Showing papers in "Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 1992"
TL;DR: Postnatal depression had no effect on general cognitive and language development, but appeared to make infants more vulnerable to adverse effects of lower social class and male gender.
Abstract: A large sample of primiparous women was screened for depression after childbirth. Those identified as depressed, women with a previous history of depression and a control group were followed up to 18 months, when their infants were assessed on measures of cognitive, social and behavioral development. Infants of postnatally depressed mothers performed worse on object concept tasks, were more insecurely attached to their mothers and showed more mild behavioural difficulties. Postnatal depression had no effect on general cognitive and language development, but appeared to make infants more vulnerable to adverse effects of lower social class and male gender.
1,040 citations
TL;DR: The results showed that in contrast to younger or more handicapped autistic individuals, Asperger subjects were able to solve problems of the type "Peter thinks that Jane thinks that ...", i.e. that they possessed a second-order theory of mind.
Abstract: Two studies are reported in which the ability of people with Asperger's syndrome to understand problems of the type "Peter thinks that Jane thinks that ..." tested. The results showed that in contrast to younger or more handicapped autistic individuals, Asperger subjects were able to solve problems of the type just outlined, i.e. that they possessed a second-order theory of mind. When asked to explain their solutions however, they typically did not use mental state terms but did not differ in this respect either from non-handicapped or socially impaired, chronic schizophrenic controls. The implications of the results for current cognitive theories of autistic impairment are discussed.
579 citations
TL;DR: Verbal skills emerged as the strongest predictor of social-adaptive functioning and clear, positive relationships also emerged between intellectual functioning, and academic attainment.
Abstract: Fifty-eight high-functioning autistic children were assessed during preschool and early school years and followed over a period of 8 years. Early and current psychometric and language tests, parent interviews concerning autistic symptomatology, and direct observations were examined as predictors of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and scores on standardized achievement tests. Verbal skills emerged as the strongest predictor of social-adaptive functioning Clear, positive relationships also emerged between intellctual functioning, and academic attainment Early non-verbal IQ. also showed a positive relationship with outcome. Academic performance appeared considerably stroager than in earher studies.
568 citations
TL;DR: Hyperactive children were more concerned to reduce overall delay levels than either to maximize reward amount or immediacy, suggesting a maladaptive preference for the small reward under the trials constraint.
Abstract: Two experiments are reported in which hyperactive and control children repeatedly chose between small immediate and large delayed rewards. In experiment 1, the best choice option was manipulated by varying levels of delay after reward delivery. In experiment 2 it was manipulated by changing the economic constraint (10 minutes or 20 trials). Both groups were equally efficient at earning points under most conditions, but hyperactive children exhibited a maladaptive preference for the small reward under the trials constraint. The results suggest that hyperactive children were more concerned to reduce overall delay levels than either to maximize reward amount or immediacy.
542 citations
516 citations
TL;DR: In indigenous families, typical autism seems no more common now than 10 years ago, and a new class of disorders of empathy is proposed.
Abstract: Recent autism and autism-related research from Gothenburg is surveyed. In indigenous families, typical autism seems no more common now than 10 years ago. Genetic factors play a part in causing autism and Asperger syndrome. Certain medical syndromes carry a relatively high risk of concomitant autistic symptoms. Evidence for non-specific brain dysfunction is often found in autism and autistic-like conditions. The search for the underlying clue to the riddle of autism may be futile. Autism might be best conceptualized as a behavioural syndrome reflecting underlying brain dysfunction which shades into other clinical syndromes. A new class of disorders of empathy is proposed.
425 citations
TL;DR: Non-retarded autistic children are compared to normal controls on measures of emotion expression and recognition, and autistic subjects recounted appropriate examples of simple and complex emotions, and accurately labeled relatively ambiguous affect expression in pictures.
Abstract: Non-retarded autistic children are compared to normal controls on measures of emotion expression and recognition. In general, autistic subjects recounted appropriate examples of simple and complex emotions, and accurately labeled relatively ambiguous affect expression in pictures. Autistic children manifested some difficulty talking about socially derived emotions, pride and embarrassment. They required more time and more prompts, their responses were more tentative and "scripted", and they displayed limited understanding of the salience of others in embarrassing situations. Results are discussed in relation to theory of mind impairment and compensation strategies in autism.
