Louise Cossette

Pre-Adoption Adversity and Self-Reported Behavior Problems in 7 Year-Old International Adoptees

To further investigate the long-term impact of pre-adoption adversity on international adoptees, externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed using a self-report measure at school-age in addition to mothers’ reports. The sample consisted of 95 adopted children and their mothers. Children’s health and developmental status were assessed soon after arrival in their adoptive family. At age 7, the Dominic Interactive, a self-report measure, was used to evaluate externalizing and internalizing symptoms while mothers completed the CBCL. Children’s self-reports were compared to their non-adopted peers’. Adopted children reported more symptoms of specific phobia than their peers. A significant correlation was found between mothers’ and children’s reports but only for externalizing symptoms. Self-reported symptoms were related to indices of nutritional and psychosocial deprivation at arrival, such as low height/age and weight/height ratios. Our results emphasize the importance of considering international adoptees’ perception of their psychological adjustment and the long-term impact of early risk factors.

Emotion Regulation in Sexually Abused Preschoolers

Emotion regulation is closely related to mental health in children and adults. Low emotion regulation competencies have been found in school-aged sexually abused girls. The aim of the present study was to investigate emotion regulation competencies in sexually abused preschool girls and boys using a multi-informant approach. Emotion regulation was assessed in 62 sexually abused and 65 non-abused preschoolers using the Emotion Regulation Checklist and the MacArthur Story Stem Battery. Both parents and educators reported lower emotion regulation competencies in sexually abused preschoolers, especially boys, than in non-abused children. The narrative task completed by the children also revealed lower emotion regulation competencies in sexually abused boys. These findings could have an important impact on intervention programs offered to these at-risk children.

Sex differences in motor activity during early infancy

Abstract Many studies conducted with children have reported a higher activity level in boys. However, very few studies bearing on infant motor activity have found significant sex differences, and no clear pattern of differentiation has emerged from these data. To further investigate the motor activity of boys and girls during early infancy, the durations and frequencies of their trunk and limb movements and of periods of inactivity and the vigor of their head and limb movements were compared within different situations at 2 1 2 and 5 months of age. The durations and frequencies of movements and of periods of inactivity did not differ substantially in boys and girls. The measures of vigor yielded more significant results, but no stable sex differences emerged. The contribution of physiological and environmental factors to the sexual differentiation of motor activity is discussed.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Suicidal Ideation Among Sexually Abused Adolescent Girls: The Mediating Role of Shame

ABSTRACT Sexual abuse is associated with a host of negative repercussions in adolescence. Yet the possible mechanisms linking sexual abuse and negative outcomes are understudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among self-blame, shame, coping strategies, posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. The sample included 147 sexually abused adolescent girls between 14 and 18 years of age. A total of 66% of girls reached clinical score for posttraumatic stress disorder, and 53% reached clinical score for depressive symptoms. Close to half (46%) reported suicidal thoughts in the past 3 months. Shame was found to partially mediate the relationship between self-blame and posttraumatic stress disorder. Shame and depressive symptoms were also found to partially mediate the relationship between self-blame and suicidal ideation. Results suggest that shame is a crucial target in interventions designed for sexually abused adolescent girls.

Parental involvement among adoptive gay fathers: Associations with resources, time constraints, gender role, and child adjustment.

The present study investigated the contribution of various factors to parental involvement and children’s psychosocial adjustment among adoptive families headed by two gay fathers. More specifically, we examined the associations between fathers’ resources (income and education), number of hours devoted to paid work, gender role, sharing of parenting tasks, and parental involvement. The contribution of parental involvement, task sharing, and gender role to children’s adjustment was also examined. A sample of 92 fathers and their 46 children aged 1 to 9 years participated in the study. Fathers completed a series of questionnaires: sociodemographic, Who Does What, Parental Engagement, Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Adoptive gay fathers reported a rather egalitarian division of tasks and high levels of involvement in various areas of childcare although within couples one of the two fathers was usually more involved than the other. Income and gender role were the main predictors of overall involvement. Gay fathers also reported few behavior problems in their child. Dissatisfaction with the sharing of parenting tasks was found to predict child internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Le développement de la régulation des émotions chez des nourrissons de mères adolescents

Resume Les interactions de l’enfant avec ses proches et les pratiques parentales jouent un role crucial dans le developpement de la regulation des emotions. De faibles competences parentales, comme on en observe parfois chez les meres adolescentes, pourraient donc constituer un important facteur de risque. Afin de mieux cerner le developpement de la regulation des emotions chez les nourrissons de meres adolescentes, nous avons compare leurs expressions d’emotion et leurs comportements d’autoregulation a ceux de bebes de meres adultes lors de seances d’interaction face a face et lorsqu’ils sont seuls a 4 et 10 mois. Les nourrissons des meres adolescentes presentent des reactions affectives plus intenses a 4 mois que ceux des meres adultes, mais ils sont moins nombreux a manifester des emotions negatives lorsqu’ils sont seuls a 10 mois, ce qui pourrait constituer un indice d’inhibition des affects. Des differences apparaissent aussi dans les comportements de regulation utilises et dans leurs effets.