Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, aggression, and inattention are common in autistic youth and are challenging to treat by community providers. We aim to parse the heterogeneity of autism based on dimensions of executive function and determine whether specific executive function profiles are differentially related to…

Increased reactivity to daily stressors is associated with mental health difficulties, which are common in autistic individuals. We investigated affective reactivity to daily-life stress, cognitive emotion regulation, and their link with co-occurring mental health symptoms in adolescents and young adults with autism. A 6-day ecological momentary…

Internalizing problems are among the most common chronic psychological dysfunctions in childhood, yet the factors contributing to their emergence and persistence in preschool-aged children are still less understood. The contribution of specific individual variables (e.g. temperament), and that of proximal environmental factors, such as family…

Employing a multi-method approach, we investigated observed and parent-rated child behavioral inhibition (BI) and maternal reports of their own negative affectivity (NA) as predictors of young children's internalizing problems. Participants were 201 children who were siblings between 2.5 and 5.5 years of age (mean = 3.86, standard deviation =…

This study investigated the association between gastrointestinal symptoms and a broad set of emotional and behavioral concerns in 95 children with high-functioning autism and IQ scores = 80. Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed via the Autism Treatment Network's Gastrointestinal Symptom Inventory, and data were gathered on autism symptom…

Children who are iron deficient (ID) or iron-deficient anemic (IDA) have been shown to seek and receive less stimulation from their caregivers, contributing to "functional isolation". Over time, the reduced interactions between child and caregiver are thought to interfere with the acquisition of normative social competencies and…

By incorporating psychopathology and subjective well-being (SWB), the dual-factor model of mental health (DFM) can comprehensively measure psychological health. We examined the utility of the DFM among 1,293 Chinese adolescents (Grades 7-12). Furthermore, we examined the dynamics of mental health group membership via a two-wave longitudinal study…

This community-based study examined differences in parenting quality and parent symptoms for youth in four categories: anxious (elevated anxiety symptoms), depressed (elevated depressive symptoms), comorbid (elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms), and nonelevated (elevations of neither type). Respondents were 976 young adolescents (mean age =…

A developmental cascade model for adolescent substance use beginning in infancy was examined in a sample of children with alcoholic and nonalcoholic parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression and antisocial behavior in a cascading process of risk via 3 major hypothesized pathways: first, via parental…

This study examined how maximizing and minimizing responses to positive events were associated with sustained positive feelings about the events and adjustment in a community sample of 56 young adolescents (31 boys and 25 girls, 10-14 years of age). On daily reports, adolescents reported their positive emotional reactions to their best event each…

Individuals react in a variety of ways when experiencing environmental challenges exceeding their capacity to cope adaptively. Some researchers have suggested that Asian populations tend to react to excessive stress with somatic symptoms, whereas Western populations tend to respond more with affective or depressive symptoms. Other researchers,…

Research regarding the behavioral aspects of children with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) has suggested some possible behavioral patterns including autistic features. Caregivers of 39 children (mean age = 8.4 years) with RTS (49% showing abnormality in "CREBBP" gene) and 39 children (mean age = 8.6 years) matched on developmental level,…

Objective: Increased behavior problems have been reported in offspring of mothers with depression. In-home observations link maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) and mother-child interaction patterns with toddler behavior problems and examine their persistence into late childhood. Method: Maternal characteristics (N = 153) and behaviors of…

In this longitudinal study, 83 parents of infants between 3 and 12 months completed questionnaires assessing demographic information, infant temperament, and maternal depression. When these children were at least 18 months of age, parents completed follow-up questionnaires assessing toddler temperament and depression-like symptoms. We were…