BACKGROUND Depression is typically more common in females and rates rise around puberty. However, studies of children and adolescents suggest that depression accompanied by conduct problems may represent a different subtype not characterised by a female preponderance, with differing risk factors and genetic architecture compared to pure-depression. This study aimed to identify aetiologically di...

This study examined specific parenting practices as predictors of prospective levels of children’s hyperactivity/inattention across earlyand middle-childhood. Participants were a mixed-sex community cohort (N=976; 52 % boys) aged 4–10 years (M=6.5, SD=1.3). Measures of parenting practices, hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, and maternal education were collected at baseline, and hypera...

The current study tested whether callous-unemotional (CU) traits explained unique variance in measures of aggression and bullying, and in measures assessing cognitive and affective correlates to aggression, when controlling for conduct problem severity. In a sample of 284 ethnically diverse students (ages 9 to 14 years), a self-report measure of CU traits did not explain unique variance in self...

Conduct problems in childhood and adolescence are significant precursors of crime and violence in young adulthood. The purpose of the current study is to test the interaction between prenatal maternal smoking and COMT Val(158)Met in conduct problems and crime in the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study. Conduct problems were assessed through the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Quest...

OBJECTIVE The findings of genetic, imaging and neuropsychological studies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are mixed. To understand why this might be the case we use both dimensional and categorical symptom measurement to provide alternate and detailed perspectives of symptom expression. METHOD Interviewers collected ADHD, conduct problems (CP) and sociodemographic data from...

Maternal report of types of conduct problems in a high-risk sample of 228 boys and 80 girls (ages 4–18) were examined, using a version of the Child Behavior Checklist, expanded to include a range of covert and overt antisocial items (stealing, lying, physical aggression, relational aggression, substance use, and impulsivity). Age and sex effects were investigated. Boys were significantly more p...

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 reg...

The identification of salient risk factors for alcohol consumption among male and female adolescents is an important topic not only for etiology research but also for designing effective gender-specific alcohol prevention programs for young people. This study examined the extent to which problematic alcohol use trajectories from ages 14 to 18 among male and female youth were related to childhoo...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether individual differences in emotional reactivity predicted high levels of conduct problems and/or emotional (depressive and anxiety) symptoms at 1-year follow-up in a community sample of 7- to 11-year-old children (N = 659). METHOD The study used a prospective design with picture perception methodology at baseline to elicit emotional responses from children. Condu...

OBJECTIVE Our aim was to provide an overview of prospective studies that have addressed the association between attention problems (AP, i.e. symptoms of hyperactivity and inattentiveness) and academic achievement (AA). METHOD We conducted a systematic search in the literature. Normal population studies and clinical studies were included. The methodological quality of each study was evaluated ...