Priska Hagmann-von Arx

Assessing Intellectual Giftedness with the WISC-IV and the IDS

The Hamburg Wechsler Intelligenztest fur Kinder (HAWIK-IV; the German version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition) and the newly designed Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS) were administered in counterbalanced order to 77 gifted children and 77 nongifted children, aged 6 to 10 years. Samples were matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Results reveal that both the HAWIK-IV and the IDS are able to distinguish between gifted and nongifted children. Moderate correlations between the tests indicate that the measures assess similar, but not identical constructs. Results are discussed as they pertain to the assessment and special needs of gifted children.

Morning cortisol secretion in school-age children is related to the sleep pattern of the preceding night

Sleep disturbance in childhood is common and a risk factor for poor mental health. Evidence indicates that disturbed sleep is associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) activity. Knowledge regarding the association between HPAA-activity and objective sleep measures particularly regarding sleep architecture in school-age children is missing. Sleep-electroencephalography was administered to 113 children aged 6-10 years (including 58 children born very preterm and 55 born at term) during one night at the childrens homes and sleep duration, sleep continuity, and sleep architecture were assessed. To assess the cortisol awakening response at the following morning, cortisol secretion was measured at awakening, 10, 20, and 30min later. Regression analyses controlling child age, gender, prematurity status, and the awakening time revealed that morning cortisol secretion was negatively associated with sleep duration and slow wave sleep and positively associated with the relative amount of Stage 2 sleep during the preceding night. In addition, morning cortisol secretion linearly increased with age. In conclusion, associations of sleep disturbance with poor mental health may be confounded with altered HPAA-activity.

The role of sleep and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis for behavioral and emotional problems in very preterm children during middle childhood

Very preterm children are at higher risk to develop behavioral and emotional problems, poor sleep, and altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity (HPAA). However, knowledge on objective sleep and HPAA as well as their role for the development of behavioral and emotional problems in very preterm children is limited. Fifty-eight very preterm children (<32nd gestational week) and 55 full-term children aged 6-10 years underwent one night of in-home polysomnographic sleep assessment. HPAA was assessed with four saliva samples in the morning (morning cortisol secretion) and four saliva samples in the evening (evening cortisol secretion). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to assess childrens behavioral and emotional problems and a subscale of the Childrens Sleep Habits Questionnaire to assess sleep disordered breathing. Very preterm children showed more behavioral and emotional problems (SDQ total behavioral/emotional difficulties, emotional symptoms), poorer sleep (more nocturnal awakenings, more stage 2 sleep, less slow wave sleep), and faster decreasing evening cortisol secretion compared to full-term children. Across the whole sample, more stage 2 sleep and/or less slow wave sleep were associated with more SDQ total behavioral/emotional difficulties, hyperactivity-inattention, and peer problems. Lower morning cortisol secretion and lower evening cortisol secretion were associated with more conduct problems. In very preterm children, increased SDQ total behavioral/emotional difficulties was partially explained by less restorative sleep including more stage 2 sleep and less slow wave sleep. This result points to the importance of restorative sleep for the behavioral and emotional development of very preterm children during middle childhood.

Salivary and hair glucocorticoids and sleep in very preterm children during school age

Very preterm birth involves increased stress for the child, which may lead to programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and poor sleep in later life. Moreover, there is evidence for a relationship between HPA axis activity and sleep. However, research with objective sleep measures in very preterm children during school-age is rare. Eighty-five healthy children born very preterm (<32nd gestational week) and 91 full-term children aged 7-12 years were recruited for the present study. To assess HPA axis activity, salivary cortisol was measured at awakening, 10, 20, and 30min later. In addition, hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations were quantified using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to assess cumulative endocrine activity over the preceding months. One night of in-home polysomnographic sleep assessment was conducted to assess sleep duration, sleep continuity, and sleep architecture. Children born very preterm showed significantly lower levels of cortisol at awakening and lower overall post-awakening cortisol secretion, lower cortisone in hair, and earlier sleep onset than full-term children. Across the whole sample, overall post-awakening cortisol secretion was positively related to sleep onset time and negatively to sleep duration. The association between prematurity status and post-awakening cortisol secretion was partially mediated by earlier sleep onset time. In conclusion, this study provides evidence for a possible down-regulation of the HPA axis activity and slightly earlier sleep phase in very preterm children during school age.

Konkurrente Validität des HAWIK-IV und der Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS)

OBJECTIVE The present study examined the concurrent validity of the Hamburg Wechsler Intelligenztest für Kinder - IV (HAWIK-IV; Petermann & Petermann, 2010) and the Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS; Grob, Meyer & Hagmann-von Arx, 2009). METHODS HAWIK-IV and IDS were administered in counterbalanced order to N = 172 children aged 6 to 11 years. The study presents the descriptive statistics, correlations, and an exploratory factor analysis of the data. RESULTS There is a high correlation between HAWIK-IV Full Scale IQ and IDS intelligence score (r = .83). HAWIK-IV indices showed moderate to high correlations with the cognitive scales of the IDS (Cognition, Language, Mathematics). Low to absent correlations were found between HAWIK-IV indices and the noncognitive scales of the IDS (Social-Emotional Competence, Psychomotor, Achievement Motivation). The factor structure can be interpreted meaningfully and allows integration of the IDS cognitive, language, and mathematical subtests into the four HAWIK-IV indices. CONCLUSIONS The results show that HAWIK-IV and IDS test results can be related to each other.

