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Biomedical subjects

Louise Arseneault

Publications and source records attributed to Louise Arseneault.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Salivary testosterone and aggression, delinquency, and social dominance in a population-based longitudinal study of adolescent males.

Testosterone (T) has been found to have a stimulating effect on aggressive behavior in a wide range of vertebrate species. There is also some evidence of a positive relationship in humans, albeit less consistently. In the present study we investigated the relationship between T and aggression, dominance and delinquency over time, covering a period from early adolescence to adulthood. From a large population-based sample (n = 1.161) a subgroup of 96 boys was selected whose behavior had been assessed repeatedly by different informants from age 12 to 21 years, and who had provided multiple T samples over these years of assessment. On the whole, a decrease in aggressive and delinquent behavior was observed in a period in which T rises dramatically. Boys who developed a criminal record, had higher T levels at age 16. In addition, positive associations were observed between T and proactive and reactive aggression and self-reported delinquent behavior. Over the pubertal years different forms of aggressive and delinquent behavior were positively related to T, which may indicate that specific positive links are dependent on the social setting in which this relationship is assessed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Prediction of early-onset deviant peer group affiliation: a 12-year longitudinal study.

CONTEXT: Deviant peer group involvement is strongly related to onset, aggravation, and persistence of conduct problems during adolescence. OBJECTIVE: To identify early childhood behavioral profiles that predict early-onset deviant peer group involvement. DESIGN: A 12-year longitudinal study of behavioral development. SETTING: Fifty-three inner-city elementary schools in a large Canadian city. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1037 boys in kindergarten from low socioeconomic neighborhoods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Annual self-reported deviant peer group involvement from 11 to 17 years of age. RESULTS: Kindergarten boys were at highest risk of following an early adolescence trajectory of deviant peer group affiliation if they were hyperactive, fearless, and low on prosocial behaviors but much less at risk if they scored high on only 2 of these dimensions. Family adversity had no main effect but substantially increased the risk of following an early adolescence trajectory of deviant peer group affiliation for boys with a profile of hyperactivity, fearlessness, and low prosocial behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Kindergarten boys from low socioeconomic areas who are hyperactive, fearless, infrequently prosocial, and raised in adverse family environments are at much heightened risk of engaging in deviant peer groups early in their development. Boys at high risk can be identified as early as kindergarten and should be targeted for preventive intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Bullying victimization uniquely contributes to adjustment problems in young children: a nationally representative cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: It has been shown that bullying victimization is associated with behavior and school adjustment problems, but it remains unclear whether the experience of bullying uniquely contributes to those problems after taking into account preexisting adjustment problems. METHODS: We examined bullying in the Environmental Risk Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 2232 children. We identified children who experienced bullying between the ages of 5 and 7 years either as pure victims or bully/victims. We collected reports from mothers and teachers about children's behavior problems and school adjustment when they were 5 years old and again when they were age 7. RESULTS: Compared with control children, pure victims showed more internalizing problems and unhappiness at school when they were 5 and 7 years. Girls who were pure victims also showed more externalizing problems than controls. Compared with controls and pure victims, bully/victims showed more internalizing problems, more externalizing problems, and fewer prosocial behaviors when they were 5 and 7 years. They also were less happy at school compared with control children at 7 years of age. Pure victims and bully/victims showed more behavior and school adjustment problems at 7 years of age, even after controlling for preexisting adjustment problems at 5 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Being the victim of a bully during the first years of schooling contributes to maladjustment in young children. Prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing mental health problems during childhood should target bullying as an important risk factor.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence documents that cannabis use by young people is a modest statistical risk factor for psychotic symptoms in adulthood, such as hallucinations and delusions, as well as clinically significant schizophrenia. The vast majority of cannabis users do not develop psychosis, however, prompting us to hypothesize that some people are genetically vulnerable to the deleterious effects of cannabis. METHODS: In a longitudinal study of a representative birth cohort followed to adulthood, we tested why cannabis use is associated with the emergence of psychosis in a minority of users, but not in others. RESULTS: A functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene moderated the influence of adolescent cannabis use on developing adult psychosis. Carriers of the COMT valine158 allele were most likely to exhibit psychotic symptoms and to develop schizophreniform disorder if they used cannabis. Cannabis use had no such adverse influence on individuals with two copies of the methionine allele. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence of a gene x environment interaction and suggest that a role of some susceptibility genes is to influence vulnerability to environmental pathogens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Psychometric evaluation of 5- and 7-year-old children's self-reports of conduct problems.

