The authors explored the utility of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in assessing adolescents' emotion regulation. Adolescents (11-17 years; N = 870) completed the DERS and measures of externalizing and internalizing problems. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a similar factor structure in the adolescent sample of the authors as demonstrated previously among adults. Furthermore, results indicated no gender bias in ratings of DERS factors on three scales (as evidenced by strong factorial gender invariance) and limited gender bias on the other three scales (as evidenced by metric invariance). Female adolescents scored higher on four of six DERS factors than male adolescents. DERS factors were meaningfully related to adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problems. Results suggest that scores on the DERS show promising internal consistency and validity in a community sample of adolescents.

Analysis of 772 complete severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomes from early in the Boston-area epidemic revealed numerous introductions of the virus, a small number of which led to most cases. The data revealed two superspreading events. One, in a skilled nursing facility, led to rapid transmission and significant mortality in this vulnerable population but little broader spread, whereas other introductions into the facility had little effect. The second, at an international business conference, produced sustained community transmission and was exported, resulting in extensive regional, national, and international spread. The two events also differed substantially in the genetic variation they generated, suggesting varying transmission dynamics in superspreading events. Our results show how genomic epidemiology can help to understand the link between individual clusters and wider community spread.

This study examined the role of the level and variability of happiness, anger, anxiety, and sadness in the development of adolescent-reported anxiety disorder symptoms, depressive symptoms, and aggressive behavior in 452 adolescents (250 male) followed from age 13 to 14. Level and between-day variability of emotions were assessed through adolescent report at 3-month intervals across a 1 year period. Level and variability of the four emotions contributed to changes in anxiety disorder and depressive symptoms more consistently than to changes in aggressive behavior. All four emotions were predictive of changes in internalizing problems, while anger played the most prominent role in the development of aggressive behavior. Variability of emotions contributed to changes in anxiety disorder symptoms, while heightened levels of negative emotions and diminished happiness contributed to changes in depression. Results suggested somewhat stronger effects of negative affect on aggressive behavior for females than for males. Results underscore the role of emotion dysregulation in the development of psychopathology.

The present study (a) tests main and moderational effects of neighborhood and family risk, and adolescent impulsivity on the development of male and female antisocial behavior (ASB) and (b) examines the extent to which these effects work indirectly through parental knowledge. Adolescents (N = 4,597; 51% male) reported on informal social control in their neighborhoods, their family types, and impulsivity at age 12, and on parental monitoring and ASB at ages 13 and 15 years. Neighborhoods were further defined as risk and nonrisk in economic deprivation by census-level data. Main effects of neighborhood risk, single parenthood, and impulsivity on ASB were found for male and female adolescents. For female adolescents, impulsivity interacted with neighborhood economic deprivation and with family type in the prediction of parental knowledge. Impulsivity and contextual risk factors in part increased adolescent ASB through decreasing parental knowledge. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

In several previous biochemical, pharmacological, and genetic studies, the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis as well as the pharmacological treatment of affective disorders. In the present study, 256 patients with major depression (DSM-IV) of Caucasian descent were genotyped for the functional COMT val158met polymorphism and characterized for clinical response to antidepressive pharmacological treatment as measured by intra-individual changes of Hamilton Depression (HAM-D-21) scores over 6 weeks. The COMT 158val/val genotype conferred a significant risk of worse response after 4-6 weeks of antidepressant treatment in patients with major depression (week 4: p ¼ 0.003; week 5: po0.0001; week 6: po0.0001) after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. The present results strongly point toward a negative influence of the higher activity COMT 158val/ val genotype on antidepressant treatment response during the first 6 weeks of pharmacological treatment in major depression, possibly conferred by consecutively decreased dopamine availability. This finding suggests a potentially beneficial effect of an antidepressive addon therapy with substances increasing dopamine availability individually tailored according to COMT val158met genotype.