Showing papers by "Lilly Shanahan published in 2017"

Self-regulation as a predictor of patterns of change in externalizing behaviors from infancy to adolescence

Abstract: We examined associations between specific self-regulatory mechanisms and externalizing behavior patterns from ages 2 to 15 (N = 443). The relation between multiple self-regulatory indicators across multiple domains (i.e., physiological, attentional, emotional, and behavioral) at age 2 and at age 5 and group membership in four distinct externalizing trajectories was examined. By examining each of these self-regulatory processes in combination with one another, and therefore accounting for their shared variance, we aimed to better understand which specific self-regulatory skills were associated most strongly with externalizing behavioral patterns. Findings suggest that behavioral inhibitory control and emotion regulation are particularly important in distinguishing between children who show normative declines in externalizing behaviors across early childhood and those who demonstrate high levels through adolescence.

Childhood temperament predictors of adolescent physical activity

Abstract: Physical inactivity is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Many patterns of physical activity involvement are established early in life. To date, the role of easily identifiable early-life individual predictors of PA, such as childhood temperament, remains relatively unexplored. Here, we tested whether childhood temperamental activity level, high intensity pleasure, low intensity pleasure, and surgency predicted engagement in physical activity (PA) patterns 11 years later in adolescence. Data came from a longitudinal community study (N = 206 participants, 53% females, 70% Caucasian). Parents reported their children’s temperamental characteristics using the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) when children were 4 & 5 years old. Approximately 11 years later, adolescents completed self-reports of PA using the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Ordered logistic regression, ordinary least squares linear regression, and Zero-inflated Poisson regression models were used to predict adolescent PA from childhood temperament. Race, socioeconomic status, and adolescent body mass index were used as covariates. Males with greater childhood temperamental activity level engaged in greater adolescent PA volume (B = .42, SE = .13) and a 1 SD difference in childhood temperamental activity level predicted 29.7% more strenuous adolescent PA per week. Males’ high intensity pleasure predicted higher adolescent PA volume (B = .28, SE = .12). Males’ surgency positively predicted more frequent PA activity (B = .47, SE = .23, OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.54) and PA volume (B = .31, SE = .12). No predictions from females’ childhood temperament to later PA engagement were identified. Childhood temperament may influence the formation of later PA habits, particularly in males. Boys with high temperamental activity level, high intensity pleasure, and surgency may directly seek out pastimes that involve PA. Indirectly, temperament may also influence caregivers’ perceptions of optimal activity choices for children. Understanding how temperament influences the development of PA patterns has the potential to inform efforts aimed at promoting long-term PA engagement and physical health.

The Association Between Relational Aggression and Perceived Popularity in Early Adolescence: A Test of Competing Hypotheses.

Abstract: This study examined two competing hypotheses regarding the moderators of the association between relational aggression and peer status in early adolescence. The mitigation relational aggression hypothesis examined whether positive social behaviors reduced the negative effects of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity. The effective use of relational aggression hypothesis examined whether leadership skills facilitated the proficient use of relational aggression, thus amplifying the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity. Participants were 158 fifth graders (52% female). Post hoc analyses indicated that for girls, leadership significantly moderated the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity after controlling for positive social behaviors. Positive social behaviors did not similarly moderate the association between relational aggression and perceived popularity for boys or girls. Our results demonstrated that in the context of greater leadership, female early adolescents who used more relational aggression were perceived as more popular.

Cannabis Use and Disorder From Childhood to Adulthood in a Longitudinal Community Sample With American Indians.

Abstract: Objective Recent changes in DSM criteria require new documentation of the prevalence and developmental sequences of cannabis use disorder (CUD). The goal of this study was to investigate the early course of DSM-5 CUD and its overlap with DSM-IV and consumption constructs in a community-representative sample of American Indians. Method Data came from the prospective, longitudinal, population-based Great Smoky Mountains Study in North Carolina (N = 1,420, including 349 American Indians). Cannabis use and disorder were assessed during yearly interviews from 9 to 16 years of age and at 19, 21, 26, and 30 years of age (up to 11 assessments per participant from 1993 through 2015). Results By 30 years of age, approximately 70% of participants had used cannabis, 34% had used cannabis daily, and 18% had met criteria for DSM-5 CUD. Approximately 1 in 4 cannabis users met criteria for CUD at some point. Those who met criteria initiated use more than 2 years previously (at 13.3 years old) compared with other users. Despite higher risks from increased poverty, American Indians' patterns of use were similar to those of the rest of the sample. Concordance between DSM-5 CUD and DSM-IV abuse or dependence was substantial but was even higher between DSM-5 CUD and daily use. Conclusion It was common to have used cannabis daily or to have met criteria for DSM-5 CUD by adulthood. DSM-5 CUD was an improvement over DSM-IV diagnostic constructs by raising the threshold for diagnosis.

Predicting Persistent, Limited, and Delayed Problematic Cannabis Use in Early Adulthood: Findings From a Longitudinal Study.

