Biomedical subjects

William Bor

Publications and source records attributed to William Bor.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2004

Correlates of self-reported coercive parenting of preschool-aged children at high risk for the development of conduct problems.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the correlates of coercive parenting in a high-risk sample of 305 three-year-old children likely to develop later conduct problems. As parental coercion has been identified as a significant risk factor for future psychopathology, the study sought to identify modifiable inter and intra-personal factors most closely associated with coercion. METHOD: Key variables known to place young children at future risk, such as maternal mood states, current child behaviour problems, demographic characteristics such as low income, past mental health problems and parents' sense of competence, were analyzed based on parent-report measures and clinical interviews. Correlational and hierarchical regression analysis identified key predictors of coercion. RESULTS: Three variables emerged as the strongest predictors of maternal coercion: self-efficacy, child behaviour and maternal depression. Demographic factors contributed little to the model. CONCLUSIONS: Enhancing parental self-efficacy, especially specific parenting tasks with disruptive young children has the potential to make a significant contribution toward prevention of future conduct problems.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and physical outcomes up to 5 years of age: a longitudinal study.

AIM: To examine whether alcohol exposure in pregnancy affects weight and head circumference (HC) at birth and 5 years, and whether these effects are independent of cigarette exposure in pregnancy and social disadvantage. STUDY DESIGN: The Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) involves a prospective cohort of 8556 mothers who were enrolled at first antenatal visit. The quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption in early and late pregnancy and a measure of binge drinking in early pregnancy were recorded. Weight and HC were measured on children seen at birth and at 5 years. Level of cigarette use in early pregnancy and maternal age and level of education and family income were also measured. RESULTS: Light and moderate alcohol consumption in early or later pregnancy had no independent effects on weight or HC at birth or 5 years. Binge drinking in early pregnancy was not associated with restricted HC, and there was no effect modification by concurrent cigarette use in early pregnancy. An apparent effect of alcohol in late pregnancy on birth weight was due to confounding by cigarette use, with social risk being an independent predictor. CONCLUSION: Alcohol ingestion up to moderate levels in pregnancy was not associated with deficits in either weight or HC at birth or at 5 years.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

A mother's attitude towards her infant and child behaviour five years later.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between maternal attitude to the infant at 6 months of age and behavioural outcomes at 5 years is explored, controlling for numerous demographic, child and psychosocial family factors. METHOD: Data was used from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy, an Australian longitudinal study of over 7000 mothers and children followed from pregnancy to when the children were 5 years. Measures ranging from the key variables of maternal attitude and child behaviour as well as numerous confounders were dichotomised. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between maternal negative attitude toward the infant and clinically significant levels of child behaviour problems and other infant risks, early social risks, and concurrent social risks. RESULTS: The results suggest that maternal negative attitude towards the infant at 6 months is an independent predictor of child behaviour problems at 5 years. This association remained significant for boys' externalizing behaviours and girls' internalizing behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: The findings lend support to the concept of a sensitive period in early infancy; the need for a broad perspective in the assessment of the mother-infant relationship and the need for early intervention with dysfunctional mother-infant dyads.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Learning, cognitive, and attentional problems in adolescents born small for gestational age.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the presence, severity, or symmetry of growth restriction in term infants is an independent risk factor for learning, cognitive, and attentional problems in adolescence. METHODS: A total of 7388 term infants have been followed prospectively since birth. At 14 years, 5059 mothers completed a Child Behavior Checklist and provided information on their child's school progress. A total of 5051 adolescents completed a Youth Self Report, with 3703 also undergoing psychometric testing with Ravens Progressive Matrices and Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) reading subtest. Outcomes were compared on the basis of birth weight groups and measures of body symmetry and were adjusted for the level of social risk at birth. RESULTS: Adolescents who were born small for gestational age (SGA), when compared with their appropriately grown counterparts (>10th percentile), were more likely to experience learning difficulties, with a higher prevalence in those of birth weight < or =3rd percentile. Girls of birth weight < or =3rd percentile were more likely to have attentional problems and low WRAT reading scores. There was no significant difference in Ravens IQ or mean WRAT reading scores between SGA and non-SGA groups. There was no association between body symmetry and any of the outcomes studied. CONCLUSIONS: SGA status seems to have only modest independent effects on learning, cognition, and attention in adolescence. Severity but not symmetry of growth restriction predicted learning difficulties.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Integrating biological and social processes in relation to early-onset persistent aggression in boys and girls.

This study examined the relationship between biological and social risk factors and aggressive behavior patterns in an Australian high-risk sample of 370 adolescents. Perinatal, temperamental, familial, sociodemographic, and behavioral data were collected during interviews completed during pregnancy. immediately postpartum, and when the children were 6 months old and 5, 14, and 15 years old. Youths were given tests of verbal and neuropsychological functioning at the age 5 and age 15 follow-ups. Youths were divided into early-onset persistent aggression, adolescent-onset aggression, and nonaggressive behavior groups. Results revealed that the interaction of biological and social risk factors was significantly related to early-onset persistent aggression. Gender and developmental phase of measurement moderated the relationship between biosocial risks and the outcomes of early-onset persistent aggression and adolescent-onset aggression.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

The effects of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program on preschool children with co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties.

