Sofie Rousseau

The association between parenting behavior and somatization in adolescents explained by physiological responses in adolescents

INTRODUCTION This study adds to the knowledge on somatization in adolescents by exploring its relation with parenting behavior and the mediating/moderating role of physiological responses in adolescents to parenting behavior. METHOD Eighteen adolescents with high and 18 adolescents with low somatization scores and their mothers completed a discussion task, from which observed parenting behavior scores were derived. Skin conductance in adolescents was measured before and during the discussion. RESULTS For adolescents with high levels of physiological responses, unadaptive parenting was related to a higher chance of high somatization scores. For low physiologically responsive adolescents, the relation between parenting behavior and somatization was not significant. CONCLUSION Parenting behavior is not univocally related to somatization in adolescents, but the association depends on physiological responses in adolescents.

Small Number Discrimination in Early Human Development: The Case of One versus Three

The current study aims to investigate in infants the discrimination of the number set 1 versus 3. This number set has not been studied before within the field of early number discrimination. Participants were 16 full term 8-month-olds. They were assessed for their number discrimination ability with a computerized habituation task in combination with an eye tracking device as an accurate measure for looking time in infants. The stimuli (dots) were controlled for continuous variables. Attention was given to different approaches to analyse data retrieved from the habituation paradigm. The main results showed that 8-month-olds discriminated 1 from 3 dots by looking longer at a novel number after habituation to another number. This supports small number discrimination in infancy. Results retrieved through other analyse approaches are discussed.

Enumeration of small and large numerosities in adolescents with mathematical learning disorders

The accuracy and speed in an enumeration task were investigated in adolescents with typical and atypically poor development of arithmetic skills. The number naming performances on small and large non-symbolic numerosities of 18 adolescents with mathematical learning disorders (MLD) and 28 typically achieving age-matched (TA) adolescents were compared. A mixed logistic regression model showed that adolescents with MLD were not significantly less accurate on numbers within the subitizing range than control peers. Moreover, no significant differences in reaction times were found between both groups. Nevertheless, we found that within the control group adolescents with higher ability tended to respond faster when taking into account the whole range (1-9) of numerosities. This correlation was much weaker in the MLD group. When looking more closely at the data, however, it became clear that the correlation between accuracy and speed within the control group differed in direction dependent on the range (subitizing or counting) of the numerosities. As such, our findings did not support a limited capacity of subitizing in MLD. However, the data stressed a different correlation between speed and accuracy for both groups of adolescents and a different behavioral pattern depending on the numerosity range as well. Implications for the understanding and approach of MLD are considered.

The relation between parenting stress and adolescents' somatisation trajectories: A growth mixture analysis

OBJECTIVE The impact of somatisation in adolescence is substantial. Knowledge on (predictors of) individual-level development of somatisation is necessary to develop tailored treatment. The current study assessed individual-level development of somatisation by means of latent mixed modelling. Parenting stress was included as a predictor of somatisation trajectory membership and within-trajectory variation. METHODS A total of 1499 adolescents and one of their parents (mostly the mother) agreed to participate. Questionnaires were administered when the adolescents were respectively 12-13 (T1), 13-14 (T2), and 14-15 (T3) years old. Adolescents reported on their somatisation, parents on their parenting stress. RESULTS Four individual somatisation trajectories were found: increased, long-term low, long-term high, and decreased. Higher early parenting stress (T1) significantly predicted less favourable trajectory membership (increased and long-term high). The relation between later parenting stress (T2 and T3) and somatisation depended on trajectory membership. For adolescents in the long-term high and decreased somatisation trajectories, lower T2 and T3 parenting stress was related to higher somatisation, while for adolescents in the long-term low and increased trajectories, higher T2 and T3 parenting stress was related to higher somatisation. CONCLUSIONS The results support a general recommendation to prevent the onset of high levels of parenting stress. In addition, for families in which high levels of parenting stress already exist, clinicians should be aware of natural fluctuations in parenting stress, its associated features (e.g., aspects of overall care, like looking for professional help) and of the consequences this might have for the adolescent.