The joint development of trajectories of bullying perpetration and peer victimization from Grade 5 to Grade 8 and concurrent and predictive associations with parent- and child-reported symptoms of ...psychopathology (anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and somatization) were examined in a large sample (N = 695) of Canadian children. Dual trajectory modeling revealed four distinct subgroups of children: (a) those low in both bullying perpetration and peer victimization (low/limited involvement); (b) those with moderately increasing levels of involvement in bullying perpetration and low levels of victimization (bullies); (c) those with low levels of bullying perpetration and moderate/decreasing levels of peer victimization (initial/declining victims); and (d) a victim-to-bully group characterized by increasing bullying perpetration and moderate decreasing victimization. Conditional probability results suggest that a pathway from peer victimization to involvement in bullying is more likely than a pathway from bullying perpetration to peer victimization. Children classified in the victim-to-bully and initial/declining victim groups showed more pervasive elevations in parent- and child-reported symptoms of psychopathology across elementary and middle school and in Grade 9 than individuals with limited involvement in bullying or peer victimization. Most associations with Grade 9 parent- and child-reported symptoms of psychopathology remained even after controlling for initial symptoms of psychopathology. Results are discussed in the context of extant taxonomies of involvement in bullying, the temporal relationship between bullying and victimization, and the increased mental health risk associated with both pure victims and bully-victims.
This report describes the state of the art in distinguishing data generated by differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models. We discuss several limitations of existing practices for ...probing interaction effects and offer solutions that are designed to better differentiate differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models and quantify their corresponding implications. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of these methods by revisiting published evidence suggesting that temperamental difficulty serves as a marker of enhanced susceptibility to early maternal caregiving across a range of outcome domains in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We find that, with the exception of mother reports of psychopathology, there is consistent evidence in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development that the predictive significance of early sensitivity is moderated by difficult temperament over time. However, differential susceptibility effects emerged primarily for teacher reports of academic skills, social competence, and symptomatology. In contrast, effects more consistent with the diathesis-stress model were obtained for mother reports of social skills and objective tests of academic skills. We conclude by discussing the value of the application of this work to the next wave of Gene × Environment studies focused on early caregiving experiences.
There has been an increasing recognition among both medical and psychological professionals, as well as the public media, of a concerning trend for child and adolescent users of audiovisual-based, ...algorithmic social media platforms (e.g., TikTok) to present with or claim functional psychiatric impairment that is inconsistent with or distinct from classic psychiatric nosology. In this short communication, we provide a detailed historical overview of this transdiagnostic phenomenon and suggest a conceptual model to organize thinking and research examining it. We then discuss the implications of our suggested model for accurate assessment, diagnosis, and medical-psychiatric treatment. We believe there is an urgent need for focused empirical research investigation into this concerning phenomenon that is related to the broader research and discourse examining social media influences on mental health.
There exists widespread dissatisfaction with current categorical approaches to mental disorders, in particular the DSM,
along with considerable quantitative empirical evidence that mental disorders ...are more accurately understood as continuously distributed dimensions of psychopathology. This has resulted in an increasing shift toward a dimensional organization of psychopathology in contemporary psychiatry.
Factor-analytic modeling of symptom data derived from numerous measures of mental illness and psychopathology has provided consistent evidence for a transdiagnostic general factor model of psychopathology. In the most basic general factor model, classic diagnostic phenotypes, such as anxiety and depression, are thought to be reflected by a specific internalizing psychopathology dimension, whereas conduct and attention/hyperactivity disorders most often are reflected by a specific externalizing psychopathology dimension. In addition, a general psychopathology, or a "p" factor,
reflects both the common variation among all symptoms of psychopathology, as well as low to high psychopathology severity, thus cutting across diverse mental disorder categories. This shared variation reflects the high rates of comorbidity commonly observed across most classic mental disorder categories.
Psychologists have long debated the role of early experience in social and cognitive development. However, traditional approaches to studying this issue are not well positioned to address this ...debate. The authors present simulations that indicate that the associations between early experiences and later outcomes should approach different asymptotic values across time, given alternative assumptions about the developmental significance of early experience. To test the predictions of alternative developmental models, the authors examine data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) on maternal sensitivity in the first 3 years of life and its association with social competence and academic skills through age 15. Across multimethod, multi-informant outcome data, results suggest that there may be enduring effects of early caregiving experiences in both of these domains. (Contains 8 tables, 5 figures and 3 footnotes.)