372 citations
TL;DR: Assessment of autistic children's recognition, discrimination, and fixation of unfamiliar faces and buildings suggests that impaired face recognition does not result from impaired attention or discrimination.
Abstract: Two experiments were carried out assessing autistic children's recognition, discrimination, and fixation of unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar buildings. The experiments showed that (i) unfamiliar face recognition is impaired relative to normal peers, non-verbal ability matched and verbal ability matched controls. Relative to verbal ability matched controls (ii) recognition of buildings is normal; (iii) there is an enhanced discrepancy between face discrimination and buildings discrimination, in favour of buildings; and (iv) fixation is normal. Analysis of the results suggests that impaired face recognition does not result from impaired attention or discrimination.
363 citations
TL;DR: Although there has been some diminution of the cultural denial that girls can be abused, a parallel decrease of denial regarding boys has lagged behind, and it is plausible that certain 'alertors' are more relevant for boys.
Abstract: Inevitably, in a wide ranging review, there will be some important omissions. The main difficulties in assessing the available information have been the lack, in so many studies, of analysis along gender lines, the lack of control groups, and, in many instances, too small sample size. Despite these limitations there has, over the past decade, been an upsurge of interest in and awareness of the significance of the sexual abuse of boys. It permits us to identify a number of important trends and to draw certain conclusions. Firstly, the scale of the sexual abuse of boys is much greater than was believed 10 years ago. There is no reason to think this is simply an artifact of definition, or information gathering, or indeed of an increased willingness to recognize abusive behaviour between children, even though these will all have an effect. Whilst the trend is clear, the actual prevalence rate is difficult to determine, with a reported range of between 3% and 31%. A current 'best guess' suggests contact abuse in the range of 2-5% in the male population. As each study controls for its own definition of abuse, the narrowing in the ratio of boys to girls abused can be accepted as quite reliable, and additional evidence of a delayed recognition effect. Retrospective community evidence shows 1 boy is abused for every 2-4 girls abused. In contrast, the highest clinical ratios are for 1 boy to every 4 girls. Those who work with runaways, male child prostitutes, or child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient units appear particularly likely to encounter abused boys. Secondly, a variety of explanations have been advanced to explain the apparent under-reporting or under-detection of the sexual abuse of boys. Prominent among them have been the boy's fears of disbelief and of being labelled homosexual. Police patterns of reporting extra-familial abuse may mask its extent from protection or health agencies, which is important because extra-familial abuse does appear to be more common in boys, especially older boys, than girls. Although there has been some diminution of the cultural denial that girls can be abused, a parallel decrease of denial regarding boys has lagged behind. This is particularly true of father-son and of the much less common mother-son abuse. It is plausible that certain 'alertors' are more relevant for boys. The recent development of aggressive behaviour, homophobic anxiety, co-abuse of a sibling and abusing behaviour in particular deserve consideration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
360 citations
TL;DR: Parents' reports and adolescents' self-reports of problem behaviors in 883 11-19-year-olds from the general population indicated that adolescents are indispensable informants on their own problem behaviors.
Abstract: Parents' reports and adolescents' self-reports of problem behaviors in 883 11–19-year-olds from the general population were compared. Correlations between both informants' CBCL syndrome scores ranged from 0.27 to 0.56. Adolescents reported many more problems than their parents did about them. Discrepancies were larger for externalizing than for internalizing problems, were larger for girls than for boys and increased with age. The findings indicated that adolescents, especially as they grow older, are indispensable informants on their own problem behaviors.
355 citations
TL;DR: Investigating autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children's ability to deceive or obstruct an opponent confirms that autistic children have a specific deficit in understanding and manipulating beliefs.
Abstract: We investigated autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children's ability to deceive or obstruct an opponent. When required to tell a lie (saying that a box was locked) autistic children performed significantly worse than their controls, taking into account mental age. However, they readily prevented a competitor from gaining a reward by physical manipulation (locking a box). Their success on sabotage demonstrated that their failure on deception was not due to an inability to understand the task. Performance on deception was predicted by performance on a false belief attribution task. The present findings confirm that autistic children have a specific deficit in understanding and manipulating beliefs.
