Despite increased focus on the effects of organized activities on youth development, there is currently no consensus about the best way to assess various dimensions of involvement. This article explores the complexities of assessing involvement and focuses specifically on the following organized activity dimensions: (a) breadth, (b) intensity, (c) duration/consistency, and (d) engagement. For each dimension, the article examines the theoretical underpinnings for why it is important to measure the dimension, presents measurement issues that have arisen in previous studies, describes how the dimension relates to developmental outcomes, and offers recommendations for assessing it in future use. A conceptual model is presented to describe issues that are important to consider when assessing various dimensions of organized activity involvement in future research.

Deriving groups of individuals with differing treatment response trajectories stimulates new thinking regarding potential mechanisms that may be driving these outcomes.

Background-The purpose of this study was to investigate the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) Glutamate/Glutamine (Glx) to creatine ratio (Glx/Cr) in two groups of children with bipolar disorder (BPD): those exhibiting manic symptoms requiring treatment and those being stably treated with the atypical antipsychotic risperidone. Atypical antipsychotics have been shown to increase serum glutamate levels and ACC Glx/Cr in subjects with schizophrenia. In this study, we hypothesized that the children with BPD in need of treatment would have lower Glx/Cr compared with the children with BPD being stably treated with risperidone.

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Objective-The authors' goal was to investigate phosphatidylinositol and glutamatergic metabolism in the anterior cingulate cortex of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) alone, children with ADHD plus bipolar disorder, and children with no axis I diagnosis.Method-Proton spectra were acquired from a 4.8-ml voxel placed in the anterior cingulate cortex of 30 subjects who were 6 to 13 years old. Fifteen subjects had ADHD and no comorbid disorder, eight had ADHD plus bipolar disorder, and seven were healthy comparison subjects.Results-Children with ADHD had a significantly higher ratio of glutamate plus glutamine to myo-inositol-containing compounds than children with ADHD plus bipolar disorder and healthy children.Conclusions-myo-Inositol-containing compounds may provide information on the action of antimanic treatments such as lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine. Glutamate and glutamine are measures of glutamatergic neurotransmission and thus may also reflect changes in serotonin and dopamine pathways.The lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder is between 1% and 3% and may be present in children and adolescents (1, 2). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been reported in 70% to 98% of children with bipolar disorder (2). The ability to distinguish bipolar disorder, ADHD, and ADHD with comorbid bipolar disorder is important in terms of treatment management because bipolar disorder and ADHD require different treatment strategies (3,4 Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H MRS) can measure a number of cerebral metabolites, including creatine plus phosphocreatine (Cr), myo-inositol-containing compounds (Ino: myo-inositol with small contributions from inositol-1-phosphate [5]), and glutamate plus glutamine (Glx). 1 H MRS has shown a higher Ino-to-Cr ratio in the anterior cingulate cortex and frontal cortex gray matter of children with bipolar disorder than in healthy comparison subjects (6-8). In contrast, 1 H MRS has shown a higher Glx-to-Cr ratio in the prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe of children with ADHD than in healthy comparison subjects (9, 10).We used 1 H MRS to investigate anterior cingulate cortex metabolite levels in children and adolescents with ADHD alone, ADHD plus bipolar disorder, and no psychiatric diagnosis. Some of the healthy comparison subjects were siblings of the children with ADHD. Siblings were chosen in an effort to distinguish state differences between children with ADHD, those with ADHD plus bipolar disorder, and healthy comparison subjects. Using 1 H MRS, Chang et al. (11) measured trait differences in the prefrontal cortex of children genetically at risk for bipolar disorder. On the basis of the literature, we hypothesized that a higher Glxto-Cr ratio would be associated with ADHD and a higher Ino-to-Cr ratio would be associated with ADHD plus bipolar disorder; thus the Glx-to-Ino ratio could distinguish ADHD from ADHD plus bipolar disorder. MethodThis study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Massach...

Clarifying the prevalence and nature of such characteristics can help pediatric providers improve patient care and minimize unnecessary medical interventions with early detection of risk for somatoform processes, provision of psychoeducation for patients and families, and early referral to mental health clinicians.

Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), this cross-sectional study examined mediated and moderated associations between different types of discretionary time activities and depressive symptoms and delinquency among a sample of 246 (107 boys, 139 girls) fifth through eighth grade urban African American adolescents. More time spent in passive unstructured activities was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms only for adolescents residing in less dangerous neighborhoods, whereas more time spent in active unstructured activities was associated with higher levels of delinquency only if adolescents resided in more dangerous neighborhoods. Alienation was positively associated with depressive symptoms and delinquency, but neither alienation nor positive affect mediated the relationship between activities and adjustment. These findings suggest the importance of considering neighborhood environment issues when determining what types of discretionary time activities are most beneficial for urban African American young adolescents.

The current study examined the curvilinear links between involvement in organized activities (OA) and sport activities specifically and various indicators of psychological and social development. Participants included 150 9th and 10th graders (57% females) from an urban, selective‐enrollment high school. Eligibility for admission is based on city residence, high GPA, and high scores on standardized tests and an admission exam. Findings indicated that benefits of OA involvement leveled off at approximately 5–7 h/week, with diminishing returns for adolescents participating in more than 10 h/week. Results also suggest that OA involvement uniquely impacts male and lower‐income participants. Males reported threshold effects in terms of perceived friendship competence and depressive symptoms. Male sport participants and lower‐income adolescents reported a similar pattern for loneliness. Findings suggest that among a high achieving sample of urban adolescents, social and psychological benefits are linked to moderate but not intense involvement in OAs and sports.