In order to investigate the possible causal relationships between hyperactivity and educational underachievement that might account for their frequent co-occurrence, four groups of boys, defined by the presence or absence of hyperactivity and specific reading retardation, were identified in an epidemiological study of 7–8-year-old children. They were examined in detail by means of parental interviews and psychological tests and reassessed 9 years later at the age of 16–18 years on a similar range of measures. The findings provided little support for the idea that persistent reading disabilities either lead to the development of hyperactivity de novo or increased the likelihood that hyperactivity, when present, would persist. Similarly, although features of hyperactivity persisted to follow-up, there was little evidence that they either lead to the development of reading disabilities or increased the likelihood that reading disabilities, when present, would persist. Socioeconomic adversity and a history of speech therapy were more common in the group with both hyperactivity and reading disability, but the strength of these associations made it unlikely that these factors could account for the frequent co-occurrence of the two conditions.

In the first phase of this follow-up study we investigated how the use of more than one language affects mental wellbeing and school achievement among 320 school-aged Finnish-Swedish re-migrant children. Now, in the second phase, we screened the same series of children 6 years after migration for psychiatric and psychosomatic symptoms. Out of five groups distinguished in terms of patterns of language use, two had fared well and three showed evident vulnerability. Both successful groups were marked by consistent use of the two languages, Finnish and Swedish, whereas the risk groups were characterised by mixed use of languages before re-migration or substantial language shift after re-migration.

Research with clinically anxious adults has revealed that they estimate future negative events as far more likely to occur, relative to healthy controls. In addition, anxious adults estimate that such events are more likely to happen to themselves than to others. Previous research with anxious children and adolescents, in contrast, has revealed no increased probability estimates for negative events, relative to controls, and the events were rated as more likely to happen to others than to the self. The present study followed up these discrepant findings by investigating probability judgements concerning future negative events generated by children and adolescents who had actually experienced an extreme negative event and who met criteria for a diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD). Control groups comprised a group of healthy participants, and a group of healthy participants whose parents had experienced a trauma and who met criteria for PTSD. The results revealed no overall differences between the clinical group and the controls. However, children and adolescents with PTSD estimated all negative events as significantly more likely to happen to others than to themselves, with this other-referent bias being strongest for events matched to their trauma. In contrast, the two control groups exhibited an other-referent bias for physically threatening events but not for socially threatening ones. Developmental analyses indicated that the strength of the relationship between anxiety and elevated judgements about future negative events declined with age in the control participants but that there was no significant relationship in the groups who had been exposed to trauma. The findings are discussed in the context of the literature on information processing biases and PTSD.

This paper reviews some of the characteristics of the informants as well as some of the attributes of the DICA-R interview that could influence the test–retest reliability in a sample of 109 psychiatric outpatients aged 7–17 years. Different regression models using reliability coefficients constructed from the kappa statistic were obtained. Of those characteristics evaluated in the children, a high level of psychological impairment proved to be significant when it came to predicting the lowest test–retest reliability of the answers; none of the subject-related characteristics were significant in the adolescent patient model. The attributes of the questions that proved to be significant when explaining the lower reliability obtained for the individual question in the children's model were the length of the questions (longest questions), the content (internalising), the presence of time concepts, comparison with the peer group, and the need to exercise judgement; in the adolescents' model, the significant attributes were found to be the internalising content, the presence of time concepts, evaluation concerning the impairment caused by the disorder, and the need to exercise judgement. In the group of children our results are in accordance with the original paper. Similar results were found with adolescents. These findings have implications for the development and revision of new interview schedules.

The ability to distinguish serious from playful fighting by two groups of children with learning disabilities (LD) (mean age = 9.3 and 11.8 years) and non-LD children (mean age = 10.1 years) was examined. Children with LD were generally able to make this distinction, with older children being more accurate. However, the performance of children with LD was not as high as that of non-LD children: they used a smaller range of criteria; some criteria were used significantly less; and they were much more likely not to give any reason for the judgements made. On the other hand, the order in frequency of those criteria cited was similar for both non-LD children and children with LD. Physical actions of the participants, and inference about actions and/or intent were the most frequently cited criteria. These findings indicate that although children with LD use fewer social cues, and are less accurate in making judgements about the nature of behavioural episodes, the acquisition of the meaning of particular cues may follow the same sequence as for non-LD children. Possible delays in the social cognitive development of children with LD, and their implications for the social adjustment of these children, are discussed.

