Publications by authors named "Carol K Whalen"

Background: Approximately half of high school students in the USA have used tobacco. Social anxiety can put adolescents at increased risk for smoking.

Purpose: This study aims to determine whether adolescents high in trait social anxiety report more cigarette use and greater urge to smoke before, during, and after friend interactions than do teens low in trait social anxiety.

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Objective: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed childhood disorder associated with parent-child conflict and parental stress. This investigation explored whether parents' interpretation of symptomatic behavior predicted negative interactions with and perceptions of their child.

Method: We recruited parents of 7-12 year old children who were diagnosed with ADHD (n = 41), were diagnosed with ADHD but whose parents construed symptomatic behavior positively (Indigo children; n = 36), and had no diagnosis (n = 26).

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It is well known that parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience elevated levels of caregiver stress, but little is known about the ebb and flow of parental distress as it happens, or the degree of synchrony between short-term oscillations in child behaviors and maternal distress. Electronic diaries (eDiaries) were used to dissect daily distress in natural settings. Across 7 days during nonschool hours, half-hourly eDiaries were completed independently by mothers and their 8- to 12-year-old children (51 receiving medication for ADHD and 58 comparison peers).

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The aim of the study was to test the self-medication hypothesis by examining the effects of nicotine in the everyday lives of smokers and nonsmokers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Fifty-two adults with ADHD (25 abstinent smokers and 27 nonsmokers) participated in a double-blind placebo controlled study with one nicotine patch condition and one placebo patch condition in counterbalanced order. Each condition continued for two consecutive days in which patches were administered each morning.

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Objective: To compare the morning and afternoon/evening functioning of children with ADHD treated in the community with either atomoxetine or long-acting stimulants and reported to be doing well.

Method: 109 8- to 12-year-olds and their mothers participated in one of three groups: stimulants (STIM, N = 26), atomoxetine (ATMX, N = 25), or comparison (COMP, N = 58). Mothers completed morning and evening electronic diaries installed on personal digital assistants throughout an entire week, rating the child's behaviors and moods as well as their own moods and perceptions.

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Cortico-limbic brain activity associated with anger may be susceptible to nicotine and, thus, may contribute to smoking initiation and nicotine addiction. The purpose of the study was to identify the brain regions that are most reactive to nicotine and show the greatest association with anger task performance. Twenty adult nonsmokers (9 women, 11 men) participated in two laboratory sessions to assess brain metabolism with fluoro deoxy-glucose Positron Emission Topography (FDG-PET) in response to nicotine and placebo patches during an anger provocation task.

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Purpose: This study examined adolescent negative affect (NA) in daily life on school days and weekend days during the spring and associations with physical symptoms during the following summer.

Methods: Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), participants provided electronic diary (eDiary) reports of NA on weekdays (Thursday and Friday) and weekend days during their 9th grade year. In telephone interviews during the winter and summer months they reported physical symptoms.

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Objective: Using electronic diaries (eDiaries), this study examined temporal links between child and maternal anger, as well as positive mood and perceived stress, in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) versus comparison peers.

Methods: Across 7 days, half-hourly eDiaries were completed independently by mothers and their 8-12-year-old children (51 receiving medication for ADHD and 58 comparison peers).

Results: Cross-informant analyses revealed systematic patterns of negative maternal moods in relation to child anger in both groups along with evidence of slower recovery in the ADHD group.

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Individuals with attentional and emotional dysfunctions are most at risk for smoking initiation and subsequent nicotine addiction. This article presents converging findings from human behavioral research, brain imaging, and basic neuroscience on smoking as self-medication for attentional and emotional dysfunctions. Nicotine and other tobacco constituents have significant effects on neural circuitry underlying the regulation of attention and affect.

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Background: Research has sought to understand how environmental factors influence adolescent physical activity, yet little is known about where and with whom adolescents are physically active.

Purpose: This study used electronic ecological momentary assessment (e.EMA) to map the social and physical contexts of exercise and walking across adolescence.

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Whereas the smoking prevalence rates in the general population are declining, rates among people diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to be elevated. Previous research has shown that nicotine may improve attention and mood, suggesting that nicotine may help ameliorate the attentional and emotional problems associated with ADHD. The present study examined the effects of nicotine with and without stimulant medication on ADHD symptoms, moods, and arousal in the everyday lives of smokers with ADHD.

