Faculty Bibliography

Adaptive social skills were assessed longitudinally at approximately ages 2, 3, 5, 9, and 13 years in a sample of 192 children with a clinical diagnosis of autism (n = 93), PDD-NOS (n = 51), or nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 46) at age 2. Growth curve analyses with SAS proc mixed were used to analyze social trajectories over time. Both individual characteristics and environmental resources emerged as key predictors of adaptive social behavior outcome. The gap between children with autism and the other two diagnostic groups widened with time as the social skills of the latter groups improved at a higher rate. However, within diagnostic groups, improvement ranged from minimal to very dramatic. Children with autism most at risk for problems with social adaptive abilities later in life can be identified with considerable accuracy at a very young age so they can be targeted for appropriate early intervention services

PURPOSE: To illustrate time trends and trajectories of bullying and identify demographic predictors of bullying. METHODS: A prospective study of 1666 seventh- and eighth-grade students from two Korean middle schools was conducted between 2000 and 2001. Using the Korean-Peer Nomination Inventory, bullying was categorized into four groups: victim, perpetrator, victim-perpetrator, and neither. RESULTS: Only the prevalence of male victims significantly decreased over the course of the study. Most students uninvolved in bullying at baseline remained so over the study period. In all, 52-58% of baseline victims and perpetrators and 74% of victim-perpetrators continued to be involved in bullying. Significantly more boys were involved with bullying than girls; individual stability of bullying behavior did not differ by gender. Shorter, heavier boys and those from lower SES, whose fathers had lower educational levels or whose mothers had higher educational levels, as well as shorter girls from Seoul or non-intact families, were at an increased risk for bullying. CONCLUSIONS: Except for a modest decline in the number of male victims, participation in bullying (especially by victim-perpetrators) is stable over time. Along with disadvantaged background, distinct demographic profiles of bullying involvement by sex and bullying groups emerged, allowing early identification of bullying and targeting intervention and prevention

OBJECTIVE: This phenomenological research study reports preliminary findings about experiences of persons undergoing repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for depression treatment. METHODS: Giorgi's phenomenology was the method used to describe the structure of the lived experience for persons having undergone rTMS treatment for depression. Participants were recruited from the OPT-TMS pivotal depression study that resulted in the October 2008 FDA approval of rTMS. Thus far, nine persons comprise the purposive sample. Each participant was asked to describe the experience of undergoing rTMS for depression treatment and encouraged to provide as much details as possible. RESULTS: Four preliminary themes emerged to describe participants' experiences of rTMS for depression treatment: (a) a narrative of frustration and helplessness with medication treatment resistance, (b) the sensory experience of rTMS, (c) mindfulness- an enhanced awareness of the content of consciousness, and (d) the importance of connection with clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results of this phenomenological study make the struggle of persons with treatment-resistant depression more visible and should assist clinicians to understand how rTMS is experienced by depressed persons undergoing treatment. Moreover, results shed new light on the changes participants observe and describe with rTMS and the high value they place on a therapeutic relationship with clinicians administering treatment.

Early institutional deprivation is a risk factor for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. However not all individuals are affected. We tested the hypothesis that this heterogeneity is influenced by gene x environment (GxE) interaction and that genetic polymorphisms involved in dopamine neurotransmission moderate the effects of severe early institutional deprivation on symptoms of ADHD (sADHD). Using a prospective-longitudinal design sADHD were measured at ages 6, 11, and 15 years in a sample of individuals who experienced severe institutional deprivation (up to 42 months of age) in Romanian orphanages and a non-institutionalized comparison group. Individuals were genotyped for polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4 48-bp VNTR in exon 3) and dopamine transporter gene (DAT1 haplotypes combining a 40-bp VNTR in 3'UTR and a 30-bp VNTR in intron 8). The risk for sADHD associated with early institutional deprivation was moderated by the DAT1 but not the DRD4 genotypes; an effect that was first apparent in early-, and persisted to mid-adolescence. The results (i) provide evidence for developmental continuities in G x E interaction, (ii) explain some of the heterogeneity in ADHD outcomes following institutional deprivation and, (iii) add to our understanding of environmental determinants of sADHD

Major depressive disorder (MDD) begins frequently in adolescence and is associated with severe outcomes, but the developmental neurobiology of MDD is not well understood. Research in adults has implicated fronto-limbic neural networks in the pathophysiology of MDD, particularly in relation to the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Developmental changes in brain networks during adolescence highlight the need to examine MDD-related circuitry in teens separately from adults. Using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study examined functional connectivity in adolescents with MDD (n=12) and healthy adolescents (n=14). Seed-based connectivity analysis revealed that adolescents with MDD have decreased functional connectivity in a subgenual ACC-based neural network that includes the supragenual ACC (BA 32), the right medial frontal cortex (BA 10), the left inferior (BA 47) and superior frontal cortex (BA 22), superior temporal gyrus (BA 22), and the insular cortex (BA 13). These preliminary data suggest that MDD in adolescence is associated with abnormal connectivity within neural circuits that mediate emotion processing. Future research in larger, un-medicated samples will be necessary to confirm this finding. We conclude that hypothesis-driven, seed-based analyses of resting state fMRI data hold promise for advancing our current understanding of abnormal development of neural circuitry in adolescents with MDD

BACKGROUND: Poor recruitment and high attrition may invalidate results of research studies. This paper describes successful recruitment and retention strategies in a school-based substance use prevention trial and explores factors associated with intervention attendance and retention. METHODS: A total of 384 parent-child dyads from 15 schools in the New York Metropolitan area participated in a control trial, testing the efficacy of parent-training to prevent youth substance use. Assessments were completed immediately post-intervention and 6-, 12-, and 24-month postintervention. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine which familial and study characteristics predicted attendance in the intervention and retention by parents and youth. RESULTS: 84% of intervention parents attended 4 of the 5 workshops; 83% of control parents attended their single workshop. Intervention attendance was predicted by parent job status, but this was not significant after controlling for other family factors. Retention rates ranged from 87% to 91% over the 2 years. No family characteristics predicted retention, but time since baseline and attendance at treatment workshops and the control workshop did. For children, age at baseline and ethnicity predicted retention, but this did not remain significant in the adjusted model. CONCLUSION: Intervention attendance was high and retention rates far exceeded the minimum standard of 70% retention in behavioral studies. Recruitment and retention strategies were effective for different family constellations. Efforts to maximize participation in both treatment and control interventions are critical to retention in longitudinal trials

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between self-reported social anxiety and asthma in a non-clinical sample of adolescents. STUDY DESIGN: High school students (n = 765) completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A), the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), and questions on asthma diagnosis, asthma symptoms, and asthma-related limitations and medical care. Relationships were examined between social anxiety symptoms and asthma, including history of diagnosis, diagnosis plus current symptoms, and severity. RESULTS: Compared with students without an asthma diagnosis and no symptoms, students with a diagnosis and current symptoms reported heightened social anxiety symptoms related to fear of negative evaluations and generalized discomfort in social settings as measured by the SAS-A. Additionally, a greater proportion of students with an asthma diagnosis and current symptoms were in the clinical range of social anxiety on the SAS-A. Differences on the SAS-A by history of asthma diagnosis and by severity were not supported. No differences were found on the SPAI-C for history of asthma diagnosis, diagnosis plus current symptoms or severity. CONCLUSIONS: Students with current asthma symptoms were more likely to report social anxiety, perhaps related to concerns about exhibiting symptoms or taking medication in front of peers. These findings may suggest advantages for medical providers to identify and treat social anxiety in patients with asthma