Neural reward network sensitivity in youth is proposed to differentially impact the effects of social environments on social outcomes. The COVID‐19 pandemic provided an opportunity to test this hypothesis within a context of diminished in‐person social interaction. We examined whether neural sensitivity to interactive social reward moderates the relationship between a frequency of interactive or passive social activity and social satisfaction. Survey reports of frequency of interactions with friends, passive social media use, and loneliness and social satisfaction were gathered in 2020 during mandated precautions limiting in‐person contact. A subset of participants (age = 10–17) previously participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examining social‐interactive reward during a simulated peer interaction (survey n = 76; survey + fMRI n = 40). We found evidence of differential response to social context, such that youth with higher neural reward sensitivity showed a negative association between a frequency of interactive connections with friends and a combined loneliness and social dissatisfaction component (LSDC) score, whereas those with lower sensitivity showed the opposite effect. Further, high reward sensitivity was associated with greater LSDC as passive social media use increased, whereas low reward sensitivity showed the opposite. This indicates that youth with greater sensitivity to social‐interactive reward may be more susceptible to negative effects of infrequent contact than their low reward‐sensitive counterparts, who instead maintain social well‐being through passive viewing of social content. These differential outcomes could have implications for supporting youth during times of major social disruption as well as ensuring mental health and well‐being more broadly.
Background: The goal of the current study was to characterize the impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts (i.e., stay-at-home orders) on children’s mental health and parenting quality, as well as to assess predictors of children’s mental health during the pandemic. Methods: Seventy-nine children (18 with autism, 61 without) and their parents who participated in a previous study and were at least 10 years old (M = 13.8, SD = 1.7) were invited to participate in three online follow-up surveys post initiation of the stay-at-home-order (during May through November 2020). Children were predominantly White (49.4%) and not Hispanic or Latino (78.5%). Parents reported on children’s anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as their own parenting practices. Family togetherness, conflict, financial problems, and parental mental health during the pandemic were also collected. Results: Children without autism experienced a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms across the beginning of the pandemic and a significant increase in depressive symptoms from pre- to post-stay-at-home-order. Children with autism experienced a significant decrease in depressive symptoms from pre- to post- stay-at-home-order. Parents of children without autism reported a significant decrease in positive parenting from pre- to post stay-at-home-order. Higher levels of permissive parenting and financial problems were associated with children’s depressive symptoms. Higher levels of parent mental health difficulties and permissive parenting were associated with higher levels of children’s anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Children are experiencing both improvements and declines in mental health relative to pre-pandemic. Parenting quality and parental mental health have direct impacts on children’s functioning during the pandemic.
This study characterized the rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adolescent and young adult males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) using a multi-method approach integrating a DSM-based parent interview (Children's Interview for Psychiatric Syndromes; P-ChIPS, Fristad et al., 1998) and a parent rating scale (Child Behavior Checklist; CBCL, Achenbach, 2001). Thirty-one males with FXS, aged 16–24 years, participated. Forty-two percent met DSM-5 criteria for ADHD and 35% exceeded the CBCL cut-offs. Agreement between the two classification methods was fair (κ = 0.38). Autism symptom severity and nonverbal cognitive ability did not predict ADHD diagnoses/symptoms. Results show high rates of ADHD in males with FXS during late adolescence and young adulthood, which are not accounted for by impaired nonverbal cognitive skills or autism symptom severity. DSM-based ADHD-specific scales are recommended over broadband symptom scales to improve accurate identification.
Neural reward network sensitivity in adolescence is proposed to differentially impact the effects of social environments on social outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to test this hypothesis within a context of diminished in-person social interaction. We examined whether neural sensitivity to interactive social reward moderates the relationship between frequency of interactive or passive social activity and social satisfaction. Survey reports of frequency of interactions with friends, non-interactive social media use, feelings of social needs being met, and loneliness were gathered in 2020 during mandated precautions limiting in-person contact. A subset of participants previously participated in an fMRI study examining social interactive reward during a simulated peer interaction (Survey n = 76; Survey + fMRI n = 40). We found evidence of differential response to social context, such that adolescents with higher neural reward sensitivity had a strong positive association between frequency of interactive connections with friends and social needs met, while those with lower sensitivity showed no effect. Further, high reward sensitive adolescents reported higher levels of loneliness with increasing social media use, whereas low reward sensitive adolescents reported the opposite with the same behaviors. This indicates that youth with greater sensitivity to social interactive reward are more susceptible to negative effects of infrequent contact, whereas low reward sensitive adolescents are less susceptible and instead maintain social well-being through passive viewing of social content. These differential outcomes have implications for supporting youth during times of major social disruption as well as ensuring mental health and well-being more broadly.
Background The FMR1 premutation, defined by an expansion of 55–200 CGG repeats on the FMR1 gene, occurs in 1 in 150 women in the US. The premutation is related to complications, including risk for neurodegenerative disease (Fragile X‐associated tremor/ataxia syndrome; FXTAS) and broader neurocognitive features occurring outside of the context of FXTAS. Understanding the premutation’s effect on cognition, such as visuospatial working memory (VWM), will provide a more comprehensive understanding of cognitive symptoms associated with the FMR1 premutation genotype. Previous findings demonstrated that premutation males with high CGG repeats perform worse on VWM tasks (Hocking et al., 2012). Few studies examined VWM in female carriers, who typically show milder symptoms. This study examined VWM in female carriers and its relationship with CGG repeat length. Methods Participants were 33 premutation carrier women and 22 neurotypical controls aged 27‐59 (M=45) years. Groups did not significantly differ in age (p=.132), education (p=.682), or race (p=.661). Participants completed Spatial Addition test of the WMS‐IV (Weschler, 2009). DNA from buccal swabs was analyzed for CGG repeat length using the Asuragen AmplideX kit. Results Given the incomplete penetrance the FMR1 premutation phenotype, where only a subgroup of women experience symptoms, analyses focused on identifying those who obtained low/at‐risk standard scores (1+SD below the mean), as opposed comparing mean performance across groups. Chi‐squared analyses indicated that premutation carrier women were more likely score 1+ SD below the mean on the Spatial Addition test (30% vs 0% of controls), X 2=8.14, p=.004. Logistic regression indicated that CGG repeat length was a significant predictor of scoring 1+SD below the mean, after controlling for education level, (χ2=‐7.50, p=.032). For every unit increase in CGG repeat length, the odds of scoring 1+SD below the mean increased by a factor of 1.07 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.12). Conclusions Female premutation carriers were more likely to show VWM difficulties, which were associated with genetic liability (i.e., CGG repeat length). Future research may explore VWM deficits in relation to FXTAS risk.
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