Henian Chen

Intergenerational transmission of partner violence: a 20-year prospective study.

An unselected sample of 543 children was followed over 20 years to test the independent effects of parenting, exposure to domestic violence between parents (ETDV), maltreatment, adolescent disruptive behavior disorders, and emerging adult substance abuse disorders (SUDs) on the risk of violence to and from an adult partner. Conduct disorder (CD) was the strongest risk for perpetrating partner violence for both sexes, followed by ETDV, and power assertive punishment. The effect of child abuse was attributable to these 3 risks. ETDV conferred the greatest risk of receiving partner violence; CD increased the odds of receiving partner violence but did not mediate this effect. Child physical abuse and CD in adolescence were strong independent risks for injury to a partner. SUD mediated the effect of adolescent CD on injury to a partner but not on injury by a partner. Prevention implications are highlighted.

Variations in Patterns of Developmental Transitions in the Emerging Adulthood Period.

The assumption of adult roles has largely been examined as status changes in school attendance, leaving the parental home, and marriage. Nevertheless, levels of autonomy and individuation vary considerably within these states. This study obtained such information through narrative behavioral descriptions within financial, residential, romantic, and family formation domains covering ages 17 to 27 years. Analyses of data from 240 members of a community-based longitudinal study investigated the association of trajectories in these domains with family socioeconomic status, parental divorce, gender, and race. Findings indicated that subgroup differences were not generally attributable to educational enrollment. Both within and between domains, many individuals showed dramatic changes in the assumption of adult roles, returning to more dependent, other-determined roles for short or even extended periods.

Adolescent Borderline Symptoms in the Community: Prognosis for Functioning over 20 Years.

BACKGROUND The long-term prognosis associated with adolescent symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in the general population is virtually unknown. In this study, the relationship of early borderline symptoms to subsequent psychosocial functioning and attainment was investigated based on data from the Children in the Community cohort. METHOD Using multilevel linear regression, symptoms of BPD at mean age 14 were employed as predictors of work/school/homemaker role function, social function (social support, relationship quality), and life satisfaction over the subsequent 20 years. Borderline symptoms were also employed as predictors of attainment at 20-year follow-up. RESULTS On average, those with higher levels of early adolescent borderline symptoms scored consistently lower in role function, social function, and life satisfaction from mid-adolescence through mid-adulthood. Borderline symptoms predicted lower academic and occupational attainment, less partner involvement, and fewer attained adult developmental milestones. Adolescent borderline symptoms were also associated with adult borderline symptoms, borderline diagnosis, general impairment, and need for services at mean age 33. These effects were evident despite symptom decline with age and were independent of adolescent Axis I disorders. CONCLUSIONS Adverse prognosis associated with youth symptoms of BPD appeared early and persisted in important and interrelated life domains. These findings lend support to the utility of DSM-IV BPD symptoms assessed by self-report in early adolescence.

Serum vitamin D metabolites and intestinal calcium absorption efficiency in women

BACKGROUND Vitamin D sufficiency may be determined by the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] that results in maximal intestinal calcium absorption efficiency. However, some investigators questioned whether 25(OH)D concentrations above the concentrations associated with rickets or osteomalacia influence calcium absorption. OBJECTIVE We determined whether calcium absorption efficiency is related to serum 25(OH)D or serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D] concentrations. DESIGN We measured calcium absorption efficiency in 492 black and white healthy women (age range: 20-80 y) by the single-isotope method with (45)Ca. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured by a radioreceptor assay. Other relevant measurements included concentrations of serum 1,25(OH)(2)D, serum parathyroid hormone, serum creatinine, and serum estradiol, calcium intake, and bone mineral density. RESULTS There was no relation between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and calcium absorption efficiency. In development of a multivariate model, the 4 major determinants of calcium absorption efficiency were menopausal status, calcium intake, and serum estradiol and serum 1,25(OH)(2)D concentrations. There was an interaction between serum 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)(2)D concentrations on calcium absorption efficiency. The relation between calcium absorption and 1,25(OH)(2)D was positive, and this relation was stronger for lower concentrations of 25(OH)D than for higher concentrations of 25(OH)D. CONCLUSION The relation of serum 25(OH)D to calcium absorption is not useful as an indicator of vitamin D sufficiency.

Early maternal separation and the trajectory of borderline personality disorder symptoms

Extended maternal separations before age 5 were evaluated as a predictor of long-term risk for offspring borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms in longitudinal data from a large random community sample. Early separations from mother predicted elevations in BPD symptoms assessed repeatedly from early adolescence to middle adulthood. Early separations also predicted a slower than normal rate of decline in symptoms with age. Other theoretically grounded risks were examined and shown to predict elevated BPD symptoms over the developmental trajectory. Long-term effects of early separations were largely independent of childhood temperament, child abuse, maternal problems, and parenting risks. These data provide the first prospectively collected data on the developmental course of BPD symptoms and suggest a series of environmental and other influences on these very disabling problems.

