The mental health of married, cohabiting, and non-coresident parents with infants.

Objectives: We compared recent parents (married, cohabiting, not cohabiting but romantically involved, and not romantically involved) to examine the association between mental health problems and relationship status.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study that followed a cohort of approximately 4900 births in large US cities. Our study included a large oversample of nonmarital births (n=3700) and interviews with both mothers and fathers.

Attachment in boys with early onset conduct problems.

Few studies have examined the association between attachment and psychopathology in samples of clinically diagnosed children or the relation between attachment variables and the continuity of clinical symptoms. Clinic-referred preschool boys (n = 80) with early onset conduct problems (as indicated by diagnoses of Oppositional Defiant Disorder) were compared with a case-matched group of 80 nonproblem boys to determine whether observed attachment behaviors could: (a) differentiate the groups, (b) explain concurrent variation in problem severity within the clinic group, and (c) predict the outcomes of clinic boys 1 and 2 years later. Over half of the clinic boys with early onset conduct problems (54%) exhibited an insecure attachment strategy during reunion, as opposed to 18% of comparison group boys.

Correlates of clinic referral for early conduct problems: variable- and person-oriented approaches.

The current study utilized both variable- and person-oriented analyses to examine correlates of early disruptive behavior problems. Participants included 80 preschool boys referred to a child psychiatry clinic and diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (with or without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) and 80 case-matched normal comparison boys. The study examined four domains of correlates: vulnerable child characteristics, poor parenting practices, insecure attachment, and adverse family ecology.

Fathering and early onset conduct problems: positive and negative parenting, father-son attachment, and the marital context.

Research literature linking negative and positive aspects of the father-child relationship with early onset conduct problems is reviewed. Evidence from the Preschool Families Project, a longitudinal study of clinic-referred preschool boys at risk for conduct disorder, is presented, including previously unpublished data on father-child attachment. Both negative (e.

Social-cognitive processes in preschool boys with and without oppositional defiant disorder.

The social-cognitive characteristics of 88 preschool boys with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and 80 nondisruptive boys were assessed 3 times over a 2-year period. Three questions were addressed: (1) Do social-cognitive processes (encoding, attribution, problem solving, and response evaluation) distinguish clinic-referred preschool boys from peers without behavior problems? (2) What is the relation between preschoolers' social-cognitive processes and observed problem behavior? (3) Are the social-cognitive processes of clinic boys with ODD influenced by comorbidity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Boys were presented hypothetical, peer-oriented social dilemmas to resolve. At all 3 assessments, clinic boys were twice as likely as were comparison group boys to generate aggressive solutions.

Are infants with orofacial clefts at risk for insecure mother-child attachments?

Objective: Several risk factors in the early lives of children with clefts are believed to interfere with their development of secure attachments to parents; however, this possibility has rarely been studied empirically. This study compared 12- and 24-month attachment classifications of infants with cleft palate (CP), infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP), and a comparison group of unimpaired infants (COMP).

Method: Twenty-two CP infants, 24 CLP infants, and 61 matched COMP infants were assessed at 12 and 24 months of age in an urban children's hospital.

Preschool boys with oppositional defiant disorder: clinical presentation and diagnostic change.

Objective: Little is known about the clinical presentation and course of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) when first diagnosed in the preschool years. Patterns of ODD symptomatology, comorbidity, persistence of disorder, and predictors of diagnostic outcome were examined in clinic-referred preschool boys.

Method: Boys (aged 4-5.

Neuropsychological characteristics and test behaviors of boys with early onset conduct problems.

School-age children and adolescents with conduct problems typically exhibit deficits in verbal IQ, language abilities, and executive functions. This study examined the extent to which this pattern was evident in a clinic group of preschool boys with early onset conduct problems who met criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A 2nd question focused on the strength of relation between clinic boys' uncooperative or inattentive test behaviors and their test performance.

Early-Onset Oppositional Defiant Disorder: What Factors Predict Its Course?

Although the early onset of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is associated with an elevated risk of later psychopathology (including but not limited to conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder), little is known about the factors influencing the course of this disorder in early life. In this article we first review data and theory from four conceptually-distinct domains of risk factors for disruptive disorders (child characteristics reflecting biologic vulnerabilities, parent-child attachment, parenting practices, and family adversity). Then we describe an empirical study that examined the power of these four domains (representing 10 specific risk factors) to predict the prognosis of clinic-referred, preschool boys with ODD; risk factors were assessed when these youngsters were first evaluated in the clinic and outcomes were measured 2 years later.

Fathers and preschool behavior problems.

Fathers have seldom been the focus of research investigating the causes and correlates of early behavior problems. Two studies examined fathers of preschool boys with and without clinic-referred behavior problems. Six domains of risk were examined: life stress, social support, psychological symptoms, parenting attitudes, positive involvement, and harsh discipline.

Observed family interaction during clinical interviews: a comparison of families containing preschool boys with and without disruptive behavior.

The clinical intake interview is an opportunity to observe family interactions and formulate hypotheses about their influence on presenting problems. In this study family interactions were assessed during an unstructured segment of a clinical intake. Families with disruptive preschool boys were compared with those having nonproblem boys.

Disruptive behavior disorder and intergenerational attachment patterns: a comparison of clinic-referred and normally functioning preschoolers and their mothers.

This study examined linkages between child disruptive behavior disorder (DBD), quality of mother-child interactions, and mothers' recollections of and attitudes toward their own parents. Twenty-five preschool boys referred to a psychiatric clinic were matched with normally functioning boys. Mothers and sons were videotaped during a separation-reunion sequence, the Adult Attachment Interview was administered to mothers, and mothers completed questionnaires assessing family environment.

Clinic referral for oppositional defiant disorder: relative significance of attachment and behavioral variables.

Attachment classifications have been found to distinguish clinic-referred, oppositional preschool boys from controls, but there has been no previous effort to examine the relative contribution of attachment when behaviors from a social learning perspective are also considered. The present study examined the contribution of attachment and behavioral variables to the prediction of clinic referral for oppositional defiant disorder in a sample of preschool boys. We hypothesized that the attachment measures would offer better discrimination of clinic and control group boys at this age.

Relationship between behavioral marital therapy outcome and process variables.

This study was conducted to identify therapist and client behaviors associated with a positive response to social learning-based behavioral marital therapy. A sample of 32 couples receiving treatment was examined. Immediately after each therapy session, the therapist, husband, and wife independently completed process rating forms that measured therapist and client behaviors during the session.