Validation of the importance of continua in representing delusional ideation in the general population.

Background: Previous studies have examined the distribution of psychotic like experiences (PLE) with the aim of informing the debate concerning the categorical versus continuous nature of psychosis. We extend this research by subjecting a number of competing models of delusional ideation to validation analysis to further examine previous findings.

Methods: We constructed latent variable models representing the factor structure of delusional ideation reported previously, using self-reported delusional ideation (Peter's Delusional Inventory; PDI) at age 21 in a general population prospective birth cohort study.

Predicting spectrums of adult mania, psychosis and depression by prospectively ascertained childhood neurodevelopment.

Background: We used a novel approach to investigate early neurodevelopmental factors of later adult spectrums of mania, depression and psychosis as a means to identify etiological similarities and differences among the three constructs.

Methods: Participants were from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), a pre-birth cohort study started in Brisbane, Australia in 1981. A range of neurodevelopmental variables were ascertained at age 5, including measures of cognitive ability, developmental delay and behaviour problems.

Generational increase in young women's drinking: a prospective analysis of mother-daughter dyads.

Importance: Increases in alcohol use in young women over recent decades are shown by national survey data but have yet to be replicated using prospective data.

Objective: To compare change in alcohol use over a generation of young women born in Australia from 1981 to 1983 at 21 years with that of their mothers at the same age.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Data came from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy, a prospective prebirth cohort study that recruited all pregnant mothers attending a hospital in Brisbane, Australia, from 1981 to 1983.

Maternal prenatal infection, early susceptibility to illness and adult psychotic experiences: a birth cohort study.

Background: Existing evidence has established that maternal infection during pregnancy and illness during early life are associated with later schizophrenia. No research has examined how the combination of these prenatal and postnatal exposures is linked to an increased risk to later schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.

Methods: Participants from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), an Australian based, pre-birth cohort study were examined for lifetime DSM-IV positive psychotic experiences at 21 years by a semi-structured interview.

Maternal depressive, anxious, and stress symptoms during pregnancy predict internalizing problems in adolescence.

Background: Studies have shown a link between maternal-prenatal mental health and offspring behavior problems. In this paper, we derived longitudinal trajectories of maternal depressive, anxious, and stress symptoms over early life to predict offspring behavior in adolescence.

Methods: Participants included 3,925 mother-offspring pairs from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), an Australian-based, prebirth cohort study.

Exploring the female specific risk to partial and full PTSD following physical assault.

Previous studies have shown that females are at an increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in response to physical assault compared with males. Our aims were to (a) test if this gender-specific risk generalised to subclinical levels of PTSD, (b) observe how this relationship was affected by including possible confounding factors, and (c) estimate how this trauma contributed to the overall prevalence of PTSD in females. Data came from an Australian birth cohort study (n = 2,547) based in Brisbane, Australia that commenced in 1981.

The association between lower birth weight and comorbid generalised anxiety and major depressive disorder.

Objective: Studies testing the association between birth weight and depression or anxiety have found inconsistent results and there has been a lack of research on the possible relationship between birth weight and comorbid anxiety and depression. We tested for an association between lower birth weight and major depression, generalised anxiety and comorbid generalised anxiety and major depression.

Method: Data was taken from 2113 mothers and their offspring participating in the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) birth cohort.

Pre-trauma verbal ability at five years of age and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder in adult males and females.

Previous studies have shown that high cognitive ability, measured in childhood and prior to the experience of traumatic events, is protective of PTSD development. Our aim was to test if the association between pre-trauma verbal ability ascertained at 5 years with DSM-IV lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at 21 years was subject to effect modification by gender, trauma type or prior behaviour problems. Using a prospective birth cohort of young Australians, we found that both trauma type and behaviour problems did not change the association between cognitive ability and PTSD.

The association between birth weight and anxiety disorders in young adults.

Recent evidence has linked birth weight to later behaviour/mental disorders, yet studies have hitherto neglected to investigate the relationship between birth weight and adult anxiety disorders. Prospectively collected data from 2210 mother/offspring pairs of the Mater University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) birth cohort was used to test for associations between birth weight z-score and four major groupings of DSM-IV anxiety disorders. Birth weight z-score was linearly and inversely associated with lifetime diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorders at 21 years, with those falling within the smallest birth weight quintile group at almost two-fold increased odds (OR=1.

Fetal growth and behaviour problems in early adolescence: findings from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy.

Background: The nature of the association between birth weight and behavioural problems in adolescence is unclear. Recent studies are limited by their capacity to adjust for important obstetric and measurement issues. Aim To examine the nature of the association between birth weight and a range of behavioural symptoms, including anxiety/depression and social problems, in adolescence.