The field of psychopathology is in a transformative phase, and is witnessing a renewed surge of interest in theoretical models of mental disorders. While many interesting proposals are competing for ...attention in the literature, they tend to focus narrowly on the proximate level of analysis and lack a broader understanding of biological function. In this paper, we present an integrative framework for mental disorders built on concepts from life history theory, and describe a taxonomy of mental disorders based on its principles, the
model (FSD). The FSD integrates psychopathology with normative individual differences in personality and behavior, and allows researchers to draw principled distinctions between broad clusters of disorders, as well as identify functional subtypes within current diagnostic categories. Simulation work demonstrates that the model can explain the large-scale structure of comorbidity, including the apparent emergence of a general "p factor" of psychopathology. A life history approach also provides novel integrative insights into the role of environmental risk/protective factors and the developmental trajectories of various disorders.
Predictors of maternal sensitivity to infant distress were examined among 259 primiparous mothers. The Adult Attachment Interview, self-reports of personality and emotional functioning, and measures ...of physiological, emotional, and cognitive responses to videotapes of crying infants were administered prenatally. Maternal sensitivity was observed during three distress-eliciting tasks when infants were 6 months old. Coherence of mind was directly associated with higher maternal sensitivity to distress. Mothers' heightened emotional risk was indirectly associated with lower sensitivity via mothers' self-focused and negative processing of infant cry cues. Likewise, high physiological arousal accompanied by poor physiological regulation in response to infant crying was indirectly associated with lower maternal sensitivity to distress through mothers' self-focused and negative processing of infant cry cues.
Objective: Diagnosis is a cornerstone of clinical practice for mental health care providers, yet traditional diagnostic systems have well-known shortcomings, including inadequate reliability, high ...comorbidity, and marked within-diagnosis heterogeneity. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a data-driven, hierarchically based alternative to traditional classifications that conceptualizes psychopathology as a set of dimensions organized into increasingly broad, transdiagnostic spectra. Prior work has shown that using a dimensional approach improves reliability and validity, but translating a model like HiTOP into a workable system that is useful for health care providers remains a major challenge. Method: The present work outlines the HiTOP model and describes the core principles to guide its integration into clinical practice. Results: Potential advantages and limitations of the HiTOP model for clinical utility are reviewed, including with respect to case conceptualization and treatment planning. A HiTOP approach to practice is illustrated and contrasted with an approach based on traditional nosology. Common barriers to using HiTOP in real-world health care settings and solutions to these barriers are discussed. Conclusions: HiTOP represents a viable alternative to classifying mental illness that can be integrated into practice today, although research is needed to further establish its utility.
What is the public health significance of this article?
Redefining a taxonomy of psychopathology according to data results in dimensions, not categories, that can be organized hierarchically-with at least six higher level spectra near the top of the model and more specific lower level components and traits at the bottom. This approach may improve case conceptualizations and align more closely with transdiagnostic treatments, while also specifying more narrow targets for intervention. A case illustration shows how the HiTOP model can be used in clinical practice today, although additional research is needed to fully assess the utility of this approach for providers and patients.
Objective:
To examine trajectories of adolescent borderline personality (BP) features in a normative-risk cohort (n = 566) of Canadian children assessed at ages 13, 14, 15, and 16 and childhood ...predictors of trajectory group membership assessed at ages 8, 10, 11, and 12.
Method:
Data were drawn from the McMaster Teen Study, an on-going study examining relations among bullying, mental health, and academic achievement. Participants and their parents completed a battery of mental health and peer relations questionnaires at each wave of the study. Academic competence was assessed at age 8 (Grade 3). Latent class growth analysis, analysis of variance, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.
Results:
Three distinct BP features trajectory groups were identified: elevated or rising, intermediate or stable, and low or stable. Parent- and child-reported mental health symptoms, peer relations risk factors, and intra-individual risk factors were significant predictors of elevated or rising and intermediate or stable trajectory groups. Child-reported attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and somatization symptoms uniquely predicted elevated or rising trajectory group membership, whereas parent-reported anxiety and child-reported ADHD symptoms uniquely predicted intermediate or stable trajectory group membership. Child-reported somatization symptoms was the only predictor to differentiate the intermediate or stable and elevated or rising trajectory groups (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.28). Associations between child-reported reactive temperament and elevated BP features trajectory group membership were 10.23 times higher among children who were bullied, supporting a diathesis–stress pathway in the development of BP features for these youth.
Conclusions:
Findings demonstrate the heterogeneous course of BP features in early adolescence and shed light on the potential prodromal course of later borderline personality disorder.
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