Paediatrics (RCH) - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 35
-
ItemSometimes It's Good to be Short: The Serotonin Transporter Gene, Positive Parenting, and Adolescent Depression(WILEY, 2019-07)In threatening environments, the short (S) allele of 5-HTTLPR is proposed to augment risk for depression. However, it is unknown whether 5-HTTLPR variation increases risk for depression in environments of deprivation, lacking positive or nurturant features. Two independent longitudinal studies (n = 681 and 176, respectively) examined whether 5-HTTLPR moderated associations between low levels of positive parenting at 11-13 years and subsequent depression at 17-19 years. In both studies only LL homozygous adolescents were at greater risk for depression with decreasing levels of positive parenting. Thus, while the S allele has previously been identified as a susceptible genotype, these findings suggest that the L allele may also confer sensitivity to depression in the face of specific environmental challenges.
-
Item
-
ItemDoes adolescent heavier alcohol use predict young adult aggression and delinquency? Parallel analyses from four Australasian cohort studies(WILEY, 2019-07)While the association between heavy alcohol consumption and aggression has been well documented, the causal direction of this association, particularly at a population level, is disputed. A number of causal sequences have been proposed. First, that aggression leads to heavy alcohol use. Second, that heavy alcohol use leads to aggression. Third, that the association between alcohol use and aggression is due to confounding by (a) sociodemographic variables or (b) delinquency. We report here data from four Australasian prospective longitudinal studies of adolescents, to assess the temporal sequence of heavy drinking and aggression over the period from adolescence to young adulthood. The four cohort studies provide a total sample of 6,706 persons (Australian Temperament Project, n = 1701; Christchurch Health and Development Study, n = 931; Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, n = 2437; Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study, n = 1637). We use multinomial logistic regression to determine whether early adolescent aggression predicts subsequent age of onset of heavy episodic drinking (HED), after adjustment for concurrent sociodemographic factors and delinquency. We then consider whether HED predicts subsequent aggression, after adjusting for past aggression, concurrent delinquency, and a range of confounders. There are broadly consistent findings across the four cohort studies. Early aggression strongly predicts subsequent HED. HED predicts later aggression after adjustment for prior aggression and other confounders. Policies that alter population levels of alcohol consumption are likely to impact on levels of aggression in societies where HED linked to aggression is more common.
-
ItemMother-Infant and Partner-Infant Emotional Availability at 12 Months of Age: Findings From an Australian Longitudinal Study(WILEY, 2018-11-01)Emotional availability (EA) is a focal indicator of parent–infant relationship quality and plays a key role in determining healthy child development, yet factors thought to influence EA have not been examined comprehensively in the postnatal period in both mothers and partners. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of mother–infant and partner–infant bonding, mental ill‐health and substance use at 8 weeks postbirth on mother–infant and partner–infant EA at 12 months postbirth, accounting for a range of demographic and postnatal variables. Participants were 191 matched mother–partner–infant triads from a nested sample of an Australian longitudinal pregnancy cohort (The Triple B Pregnancy Cohort). Assessments were conducted at 8 weeks postbirth and at infant age 12 months. Parental EA was coded from dyadic interactions during a 20‐min free play observational video recorded at 12 months. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis, accounting for within‐dyad clustering, showed older parent age was associated with higher parent–child EA scores (χ2 = 6.28, p < .01), while parental tobacco use (χ2 = 7.35, p < .01) and depression (χ2 = 4.51, p < .05) at 8 weeks postnatal predicted poorer parent–child EA scores at 12 months. These novel findings suggest that it may be particularly important to support young couples and those struggling with symptoms of depression or tobacco use during the postnatal period.
