State and Trait Mindfulness as Predictors of Skin Conductance Response to Stress.

Mindfulness is typically understood as non-judgmental, focused attention on the present moment, although it may be conceptualized as a state, a trait, and an outcome of intervention. There is a limited understanding of the physiological effects of state and trait mindfulness, and it has been a challenge to the research community to measure these effects. This study examined whether state and trait mindfulness are associated with reduced stress response activation in healthy young adults.

Using ecological momentary assessments to evaluate extant measures of mind wandering.

Mind wandering is a commonly experienced phenomenon. Although self-report measures are available to assess these attentional lapses, examination of their correspondence with the reported frequency of these episodes in daily life is warranted. Using ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), the present study aimed to validate 3 mind-wandering measures: the Mind-Wandering Questionnaire (MWQ) and the Mind Wandering-Spontaneous (MW-S) and Mind Wandering-Deliberate (MW-D) measures in university students (N = 100).

Symptom covariance accounts for behavioral approach associations across impulse control disorders.

Behavioral approach system (BAS) dysfunction has been identified as a correlate of and a potential mechanism for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid disorders. This study examined the role of symptom covariation in the relations among BAS dysfunction, ADHD symptoms, and comorbid impulsive personality disorder features. Undergraduates (N = 207) completed measures of BAS functioning, ADHD symptoms, and borderline and antisocial personality disorder symptoms, and associated features (i.

Mindfulness programming for parents and teachers of children with ADHD.

Background: Parents and teachers of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at-risk for a range of suboptimal psychosocial outcomes, including mental health difficulties and heightened stress, problems perhaps ameliorated through mindfulness-based programming.

Objective: To show pilot data from an investigation of the outcomes of a purpose-built mindfulness training for parents and teachers of children with ADHD (N = 26).

Methods: The program represents a purpose-driven modification of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) curriculum.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Therapies for ADHD: A Meta-Analytic Review.

Mindfulness-based therapies (MBTs) have been shown to be efficacious in treating internally focused psychological disorders (e.g., depression); however, it is still unclear whether MBTs provide improved functioning and symptom relief for individuals with externalizing disorders, including ADHD.

Association Between Pubertal Onset and Symptoms of ADHD in Female University Students.

Objective: This exploratory study investigated how the timing of female pubertal maturation was associated with the symptoms of ADHD in a non-clinical female undergraduate sample (N = 253).

Method: Participants (Mage = 20.2 ± 1.

Planum temporale morphology in children with developmental dyslexia.

The planum temporale is a highly lateralized cortical region, located within Wernicke's area, which is thought to be involved in auditory processing, phonological processing, and language. Research has linked abnormal morphology of the planum temporale to developmental dyslexia, although results have varied in large part due to methodological inconsistencies in the literature. This study examined the asymmetry of the planum temporale in 29 children who met criteria for dyslexia and 26 children whose reading was unimpaired.

Are cognitive control and stimulus-driven processes differentially linked to inattention and hyperactivity in preschoolers?

Temperament and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are both typically viewed as biologically based behavioural constructs. There is substantial overlap between ADHD symptoms and specific temperamental traits, such as effortful control, especially in young children. Recent work by Martel and colleagues ( 2009 , 2011 ) suggests that cognitive control temperamental processes are more closely related to inattention symptoms, whereas stimulus-driven temperamental processes are linked to hyperactivity-impulsivity.

Childhood CBCL bipolar profile and adolescent/young adult personality disorders: a 9-year follow-up.

Background: To assess the late adolescent psychiatric outcomes associated with a positive Child Behavior Checklist-Juvenile Bipolar Disorder Phenotype (CBCL-JBD) in children diagnosed with ADHD and followed over a 9-year period.

Methods: Parents of 152 children diagnosed as ADHD (ages 7-11 years) completed the CBCL. Ninety of these parents completed it again 9 years later as part of a comprehensive evaluation of Axis I and II diagnoses as assessed using semi-structured interviews.

Childhood stimulant treatment and teen depression: is there a relationship?

Recent preclinical data have raised the possibility that prepubertal treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with stimulant medication might increase risk for later depression. The current longitudinal study investigated whether children with ADHD who were treated with stimulant medication displayed heightened levels of adolescent depression. Adolescents diagnosed with ADHD during childhood who had received a minimum of 1 year of treatment with stimulant medication were compared to adolescents with a childhood history of ADHD who were never treated with stimulants and a demographically matched comparison group on self-reports of depressive symptoms and diagnoses of depressive disorders.

"My child is shy and has no friends: what does parenting have to do with it?".

Accumulating evidence suggests that parents may react differentially to children based on their children's temperament, children's gender, and the interaction of these factors. Furthermore, parents' differential reactions to their children have direct implications for their children's social success. The present study assessed the moderating influence of mothers' and fathers' psychological control on the relationship between shy temperament and peer exclusion in grade five children (n = 153; 57% female), an age during which peer connections are particularly salient.

Fading memories: retrospective recall inaccuracies in ADHD.

Objective: This longitudinal study examines the recall accuracy of childhood ADHD symptoms in late adolescence and early adulthood by youth and their parents, compared with reports obtained during childhood.

Method: Participants (N = 94) are initially evaluated when they are aged between 7 and 11 and reassessed when they are aged between 16 and 22 years. All participants meet full DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD in childhood.

