Maternal Ratings (maternal + rating)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Genetic and environmental influences on Anxious/Depression during childhood: a study from the Netherlands Twin Register

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 8 2005
D. I. Boomsma
For a large sample of twin pairs from the Netherlands Twins Register who were recruited at birth and followed through childhood, we obtained parental ratings of Anxious/Depression (A/D). Maternal ratings were obtained at ages 3 years (for 9025 twin pairs), 5 years (9222 pairs), 7 years (7331 pairs), 10 years (4430 pairs) and 12 years (2363 pairs). For 60,90% of the pairs, father ratings were also available. Multivariate genetic models were used to test for rater-independent and rater-specific assessments of A/D and to determine the genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in A/D at different ages. At all ages, monozygotic twins resembled each other more closely for A/D than dizygotic twins, implying genetic influences on variation in A/D. Opposite sex twin pairs resembled each other to same extent as same-sex dizygotic twins, suggesting that the same genes are expressed in boys and girls. Heritability estimates for rater-independent A/D were high in 3-year olds (76%) and decreased in size as children grew up [60% at age 5, 67% at age 7, 53% at age 10 (60% in boys) and 48% at age 12 years]. The decrease in genetic influences was accompanied by an increase in the influence of the shared family environment [absent at ages 3 and 7, 16% at age 5, 20% at age 10 (5% in boys) and 18% at age 12 years]. The agreement between parental A/D ratings was between 0.5 and 0.7, with somewhat higher correlations for the youngest group. Disagreement in ratings between the parents was not merely the result of unreliability or rater bias. Both the parents provided unique information from their own perspective on the behavior of their children. Significant influences of genetic and shared environmental factors were found for the unique parental views. At all ages, the contribution of shared environmental factors to variation in rater-specific views was higher for father ratings. Also, at all ages except age 12, the heritability estimates for the rater-specific phenotype were higher for mother ratings (59% at age 3 and decreasing to 27% at age 12 years) than for father ratings (between 14 and 29%). Differences between children, even as young as 3 years, in A/D are to a large extent due to genetic differences. As children grow up, the variation in A/D is due in equal parts to genetic and environmental influences. Anxious/Depression, unlike many other common childhood psychopathologies, is influenced by the shared family environment. These findings may provide support for why certain family therapeutic approaches are effective in the A/D spectrum of illnesses. [source]


Association of DRD4 polymorphism with severity of oppositional defiant disorder, separation anxiety disorder and repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 6 2010
Kenneth D. Gadow
Abstract The objective was to examine whether a common polymorphism in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) might be a potential biomarker for behavioral variation within the autism spectrum disorder clinical phenotype. Children (N = 66) were evaluated with a validated mother- and teacher-completed DSM-IV-referenced rating scale. Partial eta-squared (,p2) was used to gauge the magnitude of group differences: 0.01,0.06 = small, 0.06,0.14 = moderate and > 0.14 = large. Children who were 7-repeat allele carriers had more severe oppositional defiant disorder behaviors according to mothers' (,p2 = 0.10) and teachers' (,p2 = 0.06) ratings than noncarriers, but the latter was marginally significant (P = 0.07). Children who were 7-repeat allele carriers also obtained more severe maternal ratings of tics (,p2 = 0.07) and obsessions,compulsions (,p2 = 0.08). Findings for maternal ratings of separation anxiety were marginally significant (P = 0.08, ,p2 = 0.05). Analyses of combined DRD4 and dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) genotypes approached significance (P = 0.05) for teachers' ratings of oppositional behavior and mothers' ratings of tics. DRD4 allelic variation may be a prognostic biomarker for challenging behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder, but these exploratory findings remain tentative pending replication with larger independent samples. [source]


The Effect of Excessive Crying on the Development of Emotion Regulation

INFANCY, Issue 2 2002
Cynthia A. Stifter
The goal of this study was to examine the effect of excessive crying in early infancy on the development of emotion self-regulation. Cry diaries were used to categorize excessive criers and typical criers at 6 weeks of age. At 5 and 10 months of age, infants and mothers participated in procedures to elicit infant reactivity and regulation during a frustration task and maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness during a free-play session. Last, maternal ratings of temperament were obtained. Results revealed excessive criers to show higher levels of negative reactivity than typical criers. Excessive criers also demonstrated lower regulation, but this finding was only significant for male infants. Boys in the excessive criers group exhibited the lowest level of emotion self-regulation. Maternal behavior and ratings of temperament at 5 and 10 months failed to distinguish the 2 cry groups. The findings suggest that excessive crying may influence the developmental trajectory of the ability of boys to self-regulate emotion. The hypothesized processes involved in this outcome are discussed. [source]