-
ItemStudy protocol: the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS)(BMC, 2013-10-08)BACKGROUND: Puberty is a multifaceted developmental process that begins in late-childhood with a cascade of endocrine changes that ultimately lead to sexual maturation and reproductive capability. The transition through puberty is marked by an increased risk for the onset of a range of health problems, particularly those related to the control of behaviour and emotion. Early onset puberty is associated with a greater risk of cancers of the reproductive tract and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have had methodological limitations and have tended to view puberty as a unitary process, with little distinction between adrenarche, gonadarche and linear growth. The Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS) aims to prospectively examine associations between the timing and stage of the different hormonally-mediated changes, as well as the onset and course of common health and behavioural problems that emerge in the transition from childhood to adolescence. The initial focus of CATS is on adrenarche, the first hormonal process in the pubertal cascade, which begins for most children at around 8 years of age. METHODS/DESIGN: CATS is a longitudinal population-based cohort study. All Grade 3 students (8-9 years of age) from a stratified cluster sample of schools in Melbourne, Australia were invited to take part. In total, 1239 students and a parent/guardian were recruited to participate in the study. Measures are repeated annually and comprise student, parent and teacher questionnaires, and student anthropometric measurements. A saliva sample was collected from students at baseline and will be repeated at later waves, with the primary purpose of measuring hormonal indices of adrenarche and gonadarche. DISCUSSION: CATS is uniquely placed to capture biological and phenotypic indices of the pubertal process from its earliest manifestations, together with anthropometric measures and assessment of child health and development. The cohort will provide rich detail of the development, lifestyle, external circumstances and health of children during the transition from childhood through to adolescence. Baseline associations between the hormonal measures and measures of mental health and behaviour will initially be examined cross-sectionally, and then in later waves longitudinally. CATS will make a unique contribution to the understanding of adrenarche and puberty in children's health and development.
-
ItemPrenatal alcohol exposure and infant gross motor development: a prospective cohort study(BMC, 2019-05-14)BACKGROUND: Maternal alcohol consumption in pregnancy may have adverse effects on child gross motor (GM) development. There have been few human studies on this topic, particularly ones examining low exposure. This study examined the association between prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and infant GM development at 12-months of age. METHODS: Participants were 1324 women recruited from antenatal clinics in Sydney and Perth, Australia. Maternal and paternal alcohol use was assessed in pregnancy via interview; offspring GM development was measured at 12-months with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III). RESULTS: Any alcohol use in pregnancy was common: 56.1%, of pregnant women drank early in Trimester one (0-6 weeks), however this reduced to 27.9% on average thereafter and at predominantly low levels. However, infant BSID GM scale scores were not found to differ significantly as a function of PAE in the first 6-weeks (low, moderate, binge or heavy PAE), nor with low PAE across pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence to suggest that low PAE is associated with measurable impairment in infant GM development at 12-months. Further research is needed to examine potential PAE impacts on GM development in heavier exposure groups and through the childhood years when subtle GM deficits may be more detectable.
-
ItemDevelopment of a multi-dimensional measure of resilience in adolescents: the Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire(BMC, 2011-10-05)BACKGROUND: The concept of resilience has captured the imagination of researchers and policy makers over the past two decades. However, despite the ever growing body of resilience research, there is a paucity of relevant, comprehensive measurement tools. In this article, the development of a theoretically based, comprehensive multi-dimensional measure of resilience in adolescents is described. METHODS: Extensive literature review and focus groups with young people living with chronic illness informed the conceptual development of scales and items. Two sequential rounds of factor and scale analyses were undertaken to revise the conceptually developed scales using data collected from young people living with a chronic illness and a general population sample. RESULTS: The revised Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire comprises 93 items and 12 scales measuring resilience factors in the domains of self, family, peer, school and community. All scales have acceptable alpha coefficients. Revised scales closely reflect conceptually developed scales. CONCLUSIONS: It is proposed that, with further psychometric testing, this new measure of resilience will provide researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive and developmentally appropriate instrument to measure a young person's capacity to achieve positive outcomes despite life stressors.