Past research suggests that young children are incapable of reporting information about their own behavior problems. To test this, we examined the validity and the usefulness of children's self-reports in the E-Risk Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of 2,232 children. We used the Berkeley Puppet Interview to obtain children's self-reports of conduct problems when they were 5-years old and the Dominic-R when they were 7-years old. We also collected information about the children and their families by interviewing mothers, sending questionnaires to teachers, and rating examiners' observations during home visits. Results indicate that when children's self-reports are gathered with structured and developmentally appropriate instruments, they are shown to be valid measures: conduct problems reported by the children themselves were associated with known correlates including individual characteristics (e.g., IQ), related behaviors (e.g., hyperactivity), and family variables (e.g., economic disadvantages). Observed correlations closely matched effect sizes reported in the literature using adults' reports of children's behavioral problems. In addition, children's self-reports can be useful: both measures distinguished children meeting DSM-IV criteria for research diagnoses of conduct disorder. Children's reports also contributed unique information not provided by adults. For research and clinical purposes, young children's self-reports can be viewed as a valuable complement to adults' ratings and observational measures of children's behavior problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed2005

Validity of DSM-IV conduct disorder in 41/2-5-year-old children: a longitudinal epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study of a nonreferred, population-based sample tested the concurrent, convergent, and predictive validity of DSM-IV conduct disorder in children 4(1/2)-5 years of age. METHOD: In the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a representative birth cohort of 2,232 children, the children's mothers were interviewed and the teachers completed mailed questionnaires to assess the children's past 6-month conduct disorder symptoms. Children with three or more symptoms were diagnosed with conduct disorder, and a subset with five or more symptoms was diagnosed with "moderate-to-severe" conduct disorder. RESULTS: The prevalence of conduct disorder and moderate-to-severe conduct disorder were 6.6% and 2.5%, respectively. Children diagnosed with conduct disorder were significantly more likely than comparison subjects to self-report antisocial behaviors, to behave disruptively during observational assessment, and to have risk factors known to be associated with conduct disorder in older children (effect sizes ranging from 0.26 to 1.24). Five-year-olds diagnosed with conduct disorder were significantly more likely than comparison subjects to have behavioral and educational difficulties at age 7. Increased risk for educational difficulties at age 7 persisted after control for IQ and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis at age 5. CONCLUSIONS: Behavioral problems of preschool-age children meeting diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder should not be ignored. Appropriate intervention should be provided to prevent ongoing behavioral and academic problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Mental disorder and violent victimization in a total birth cohort.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between mental disorder and violent victimization in a general population sample. METHODS: We performed a multivariate analysis of violent victimization in a 12-month period on a total birth cohort with follow-up data that assessed, during their 21st year, males and females born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in the early 1970s. RESULTS: Compared with people with no mental disorder, (1) people with anxiety disorders experienced more sexual assaults, (2) people with schizophreniform disorders experienced more threatened and completed physical assaults, (3) people with alcohol dependence disorders experienced more completed physical assaults, and (4) people with marijuana dependence disorders experienced more attempted physical assaults. These results held after control for psychiatric comorbidity, demographic characteristics, and the study participants' own violent behavior. CONCLUSION: Mentally disordered young adults tend to experience more violent victimization in the community than those without a mental disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Pathways to schizophrenia: the impact of environmental factors.

Schizophrenia is an aetiologically complex disorder arising from the interaction of a range of factors acting at various stages of life. Schizophrenic individuals inherit genes that cause structural brain deviations which may be compounded by early environmental insults. As a result some pre-schizophrenic children exhibit subtle developmental delays, cognitive problems, or poor interpersonal relationships. They are susceptible to dysregulation of dopamine, the final pathway leading to the onset of a psychotic illness. Dopamine dysregulation may arise through a process of sensitization, which, in animals, can be caused by repeated administration of dopamine-releasing drugs. It is clear that the same process occurs in humans, and that some individuals are particularly sensitive to the effects of such drugs for either genetic reasons or through early environmental damage. Stress has also been shown to induce dopamine release in animal studies, and epidemiological studies have demonstrated that social stresses can precipitate schizophrenia. Thus, stresses, such as drug use and social adversity, in adolescence or early adult life may propel the neurodevelopmentally impaired individual over a threshold into frank psychosis.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Maternal expressed emotion predicts children's antisocial behavior problems: using monozygotic-twin differences to identify environmental effects on behavioral development.

