Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE: To examine how parental endorsement of racial socialization parenting practices relates to child mental health service use among an urban sample of African American families. METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of urban African American parents (n = 96) provided ratings of their beliefs concerning various dimensions of racial socialization constructs, i.e., spiritual or religious coping (SRC), extended family caring (EFC), cultural pride reinforcement (CPR), and assessed regarding their use of child mental health services. RESULTS: At the multivariate level, the use of child mental health services was significantly positively associated with moderate levels of endorsement of SRC and EFC. Inversely, scores in the moderate range of CPR were associated with a reduced likelihood of child mental health service use. CONCLUSION: Parental endorsement of racial socialization parenting practices appear to play a salient role in child mental health service use among an urban African American families. Further research with larger and more representative samples should be pursued.

Teacher organization is a crucial part of classroom functioning; however, its relation to student achievement has not been investigated as extensively as that of instruction. In this study, organization is defined as the amount of time teachers spend explaining the purpose and procedures of learning activities and daily routines. Data from first-grade classrooms (N=44) observed three times during the school year (fall, winter, and spring) are analyzed, along with students' (N=108) literacy skills at fall and spring. Hierarchical Linear Modeling reveals that, controlling for students' fall word reading and vocabulary skills, as well as amount of language arts instruction they receive, both amount and change in amount over time in classroom organization significantly predicts spring word reading skills. Specifically, children in classrooms observed in higher amounts of classroom time in organization at the beginning of the school year, followed by sharp decreases over the school year, demonstrated stronger letter and word reading skills by spring, and this was a main effect (p<.05). Practical and research implications are discussed

This case study illustrates a behavioral treatment of 'Peter,' a 4-year-old male with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder. Multiple evidence-based treatment procedures were implemented, affording the opportunity to explore issues common to the clinical application of empirically supported interventions. Among the strategies utilized were behavioral parent training, school consultation and behavioral training of educators, school-based contingency management, and a behavioral daily report card. Numerous issues are discussed, including the limited evidence regarding interventions for preschool-age children with ADHD, factors influencing treatment planning and sequencing, collaboration with schools and parents, and evidence-based assessment of treatment gains

BACKGROUND: To write an up-to-date review paper on catatonia using published literature. METHODS: This review involved a search using the terms 'catatonia,' 'stupor,' 'catatonic schizophrenia' and 'catalepsy' in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Medline database and EMBASE and PsychINFO. Additional use was made of these databases in searching for randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, cohort studies, case-control studies, case series, case reports and reviews. RESULTS: Available evidence indicates that catatonia is a common neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by the presence of various motor signs and symptoms. The underlying pathophysiologic-mechanisms points to a heterogeneous group of etiologies. Current classifications are based on the type of presentation and the duration of symptoms; agitated versus retarded and acute versus chronic. Available data supports the efficacy of benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the treatment of this condition, but the treatment response is limited by the chronicity of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Catatonia is a common disorder that occurs in a wide variety of psychiatric, neurological and medical conditions. At the current time, there is sufficient evidence to consider it as a specific nosologic syndrome with different subtypes and treatment responses

In this article the authors reflect on the role of executive function (EF) deficits and delay aversion (DAv) in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The authors, empirical review shows clearly that EF deficits and DAv are implicated in ADHD, although neither is necessary for ADHD nor specific to it. The constructs are somewhat dissociable from one another so that each may represent a distinctive feature associated with an ADHD subsample. The authors argue that neither EF deficits nor DAv add much value to the diagnosis of ADHD as it is currently conceptualized, but may be crucial in helping to partition heterogeneity in the condition, leading to the refinement of ADHD nosology

This study evaluated the utility of the social competence scale (SCS)-parent version, a measure of social competence developed for children of elementary school age, for use with preschool-age children. Data were derived from two samples of preschoolers: a community sample assessed at enrollment to pre-kindergarten programs and a high-risk sample of children at familial risk for conduct problems participating in a preventive intervention trial. Using data from both samples, we assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and stability of the SCS, and whether the SCS discriminated the high-risk sample from the community sample. Results support the utility and construct validity of the SCS for use in preschoolers. The total SCS scale was relatively stable over 24 months during the preschool period and was correlated with other measures of social competence, parent ratings of emotion regulation, lability and behavior problems, and tests of child cognitive ability

INTRODUCTION: Obesity and diabetes have increased rapidly nationwide, yet reliable information on these disease trends in local urban settings is unavailable. We undertook this study to characterize trends in obesity and diagnosed diabetes from 2002 to 2004 among white, black, and Hispanic adult residents of New York City. METHODS: We used data from the Community Health Survey, an annual random-digit-dial telephone survey of approximately 10,000 New York City adults aged 18 years or older, and from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a similar nationwide survey. Main outcome measures were body mass index (BMI), calculated from self-reported height and weight, and self-reported diabetes. RESULTS: In 2 years, the prevalence of obesity increased 17% in New York City, from 19.5% in 2002 to 22.8% in 2004 (P < .0001). The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes also increased 17%, from 8.1% in 2002 to 9.5% in 2004 (P < .01). Nationally, the prevalence of obesity increased by 6% during this same time period (P < .05), and diabetes prevalence did not increase significantly. The median BMI among white adults in New York City was 25.1 kg/m(2), significantly lower than among Hispanics (26.4 kg/m(2)) and blacks (26.6 kg/m(2), P < .05). The prevalence of diabetes increased across all BMI categories. DISCUSSION: The rapid increase in obesity and diabetes in New York City suggests the severity of these twin epidemics and the importance of collecting and analyzing local data for local programming and policy making.