Murray Weeks

Alone is a crowd: social motivations, social withdrawal, and socioemotional functioning in later childhood.

The primary goals of this study were to test a conceptual model linking social approach and avoidance motivations, socially withdrawn behaviors, and peer difficulties in later childhood and to compare the socioemotional functioning of different subtypes of withdrawn children (shy, unsociable, avoidant). Participants were 367 children, aged 9-12 years. Measures included assessments of social motivations (i.e., self-reported shyness and preference for solitude) and social withdrawal (observations of solitary behaviors in the schoolyard and self-reports of solitary activities outside of school), as well as self- and parent-reported peer difficulties and internalizing problems. Among the results, both shyness and preference for solitude were associated with socially withdrawn behaviors, which in turn predicted peer difficulties. However, only shyness (but not preference for solitude) also displayed a direct path to peer difficulties. As well, results from person-oriented analyses indicated that different subtypes of socially withdrawn children displayed decidedly different profiles with regard to indices of internalizing problems. For example, whereas unsociable children did not differ from their nonwithdrawn peers on indices of internalizing problems, socially avoidant (i.e., high in both shyness and unsociability) children reported the most pervasive socioemotional difficulties. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different forms of social withdrawal for socioemotional functioning in later childhood.

Childhood cognitive ability and its relationship with anxiety and depression in adolescence.

BACKGROUND Childhood cognitive ability may have protective effects against internalizing symptoms in adolescence, although this may depend on the time of symptom assessment and child gender. Also, the effects of childhood stressors on adolescent internalizing symptoms may be moderated by childhood cognitive ability. METHODS The sample included 4405 individuals from the Canadian National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Between ages 4-5 and 10-11, children completed a test of verbal ability and scholastic aptitude and a series of mathematics computation tests. Internalizing symptoms were assessed via self-reports at ages 12-13 and 14-15. RESULTS Greater cognitive ability was generally associated with decreased odds of internalizing symptoms at age 12-13. However, greater cognitive ability generally increased, or had no effect on, the odds of internalizing symptoms at age 14-15. Some of the effects of childhood cognitive ability varied with child gender. Also, childhood cognitive ability attenuated the effects of family dysfunction and chronic illness throughout childhood on subsequent internalizing symptoms. LIMITATIONS These data are largely subject to some degree of reporting bias, the tests of cognitive ability are limited and may not represent overall cognitive ability, and there may be intermediary variables that account for the relationship between childhood cognitive ability and adolescent internalizing symptoms. CONCLUSION Results suggest that programs attempting to increase early cognitive skills may be particularly beneficial for girls. Also, an increased focus on cognitive skills may attenuate the negative effects of some stressors on subsequent anxious and depressive symptoms, regardless of child gender.

Protective factors against depression during the transition from adolescence to adulthood: findings from a national Canadian cohort.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to identify factors protective against the onset or recurrence of depression in early adulthood, and to describe their interactions with stressors during this transitional period. METHODS 1137 members of Canadas National Population Health Survey were followed from ages 12 to 17 in 1994/95 and contacted every two years until 2008/09. Protective factors measured at age 16/17 included social support, physical activity, mastery, self-esteem, and education level. General linear mixed models were used to examine the relationship between the protective factors and five assessments of depression, including interactions between protective factors and four types of stress: stressful life events, and work, financial, and personal stress. RESULTS High mastery in adolescence had a significant protective effect against depression in early adulthood. Participants with high social support in adolescence were significantly less likely to become depressed after experiencing work or financial stress, compared to those with low social support. Those who were physically active in adolescence were less likely to become depressed after experiencing work stress, and higher overall education level reduced depression risk following personal stress or major life events. CONCLUSION Social support and physical activity may be ideal targets for school-based depression interventions during a potentially stressful transitional period.

Early-life predictors of internalizing symptom trajectories in Canadian children

Previous research examining the development of anxious and depressive symptoms (i.e., internalizing symptoms) from childhood to adolescence has often assumed that trajectories of these symptoms do not vary across individuals. The purpose of this study was to identify distinct trajectories of internalizing symptoms from childhood to adolescence, and to identify risk factors for membership in these trajectory groups. In particular, we sought to identify risk factors associated with early appearing (i.e., child onset) symptoms versus symptoms that increase in adolescence (i.e., adolescent onset).

Prevalence of Past-Year Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces, 2002-2013.

Objective: More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel have deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan since 2002. Over the same period, the CAF strengthened its mental health system. This article explores the effect of these events on the prevalence of past-year mental disorders over the period 2002-2013. Method: The data sources were 2 highly comparable population-based mental health surveys of CAF Regular Force personnel done in 2002 and 2013 (n = 5155 and 6996, respectively). Data were collected via in-person interviews with Statistics Canada personnel using the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess past-year disorders. Results: In 2013, 16.5% had 1 or more of the 6 past-year disorders assessed in the survey, with the most common conditions being major depressive episode (MDE), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which affected 8.0%, 5.3%, and 4.7%, respectively. The prevalence of PTSD, GAD, and panic disorder has increased significantly since 2002 (adjusted odds ratios from logistic regression models = 2.1, 3.0, and 1.9, respectively), while no change was seen for MDE. The comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders increased significantly over time, being seen in 27.4% and 41.0% of those with mental disorders in 2002 and 2013, respectively. Conclusion: There has been an increase in the prevalence of PTSD and other anxiety disorders and of the extent of comorbidity of mood and anxiety disorders in CAF personnel over the period 2002-2013.