If maternal expressed emotion is an environmental risk factor for children's antisocial behavior problems, it should account for behavioral differences between siblings growing up in the same family even after genetic influences on children's behavior problems are taken into account. This hypothesis was tested in the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study with a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of twins. The authors interviewed the mothers of 565 five-year-old monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs and established which twin in each family received more negative emotional expression and which twin received more warmth. Within MZ pairs, the twin receiving more maternal negativity and less warmth had more antisocial behavior problems. Qualitative interviews were used to generate hypotheses about why mothers treat their children differently. The results suggest that maternal emotional attitudes toward children may play a causal role in the development of antisocial behavior and illustrate how genetically informative research can inform tests of socialization hypotheses.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Does maternal warmth moderate the effects of birth weight on twins' attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and low IQ?

The moderating effect of maternal warmth on the association between low birth weight and children's attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and low IQ was studied in 2,232 twins. Half of 5-year-old children had low birth weights, below 2,500 g. Maternal warmth, a component of expressed emotion, was coded from mothers' audiotaped descriptions of each child. Both parents and teachers rated children's ADHD symptoms, and the children were administered an IQ test. Results showed a significant interaction between children's birth weight and maternal warmth in predicting mothers' and teachers' ratings of ADHD. The interaction was not significant for IQ. The findings suggest that the effect of children's birth weight on their ADHD symptoms can be moderated by maternal warmth and that enhancing maternal warmth may prevent behavior problems among the increasing population of low-birth- weight children.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence.

BACKGROUND: Controversy remains as to whether cannabis acts as a causal risk factor for schizophrenia or other functional psychotic illnesses. AIMS: To examine critically the evidence that cannabis causes psychosis using established criteria of causality. METHOD: We identified five studies that included a well-defined sample drawn from population-based registers or cohorts and used prospective measures of cannabis use and adult psychosis. RESULTS: On an individual level, cannabis use confers an overall twofold increase in the relative risk for later schizophrenia. At the population level, elimination of cannabis use would reduce the incidence of schizophrenia by approximately 8%, assuming a causal relationship. Cannabis use appears to be neither a sufficient nor a necessary cause for psychosis. It is a component cause, part of a complex constellation of factors leading to psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: Cases of psychotic disorder could be prevented by discouraging cannabis use among vulnerable youths. Research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which cannabis causes psychosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Toward an animal model for antisocial behavior: parallels between mice and humans.

The goal of this article is to examine whether mouse lines genetically selected for short and long attack latencies are good animal models for antisocial behavior in humans. To this end, we compared male Short and Long Attack Latency mice (SAL and LAL, respectively) with the extremes of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (men who persistently displayed antisocial behavior [Persisters] and men who never manifested antisocial behavior [Abstainers]). Groups were compared on the basis of five distinct domains: aggression/violence, reproduction, cognition, behavioral disorders, and endophenotypes. Our observations point to considerable parallels between, on one side, SAL and Persisters, and, on the other side, between LAL and Abstainers (but to a lesser extent). We believe that SAL and LAL are good mouse models to study the development of antisocial behavior and will yield valuable and testable hypotheses with regard to the neurobiological and genetical architecture of antisocial behavior.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Strong genetic effects on cross-situational antisocial behaviour among 5-year-old children according to mothers, teachers, examiner-observers, and twins' self-reports.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood antisocial behaviour is a strong prognostic indicator for poor adult mental health. Thus, information about its etiology is needed. Genetic etiology is unknown because most research with young children focuses on environmental risk factors, and the few existing studies of young twins used only mothers' reports of behaviour, which may be biased. METHOD: We investigated genetic influences on antisocial behaviour in a representative-plus-high-risk sample of 1116 pairs of 5-year-old twins using data from four independent sources: mothers, teachers, examiner-observers previously unacquainted with the children, and the children themselves. RESULTS: Children's antisocial behaviour was reliably measured by all four informants; no bias was detected in mothers', teachers', examiners', or children's reports. Variation in antisocial behaviour that was agreed upon by all informants, and thus was pervasive across settings, was influenced by genetic factors (82%) and experiences specific to each child (18%). Variation in antisocial behaviour that was specific to each informant was meaningful variation, as it was also influenced by genetic factors (from 33% for the children's report to 71% for the teachers' report). CONCLUSIONS: This study and four others of very young twins show that genetic risks contribute strongly to population variation in antisocial behaviour that emerges in early childhood. In contrast, genetic risk is known to be relatively modest for adolescent antisocial behaviour, suggesting that the early-childhood form has a distinct etiology, particularly if it is pervasive across situations.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2003

Childhood origins of violent behaviour in adults with schizophreniform disorder.