TL;DR: The experiment reported here succeeded in replicating the autism-specific deception impairment as well as the finding that deception capacity correlates highly with performance on a false belief test and discriminated the group with autism from controls more clearly than the traditional index of deception.
Abstract: The penny-hiding game is a deception game that occurs naturally in parent-child and child-child interaction. It involves minimal linguistic demands, and is lots of fun. Oswald and Ollendick (1989) employed it with subjects with autism and reported an impaired capacity for deception. They also found that this correlated with performance on both a false belief (“theory of mind”) test as well as various measures of social behaviour. The experiment reported here set out to replicate Oswald and Ollendick's important results, and then extend them by using a new technique for error analysis.
We succeeded in replicating the autism-specific deception impairment as well as the finding that deception capacity correlates highly with performance on a false belief test. In addition, the new analytic technique discriminated the group with autism from controls more clearly than the traditional index of deception. Specifically, subjects with autism, whilst fully capable of enjoying the game as a game of object occlusion (keeping things out of sight), failed to perceive the game as a game of information occlusion (keeping things out of mind), unlike normal children or subjects with a mental handicap of an equivalent or lower mental age. The dissociation in autism between occluding objects vs occluding information is discussed in relation to other research showing that subjects with autism are impaired in understanding the principle that “seeing leads to knowing”.
TL;DR: This study tested the specificity of the deficit in autism using a False Drawing test, and found that subjects with autism performed at the same level as mentally handicapped or normal 4-year-old subjects on the false drawing test, but significantly worse on the False Belief test.
Abstract: Leslie (1987, Psychological Review, 94, 412-426) proposed that the "theory of mind" deficit in autism was the result of a metarepresentation impairment. Studies employing False Photograph or Belief tests have shown that in autism the deficit is restricted to representing mental representations, and does not extend to representing pictorial representations. In this study, we tested this claim further using a False Drawing test. Subjects with autism performed at the same level as mentally handicapped or normal 4-year-old subjects on the False Drawing test, but significantly worse on the False Belief test. This confirmed the specificity of the deficit in autism.
TL;DR: The 4-year stability in problem behaviors assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist, and their predictive validity with regard to poor outcome variables was studied in 1052 4-12-year old children from a general population sample.
Abstract: markdown
The 4-year stability in problem behaviors assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and their predictive validity with regard to poor outcome variables was studied in 1052 4–12–year old children from a general population sample. Irrespective of sex and age, the scores on [he CBCL of some 44% of the children remained above the 90th percentile over the 4-year time interval. Externalizing problem behavior tended to show somewhat greater stability than internalizing problem behavior. High initial levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems, and persistence of problems were predictive of referral to mental health services. Referral to special education was higher for younger boys with high initial attention problems and school problems. Police contacts occurred more often in older boys with high initial aggression scores.
TL;DR: While exposure to parental discord during middle and early childhood led to increased risks of early offending, exposure to family change in the absence of parental discord did not lead to increased risk of offending.
Abstract: The relationship between exposure to family change, exposure to parental discord during the period from birth to 10 years and risks of offending by the age of 13 years was studied in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. This analysis showed that while exposure to parental discord during middle and early childhood led to increased risks of early offending, exposure to family change in the absence of parental discord did not lead to increased risks of offending. The results also suggested that children with a history of early conduct problems were particularly susceptible to parental discord but that the effects of discord did not vary with the child's gender. These results persisted when errors of measurement in the reporting of offending were taken into account using latent class methods.
TL;DR: The revised instrument (FSSC-II) was psychometrically evaluated on a sample of 918 children and adolescents aged between 7 and 18 years, attending regular primary and secondary schools in urban, suburban and rural areas of Victoria and demonstrated sound validity.
Abstract: This study describes the second revision of a fear survey schedule for children which was originally developed by Scherer and Nakamura in the 1960's. The revised instrument (FSSC-II) was psychometrically evaluated on a sample of 918 children and adolescents aged between 7 and 18 years, attending regular primary and secondary schools in urban, suburban and rural areas of Victoria. It was demonstrated to have high internal consistency. The convergent and divergent validity of the revised instrument was examined by correlating it with conceptually related as well as distinct scales, respectively. Such analyses demonstrated sound validity. A five-factor solution almost identical to that reported for the FSSC-R, is described as are age and gender differences. The most common fears on the revised instrument are also reported.