Human interest in and concern about inheritance is very far from new. It is reasonable to assume that ideas about physical resemblances and behavioural characteristics running in families are as old as concepts of family and kinship. We can be rather more certain that from the dawn of agriculture selective breeding has been used to change the characteristics of plant crops and domesticated animals. Indeed, selective breeding may well be viewed as the first step required to create agriculture. However, a knowledge of genetics is not required to apply selective breeding to animals or plants (or humans). All that is needed is the assumption that parental characteristics are likely to be passed to offspring. Then one can breed from superior stock, or those which have desired characteristics, and avoid breeding from inferior stock.

Outcome studies of child psychotherapy have sometimes been categorized into two broad types of studies. Ideally, psychotherapy outcome investigators first conduct “efficacy studies”, where internal validity is at the forefront and where considerable control is exercised over and within the experimental design (Hoagwood, Hibbs, Brent, & Jensen, 1995). In efficacy studies, often: (a) specific inclusion and exclusion criteria will be defined in order to restrict the sample to children exhibiting only the specific behavioral/emotional problem area upon which the treatment focuses; (b) the sample will be randomly assigned to treatment and comparison groups; (c) in order to allow for assignment to a no-treatment control group, the sample will not be seeking treatment (i.e. not clinic-referred); and (d) the investigators will exercise a high degree of control over the intervention (e.g. spend several months training therapists who are hired specifically for the project, see, e.g., Lewinsohn, Clarke, Hops, & Andrews, 1990).

“Effectiveness studies” are conducted where the focus is more on external validity and generalizability. In contrast to efficacy studies, effectiveness studies generally: (a) take place in naturalistic settings, where the mental health treatment of children actually occurs (e.g. in clinics); (b) use heterogeneous samples that are actually seeking services; (c) involve practitioners rather than research therapists; and (d) allow therapists more control over the intervention (see, e.g., Weisz & Weiss, 1989).

We examined differences between school classes with respect to three aspects of psychosocial adjustment at school, namely the extent that children in the class liked to play with each other, the number of teacher-reported behaviour problems, and children's feelings of well-being at school. The sample consisted of 1282 4- to 5-year-olds from 94 school classes and 51 schools, but due to nonresponse actual sample sizes were somewhat smaller for most analyses. Multilevel analyses showed that on average 87% of the variance was at the child level, 11% at the class level, and 3% at the school level. This indicated that a non-negligible amount of variance could not be accounted for by factors at the child level. Furthermore, this variance was mainly associated with differences between classes instead of differences between schools. A set of variables that pertained to sociodemographic characteristics of schools, school facilities, organisational aspects of classrooms, and the teacher did not provide an adequate explanation for the differences in adjustment levels. In contrast to these traditional variables, social network indices yielded substantial correlations, showed consistent trends across the different adjustment measures, and fulfilled the necessary requirement that to explain differences between school classes the predictor variables themselves should differ for classes within the same school. These results suggested that aspects of the interpersonal relations of children in the classroom such as proximity, integration, and the amount of contact could be determinants of differences between school classes in psychosocial adjustment.

We report several studies developing a parent-rated measure of emotional distress for children in Singapore, with the key objectives being to derive a very brief valid measure of global distress. The refined item set comprised behaviourally expressed broad manifestations of emotional distress. Three developmental studies were undertaken, with the first two involving parental ratings on the measure for validation against clinician-rated distress levels, while also testing two rating options for the measure. We established clear comparative advantages to the rating anchors used in the Revised Rutter Scales. High inter-rater agreement was established across parental ratings, with the latter finding supporting objectives for the measure. Paternal scores correlated more strongly than maternal scores with clinician-generated distress scores. Additional properties of the measure were tested in a large community sample of nearly 2000 Singapore schoolchildren in their last 2 years of primary school, allowing prevalence estimates and mean scores to be derived for each item. Here, girls and boys received identical total scores, scores were also independent of the number of children in the family and of ordinal position, and mothers returned higher scores than fathers.

We have just emerged from “the Decade of the Brain”, yet in so many ways it was the “Decade of the Genome”. What relevance does the remarkable advance in knowledge in genetics and neuroscience over that period have to our understanding of child psychopathology? When the complexity of the genetic systems involved in behavioural regulation of relatively simple organisms such as the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans or the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is considered, the possibility of comprehending the links from genes to behaviour in the developing child seems remote. Yet, the principles of investigation in model systems are not so different to those that should apply in humans. This review draws out the parallels, and introduces recent findings from behavioural studies of C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and the laboratory mouse, as well as humans, to illustrate the point.