BACKGROUND: People with psychosis have an elevated risk of violence. AIMS: To examine whether violent behaviour in adults with psychosis can be accounted for by psychotic symptoms or physical aggression in childhood. METHOD: We used data from a prospective longitudinal study of a complete birth cohort born in New Zealand. When cohort members were 26 years old, information was obtained on past-year psychiatric diagnosis of schizophreniform disorder and on violent behaviour. Childhood psychotic symptoms were measured at age 11 years using a diagnostic interview, and childhood physical aggression was assessed by teachers when cohort members were aged 7, 9 and 11 years. RESULTS: Participants with schizophreniform disorder were more likely to be violent than participants without, even after controlling for sociodemographic variables and concurrent substance dependence disorders. Childhood psychotic symptoms were a strong risk factor for violence in adults with schizophreniform disorder, as was childhood physical aggression, although to a lesser extent. CONCLUSIONS: Violence by individuals with schizophreniform disorder could be prevented by monitoring early signs of psychotic symptoms and by controlling childhood physical aggression.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The targets of violence committed by young offenders with alcohol dependence, marijuana dependence and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: findings from a birth cohort.

BACKGROUND: Estimates of who is most at risk from violence by people with mental illness rest mainly on identified patient samples. This study, without such selection bias, examined the targets of violence committed by young adults with as-yet untreated alcohol dependence, marijuana dependence, or schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, to determine the extent to which their victims were co-residents or non-household members. METHODS: In a total birth cohort of 21-year-olds (n=956), past-year prevalence of alcohol dependence, marijuana dependence and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were diagnosed using standardized DSM-III-R interviews. None of the people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder has been hospitalized in the past year. Past-year violence and victim targets were measured using self-reports. RESULTS: Compared with controls, cohort members with substance dependence or schizophrenia-spectrum disorders had higher prevalence and frequency rates of assault against co-residents, against non-household members, and also robbery and gang fights. Out of 39, five individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder committed violent street crimes. Persons with substance dependence had similar proportions of violence against co-resident and non-household members, but persons with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders tended to victimize co-residents more than others. CONCLUSIONS: At the age when they are most likely to contribute to the community's violence burden, young untreated offenders with alcohol or marijuana dependence or with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders assault not only co-residents, but others as well, and commit violent street crimes. Families, schoolteachers and primary care physicians have an important potentially preventive role in early identification and treatment of the disorders.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Influence of adult domestic violence on children's internalizing and externalizing problems: an environmentally informative twin study.

OBJECTIVE: Externalizing and internalizing problems may aggregate in families because (1) siblings share genetic risks for problem behaviors or (2) siblings are exposed to similar environmental risks. A genetically sensitive design was used to determine whether domestic violence accounted significantly for the variation and covariation of externalizing and internalizing problems, independent of additive genetic effects on these behavior problems. METHOD: Using the Achenbach family of instruments, mothers and teachers reported internalizing and externalizing problems for 1,116 monozygotic and dizygotic 5-year-old twin pairs in the United Kingdom (93% response rate). Mothers reported their experiences of domestic violence in the previous 5 years. Structural equation models were tested to determine the effect of mothers' experiences of domestic violence on children's emotional and conduct problems, controlling for latent genetic and environmental effects on these behaviors. RESULTS: A multivariate model showed that adult domestic violence accounted for 2% and 5% of the variation in children's internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively, independent of genetic effects. The co-occurrence of externalizing and internalizing scores was accounted for by genetic (62.6%) and shared environmental (29.2%) factors and by domestic violence (8%). CONCLUSIONS: Because domestic violence affects children's behavior problems beyond genetic influences, programs that successfully reduce domestic violence should also prevent children's psychopathology.

Biometry↗
PubMed2002

Response perseveration in adolescent boys with stable and unstable histories of physical aggression: the role of underlying processes.

BACKGROUND: It was unclear whether response perseveration and underlying processes, often related to antisocial externalizing disorders, were also related to histories of physical aggression. METHOD: Boys of age 13 years were selected on the basis of childhood histories of physical aggression: stable, unstable, and non-aggressive. Performance on a Card Playing Task provided a perseveration index. RESULTS: Physical aggression, regardless of history, predicted perseveration in adolescence. However, qualitative differences revealed that Neuroticism increased the risk for perseveration only in the unstable aggressive group relative to the other groups. Perseveration in the stable aggressive group maybe related to a more fundamental information-processing deficit. CONCLUSION: The identification of these processes has implications for developmental theories of physical aggression; they may help discriminate those children who show early physical aggression and who will remain aggressive from those who will only show occasional physical aggression during later childhood.

Adolescent↗