Anna-Karin Andershed

Aggression as a mediator of genetic contributions to the association between negative parent–child relationships and adolescent antisocial behavior

Previous research suggests that the association between conflictual parent–child relationships and maladjustment among adolescents is influenced by genetic effects emanating from the adolescents. In this study, we examined whether these effects are mediated by childhood aggression. The data come from the Twin study of CHild and Adolescent Development (TCHAD), a Swedish longitudinal study including 1,314 twin pairs followed from age 13–14 to 16–17. Early adolescent aggression, parental criticism, and delinquency in later adolescence were rated by parents and children at different time points. Multivariate genetic structural equation models were used to estimate genetic and environmental influences on these constructs and on their covariation. The results showed that approximately half of the genetic contribution to the association between parental criticism and delinquency was explained by early adolescent aggression. It suggests that aggression in children evokes negative parenting, which in turn influences adolescent antisocial behavior. The mechanism proposed by these findings is consistent with evocative gene–environment correlation.

Youth victimization in Sweden : prevalence, characteristics and relation to mental health and behavioral problems in young adulthood

The present study examines multiple types of victimization simultaneously, their prevalence and characteristics in childhood and adolescence, and it examines the associations between victimization and poly-victimization on the one hand and single and multiple mental health and behavioral problems on the other. The sample consisted of 2,500 Swedish young adults (20-24 years) who provided detailed report of multiple types of lifetime victimization and current health and behaviors via an interview and a questionnaire. Results showed that it was more common to be victimized in adolescence than in childhood and more common to be victimized repeatedly rather than a single time, among both males and females. Males and females were victimized in noticeably different ways and partially at different places and by different perpetrators. With regard to mental health and behavioral problems, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, self-harm, and criminality were clearly overrepresented among both males and females who had experienced any type of victimization. Poly-victimization was related to single and multiple mental health and behavioral problems among both males and females. We conclude that professionals need to conduct thorough evaluations of victimization when completing mental health assessments among troubled youths, and that youth might benefit from the development of interventions for poly-victimized youth.

Types and continua in developmental psychopathology: problem behaviors in school and their relationship to later antisocial behavior.

In the study of developmental psychopathology a dimensional, variable-oriented approach dominates over a typological approach. With the person-oriented research paradigm providing the metatheoretical framework, pros and cons of these two approaches are discussed, and it is pointed to different methodological realizations of the typological approach, and to the contexts where they might be appropriate. It is also pointed out that the two important and underused concepts of equifinality and multifinality with advantage can be incorporated in a person-oriented approach. An empirical example is given of the study of the structure of early adolescent problem behaviors and their relationship to later criminality where dimensional as well as typological analyses are carried out. The usefulness of the typological approach in studying the development and early manifestations of the personality disorder psychopathy is also discussed. It is concluded that the usefulness of a typological approach appears to be underestimated.

Psychopathic Personality Works Better than CU Traits for Predicting Fearlessness and ADHD Symptoms among Children with Conduct Problems

Children with early-onset conduct problems (CP) are at great risk for future behavior problems, and this risk seems to increase when CP co-occur with psychopathic traits. Even though studies are indicating that the entire psychopathic personality construct may be more useful in designating a meaningful subgroup of children with CP, research on psychopathic traits and CP in childhood have mainly focused on the role of callous unemotional (CU) traits. Prospective longitudinal data of 1867 3- to 5-year-olds (47% girls) followed annually for two years was used to compare groups of children with different combinations of CP and psychopathic traits on fearlessness and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Children with CP and psychopathic personality had higher baseline and stable levels of ADHD symptoms than children with CP only or children with CP and concurrent CU traits, while baseline levels of fearlessness did not differ. They were also more likely to display stable levels of the risky combination of CP and ADHD symptoms. Results were similar for boys and girls. Findings indicate that there are reasons to consider other traits and behaviors as specifiers for subgroups of children with CP over and above CU traits, in order to optimize both diagnostic practice and treatment outcomes.

Childhood Psychopathic Personality and Callous-Unemotional Traits in the Prediction of Conduct Problems

This study analyzed data from a prospective longitudinal study of Swedish preschoolers to examine whether psychopathic traits and concurrent conduct problems predict future conduct problems (CP) across 1- and 2-year follow-ups into early childhood. We tested the predictive ability of psychopathic traits while controlling for concurrent CP, and also by combining psychopathic traits with concurrent CP. A community sample of 1,867 preschoolers (47% girls) ages 3 to 5 years at baseline was recruited from a Swedish medium-sized municipality. Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that psychopathic traits alone (without co-occurring CP) did not consistently predict continuing childhood CP, but did so, among both boys and girls, in combination with concurrent conduct problems. It is important to note that, the combination of concurrent CP and the entire psychopathic personality, that is, a 3-dimensional psychopathic construct, was a stronger predictor of continuing childhood CP than the combination of concurrent CP and Callous–Unemotional (CU) traits among boys but not among girls.

