energy intake. This suggests that family warmth and support helps adolescent girls lower their food intake.Finally, family therapy led to higher levels of family conflict. The authors suggested that conflict issues may have arisen during therapy that were not fully addressed given the duration of the treatment. However, 4 months of therapy is within the norm for group therapy programs, thus it seems that this particular form of therapy, for this particular issue and population (weight loss in overweight but otherwise psychologically healthy teenage girls) is not effective in facilitating weight loss and may actually lead to increased family conflict. Please note however, that family systems therapy has been found effective for many conditions, including eating disorders (e.g., anorexia). This study ONLY assessed family therapy as part of a weight loss program in otherwise healthy girls.Reference:Kitzman-Ulrich, H., Hampson, R., Wilson, D., Presnell, K., Brown, A., & O'Boyle, M. (2009). An Adolescent Weight-Loss Program Integrating Family Variables Reduces Energy Intake Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109 (3), 491-496 DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.11.029Thank you for using Child-Psych.org RSS feed. Please visit our website www.child-psych.com to join the discussion and for additional articles on child development and child psychology.... Read more »
Kitzman-Ulrich, H., Hampson, R., Wilson, D., Presnell, K., Brown, A., & O'Boyle, M. (2009) An Adolescent Weight-Loss Program Integrating Family Variables Reduces Energy Intake. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(3), 491-496. DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2008.11.029
- June 17, 2009
- 08:45 AM
- 1,539 views
PDAs for kids with Autism
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders recently published a study examining the effectiveness of a Portable Digital Assistant (PDA) as an aid device for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. I was surprised to read that only a couple of studies have been conducted examining the potential utility of PDAs in autism. The portability of [...]... Read more »
Mechling, L., Gast, D., & Seid, N. (2009) Using a Personal Digital Assistant to Increase Independent Task Completion by Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0761-0
- April 9, 2009
- 09:47 AM
- 1,525 views
Multiple daycare and childcare arrangements: What are the consequences?
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
Is having multiple childcare arrangements during early childhood associated with increased behavioral problems in toddlers?A review of Morrissey, T. (2009). Multiple Child-Care Arrangements and Young Children’s Behavioral Outcomes Child Development, 80 (1), 59-76 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01246.xIn the last issue of the journal Child Development, Dr. Taryn Morrissey conducts a comprehensive
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Morrissey, T. (2009) Multiple Child-Care Arrangements and Young Children’s Behavioral Outcomes. Child Development, 80(1), 59-76. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01246.x
- April 28, 2009
- 10:38 AM
- 1,524 views
What are the effects of chronic illnesses on academic achievement?
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
Due to advances in medicine, childhood illness that once were fatal are now highly treatable, and children with chronic illnesses are more likely than ever before to have relatively normal social and academic lives. Most studies on the effects of chronic illnesses indicate that chronic conditions are associated with poor academic performance and higher anxiety and other mental health symptoms. It is less clear how these two negative outcomes are related. For example, is the relative poor academic performance in these children due symptoms of depression or anxiety? A recent article published in the journal Child: Care Health and Development examined the academic performance and anxiety symptoms in children with chronic illnesses in Canada. The study included 534 children with chronic illness (ages 10 to 15) and 978 healthy peers. The authors examined the academic achievement scores in mathematics and anxiety symptoms. The authors also controlled for a number of explanatory variables, such as household income, gender, educational handicaps directly related to the chronic condition, and rural vs. urban setting.The Results:1. Children with chronic illnesses had significantly lower mathematics achievement scores than healthy peers. This finding was not explained by the presence of higher levels of educational handicaps (Learning disabilities, mental retardation, etc) in the children with chronic illnesses. On the contrary, the authors noted a paradoxical finding. As expected, healthy children with an educational handicap scored lower in mathematics achievement than healthy children without an educational handicap. However, among kids with chronic illness, those with an educational handicap scored higher in mathematics achievement than those without an educational handicap.2. The authors did not find any differences in anxiety symptoms when comparing the children with and without chronic conditions. In addition, the lower levels of academic achievement found in the children with chronic condition was not explained by anxiety symptoms.I think the most surprising finding in this study was that children with chronic conditions AND an educational handicap scored higher on a test of mathematics achievement than did children with chronic conditions but WITHOUT an educational handicap. It is likely that those with an educational handicap received significant educational support when compared to kids with chronic conditions but without a clear educational handicap. These results have some serious implications for prevention efforts. Kids with chronic conditions that do not have a clear education handicap may be “falling through the cracks,” in that their educational problems may not be severe enough to catch the attention of teachers and/or parents yet these kids may be falling behind when compared to their healthy peers.Martinez, Y., & Ercikan, K. (2009). Chronic illnesses in Canadian children: what is the effect of illness on academic achievement, and anxiety and emotional disorders? Child: Care, Health and Development, 35 (3), 391-401 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00916.xThank you for using Child-Psych.org RSS feed. Please visit our website www.child-psych.org to join the discussion and for additional articles on child development and child psychology.... Read more »
Martinez, Y., & Ercikan, K. (2009) Chronic illnesses in Canadian children: what is the effect of illness on academic achievement, and anxiety and emotional disorders?. Child: Care, Health and Development, 35(3), 391-401. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00916.x
- April 5, 2009
- 02:39 PM
- 1,487 views
Expanding treatment outcomes of speech therapy: what parents really want.
by Nicole Hess in Child-Psych
BRIEFSWhen I was a new speech language pathologist I did not have children. I was not even married. Even though I think I was a good clinician, nothing compares to the lessons I learned after I became a parent. It changed my therapy and my approach to clients both young and old.In a recent article published in the Journal of Communication Disorders, Dr. Nancy Thomas-Stonell explores the
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THOMASSTONELL, N., ODDSON, B., ROBERTSON, B., & ROSENBAUM, P. (2009) Predicted and observed outcomes in preschool children following speech and language treatment: Parent and clinician perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders, 42(1), 29-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2008.08.002
- October 6, 2010
- 10:06 AM
- 1,457 views
Child Psychopaths? Poor eye contact and thoughts on psychiatric disorders.
