Claudia I. Lugo-Candelas

A randomized controlled trial of a parent training and emotion socialization program for families of hyperactive preschool-aged children.

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a parent training and emotion socialization program designed specifically for hyperactive preschoolers. Participants were 31 preschool-aged children whose parents were randomly assigned to a parent training (PT) or waitlist (WL) control group. PT parents took part in a 14-week parenting program that involved teaching parenting strategies for managing hyperactive and disruptive behavior as well as emotion socialization strategies for improving childrens emotion regulation. Compared to WL mothers, PT mothers reported significantly less child inattention, hyperactivity, oppositional defiance, and emotional lability; were observed using significantly more positive and less negative parenting; and reported significantly less maternal verbosity and unsupportive emotion socialization practices. Results provide some support for the effectiveness of this parenting program for reducing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and associated problems in preschool-aged children.

The Role of Parent Psychopathology in the Development of Preschool Children with Behavior Problems

The present study examined associations between early parental self-reported psychopathology symptoms and the later behavioral, emotional, and social functioning of preschool children with behavior problems. Mothers and fathers of preschoolers with behavior problems (N = 132; 55 girls, 77 boys) completed parent psychopathology questionnaires when children were 3 years old and completed measures of childrens externalizing, internalizing, and social problems annually from age 3 to age 6. The sample included 61% European American, 16% Latino (predominantly Puerto Rican), 10% African American, and 13% multiethnic children. Every dimension of mothers’ and fathers’ psychopathology symptoms when children were 3 years old was associated with their own reports of childrens externalizing and internalizing problems 3 years later. Several dimensions of maternal psychopathology symptoms at age 3 were associated with mother-reported social skills 3 years later. However, the relation between many dimensions of psychopathology symptoms and child outcome appears to be accounted for by co-occurring psychopathology symptoms. Only maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Cluster A symptoms, and paternal ADHD and depression/anxiety symptoms emerged as unique predictors of child functioning. These findings suggest that most types of mothers’ and fathers’ self-reported psychopathology symptoms may play a role in the prognosis of behavioral, social, and emotional outcomes of preschoolers with behavior problems, but that co-occurring symptoms need to be considered.

Early development of comorbidity between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are among the most common childhood disorders and frequently co-occur. The present study sought to advance our understanding of how comorbidity between ADHD and ODD develops during the preschool years by testing a cross-lagged model that integrates 2 prominent models: the developmental precursor model and the correlated risk factors model. Participants were 199 children (107 boys) who took part in a longitudinal study of preschoolers with behavior problems. Parent reports of ADHD and ODD symptoms were collected annually from ages 3 to 6 and a family history interview was administered at age 3. In support of the developmental precursors model, ADHD symptoms predicted later argumentative/defiant symptoms. In support of the correlated risk factors model, family histories of ADHD and ODD/CD symptoms were correlated risk factors that uniquely predicted ADHD and anger/irritable symptoms in children. Results suggest that the correlated risk factors model may best explain the development of comorbidity between symptoms of ADHD and anger/irritability, whereas the developmental precursors model may better explain the development of comorbidity between symptoms of ADHD and argumentative/defiance.

Longitudinal Changes in Individual Symptoms Across the Preschool Years in Children with ADHD

The present study examined trajectories of individual Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) across the preschool years in children with ADHD. It also evaluated whether preschool symptoms vary in their ability to discriminate children who later meet criteria for ADHD from typically developing children. ADHD and ODD symptoms were assessed annually in 75 ethnically diverse children (46 boys) who presented with behavior problems at age 3 and met criteria for ADHD 3 years later, and in 51 typically developing children (26 boys). Children with ADHD generally exhibited stable levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity but increases in several symptoms of inattention. Most ADHD symptoms showed at least fair utility in discriminating children with and without ADHD; however, 3 symptoms of inattention (carelessness, losing things, and forgetfulness) and 1 symptom of hyperactivity/impulsivity (blurting out answers) had relatively poor utility. These symptoms demonstrated only somewhat greater utility at age 4, but by the age of 5 were better able to classify children. Children with ADHD exhibited increases in several ODD symptoms, including symptoms related to negative affect. Although most symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity appear to extend well down to age 3, more developmentally appropriate symptoms of inattention may be required to develop more sensitive assessments for 3- and 4-year-old children.

Emotion Socialization Practices in Latina and European American Mothers of Preschoolers with Behavior Problems.

The present study examined mothers’ emotion socialization of three-year-old children with behavior problems to determine whether emotion socialization practices, as well as the relation between these practices and child functioning, varied across ethnicities. Participants were 134 preschoolers with behavior problems. Mothers were European-American (n = 96) and Latina (n = 38; predominantly Puerto Rican). Audiotaped mother-child interactions were coded for emotion socialization behaviors. Latina and European-American mothers used similar emotion socialization practices on most dimensions. Latina mothers were more likely to minimize or not respond to their childrens negative affect. However, this difference did not appear to have ramifications for children. This study provided evidence for both differences and similarities across ethnicities on emotion socialization practices.

Neural Processing of Threat Cues in Young Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms

A growing literature indicates that attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) involves difficulty processing threat-related emotion faces. This deficit is especially important to understand in young children, as threat emotion processing is related to the development of social skills and related behavioral regulation. Therefore, the current study aimed to better understand the neural basis of this processing in young children with ADHD symptoms. Forty-seven children between 4 and 7 years of age were included in the analysis, 28 typical developing and 19 with clinically significant levels of ADHD hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Participants completed a passive affective face-viewing task. Event-related potentials were assessed for each emotion, and parental report of child behavior and emotion regulation abilities was assessed. Children with ADHD symptoms showed altered N170 modulation in response to specific emotion faces, such that the N170 was less negative in response to fearful compared to neutral faces, whereas typically developing children showed the opposite pattern. Groups did not differ in reactivity to anger or non-threat-related emotion faces. The N170 difference in fearful compared to neutral faces correlated with reported behavior, such that less fear reactivity predicted fewer prosocial behaviors. Abnormalities in the underlying neural systems for fear processing in young children with ADHD symptoms may play an important role in social and behavioral deficits within this population.

REM theta activity enhances inhibitory control in typically developing children but not children with ADHD symptoms

Sleep disturbances impair cognitive functioning in typically developing populations. Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a disorder characterized by impaired inhibitory control and attention, commonly experience sleep disturbances. Whether inhibitory impairments are related to sleep deficits in children with ADHD is unknown. Children with ADHD (n = 18; Mage = 6.70 years) and typically developing controls (n = 15; Mage = 6.73 years) completed a Go/No-Go task to measure inhibitory control and sustained attention before and after polysomnography-monitored overnight sleep. Inhibitory control and sustained attention were improved following overnight sleep in typically developing children. Moreover, morning inhibitory control was positively correlated with rapid eye movement (REM) theta activity in this group. Although REM theta activity was greater in children with ADHD compared to typically developing children, it was functionally insignificant. Neither inhibitory control nor sustained attention was improved following overnight sleep in children with ADHD symptoms, and neither of these behaviors was associated with REM theta activity in this group. Taken together, these results indicate that elevated REM theta activity may be functionally related to ADHD symptomology, possibly reflecting delayed cortical maturation.