Two variants of a behavioral family intervention (BFI) program known as Triple P were compared using 87 preschoolers with co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties. Families were randomly allocated to enhanced BFI (EBFI), standard BFI (SBFI), or a waitlist (WL) control group. At postintervention both BFI programs were associated with significantly lower levels of parent-reported child behavior problems, lower levels of dysfunctional parenting, and greater parental competence than the WL condition. The EBFI condition was also associated with significantly less observed child negative behavior in comparison to the WL. The gains achieved at postintervention were maintained at 1-year follow-up. Contrary to predictions, the enhanced program was not shown to be superior to the standard program using any of the outcome measures at either postintervention or follow-up. Each of the programs produced significant reductions in children's co-occurring disruptive behavior and attentional/hyperactive difficulties with 80% of the children showing clinically reliable improvement in observed negative behavior from preintervention to follow-up.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

PubMed2002

Maternal anxiety and depression, poverty and marital relationship factors during early childhood as predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the degree to which symptoms of anxiety and depression at age 14 years are associated with early childhood experience of maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, and mother's marital relationship distress and break-up. METHODS: In a longitudinal study, 4434 families were followed-up from infancy to adolescence. RESULTS: Maternal anxiety and depression during early childhood were found to have small, but significant, influences upon the development of high anxiety-depression symptoms at age 14, after controlling for the effects of poverty and marital relationship factors. This effect was greater with repeated exposure to high maternal anxiety and depression. Poverty, distressed marital relationship and marital break-up during the child's first five years also produced small, but significant, increases in risk of high anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence. Stable, single-parent status was not found to be a risk factor. There was no evidence of marked gender differences in risk factors, other than poverty, which had a stronger impact for girls than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results suggest that maternal anxiety and depression, poverty, parent relationship conflict and marital break-up during early childhood are associated with small, but significant, increased risk of anxiety-depression symptoms in adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Asthma and internalizing behavior problems in adolescence: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical studies of asthmatic children have found an association between lung disease and internalizing behavior problems. The causal direction of this association is, however, unclear. This article examines the nature of the relationship between behavior and asthma problems in childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Data were analyzed on 5135 children from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy and its outcomes (MUSP), a large birth cohort of mothers and children started in Brisbane, Australia, in 1981. Lung disease was measured from maternal reports of asthma/bronchitis when the children were aged 5 and maternal reports of asthma symptoms when the children were aged 14. Symptoms of internalizing behaviors were obtained by maternal reports (Child Behavior Checklist) at 5 years and by maternal and children's reports at 14 years (Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self Report). RESULTS: Although there was no association between prevalence of asthma and externalizing symptoms, asthma and internalizing symptoms were significantly associated in cross-sectional analyses at 5 and 14 years. In prospective analyses, after excluding children with asthma at 5 years, internalizing symptoms at age 5 were not associated with the development of asthma symptoms at age 14. After excluding children with internalizing symptoms at 5 years, those who had asthma at 5 years had greater odds of developing internalizing symptoms at age 14. CONCLUSION: Children who have asthma/bronchitis by the age of 5 are at greater risk of having internalizing behavior problems in adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Socioeconomic position, cognitive function, and clustering of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence: findings from the Mater University Study of Pregnancy and its outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to examine the extent of clustering of smoking, high levels of television watching, overweight, and high blood pressure among adolescents and whether this clustering varies by socioeconomic position and cognitive function. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of 3613 (1742 females) participants of an Australian birth cohort who were examined at age 14. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-three (9.8%) of the participants had co-occurrence of three or four risk factors. Risk factors clustered in these adolescents with a greater number of participants than would be predicted by assumptions of independence having no risk factors and three or four risk factors. The extent of clustering tended to be greater in those from lower-income families and among those with lower cognitive function. The age-adjusted ratio of observed to expected co-occurrence of three or four risk factors was 2.70 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80-4.06) among those from low-income families and 1.70 (95% CI, 1.34-2.16) among those from more affluent families. The ratio among those with low Raven's scores (nonverbal reasoning) was 2.36 (95% CI, 1.69-3.30) and among those with higher scores was 1.51 (95% CI, 1.19-1.92); similar results for the WRAT 3 score (reading ability) were 2.69 (95% CI, 1.85-3.94) and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.34-2.11). Clustering did not differ by sex. CONCLUSION: Among adolescents, coronary heart disease risk factors cluster, and there is some evidence that this clustering is greater among those from families with low income and those who have lower cognitive function.

Adolescent↗