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
Psychiatric disorders are diagnosed by determining the presence of specific symptoms, mostly without regards for what caused the symptoms. That is, if you have a specific number of symptoms and meet some additional criteria, then by definition, you have the disorder. For the most part, the rest of medicine doesn’t work this way. If you [...]... Read more »
Dadds, M., Jambrak, J., Pasalich, D., Hawes, D., & Brennan, J. (2010) Impaired attention to the eyes of attachment figures and the developmental origins of psychopathy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02323.x
- June 15, 2009
- 09:29 AM
- 1,438 views
Firesetting in childhood and adolescence: early sign of psychopathology?
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
This past week, police officers in Florida arrested an 18-year-old kid as prime suspect in a wave of cat killings and mutilations. The killing and torturing of animals for pleasure (excluding traditional hunting) is one of the strongest signs of serious psychopathology. Firesetting is likely a close second, with most adults and adolescents who engage [...]... Read more »
MacKay, S., Paglia-Boak, A., Henderson, J., Marton, P., & Adlaf, E. (2009) Epidemiology of firesetting in adolescents: mental health and substance use correlates. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02103.x
- April 17, 2009
- 08:47 AM
- 1,435 views
Will teaching my baby to sign delay his speech?
by Nicole Hess in Child-Psych
Friday's Column "Focus on Language" by Nicole Hess. I get this question ALL the time. In fact I just gave a talk to a group of preschool teachers and this question came up: Can teaching sign language to my baby delay his talking? Let's look at what the research tells us about using signs with babies. In an article published in the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology Elizabeth Crais, et
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Crais, E., Watson, L., & Baranek, G. (2009) Use of Gesture Development in Profiling Children's Prelinguistic Communication Skills. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(1), 95-108. DOI: 10.1044/1058-0360(2008/07-0041)
- May 20, 2009
- 10:29 AM
- 1,416 views
Diagnosing autism in toddlers: The new ADOS Toddler Module enters the field
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (The ADOS) is a diagnostic instrument that was created by the University of Michigan Professor Dr. Kathy Lord. During the last 2 decades, the ADOS has become the most accepted diagnostic tool for autism spectrum disorders. The ADOS has 4 different overlapping ‘versions’ (or modules) that were designed to be [...]... Read more »
Luyster, R., Gotham, K., Guthrie, W., Coffing, M., Petrak, R., Pierce, K., Bishop, S., Esler, A., Hus, V., Oti, R.... (2009) The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule—Toddler Module: A New Module of a Standardized Diagnostic Measure for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0746-z
- April 13, 2009
- 09:33 AM
- 1,400 views
Depressed preschool children: The role of shame and guilt.
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
Dr. Joan Luby is one of the world's leading experts in early childhood depression. Her work has shown that children as young as 3 can become clinically depressed. She is not just redefining "sadness" in young kids and calling it depression. Instead, she has demonstrated that some young children can, and do, experience clinical depression with the same constellation of symptoms and severity as the
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Luby, J., Belden, A., Sullivan, J., Hayen, R., McCadney, A., & Spitznagel, E. (2009) Shame and guilt in preschool depression: evidence for elevations in self-conscious emotions in depression as early as age 3. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02077.x
- April 8, 2009
- 10:19 AM
- 1,393 views
Who supervises your ABA therapist? Focus on autism: Supervisor support and therapist burnout
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
In an effort to identify the predictors of therapists' burnout, researchers examined the factors that affect the perceived self-efficacy and work well-being of therapists providing intense behavior analysis services for children with autism.A review of:Gibson, J., Grey, I., & Hastings, R. (2009). Supervisor Support as a Predictor of Burnout and Therapeutic Self-Efficacy in Therapists Working in
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Gibson, J., Grey, I., & Hastings, R. (2009) Supervisor Support as a Predictor of Burnout and Therapeutic Self-Efficacy in Therapists Working in ABA Schools. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0709-4
- April 10, 2009
- 05:44 PM
- 1,385 views
Breastfeeding may lower risk of sudden infant death (SIDS) by 50%
by Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
A review of: Vennemann, M., Bajanowski, T., Brinkmann, B., Jorch, G., Yucesan, K., Sauerland, C., Mitchell, E., & , . (2009). Does Breastfeeding Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome? PEDIATRICS, 123 (3) DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-2145In the wake of the recent controversy created by Hanna Rosin's article "The case Against Breastfeeding," I decided to discuss a brief but powerful study that
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Vennemann, M., Bajanowski, T., Brinkmann, B., Jorch, G., Yucesan, K., Sauerland, C., Mitchell, E., & , . (2009) Does Breastfeeding Reduce the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?. PEDIATRICS, 123(3). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-2145
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