Physical and verbal aggressive behavior and COMT genotype: Sensitivity to the environment

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) genotype has been implicated as a vulnerability factor for several psychiatric diseases as well as aggressive behavior, either directly, or in interaction with an adverse environment. The present study aimed at investigating the susceptibility properties of COMT genotype to adverse and favorable environment in relation to physical and verbal aggressive behavior. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism was genotyped in a Swedish population‐based cohort including 1,783 individuals, ages 20–24 years (47% males). A significant three‐way interaction was found, after correction for multiple testing, between COMT genotype, exposure to violence, and parent–child relationship in association with physical but not verbal aggressive behavior. Homozygous for the Val allele reported lower levels of physical aggressive behavior when they were exposed to violence and at the same time experienced a positive parent–child relationship compared to Met carriers. Thus, susceptibility properties of COMT genotype were observed in relation to physical aggressive behavior supporting the hypothesis that COMT genotypes are modifying the sensitivity to environment that confers either risk or protection for aggressive behavior. As these are novel findings, they warrant further investigation and replication in independent samples.

Victimized as a child or youth To whom is victimization reported and from whom do victims receive professional support

Being victimized as a child or youth increases the risk of emotional and behavioural problems, and may call for a report to authorities and professional support. This study investigates how often young adult males and females in a randomly selected general population in Sweden (n = 2,500) reported different types of victimization as a child or youth and to whom, from whom they received professional support, whether it was more common to receive professional support among those victimized multiple times by different types of crime, and whether there was a connection between report and support. Analyses reveal that the participants more often responded that they had not reported their victimization, than that they had reported it. For those who had, the police was the most common institution to which the victimization was reported. It was significantly more common for victimized females to both report and receive professional support than for males. There was a trend towards a greater likelihood of receiving professional support after higher levels of victimization. In all however, of those whose victimization had been reported to the authorities, only 22.4% had received professional support to deal with their experiences of victimization. We conclude that the relatively low prevalence of reporting victimization and receiving support documented in this study calls for reflection upon how well society meets the needs of victims.

Improving evidence-based social work practice with youths exhibiting conduct problems through structured assessment

A key task in evidence-based case management of youth is the assessment of research-based risk and protective factors. In the present study we compare assessments of social workers using a structured assessment instrument with assessments of social workers not using such an instrument. Assessments of the exact same case—a vignette about a 14-year-old boy—conducted by 30 social workers using a structured assessment instrument and 30 social workers not using such an instrument were compared. The 60 assessments were also rated by independent researchers and senior social services managers, blind to whether an instrument had been used in the assessments or not. As hypothesized, using a structured assessment instrument resulted in the identification of a greater number of research-based risk and protective factors, and the assessments were rated as better in terms of general adequacy, quality, accuracy and potential treatment effectiveness, than when an instrument was not used. The present study demonstrates that social workers’ assessments of youth become more evidence-based, adequate and potentially more treatment effective when a structured assessment instrument is used as compared to when it is not.

Risk and Protective Factors among Preschool Children: Integrating Research and Practice

In this article the authors present a review of previous reviews and meta-analyses, identifying and summarizing the empirical research base on risk and protective factors for future psychosocial problems—specifically externalizing and internalizing problems—among preschool children. The authors also discuss risk and protective factors in the framework of concepts such as evidence-based practice, risk-focused prevention and treatment, and the Risk, Need, and Responsivity principles. They conclude that there is an extensive amount of research on risk and protective factors for preschool children that could and should be used by well educated professionals to help children to a better life.

Life-Span Continuity in Female Aggression and Violence

Aggressive behavior has been considered a risk factor for future social maladjustment, particularly among males, and it is not until recently that researchers have recognized the developmental risks for aggressive females. The present study focuses on the continuity of female aggression from a life span perspective. Within a sample of approximately 500 Swedish women who have been followed from age 10 to age 42, those who were rated as aggressive at one point in time, in most cases were rated as aggressive later on in life. Also, highly aggressive girls engaged in violent and antisocial acts to a greater extent than low aggressive girls. These data highlight the continuity and risks of an aggressive interactional style for girls and women. With an understanding of the risks, we can begin to identify aggressive girls and provide appropriate interventions to prevent the development of subsequent adjustment problems.