An observational measure of children's behavioural style: Evidence supporting a multi-method approach to studying temperament

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2004
Jennifer Karp
Abstract This study demonstrates the potential utility of the Behavioural Style Observational System (BSOS) as a new observational measure of children's behavioural style. The BSOS is an objective, short and easy to use measure that can be readily adapted to a variety of home and laboratory situations. In the present study, 160 mother,child dyads from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project (CLRP) were observed during an 11-min behavioural sample. Videotaped interactions were coded using the BSOS for children's mood, activity level, vocal reactivity, approach to toys, mood consistency and adaptability. Comparisons between the BSOS observational ratings and mothers' ratings of the child on the EAS Temperament Survey (EAS) provided support for modest congruence between these two measurement systems, and revealed a differential predictive pattern of children's functioning. Specifically, the observation-based BSOS predicted children's cognitive performance and adaptive behaviour during testing, whereas the mother-rated EAS predicted maternal ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Both measures were found to independently predict mothers' ratings of parenting stress. Overall, the findings imply that neither observational measures nor maternal ratings alone are sufficient to understand children's behavioural style, and that comprehensive evaluations of children's temperament should optimally include both types of measures. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The stability of maternal ratings of medical student interviews

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2005
Maree O'Keefe
Introduction, Little information is available on the intrarater reliability of parent ratings of medical student interview skills. The aim of this study was to compare maternal ratings of a videotaped medical student interview, with ratings by the same mother of the same interview seen a month later. Method, Thirty mothers rated 1 of 2 ,medical student' interview videotapes (random allocation). An actor played the role of the student and demonstrated different student skill levels in each interview. Mothers rated the same interview again a month later (mean ± SD 34 ± 13 days). Maternal satisfaction was measured using the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS, maximum score 203) and the Interpersonal Skills Rating Scale (IPS, maximum score 91) with higher scores indicating higher satisfaction. Results, No significant differences in mean maternal ratings were observed following the first and second viewings of each interview. The average percentage difference in first and second viewing scores was MISS 4%, IPS 8% with correlation coefficients MISS 0.96, IPS 0.87 (P < 0.05). Conclusions, The high levels of stability in maternal evaluations of simulated medical student interviews supports the use of maternal evaluations for longitudinal monitoring of medical student performance. [source]


Depression and anxiety symptoms: onset, developmental course and risk factors during early childhood

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 10 2009
Sylvana M. Côté
Background:, Depressive and anxiety disorders are among the top ten leading causes of disabilities. We know little, however, about the onset, developmental course and early risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms (DAS). Objective:, Model the developmental trajectories of DAS during early childhood and to identify risk factors for atypically high DAS. Method:, Group-based developmental trajectories of DAS conditional on risk factors were estimated from annual maternal ratings (1½ to 5 years) in a large population sample (n = 1759). Results:, DAS increased substantially in two of the three distinct trajectory groups identified: High-Rising (14.7%); Moderate-Rising (55.4%); and Low (29.9%). Two factors distinguished the High-Rising group from the other two: Difficult temperament at 5 months (High-Rising vs Moderate-Rising: OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.13,1.55; High-Rising vs Low: OR = 1.31, CI = 1.12,1.54) and maternal lifetime major depression (High-Rising vs Moderate-Rising: OR = 1.10; CI = 1.01,1.20; High-Rising vs Low: OR = 1.19; CI = 1.08,1.31). Two factors distinguished the High-Rising group from the Low group: High family dysfunction (OR = 1.24; CI = 1.03,1.5) and Low parental self-efficacy (OR = .71; CI = .54,.94). Conclusions:, DAS tend to increase in frequency over the first 5 years of life. Atypically high level can be predicted from mother and child characteristics present before 6 months of age. Preventive interventions should be experimented with at risk infants and parents. [source]