This study examined relationships of stress (negative event frequency during the last year) to reports of illness among 92 children, aged 10 to 13 years. Children's health status was reported separately by children and parents, and children's skill in identifying and communicating their feelings was tested for direct and buffering relationships on illness reports. Analyses controlled for demographics and negative affect of both children and parents, and children's verbal ability was also tested for confounding. Results showed that stress correlated positively with children's poor health, whether the children's health status was reported by children or by parents. Children's emotional skill was correlated with better health when health was reported by children, but with worse health when health was reported by parents. Further, moderator analyses indicated that the relationship between negative event frequency and children's poor health as reported by parents held only for children with high levels of skill in identifying and communicating feelings. These findings suggest that negative life events impair children's health, but that the health reports of children and parents are quite different, and parents' views may be affected by children's skill in communicating their internal states.

Pseudoseizures or their possibility remain a troublesome clinical issue with serious implications as, particularly in older children and adolescents, they can take various forms so that their differential diagnosis is wide. Many of the traditional criteria do not, in fact, discriminate well between pseudoseizures and other episodic disorders, especially those involving dramatic behavioural manifestations. These include certain forms of epilepsy (notably mesial frontal seizures) and some other organic and psychiatric conditions. A number of more reliable diagnostic criteria remain. These include selective clinical criteria and certain findings from carefully conducted EEG monitoring with informed analysis of the results.

This study aims to identify (1) a core disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) postulated to presage a substance use disorder, and (2) the relative importance of parental DBD phenotypes, and familial and nonfamilial environmental factors in the determination of DBD in male children. DBD symptom counts and measures of familial and nonfamilial environmentals were collected from intact families ascertained through the presence (SA+) or absence (SA−) of substance dependence in fathers. Multivariate analyses revealed that both behavioral symptoms and environmental measures were significant discriminators of the families. In SA+ families, the child's score DBD was best predicted by magnitudes of parental dyssocial behaviors and by familial environmental factors. However, in SA− families only familial environmental factors were significant predictors of the child's DBD. These findings suggest that in addition to independent actions of familial transmissible and nonfamilial factors, strong genotype-environment interactions may determine DBD in children and that may contribute to the liability for a substance use disorder.

Abbreviations: ADD: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; ASPD: antisocial personality disorder; CD: conduct disorder; DBD: disruptive behavior disorder; K-SADS-E; author to supply; NCI: Neighborhood Cohesion Index; ODD; oppositional defiant disorder; PSUD: psychoactive substance dependence disorder; SA: substance dependence (+=present, −=absent); SCID: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R; SUD; substance use disorders.

In a prospective, longitudinal study with community samples of disruptive and nondisruptive children, the predictive relations between peer-assessed dimensions of behavioral reputation in elementary school and teacher-rated behavioral adjustment and test scores of academic achievement were examined over a 4-year period. The Revised Class Play (RCP), a social role matching instrument completed by students about their classmates, was used to assess behavioral dimensions of children's peer reputation at baseline. Regression analyses showed that the RCP dimensions of aggressive-disruptive, sensitive-isolated, and social etiquette were the best predictors of later teacher-rated externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and subsequent adaptive skills respectively. Only IQ predicted later academic achievement. When IQ and disruptive/nondisruptive group status were added to each regression equation they further contributed as significant predictors. When parent and teacher ratings of behavior problems at baseline were entered jointly with RCP dimensions into regression equations, the peer dimensions further explained outcome variance. Additive effects of the RCP dimensions were found only for the externalizing problems outcome. Disruptive children with mild levels of aggressive behavior and high levels of sensitive-isolated behavior had less externalizing problems at outcome. A comparison of the difference between disruptive and nondisruptive groups in the relationship of baseline RCP scores to teacher outcomes showed no difference between groups, suggesting that the groups did not depart appreciably from their initial differences relative to each other over time.

Previous research into subjective probability estimates for negative events revealed that depressed children estimated events as equally likely to happen to themselves as to other children. In contrast, both controls and anxious children estimated that negative events were more likely to happen to others than to themselves. The present study followed up this finding by investigating the subjective probability judgements concerning future negative events generated by children and adolescents who have recovered from depression. Subjects generated probability estimates either for themselves or for other children for a range of negative events on a visual analogue scale. The results revealed that both recovered depressed and matched control groups estimated negative events as significantly more likely to happen to others than to themselves. It was also found that the recovered depressed subjects estimated that negative events were less likely overall, compared to the controls. These results are discussed in the context of the adult literature.