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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has an impact on the family as well as the affected child. This study developed and tested an electronic diary for mapping the challenges of everyday family life in a sample of children with ADHD being treated with pharmacotherapy. Across 7 days, mothers and children (27 ADHD; 25 non-ADHD) independently reported their moods, behaviors, and social contexts every 30 min during nonschool hours.

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Objective: This study was designed to examine context effects or provocation ecologies in the daily lives of children with ADHD.

Method: Across 7 days, mothers and children (27 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] taking stimulant medication; 25 children without ADHD; ages 7-12 years) provided electronic diary reports every 30 +/- 5 minutes during non-school hours. Child and maternal perceptions of behaviors, moods, and interaction quality during preparatory and transitional ("getting ready") activities were compared with those during other activities.

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Objective: Examine the validity of using high-density electronic ecologic momentary assessment (EMA) to assess physical activity. EMA was further used to explore within- and between-subject variability in adolescent physical activity (PA) patterns.

Methods: Adolescents (n=526, 51% male) participated in EMA waves occurring approximately every 6 months between the 9th and 12th grade.

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This study examined the perceived impact of the events of September 11, 2001, on adolescents distant from the disaster sites and compared these perceptions with changes in everyday moods. A survey of reactions to September 11 was completed 2-5 months after the events by 171 adolescents participating in a longitudinal study of stress and health. Electronic diary ratings of contemporaneous moods before and after the attacks were also compared.

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Using an experience sampling methodology, the everyday lives of 153 adolescents with low, middle, or high levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) characteristics as assessed by either parent or teen were examined. Twice each hour, across two 4-day recording intervals, participants in a longitudinal study of stress and health risks logged their behaviors, moods, and social contexts. Those with high, in contrast to low, ADHD symptom levels recorded more negative and fewer positive moods, lower alertness, more entertaining activities relative to achievement-oriented pursuits, more time with friends and less time with family, and more tobacco and alcohol use.

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Different vulnerabilities are launched or play a more active role at different developmental stages and different ages. Furthermore, the interplay between developmental and biological, psychosocial, and environmental vulnerabilities is expected to differ across stages of smoking. This article focuses on the intersection of vulnerability associated with adolescence with tobacco-use vulnerability resulting from biological, psychological, and environmental characteristics of an adolescent.

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There is continuing concern that pharmacotherapy for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may raise the risk of smoking (the gateway hypothesis). Alternatively, unmedicated people with ADHD may use nicotine to improve attentional and self-regulatory competence (the self-medication hypothesis). From a community sample of 511 adolescents participating in a longitudinal health study, 27 were identified as having ADHD, and 11 of these were receiving pharmacotherapy.

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Objective: The everyday experiences of a community sample of adolescents differing in anxiety level were compared by means of electronic diaries.

Method: One hundred fifty-five ninth-grade adolescents completed electronic diaries every 30 minutes for two 4-day intervals, reporting their moods, activities, social settings, dietary intake, smoking, and alcohol use. Teenagers were stratified into low-, middle-, or high-anxiety groups on the basis of diary ratings and, separately, questionnaire scores.

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After 15 boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were informed that they had taken either medication or placebo, they completed computer tasks, self-assessments, and causal judgments. The boys predicted better performance when told they were on medication versus placebo. For self-evaluations, medication status and information interacted, with boys actually taking placebo rating themselves more positively when told they had taken medication versus placebo.

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Comparative treatment studies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are impeded by methodological quandaries, constricted focus, and the heterogeneity of ADHD children, research designs, measures, and treatment responsiveness. Comparisons are drawn among three major treatment modalities for ADHD: stimulant treatments, primarily methylphenidate; behavioral treatments, including contingency management and parent training; and cognitive-behavioral or self-regulation therapies. We identify a dozen ".

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Given the importance of interpersonal interactions for hyperactive children, we evaluated the impact of methylphenidate on specific categories of social behavior in 25 boys, aged 6-12, with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These children participated in a 3-week, double-blind, crossover trial with placebo and low (0.3 mg/kg) and moderate (0.

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