-
ItemRetention strategies in longitudinal cohort studies: a systematic review and meta-analysis(BMC, 2018-11-26)BACKGROUND: Participant retention strategies that minimise attrition in longitudinal cohort studies have evolved considerably in recent years. This study aimed to assess, via systematic review and meta-analysis, the effectiveness of both traditional strategies and contemporary innovations for retention adopted by longitudinal cohort studies in the past decade. METHODS: Health research databases were searched for retention strategies used within longitudinal cohort studies published in the 10-years prior, with 143 eligible longitudinal cohort studies identified (141 articles; sample size range: 30 to 61,895). Details on retention strategies and rates, research designs, and participant demographics were extracted. Meta-analyses of retained proportions were performed to examine the association between cohort retention rate and individual and thematically grouped retention strategies. RESULTS: Results identified 95 retention strategies, broadly classed as either: barrier-reduction, community-building, follow-up/reminder, or tracing strategies. Forty-four of these strategies had not been identified in previous reviews. Meta-regressions indicated that studies using barrier-reduction strategies retained 10% more of their sample (95%CI [0.13 to 1.08]; p = .01); however, studies using follow-up/reminder strategies lost an additional 10% of their sample (95%CI [- 1.19 to - 0.21]; p = .02). The overall number of strategies employed was not associated with retention. CONCLUSIONS: Employing a larger number of retention strategies may not be associated with improved retention in longitudinal cohort studies, contrary to earlier narrative reviews. Results suggest that strategies that aim to reduce participant burden (e.g., flexibility in data collection methods) might be most effective in maximising cohort retention.
-
ItemAlcohol and parenthood: An integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts(ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD, 2019-04-01)AIMS: To determine the extent to which the transition to parenthood protects against heavy and problematic alcohol consumption in young men and women. DESIGN: Integrated participant-level data analysis from three population-based prospective Australasian cohort studies. SETTING: General community; participants from the Australian Temperament Study, the Christchurch Health and Development Study, and the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study. MEASUREMENTS: Recent binge drinking, alcohol abuse/dependence and number of standard drinks consumed per occasion. FINDINGS: 4015 participants (2151 females; 54%) were assessed on four occasions between ages 21 and 35. Compared to women with children aged <12 months, women who had not transitioned to parenthood were more likely to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence (fully adjusted risk ratio [RR] 3.5; 95% CI 1.5-7.9) and to report recent binge drinking (RR 3.0; 95% CI 2.1-4.3). The proportion of women meeting the criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence and/or binge drinking increased with the age of participants' youngest child, as did the mean number of standard drinks consumed on each occasion (1.8 if the youngest child was <1 year of age vs. 3.6 for 5+ years of age). Associations between parenthood and male drinking behaviour were considerably weaker. CONCLUSIONS: For most women in their twenties and thirties, parenting a child <1 year of age was associated with reduced alcohol consumption. However, this protective effect diminished after 12 months with drinking levels close to pre-parenthood levels after five years. There was little change in male drinking with the transition to parenthood.
-
ItemAssociations between adrenarcheal hormones, amygdala functional connectivity and anxiety symptoms in children(PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2018-11)OBJECTIVE: The transition from childhood to adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of anxiety symptoms. There is some evidence that hormonal changes occurring during adrenarche, an early pubertal phase, might play a role in this increased vulnerability. Little is known about underlying brain mechanisms. Given the role of the amygdala-based fear circuit in anxiety, the current study aimed to investigate whether children's adrenarcheal hormone levels were associated with functional connectivity of the amygdala while processing fearful facial expressions, and how this in turn related to anxiety symptoms. METHOD: Participants were 83 children (M age 9.53 years) who completed two morning saliva collections to measure levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), its sulphate (DHEAS), and testosterone. They also completed the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS), and viewed fearful and calm facial expressions while undergoing a functional MRI scan. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses were performed to examine amygdala connectivity and significant clusters were fed into a bootstrapping mediation model. RESULTS: In boys, mediation analyses showed an indirect positive effect of testosterone on anxiety symptoms, which was mediated by amygdala-secondary visual cortex connectivity as well as amygdala-anterior cingulate connectivity. In girls, DHEAS showed a negative indirect association with anxiety symptoms mediated by amygdala connectivity to the fusiform face area and insula. CONCLUSION: The results indicate unique roles for adrenarcheal hormones in anxiety and suggest that amygdala connectivity may represent an important neural mechanism in these associations. Importantly, results reveal prominent sex differences in the biological mechanisms associated with anxiety in children undergoing adrenarche.