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the emergence of personality disorders in adolescence: a prospective follow-up study.

Objectives: Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience considerable functional impairment. However, the extent to which comorbid Axis II personality disorders contribute to their difficulties and whether such comorbidities are associated with the childhood condition or the persistence of ADHD into adulthood remain unclear.

Method: This study examined the presence of personality disorders in a longitudinal sample of 96 adolescents diagnosed with ADHD when they were 7 through 11 years old, as compared to a matched, never ADHD-diagnosed, control group (N = 85).

Childhood maltreatment and conduct disorder: independent predictors of adolescent substance use disorders in youth with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at heightened risk for maltreatment and later substance use disorders (SUDs). We investigated the relationship of childhood maltreatment and other risk factors to SUDs among adolescents diagnosed with ADHD in childhood. Eighty adolescents diagnosed with ADHD when they were 7 to 11 years old were screened for histories of childhood maltreatment, and SUD diagnoses were formulated in accordance with the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Stimulant treatment in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder moderates adolescent academic outcome.

Treatment with psychostimulant medication has been shown to improve scholastic functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the extent to which long-term academic gains are apparent in those having received such treatment remains elusive. This study examined prospectively the relationship of childhood stimulant treatment to academic functioning during adolescence.

The impact of childhood ADHD on dropping out of high school in urban adolescents/ young adults.

Objective: To examine cognitive and psychosocial factors associated with high school dropout in urban adolescents with and without childhood ADHD.

Method: In a longitudinal study, 49 adolescents/young adults with childhood ADHD and 44 controls who either dropped out or graduated from high school are included. Risk factors examined as potential correlates of dropout were intelligence, reading skills, socioeconomic status, marijuana use, and paternal contact.

Adolescents with childhood ADHD and comorbid disruptive behavior disorders: aggression, anger, and hostility.

Unlabelled: This study examined the self-reported expression of overt aggressive behaviors and covert emotional and cognitive processes in adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and comorbid disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) during childhood.

Methods: Participants were a clinically referred sample of 85 individuals diagnosed with ADHD, initially recruited in the early to mid 1990s when they were 7-11 years of age. At that time, 44 (52%) met criteria for a comorbid diagnosis of ODD and an additional 22 (26%) met criteria for a comorbid diagnosis of CD.

Neuropsychological outcome in adolescents/young adults with childhood ADHD: profiles of persisters, remitters and controls.

Background: This study examined neuropsychological functioning in a longitudinal sample of adolescents/young adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls as a function of the persistence of ADHD. We hypothesized that measures of executive processes would parallel adolescent clinical status, with ADHD-persisters, but not remitters, differing significantly from controls. In contrast, persisters and remitters were hypothesized to perform similarly, and different from controls, on tasks requiring less effortful processing.

The impact of impairment criteria on rates of ADHD diagnoses in preschoolers.

Behaviors characteristic of ADHD are common among preschool children, and as such, their clinical significance is oftentimes difficult to ascertain. Thus a focus on impairment is essential in determining the clinical significance of these behaviors. In order to explore the impact of impairment criteria on rates of diagnoses in inattentive/hyperactive children aged 36 through 60-months-old, we first developed, and psychometrically evaluated, the Children's Problem Checklist (CPC) which was designed to assess psychosocial impairment associated with ADHD in a community sample of preschoolers (n = 394), and found its reliability and validity to be acceptable.

Testing the double-deficit hypothesis in an adult sample.

The double-deficit hypothesis of dyslexia posits that reading deficits are more severe in individuals with weaknesses in phonological awareness and rapid naming than in individuals with deficits in only one of these reading composite skills. In this study, the hypothesis was tested in an adult sample as a model of reading achievement. Participants were parents of children referred for evaluation of reading difficulties.

Personality characteristics associated with persistent ADHD in late adolescence.

This study focused on the personality characteristics associated with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a longitudinal sample of youth, with a particular focus on differences between those with and without persisting ADHD symptoms. Participants with ADHD (n = 90) were initially evaluated when they were 7-11 years old, and re-assessed at 16-22 years of age. Matched control subjects (n = 80) were recruited at the time of the follow-up evaluation.

Serotonergic function in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: relationship to later antisocial personality disorder.

Background: Impulsive aggression in adulthood is associated with disturbances in serotonergic function. In contrast, research examining this association in childhood has yielded inconsistent results.

Aims: The current study examined the prospective relationship between serotonergic function measured in childhood and the later emergence of antisocial personality disorder.

Brief report: Television viewing and risk for attention problems in preschool children.

Objectives: This study examined whether high levels of television viewing are associated with attention problems and hyperactivity in preschool children.

Methods: Parent and teacher ratings of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, objectively measured activity level, and parental estimation of early television exposure were collected for a sample of preschool children. Separate linear regression analyses were conducted with parent and teacher behavioral ratings and objectively assessed activity level as outcome variables.

Right hemisphere brain morphology, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) subtype, and social comprehension.

Social comprehension involves empathy for others' experiences and appropriate responses to nonverbal cues. Previous research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has suggested a relationship between brain morphology and psychiatric syndromes, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), that typically entail social difficulties. The right hemisphere, specifically, has been associated with social skill deficits, and numerous studies have also associated ADHD with social skill deficits.