Bridget K. Biggs

Peer victimization trajectories and their association with children’s affect in late elementary school

The current study examined peer victimization trajectories for 1528 children from third to fifth grade and the association of those trajectories to children’s positive and negative affect. On average, victimization was low to moderate and remained stable (self-report) or increased (peer-reports). In addition, five distinct trajectories were identified based on self-report: Low, Moderate, Increasing, Decreasing, and Chronic. Peer-reported victimization did not reveal distinct trajectories. Although the level of victimization was related to concurrent negative affect (self- and peer-reported victimization) and to positive affect (self-report victimization only), relations between change in victimization and change in affect were less consistent. Also, a chronic victimization trajectory was associated with greatest affective distress and a decreasing trajectory was associated with partial, but not full, recovery in terms of affect. Results largely support a chronic model of victimization’s effects in which victimization has compounding and enduring effects on adjustment. Intervention implications include the importance of including selective interventions for highly victimized youth with universal anti-bullying programs, assessing both past and current victimization, and including indicators of adjustment when evaluating anti-bullying interventions.

Parenting strategies and socio-cultural influences in childhood anxiety: Mexican, Latin American descent, and European American families

This study examined the relationship between anxiety in Latin American children and Latino cultural schemas, parenting strategies, being an ethnic minority, and assimilation. Latin American (n=72; LA) and white European-American (n=46; EA) children living in the U.S., Mexican children living in Mexico (n=99; M), and at least one parent per family (n=283) were administered measures assessing anxiety, parenting strategies, collectivism, family cohesion, simpatia, parent-child communication, and assimilation. M and LA children expressed more anxiety symptoms than EA children. More mother control and less father acceptance were associated with childhood anxiety across all three groups. However, father control was associated with more anxiety for the EA group but not the MA group, and mother acceptance was associated with more anxiety for the EA and MA groups but with less anxiety for the M group. Family cohesion was negatively associated with childrens anxiety independent of ethnic group. Finally, differing from parents in assimilation did not influence LA childrens anxiety.

Intercommunity Relocation and Adolescent Friendships: Who Struggles and Why?

This study examined how relocation to a new community affects intimacy and companionship in close friendships by comparing experiences of early adolescents who began their 7th or 8th grade school year in a new community (111 boys, 96 girls) with those of residentially stable agemates (30 boys, 38 girls). Drawing from a developmental- contextual, multisystem conceptual framework and using a person-centered analytic approach, the study provides strong evidence that most adolescents experience a relatively brief period of diminished access to companionship and intimacy with close friends following relocation. The extent of diminution may be greater for adolescents with social anxiety or behavioral concerns. Findings have implications for families who are facing a move and for clinicians working with recently relocated adolescents.

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) across samples of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American children : a preliminary investigation

Abstract The Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS: Reynolds & Richmond, 1978) is widely used in the assessment of anxiety in Hispanic American children. To begin examining the applicability of the RCMAS to this population, the present study explored its factorial invariance across samples of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American children using structural equation modeling procedures. Internal consistency coefficients and relations among the RCMAS subscales across groups were also examined. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded support for the factorial invariance of the RCMAS across the three groups. Reliability coefficients and within-group relations among subscales of the RCMAS did not differ across groups. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the RCMAS with Mexican and Mexican American youth, supporting its use with these populations.

Intensive Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances through a School-based, Community-oriented Program

Treating children with severe, early onset emotional and behavioral disturbances remains a daunting task for mental health and education systems. This article describes key principles, features, and outcomes for the school-based Intensive Mental Health Program (IMHP), a program designed specifically to provide comprehensive evidence-based, ecologically sensitive, and individualized services for this difficult-to-treat population. Although the IMHP is a relatively new model, preliminary studies of outcomes and treatment processes give initial evidence that most children improve notably in their role performance, behavior, and emotional adjustment over the course of treatment. With increasing demands for effective, affordable school-based mental health services, the IMHP offers a developing but promising prototype for services geared to meet the unique needs of children with complex disturbances of emotions and behavior.

Social Anxiety and Adolescents' Friendships: The Role of Social Withdrawal.

