Biomedical subjects
Ellen B Braaten
Publications and source records attributed to Ellen B Braaten.
Revisiting the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders: a familial risk analysis.
BACKGROUND: This study tested competing hypotheses about patterns of familial association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety disorders using familial risk analysis methodology. METHODS: The risk for ADHD and anxiety disorders in first-degree relatives was examined after stratifying ADHD probands by the presence or absence of comorbid anxiety disorders. The presence of anxiety disorders in probands and relatives was defined as meeting DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for > or = 2 anxiety syndromes in the same subject. RESULTS: Familial risk analyses revealed that 1) the risk for anxiety disorders was significantly higher in ADHD probands and their relatives than in control probands and their relatives; 2) the risk for anxiety disorders among the relatives of ADHD probands was limited to those families in which the proband had a diagnosis of ADHD; 3) the risk for anxiety disorders was significantly higher among the relatives of ADHD probands with anxiety disorders than in relatives of ADHD probands without anxiety disorders, but these two groups did not differ in the familial risk for ADHD; and 4) ADHD and anxiety disorders did not cosegregate within families, and there was no evidence for nonrandom (assortative) mating. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are most consistent with the hypothesis that ADHD and anxiety disorders segregate independently in families.
Self-regulation of affect in attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and non-ADHD boys: differences in empathic responding.
This study examined differences in empathy and other emotions between boys with and without attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Empathy was measured by an empathy response task (ERT) and through self- and parent reports of emotion. On the ERT, children responded verbally to 8 fictitious stories. Results from the ERT revealed that boys with ADHD were less empathic than boys without ADHD. Boys with ADHD less frequently matched the emotion they identified in the character with the one identified in themselves and gave fewer character-centered interpretations in their descriptions of the character's emotion. Parent-report data revealed that boys with ADHD exhibited more behavioral manifestations of sadness, anger, and guilt than did boys without ADHD. No differences were found, however, on measures of emotional intensity or emotional reactions to external contingencies. The results are discussed with respect to current theories of ADHD.
Client preferences for informed consent information.
Thirty-five current therapy clients, 47 former clients, and 42 college students with no therapy experience rated 27 items in terms of importance for inclusion in informed consent discussions. The current and former client samples rated information about inappropriate therapeutic techniques, confidentiality, and the risks of alternative treatments as most important, and information about the personal characteristics of the therapist and the therapist's degree as least important. The results of this study provide evidence for differential informed consent disclosure practices.