In this study the factorial validity and the reliability of DSM-IV related ADHD symptom ratings made by care professionals working in residential treatment centres were determined in a sample of 412 residential youngsters. Three concurrent models of the ADHD disorder were investigated, a one-factor model comprising all 18 symptoms, a two-factor model with the Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity symptoms, respectively, combined and a three-factor model comprising Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity symptoms, respectively. An analysis of the covariance structure shows acceptable fits for both the two-and the three-factor models, slightly favouring the three-factor model. The internal consistencies, the test-retest reliabilities, and the inter-rater reliabilities turned out to be good to excellent for all scales based on each of the three concurrent models.

Investigated stability and change in intrusive and withdrawn interaction behaviours of 23 mothers in Study 1 and 31 mothers in Study 2. Comparisons between mother–infant and mother–boyfriend interactions revealed that mothers who had been withdrawn with their infants were quiet, bored-looking, physically distant, and underinvolved with their boyfriends. Mothers who had been intrusive with their infants were verbally sharp and controlling with their boyfriends. These findings suggested stability across social contexts. Comparing maternal responding to instructions to think about themselves (self-focus) or their infants (infant-focus) revealed that infant-focusing attenuated intrusive behavior among intrusive mothers and self-focusing attenuated negative affect among withdrawn mothers. These findings suggested that cognitive focusing ameliorates nonoptimal maternal behaviours and has differential effects on intrusive and withdrawn mothers.

The associations between maternal labour force participation and child academic achievement were examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children who have been studied from birth to age 18. The results of this analysis suggested the presence of small associations between the extent of maternal labour force participation and scores on standardised tests of word recognition, reading comprehension, and mathematical reasoning. Similar associations were found between maternal labour force participation and success in school leaving examinations. These associations arose predominantly because children whose mothers worked had better performance than children whose mothers who had not worked in paid employment. However, patterns of maternal labour force participation were also related to a series of family and child factors including: maternal education, family socioeconomic status, race, birth order, family composition, early mother–child interaction, and child IQ. Adjustment for these factors reduced associations between maternal labour force participation and academic achievement to the point of practical and statistical nonsignificance. These results were found to be robust and similar conclusions were found for (1) a range of measures of maternal labour force participation, and (2) subgroups of the cohort defined by gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or family type.

Two factors have been associated with the quality of sibling relationships: the sex of the children and their family circumstances. Yet the data on each issue are complex. This study examines the sex constellations of sibling pairs in two groups, one of which had experienced a major family disruption (parental separation), with the aim of assessing both influences more fully. Two 1-hour home observations were conducted on 20 preschool sibling dyads of separated parents and 24 pairs in which the parents were married. In both groups the sex configuration of the sibling pairs was important — same-sex pairs seemed to show closer patterns of interaction, and sister-sister dyads were particularly prosocial. These results suggest that previous research showing that older sisters or same-sex pairs interact more are both partly correct. In addition, preschoolers from separated families interacted more. The results suggest that negative life experiences might promote greater closeness between siblings.

It is again my pleasure to work with an outstanding group of contributors in the production of this, the 10th Annual Research Review. As always our goal is to solicit reviews from authorities in the field, which will serve to update the readership on aspects of current research and emerging research trends. Authors are encouraged to be selective, rather than comprehensive, in coverage and to focus on the aspects of research they feel are most important. In addition to thanking the authors, I am also grateful to the various referees who provided thoughtful and detailed commentary to the authors, which has enriched the papers further. As noted in last year's editorial, we are now beginning to return to topics covered in previous reviews.

It is a particular pleasure to have Professor Rutter and colleagues provide an update of his earlier (1990) review of genetics and child psychiatry. The first of their two papers provides a summary of advances in quantitative psychiatric genetics with particular attention to both conceptual and methodological advances. Important shifts in research strategies are noted. In the second paper Rutter and colleagues focus more specifically on advances relative to specific disorders. It is clear that work in this area is likely to advance our knowledge substantially in the years ahead in ways that we can now only begin to appreciate. Angold, Costello, and Erkanli have provided a very helpful review of the topic of comorbidity in the psychiatric disorders of childhood adolescence. This is an area of some controversy and their review provides a valuable summary of current knowledge. Stevenson addresses issues in the treatment of the long-term sequelae of child abuse; he notes that while considerable progress has been made, important questions regarding treatment and prevention remain to be answered. Filipek reviews the current state of knowledge on neuroimaging in the developmental disorders. Advances in the field have given us the opportunity to understand fundamental aspects of brain-behavior relationships. Finally, Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan review current knowledge regarding the effects of divorce on children; this topic is an increasingly important one in terms of both research and intervention.

For the 11th edition of the Annual Research Review we anticipate that topics covered will include language acquisition, substance abuse, intersubjectivity, child abuse, effects of HIV infection on children, and advances in psychological assessment methods.