Research indicates social anxiety is associated with lower friendship quality, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This 2-month longitudinal study examined social withdrawal as a mediator of the social anxiety–friendship quality link in a sample of 214 adolescents (Mage = 13.1 years, SD = .73) that included an oversampling of adolescents recently relocated to the community (n = 155). Findings provided preliminary support for the hypothesized models, in which social anxiety is associated with social withdrawal, which in turn is related to lower companionship and intimacy in adolescents’ friendships. Analyses testing whether relocation to a new community intensifies these associations indicated additive, but not multiplicative, effects of social anxiety and relocation on friendship companionship and intimacy. Implications include the importance of increasing socially anxious youths’ social engagement and skills with friends as well as with less familiar peers.

The feasibility of improving CBT for childhood anxiety disorders through a dismantling study.

This preliminary randomized controlled trial (RCT) examines the feasibility of dismantling cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood anxiety disorders. Fourteen children (10 girls) ages 7 to 14 (m = 10.2) with social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, or panic disorder were randomized to receive 6 sessions of either a) the pre-exposure anxiety management strategies presented in traditional CBT, or b) parent-coached exposure therapy. The sample was selected from a treatment seeking population and is representative of children in clinical settings. Examination of fidelity ratings, dropouts, and satisfaction ratings indicated that the interventions were distinguishable, safe, and tolerable. The overall sample improved significantly with pre-post effect sizes generally in the large range for both conditions. Between-group effect sizes indicating greater improvement with parent-coached exposure therapy were moderate or large for ten of 12 variables (i.e., 0.53 to 1.52). Re-evaluation after three months of open treatment suggested that the intervention emphasizing exposure early maintained its superiority while requiring fewer appointments.

Validation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale's obsessive compulsive subscale in a clinical and community sample.

This study describes the validation of the obsessive compulsive subscale on the Spence Childrens Anxiety Scale (SCAS OCD) for use as a clinical assessment tool. Data from 196 anxious children (102 males, ages 7-18) and their parent collected during a diagnostic assessment were compared to data from 420 children (206 males, ages 8-13) from the community collected by mail. The validity of the SCAS OCD parent- and child-report forms were supported by correlations with the Childrens Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and continuous OCD symptom variables from the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule: Child Version. In addition, children with OCD were found to have higher scores on the SCAS OCD subscale than patients without OCD and children from the community without a reported anxiety diagnosis. The sensitivity of the SCAS OCD to treatment effects was also demonstrated in a subset of the clinical sample that received exposure and response prevention therapy. Finally, cut-scores were identified that examine the sensitivity and predictive utility of the scales.

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) across samples of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American children: a preliminary investigation1 Table of means, standard deviations, and correlations of the RCMAS indicators are available from the first author upon request.

Abstract The Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS: Reynolds & Richmond, 1978) is widely used in the assessment of anxiety in Hispanic American children. To begin examining the applicability of the RCMAS to this population, the present study explored its factorial invariance across samples of Mexican, Mexican American, and European American children using structural equation modeling procedures. Internal consistency coefficients and relations among the RCMAS subscales across groups were also examined. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded support for the factorial invariance of the RCMAS across the three groups. Reliability coefficients and within-group relations among subscales of the RCMAS did not differ across groups. The results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the RCMAS with Mexican and Mexican American youth, supporting its use with these populations.

Increasing Availability of Exposure Therapy Through Intensive Group Treatment for Childhood Anxiety and OCD

Archival data were used to examine the feasibility of a 5-day, clinic-based, intensive exposure–based cognitive-behavioral group therapy for childhood anxiety disorders (CADs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Participants were 143 children (82 girls) aged 6 to 19 years (M = 13.93 years, SD = 2.9 years) with CADs or OCD (or both) in 28 consecutive groups. Repeated-measures ANOVA in the subsample (n = 57) with complete treatment data indicated positive change on all variables from pretreatment to posttreatment with few differences between CADs and OCD patients. Effect sizes were moderate to large for anxiety symptoms (parent reported = 0.74, child reported = 0.65) and impairment (parent reported = 1.02, child reported = 0.69). The intensive group protocol required fewer sessions and 36% fewer therapist-hours per patient than the individually administered protocol. The program increased treatment availability for families from diverse geographic areas (M distance traveled to clinic = 407 miles, SD = 786.4 miles). These findings support further, well-controlled examination of the 5-day intensive group treatment protocol’s efficacy and potential to increase availability of evidence-based exposure therapy.