Disability and Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces

Objectives: The initial goal was to validate the use of a self-report measure of disability in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The main goal was to document the extent of disability in personnel with and without mental disorders. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey; the sample included 6700 Regular Forces personnel. Disability was measured with the 12-item version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-2); established cut points were used to demarcate severe, moderate, minimal, and no disability. The following recent (past-year) and remote (lifetime but not past-year) disorders were assessed with diagnostic interviews: posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Results: The WHODAS-2 showed good internal consistency (α = 0.89) and a 1-factor structure. Most personnel had no disability (59.2%) or minimal disability (30.8%). However, an important minority had moderate or severe disability (8.4% and 1.6%, respectively). Individuals with recent disorders reported greater disability than those without lifetime disorders, although many had minimal or no disability (41.2% and 24.7%, respectively). Disability increased with the number of recent disorders. Relative to those without lifetime disorders, individuals with remote disorders showed slightly greater disability, but most had no disabilty (57.1%) or minimal disability (35.0%). Conclusions: The 12-item WHODAS-2 is a valid measure of disability in the CAF. Mental disorders may be important drivers of disability in this population, although limited residual disability is seen in individuals with remote disorders.

The contribution of stress to the comorbidity of migraine and major depression: results from a prospective cohort study

Objectives To assess how much the association between migraine and depression may be explained by various measures of stress. Design National Population Health Survey is a prospective cohort study representative of the Canadian population. Eight years of follow-up time were used in the present analyses. Setting Canadian adult population ages 18–64. Participants 9288 participants. Outcome Incident migraine and major depression. Results Adjusting for sex and age, depression was predictive of incident migraine (HR: 1.62; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.53) and migraine was predictive of incident depression (HR: 1.55; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.08). However, adjusting for each assessed stressor (childhood trauma, recent marital problems, recent unemployment, recent household financial problems, work stress, chronic stress and change in social support) decreased this association, with chronic stress being a particularly strong predictor of outcomes. When adjusting for all stressors simultaneously, both associations were largely attenuated (depression–migraine HR: 1.30; 95% CI 0.80 to 2.10; migraine–depression HR: 1.19; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.66). Conclusions Much of the apparent association between migraine and depression may be explained by stress.

Developmental pathways linking childhood and adolescent internalizing, externalizing, academic competence, and adolescent depression.

This study examined longitudinal pathways through three domains of adaptation from ages 4-5 to 14-15 (internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and academic competence) towards depressive symptoms at age 16-17. Participants were 6425 Canadian children followed bi-annually as part of the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth. Within-domain (i.e., stability) effects were moderate in strength. We found longitudinal cross-domain effects across one time point (i.e., one-lag cascades) between internalizing and externalizing in early childhood (positive associations), and between academic competence and externalizing in later childhood and adolescence (negative associations). We also found cascade effects over multiple time points (i.e., multi-lag cascades); lower academic competence at age 4-5 and greater internalizing at age 6-7 predicted greater age 12-13 externalizing, and greater age 6-7 externalizing predicted greater age 16-17 depression. Important pathways towards adolescent depression include a stability path through childhood and adolescent internalizing, as well as a number of potential paths involving all domains of adaptation, highlighting the multifactorial nature of adolescent depression.

Trajectories of Neighborhood Cohesion in Childhood, and Psychotic and Depressive Symptoms at Age 13 and 18 Years

Objective Exposure to adverse social environments has been associated with psychotic and depressive symptoms in adolescence in cross-sectional studies, but the longitudinal relation is unclear. This study examined whether longitudinal trajectories of exposure to adverse social environments across childhood are associated with psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Method Data on participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used to estimate longitudinal trajectories of childhood exposure to neighborhood cohesion (NC), discord (ND), and stress (NS) using latent class growth modeling. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between these trajectories and psychotic experiences and depressive symptoms at 13 and 18 years of age, adjusting for maternal psychopathology, participant sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and area-level deprivation. Results A dose-response association was observed between higher NS and the odds of psychotic experiences at 13 years (medium NS, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.25, 95% CI 1.05–1.49; high NS, aOR 1.77, 95% CI 1.30–2.40), whereas high levels of ND predicted psychotic experiences at 18 years (aOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.10–2.07). High levels of NC (aOR 1.43, 95% CI 1.02–1.71) and NS (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.07–2.26) were associated with increased odds of high depressive symptoms at 18 years in a dose-response fashion. Conclusion Prolonged and more severe exposure to adverse social environments is associated with greater odds of developing psychotic and depressive symptoms in late adolescence.

CARTOONS KILL: casualties in animated recreational theater in an objective observational new study of kids' introduction to loss of life.

Objectives To assess the risk of on-screen death of important characters in children’s animated films versus dramatic films for adults. Design Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with Cox regression comparing time to first on-screen death. Setting Authors’ television screens, with and without popcorn. Participants Important characters in 45 top grossing children’s animated films and a comparison group of 90 top grossing dramatic films for adults. Main outcome measures Time to first on-screen death. Results Important characters in children’s animated films were at an increased risk of death compared with characters in dramatic films for adults (hazard ratio 2.52, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 4.90). Risk of on-screen murder of important characters was higher in children’s animated films than in comparison films (2.78, 1.02 to 7.58). Conclusions Rather than being the innocuous form of entertainment they are assumed to be, children’s animated films are rife with on-screen death and murder.