Abstract: Objective To identify risk profiles associated with patterns of problematic cannabis use in early adulthood. Method Data came from 1,229 participants in the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a prospective 20-year cohort study from 1993 to 2015 that is representative of western North Carolina with yearly assessments conducted from ages 9 and 16 years, and assessments at ages 19, 21, 26, and 30 years. Patterns of problematic cannabis use (i.e., DSM-5 cannabis use disorder or daily use) in early adulthood included the following: nonproblematic use in late adolescence (ages 19−21) and early adulthood (ages 26−30); limited problematic use in late adolescence only; persistent problematic use in late adolescence and early adulthood; and delayed problematic use in early adulthood only. Multinominal logistic regression models examined pairwise associations between these patterns and risk factors in childhood/early adolescence (ages 9−16) and late adolescence (ages 19−21). Risk factors included psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety, depressive), other substance use (smoking, alcohol, illicit drugs), and challenging social factors (e.g., low socioeconomic status, family functioning, peers). Sex and race/ethnicity (white, African American, American Indian) interactions were tested. Results The persistent pattern (6.7% of sample) was characterized by more anxiety disorders across development and more DSM-5 CUD symptoms during late adolescence compared to the limited pattern (13.3%), which, in turn, had more childhood family instability and dysfunction. The delayed pattern (3.7%) was characterized by more externalizing disorders, maltreatment, and peer bullying in childhood compared to those in nonproblematic users. There were no significant interactions of sex or race/ethnicity. Conclusion Problematic cannabis use patterns during early adulthood have distinctive risk profiles, which may be useful in tailoring targeted interventions.

Vagal Regulation of Cardiac Function in Early Childhood and Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescence.

Abstract: Objective Poor behavioral self-regulation in the first 2 decades of life has been identified as an important precursor of disease risk in adulthood. However, physiological regulation has not been well studied as a disease risk factor before adulthood. We tested whether physiological regulation at the age of 2 years, in the form of vagal regulation of cardiac function (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] change), would predict three indicators of cardiovascular risk at the age of 16 years (diastolic and systolic blood pressure and body mass index). Methods Data came from 229 children who participated in a community-based longitudinal study. At the age of 2 years, children were assessed for RSA baseline and RSA change (ln(ms)) in response to a series of challenge tasks. These same children were assessed again at the age of 16 years for diastolic and systolic blood pressure (millimeters of mercury), height (meters), and weight (kilogram). Results Regression analyses revealed that less RSA withdrawal at the age of 2 years predicted higher diastolic blood pressure at the age of 16 years, adjusting for demographic characteristics (B = -3.07, M [S E] = 1.12, p = .006). Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these predictions extended to clinically significant levels of diastolic prehypertension (odds ratio = 0.43, 95% confidence interval = 0.22-0.89). RSA withdrawal did not significantly predict adolescent body mass index or systolic blood pressure. Conclusions Vagal regulation of cardiac function in early childhood predicts select indicators of cardiovascular risk 14 years later. Early signs of attenuated vagal regulation could indicate an increased risk for elevated blood pressure before adulthood. Future research should test biological, behavioral, and psychological mechanisms underlying these long-term predictions.

Heart Rate Variability During Acute Recovery from Maximal Exercise; Utility of a Nonlinear Dynamics Approach: 2557 Board #77 June 2 9

Abstract: The non-stationary trend of the heart rate (HR), response immediately following the cessation of exercise mathematically biases traditional measures of heart rate variability (HRV), during acute recovery. Fitness-induced alterations in resting HR, HRV and heart rate recovery (HRR) are observed in response to changes in cardiac autonomic nervous system modulations. PURPOSE: To pilot the utility of nonlinear dynamics to characterize the patterns of fluctuation and complexity surrounding the non-stationary drift in HRV during acute recovery from exercise. METHODS: HR data was collected throughout exercise and into recovery following an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion in young adults [age range=19-21 yrs (male: n=14, Ht=173±7cm, Wt=71.7±11.4kg, BF=16.8±6.7%, VO2max=48.0±6.0ml/kg/min, HRmax=200±11; female: n=18, Ht=162±5cm, Wt=67.8±15.9kg, BF=32.9±9.4%, VO2max=33.3±9.5 ml/kg/min, HRmax=195±12)]. Nonlinear regression techniques were used to fit the first 5-min of R-R interval data following the cessation of exercise. Residuals were calculated from individual-specific regressions and used to create a secondary time-series. Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFAa) and sample entropy (SampEn) were used to characterize self-similar patterns and the complexity of fluctuation in HRV-R, respectively. RESULTS: We successfully removed the non-stationary trend associated with post-exercise HRV data. Preliminary analyses show a significant interaction between VO2max and HRmax as predictors of complexity (SampEn) surrounding the post-exercise HR response (p=0.03). A significant interaction between gender and HRmax predicted DFAa (p=0.02); after controlling for HRmax, DFA was greater in women than men during acute recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Nonlinear dynamics provide an additional perspective on HRV during acute exercise recovery. The complexity surrounding the nonlinear trend of HRV during recovery may provide additional context for the role of fitness on cardiac autonomic nervous system modulation which has been previously described during resting HRV data. Future analyses should investigate the utility of this residual approach to examine the relationships across pre-, during-, and postexercise HRV measures.