Depression in Adult Women: Age Changes and Cohort Effects

OBJECTIVES We sought to separate age and cohort associations with depression, assessed 3 times within a 10-year period in 701 women born between 1928 and 1958. METHODS We used regression analysis to examine age differences in women with depression in 2 birth cohorts, pre-1945 and post-1944, who were assessed at comparable ages. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate changes with age in successive birth year cohorts. RESULTS An age by cohort interaction indicated more depression among younger than older women in the post-1944 cohort but a flat age profile in the pre-1945 cohort. Longitudinal analyses indicated declines in depression with age in more recent cohorts but increases in earlier ones. CONCLUSIONS Increases in depression in younger women in successive cohorts may be offset by decreases in middle age.

Sexual trajectories of abused and neglected youths

ABSTRACT. The study objective was to examine whether childhood abuse or neglect is associated with the age of onset of puberty and sexual and romantic behavior. A cohort of children (the Children in the Community study) was randomly selected and studied prospectively from childhood to adulthood. A sample of 816 youths were interviewed in their homes at a mean age of 14, 16, and 22 years in 1983, from 1985 to 1986, and from 1991 to 1994. The outcome measures included age of menarche, signs of male puberty, first being in love, dating, sexual intercourse, and pregnancy reported by youths. Child abuse and neglect were measured by official records and youth reports. A history of two or more incidents of sexual abuse was significantly associated with early puberty and early pregnancy after gender, class, race, paternal absence, and mothers age at the birth of the study child were controlled statistically. Public education regarding risk for premature sexual behavior among youths who have experienced sexual abuse is warranted. Efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy should include monitoring and educating sexually abused children as they enter puberty.

Gender differences in the age-changing relationship between instrumentality and family contact in emerging adulthood.

Data from the Children in the Community Transitions Study were used to examine gender differences in the impact of family contact on the development of finance and romance instrumentality from ages 17 to 27 years. Family contact decreased among both men and women across emerging adulthood, although it decreased more rapidly in men than in women. Both finance and romance instrumentality increased for men and women across emerging adulthood. The growth rate did not differ between men and women in either domain, although men tended to be characterized by higher levels of instrumentality than women. There were noteworthy gender differences in the impact of family contact on the development of instrumentality. At age 17, family contact was negatively associated with instrumentality for both men and women; at age 27, the impact of family contact on instrumentality was less negative for women and was positive for men.

Personality Disorder Traits During Adolescence and Relationships with Family Members During the Transition to Adulthood.

Data from the Children in the Community Transitions Study, a prospective longitudinal investigation, were used to examine the association between adolescent personality disorder (PD) traits and conflict with family members during the transition to adulthood. PD traits at mean age 16 years were associated with elevated contact and conflict with family members between ages 17 and 27 years after Axis I disorders were controlled. There was a significant association between frequent contact and elevated conflict with family members. Both declined gradually during the transition to adulthood. Reduced family contact was associated with reduced family conflict, particularly among individuals who had numerous PD traits during adolescence. Among individuals who had a high level of family conflict during adolescence, reduced family contact between ages 17 and 22 years was associated with a subsequent reduction in conflict with family members between ages 22 and 27 years.

Using individual growth model to analyze the change in quality of life from adolescence to adulthood

BackgroundThe individual growth model is a relatively new statistical technique now widely used to examine the unique trajectories of individuals and groups in repeated measures data. This technique is increasingly used to analyze the changes over time in quality of life (QOL) data. This study examines the change from adolescence to adulthood in physical health as an aspect of QOL as an illustration of the use of this analytic method.MethodsEmploying data from the Children in the Community (CIC) study, a prospective longitudinal investigation, physical health was assessed at mean ages 16, 22, and 33 in 752 persons born between 1965 and 1975.ResultsThe analyses using individual growth models show a linear decline in average physical health from age 10 to age 40. Males reported better physical health and declined less per year on average. Time-varying psychiatric disorders accounted for 8.6% of the explained variation in mean physical health, and 6.7% of the explained variation in linear change in physical health. Those with such a disorder reported lower mean physical health and a more rapid decline with age than those without a current psychiatric disorder. The use of SAS PROC MIXED, including syntax and interpretation of output are provided. Applications of these models including statistical assumptions, centering issues and cohort effects are discussed.ConclusionThis paper highlights the usefulness of the individual growth model in modeling longitudinal change in QOL variables.