TL;DR: The results indicate that the social dysfunction in autism affects very basic and early emerging social behaviors which are typically present prior to the time at which even the earliest precursors of a theory of mind apparently emerge.
Abstract: — This study examined the extent to which the social disabilities found in autism can be accounted for by the “Theory of Mind” hypothesis. Items related to social development from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales were administered to 29 CA-, MA-and IQ-matched pairs of young autistic and non-autistic, developmentally disabled children. These items were evaluated in relation to expected ages of acquisition based on the Vineland standardization database. Our results indicate that the social dysfunction in autism affects very basic and early emerging social behaviors which are typically present prior to the time at which even the earliest precursors of a theory of mind apparently emerge.
TL;DR: Psychiatric disorders and behaviour problems were found to be commoner in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in matched comparison groups with tension headache and diabetes as well as in healthy children.
Abstract: Psychiatric disorders and behaviour problems were found lo be commoner in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than in matched comparison groups with tension headache and diabetes as well as in healthy children. Depression, anxiety and low self-esteem were common. Many children denied their problems. This may be due to the type of illness, its social consequences and the embarrassment experienced by the children. Discrepancies were found between the children's and their mothers' replies. These results are discussed in terms of their implication fur paediatric practice.
TL;DR: The clinical records of 72 children and adolescents aged 5-18 with a diagnosis of OCD were examined, and Repeating, cleaning and checking were the most common compulsions.
Abstract: The clinical records of 72 children and adolescents aged 5–18 with a diagnosis of OCD were examined. Mean age of onset was 11 years. Repeating, cleaning and checking were the most common compulsions. Twenty percent of subjects showed obsessions unrelated to compulsions. In 53% of cases stress situations preceded the disorder. Seventy-seven percent of subjects suffered some other psychiatric disorder, lifetime or current, particularly anxiety and affective disorders. The majority (57%) had some first-degree relative with a psychiatric diagnosis. Family conflicts, social withdrawal and poor school performance were also common features.
TL;DR: The Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI) was used to select 12 children with a Developmental Coordination Disorder and 12 age-matched controls and showed that TOMI was a powerful indicator of movement duration.
Abstract: The Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI) was used to select 12 children with a Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and 12 age-matched controls. In an aiming task, movement latency, movement duration and its variability were significantly prolonged in the DCD group. In a coincidence timing version of the task, absolute timing error was significantly greater in the DCD group. The most robust chronometric effect for differentiating the two groups seemed to be the duration of movement when the target was small. Multiple regression showed that TOMI was a powerful indicator of movement duration.
TL;DR: For each of the fear factors the values of h2g were of similar magnitude to those of h1 suggesting that there is no evidence of greater genetic influences at more extreme levels of fearfulness.
Abstract: A sample of 175 same sex dizygotic pairs and 144 monozygotic twin pairs aged between 8:00 and 18:00 completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children--Revised. The heritabilities were significant for Fear of the Unknown (h2 = 0.46, p less than 0.001), Fear of Injury and Small Animals (h2 = 0.46, p less than 0.001), Fear of Danger (h2 = 0.34, p less than 0.001) and for Total Fear Score (h2 = 0.29, p less than 0.001). Multiple regression was used to estimate the heritability of extreme fearfulness (h2g). For each of the fear factors the values of h2g were of similar magnitude to those of h2 suggesting that there is no evidence of greater genetic influences at more extreme levels of fearfulness.
TL;DR: The reaction time of the hyperactive group was more sensitive to increases in interstimulus interval (event rate) than was that of the learning disabled and the controls, indicating that hyperactive children have difficulty with motor presetting.
Abstract: Motor presetting was investigated in hyperactive children, learning disabled children and normal controls. The reaction time of the hyperactive group was more sensitive to increases in interstimulus interval (event rate) than was that of the learning disabled and the controls. This finding indicates that hyperactive children have difficulty with motor presetting.