Age-related decline of gait variability in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Support for the maturational delay hypothesis in gait

BACKGROUND Previous findings showed a tendency toward higher gait variability in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to controls. This study examined whether gait variability in children with ADHD eventually approaches normality with increasing age (delay hypothesis) or whether these gait alterations represent a persistent deviation from typical development (deviation hypothesis). METHOD This cross-sectional study compared 30 children with ADHD (25 boys; Mage=10 years 11 months, range 8-13 years; n=21 off medication, n=9 without medication) to 28 controls (25 boys; Mage=10 years 10 months, range 8-13 years). Gait parameters (i.e. velocity and variability in stride length and stride time) were assessed using an electronic walkway system (GAITRite) while children walked at their own pace. RESULTS Children with ADHD walked with significantly higher variability in stride time compared to controls. Age was negatively associated with gait variability in children with ADHD such that children with higher age walked with lower variability, whereas in controls there was no such association. CONCLUSIONS Children with ADHD displayed a less regular gait pattern than controls, indicated by their higher variability in stride time. The age-dependent decrease of gait variability in children with ADHD showed that gait performance became more regular with age and converged toward that of typically developing children. These results may reflect a maturational delay rather than a persistent deviation of gait regularity among children with ADHD compared to typically developing children.

Intelligenz- und Entwicklungsdiagnostik im deutschen Sprachraum

Ausgehend von den Arbeiten von Alfred Binet und Theodore Simon wird ein Abriss der Geschichte der Intelligenz- und Entwicklungsdiagnostik erstellt. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass die aktuellen Intelligenz- und allgemeinen Entwicklungstests ihren Ursprung in der wegweisenden Arbeit von Binet und Simon haben. Anschliesend wird eine Bestandsaufnahme im deutschen Sprachraum haufig angewandter Intelligenztests und allgemeiner Entwicklungstests vorgenommen. Diese werden auf die zu erfassenden Entwicklungs- und Altersbereiche systematisiert und hinsichtlich der Testgutekriterien beurteilt. Erkenntnisse werden im Hinblick auf die Anwendung in der psychologischen Praxis diskutiert.

Gait in Very Preterm School-Aged Children in Dual-Task Paradigms

Objective The control of gait requires executive and attentional functions. As preterm children show executive and attentional deficits compared to full-term children, performing concurrent tasks that impose additional cognitive load may lead to poorer walking performance in preterm compared to full-term children. Knowledge regarding gait in preterm children after early childhood is scarce. We examined straight walking and if it is more affected in very preterm than in full-term children in dual-task paradigms. Study design Twenty preterm children with very low birth-weight (≤ 1500 g), 24 preterm children with birth-weight > 1500 g, and 44 full-term children, born between 2001 and 2006, were investigated. Gait was assessed using an electronic walkway system (GAITRite) while walking without a concurrent task (single-task) and while performing one concurrent (dual-task) or two concurrent (triple-task) tasks. Spatio-temporal gait parameters (gait velocity, cadence, stride length, single support time, double support time), normalized gait parameters (normalized velocity, normalized cadence, normalized stride length) and gait variability parameters (stride velocity variability, stride length variability) were analyzed. Results In dual- and triple-task conditions children showed decreased gait velocity, cadence, stride length, as well as increased single support time, double support time and gait variability compared to single-task walking. Further, results showed systematic decreases in stride velocity variability from preterm children with very low birth weight (≤ 1500 g) to preterm children with birth weight > 1500 g to full-term children. There were no significant interactions between walking conditions and prematurity status. Conclusions Dual and triple tasking affects gait of preterm and full-term children, confirming previous results that walking requires executive and attentional functions. Birth-weight dependent systematic changes in stride velocity variability indicate poorer walking performance in preterm children who were less mature at birth.

Walking in school-aged children in a dual-task paradigm is related to age but not to cognition, motor behavior, injuries, or psychosocial functioning

Age-dependent gait characteristics and associations with cognition, motor behavior, injuries, and psychosocial functioning were investigated in 138 typically developing children aged 6.7–13.2 years (M = 10.0 years). Gait velocity, normalized velocity, and variability were measured using the walkway system GAITRite without an additional task (single task) and while performing a motor or cognitive task (dual task). Assessment of children’s cognition included tests for intelligence and executive functions; parents reported on their child’s motor behavior, injuries, and psychosocial functioning. Gait variability (an index of gait regularity) decreased with increasing age in both single- and dual-task walking. Dual-task gait decrements were stronger when children walked in the motor compared to the cognitive dual-task condition and decreased with increasing age in both dual-task conditions. Gait alterations from single- to dual-task conditions were not related to children’s cognition, motor behavior, injuries, or psychosocial functioning.

Die Intelligence and Development Scale Sozial-Emotionale Kompetenz (IDS-SEK)

Zusammenfassung. Bisher fehlten geeignete Messinstrumente zur Erfassung sozial-emotionaler Fahigkeiten bei Kindern weitgehend. Zur Schliessung dieser Lucke in der Testdiagnostik wurde die Sozial-Emotionale Kompetenz Skala (IDS-SEK) der Intelligence and Development Scales (IDS) entwickelt. Sie umfasst die folgenden vier sozial-emotionalen Kompetenzdimensionen: 1. Emotionen Erkennen (EE), 2. Emotionen Regulieren (ER), 3. Soziale Situationen Verstehen (SV) und 4. Sozial Kompetent Handeln (SH). Die Skalenvaliditat wurde in mehreren Studien mit insgesamt 839 Kindern aus der Schweiz im Alter von 5 bis 10 Jahren gepruft. Die Ergebnisse sprechen fur die Kriteriums- und Konstruktvaliditat. Vergleiche zwischen Kindern mit Asperger-Syndrom (N = 38) beziehungsweise aggressiver Verhaltensauffalligkeit (N = 57) und nach Alter, Geschlecht sowie Intelligenzquotienten gepaarten verhaltensunauffalligen Kindern belegen zudem die Differenzierungsfahigkeit der Skala. Die IDS-SEK eignet sich zur mehrdimensionalen Erfassung von...