Andrea Bergman

Adjustment, Social Skills, and Self-Esteem in College Students With Symptoms of ADHD

Many studies of ADHD have shown that the problems associated with the disorder continue into adolescence and beyond for 10% to 60% of patients. The present study assesses several aspects of college adjustment, social skills, and self-esteem in a nonreferred sample of college students meeting criteria for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) diagnosis of ADHD. Twenty-one undergraduate students with symptoms of ADHD are compared to 20 students without significant ADHD symptoms, who match the ADHD students on age, gender, and grade point average. Students with ADHD symptoms show decreased functioning in several areas of college adjustment as well as lower levels of self-reported social skills and self-esteem. The results also suggest that the relation between ADHD and college adjustment is partially mediated by self-reported levels of self-esteem.

The effects of parental psychopathology and maltreatment on child behavior: a test of the diathesis-stress model

Past research on risk factors in child development has tended to focus on 1 risk factor rather than examining the effects of multiple factors simultaneously. The present research examines the main and interactive effects of parental psychopathology (schizophrenia, psychiatric control, and normal control) and maltreatment on child behavior. Child aggression, delinquency, and social withdrawal were assessed at 2 times so that the effects of risk factors on behavioral change could also be examined. The results indicate significant relations between the risk factors and child behavior. Most notably, parental psychiatric status and maltreatment interacted significantly, such that offspring of schizophrenic parents from maltreating families showed increases in externalized behavior problems over time. These results support a diathesis-stress model of psychopathology.

The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire

Research on selective mutism (SM) has been limited by the absence of standardized, psychometrically sound assessment measures. The purpose of our investigation was to present two studies that examined the factor structure and initial reliability and validity of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ), a 17-item parent report measure of failure to speak related to SM. Study 1 (N = 589) utilized an Internet sample of parents of children ages 3 to 11 to demonstrate that the SMQ has a theoretically and clinically meaningful factor structure accounting for a significant portion of variance in responses with good internal consistency. Study 2 (N = 66) supported the validity of the SMQ in that scores discriminated clinic-referred children with SM from children with other anxiety disorders. Scores on the SMQ were correlated with measures of several theoretically and clinically important dimensions.

The developmental pathways to schizophrenia: Potential moderating effects of stress

The observations of family members as well as the results of past research suggest that a variety of developmental pathways can precede the onset of schizophrenia in early adulthood. In this article, we describe recent findings from our research on the childhood precursors of schizophrenia. Taken together, the results indicate that childhood behavioral, emotional, and motoric dysfunction occur at a higher rate in preschizophrenia subjects when compared to control subjects. Further, there are developmental changes as well as significant variability among schizophrenia patients in the nature and severity of childhood impairment. Drawing on the prevailing diathesis-stress model, we explore the moderating role that stress exposure and reactivity may play in the expression of the organic diathesis for schizophrenia. Specifically, we consider the role of the biological stress response in the production of developmental changes and individual differences in the pathways to schizophrenia. Given extant models of dopamine involvement in the neuropathology of schizophrenia, stress-induced Cortisol release may alter the expression of subcortical abnormalities in dopamine neurotransmission. Thus, we present a neural mechanism for the hypothesized behavioral sensitivity to stress exposure in schizophrenia, and explore the capacity of the model to account for the changing behavioral manifestations of vulnerability.

Distractibility in schizophrenia

This study examined the effects of neuroleptic medication on the allocation of attentional resources to distracting stimuli in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-five patients were tested twice (medication-free and after medication stabilization) on the Identical Pairs versions of the Continuous Performance Test under both distraction and no-distraction conditions. Sixteen patients were chronically ill adults and nine patients were young neuroleptic-native patients in the early stages of illness. Results indicated that neuroleptic treatment did not improve distractibility for either group and that both groups were comparably distractible. These findings suggest that medication does not improve the misallocation of attention to distracting stimuli in patients with schizophrenia.

Neuromotor functioning and behavior problems in children at risk for psychopathology

Previous studies have found that early neuromotor deficits may be a precursor of later psychopathology. The present study examined the relationship between neuromotor dysfunction and behavioral deviance in children characterized by a variety of risk factors (parental schizophrenia, parental psychiatric disorder other than schizophrenia, and parental maltreatment). The sample consisted of 108 children (average age 9.75 years) who were assessed twice, approximately 1 year apart. It was found that maltreated children had poorer neuromotor functioning and more behavior problems than children who were not maltreated, regardless of parental psychiatric status. The results also indicated that the relationship between neuromotor functioning and problem behaviors varied as a function of parental psychiatric status. These findings suggest that, although the effects of maltreatment are generalized and pervasive, there are distinctive relationships between neuromotor functioning and behavioral deviance depending on the nature of the risk factors a child has been exposed to.