TL;DR: There was a trend for a higher rate of OCD in TTM families; these pilot data are consistent with the concept of a spectrum of obsessive compulsive disorders which includes TTM and other pathological grooming behaviours.
Abstract: To explore a possible relationship between trichotillomania, (TTM) (compulsive hair pulling) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), 65 out of 69 (94%) first degree relatives of 16 female probands with severe chronic TTM were compared with two control groups for OCD and for TTM. Three (19%) of the 16 TTM probands had at least one first degree relative with a lifetime history of OCD, and there was an age corrected rate of 6.4% of first degree relatives with OCD. No relative in control group (A) met criteria for OCD. There was a trend (Fishers exact p = .07, two tailed) for a higher rate (age corrected) of OCD in TTM families; these pilot data are consistent with the concept of a spectrum of obsessive compulsive disorders which includes TTM and other pathological grooming behaviours.
TL;DR: Children's perceptions of what they do to relieve distress could be organized into six factors including the use of social support, distraction/avoidance, and other categories of coping which show continuity with those identified for infants and toddlers.
Abstract: An inventory was developed to assess children's perceptions of what they did to feel better in stressful situations, and to examine the role of these perceptions in moderating the relationship between stress and outcome. A total of 345 6-12 year old children from diverse backgrounds were interviewed. Children's perceptions of what they do to relieve distress could be organized into six factors including the use of social support, distraction/avoidance, and other categories of coping which show continuity with those identified for infants and toddlers. Several types of coping served as compensatory moderators of the relationship between stress and self-worth.
TL;DR: Although the Social Support intervention did not alleviate maternal depression and, in fact, may be detrimental to depressed mothers' self-confidence, it did increase mothers' proximal attention to their infants.
Abstract: The present study examined the effects of a postpartum Social Support Group intervention on mood state, attitudes and behavior of new mothers. Intervention conditions consisted of an eight session Social Support intervention (n = 44), a no intervention condition (n= 83) and a Group-by-Mail intervention (n= 15). Attitudinal and behavioral assessments were made before and after the interventions at 6 and 20 weeks postpartum, respectively. The primary results indicate that regardless of intervention condition mothers undergo an improvement in mood from 2 weeks to 5 months posspartum. Although the Social Support intervention did not alleviate maternal depression and. in fact, may be detrimental to depressed mothers' self-confidence, it did increase mothers' proximal attention to their infants.
TL;DR: Reports of problem behaviour in children with Down's syndrome and their siblings were gathered from mothers, fathers and teachers and measures of depression and marital satisfaction found both parent groups to be in the non-distressed range on these instruments.
Abstract: Reports of problem behaviour in children with Down's syndrome and their siblings were gathered from mothers, fathers and teachers. Twenty-one sibling pairs were included in the study. The Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (Quay & Peterson, 1983) was used to gather information on total problem behaviour and on five specific problem areas. Children with Down's syndrome were reported to display more problem behaviours overall and to show significantly more attentional problems than their siblings by all rater groups. Sisters of children with Down's syndrome were reported to be more conduct disordered than were brothers by mothers, fathers and teachers. Measures of depression and marital satisfaction found both parent groups to be in the non-distressed range on these instruments. Depression contributed significantly to both parents' reports of problems in the siblings while marital satisfaction was important for mothers' reports of problems in children with Down's syndrome.
TL;DR: The hypothesis that the same organization of attachment that can be seen in reunion with mother following a separation would be revealed in the child's responses to separation pictures was upheld and supports the construct of an internal working model of attachment.
Abstract: The hypothesis that the same organization of attachment that can been seen in reunion with mother following a separation would be revealed in the child's responses to separation pictures was upheld. This supports the construct of an internal working model of attachment. Children classified as secure in reunion, compared to those classified as insecure, were more emotionally open to appropriate negative feeling, without being over-expressive, and showed a greater ability to tolerate security distress aroused by the separation pictures without raising defences against it. Responses of avoidant, ambivalent and controlling groups showed elements of the same organization revealed in reunion behaviour. These data support the validity of the Separation Anxiety Test (SAT) as an attachment instrument, but are not strong enough to suggest using it as an alternative to classifications.