A motivational model of alcohol misuse in emerging adulthood

Many emerging adults who have dropped out of high school are known to misuse alcohol. Expectancies and motives for drinking are pivotal in shaping the drinking behavior of emerging adults, especially those related to social influences. We tested a motivational model of problematic alcohol use using drinking motives (enhancement, social, conformity, coping) as multiple mediators to explain the association between social alcohol expectancies and alcohol misuse. A community sample of 104 individuals between ages 16 and 21 attending a General Educational Development (GED) program completed self-report measures of alcohol expectancies, drinking motives, quantity and frequency of drinking, and a structured interview that assessed the symptoms of alcohol use disorders. Results of multiple regression analysis testing multiple mediators indicated that social alcohol expectancies were associated with alcohol misuse through the mediated pathways of enhancement drinking motives.

Alcohol Use and Antisocial Behavior in Late Adolescence: Characteristics of a Sample Attending a GED Program

This study examined peer deviance, disinhibition, and ADHD symptoms as differential predictors of alcohol use, alcohol use disorder symptoms, and antisocial behavior. It was hypothesized that peer deviance would most strongly predict alcohol use while disinhibition and ADHD would predict alcohol use disorder symptoms and antisocial behavior. Participants were 104 (60% male) GED students between 16 and 21 years old who completed questionnaires and clinical interviews. Hierarchical regression models confirmed that peer deviance was the primary predictor of alcohol use, whereas disinhibition and ADHD were stronger predictors of alcohol use disorder symptoms and antisocial behavior. Results suggest that association with deviant peers increased the likelihood that these students would consume alcohol but, beyond that, individual factors such as disinhibition and ADHD contributed to symptoms of alcohol use disorder and antisocial behavior. Implications for treatment are discussed.

279. The hillside rapp clinic: intervention during the schizophrenia prodrome

cognitive impairmentin healthy volunteersthat resembles aspects of schizophrenia.This similarity has been viewed as evidence for the involvement of the NMDA receptor is schizophrenia.We utilized subanesthetic doses of the NMDA antagonist, ketamine, to induce formal thoughtdisorder in healthy volunteers.Thoughtdisorder was assessedwith the Scale of the Assessmentof Thought,Language,and Communication(TLC). Formal thought disorder in schizophrenic patients was similarly assessed with the TLC. We analyzed both groups of TLC ratings utilizing factors, as well as individual items and comparedthe two. Total TLC scores did not differ significantly between groups. Similarly, scores on the unidimensional seventy factor did not significantlydiffer; the positiveandnegativefactorsdid not significantlydiffer; and the verbal productionand disconnection factors failed to significantlydiffer. Of individualTLC items, only perseveration differed significantly between the two groups; with Bonferroni correction, no items differed significantly. Among the schizophrenicpatients,highest item scores were in povertyof speech, circumstantiality, loss of goal and poverty of content. In healthy volunteers receiving ketamine, highest scores were in the items for poverty of speech, circumstantiality,loss of goal and perseveration. These data suggestthat ketamine-inducedthoughtdisorderin healthy volunteersresembles schizophrenicthoughtdisorder.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Family Environment, and Substance Abuse Symptoms in Emerging Adults

ABSTRACT Emerging adulthood is a developmental period spanning roughly from 18 to 25 years old and is marked with high rates of co-occurring substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, especially for those who are “disconnected,” such as high school dropouts. This comorbidity can lead to more functional impairments than symptoms of either alone, but little is known about factors that moderate this association. Our goal was to investigate family environment as a moderator between these symptoms in a sample of 99 “disconnected” emerging adults. Participants were recruited from a GED program in Queens, New York. Students in this program had previously dropped out of high school, ranged in age from ages 16 to 21 years old, and were ethnically diverse. Participants were recruited from their classrooms at the GED program by the principal investigator and/or doctoral students involved in the study. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Participants were assessed for exposure to traumatic events, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use, and family environment. Correlation and hierarchical regression were used to analyze the data. Findings were that PTSD symptoms and substance abuse symptoms were positively correlated in this sample, and that aspects of family environment were found to moderate the association between substance abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Implications for future research, treatment, and prevention are discussed.