An experimental test of differential susceptibility to parenting among emotionally-dysregulated children in a randomized controlled trial for oppositional behavior

AbstractIn this randomized controlled trial, 508 5-year-old kindergarten children participated, of whom 257 were delayed in literacy skills because they belonged to the lowest quartile of a national standard literacy test. We tested the hypothesis that some children are more susceptible to school-entry educational interventions than their peers due to their genetic makeup, and thus whether the dopamine receptor D4 gene moderated intervention effects. Children were randomly assigned to a control condition or one of two interventions involving computer programs tailored to the literacy needs of delayed pupils: Living Letters for alphabetic knowledge and Living Books for text comprehension. Effects of Living Books met the criteria of differential susceptibility. For carriers of the dopamine receptor D4 gene seven-repeat allele (about one-third of the delayed group), the Living Books program was an important addition to the common core curriculum in kindergarten (effect size d = 0.56), whereas the program did not affect the other children (d = –0.09). The same seven-repeat carriers benefited more from Living Letters than did the noncarriers, as reflected in effect sizes of 0.63 and 0.34, respectively, although such differences did not fulfill the statistical criteria for differential susceptibility. The implications of differential susceptibility for education and regarding the crucial question “what works for whom?” are discussed.

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Video-feedback promotes sensitive limit-setting in parents of twin preschoolers: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Psychology ◽

10.1186/s40359-021-00548-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Saskia Euser ◽

Claudia I. Vrijhof ◽

Bianca G. Van den Bulk ◽

Rachel Vermeulen ◽

Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Differential Susceptibility ◽

Video Feedback ◽

Control Group ◽

Parental Sensitivity ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Limit Setting ◽

The Impact ◽

Structured Play

Abstract Background Primary aim of the current randomized controlled trial was to test the effectiveness of the parenting intervention ‘Video-feedback to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline’ (VIPP-SD) in a sample of parents of preschool-aged twins, as well as differential susceptibility to intervention efforts, that is, whether more temperamentally reactive parents would profit more from the VIPP-SD than parents with lower reactivity. Methods The sample consisted of 202 families with same-sex twins [N = 404 children, mean age 45 months (SD = 6.81)]. Randomization was done at the family level in a 2:3 ratio, with 83 families (41%) randomized to the VIPP-SD group, and 119 families (59%) to the control group. After two pre-tests in year 1 and year 2 of the study, the VIPP-SD was implemented in the third year, with a post-test assessment 1 month after the five intervention sessions. Parental sensitivity was observed during structured play in which parent and child copied a drawing together in a computerized Etch-A-Sketch paradigm. Parental limit-setting was observed in a ‘don’t touch’ task in which the parent required from the child to abstain from playing with attractive toys. Parents interacted with each of their twins in separate sessions. Results The VIPP-SD intervention had a positive impact on the level of parents’ positive limit-setting in interaction with their preschool twins, and this positive effect was most pronounced when the parents completed at least five intervention sessions. However, the intervention did not enhance parental sensitivity during structured play. Parents with higher reactivity were not more open to the impact of the intervention, thus for this temperamental marker differential susceptibility in adults was not supported. Conclusions The current study is unique in targeting families with twin preschoolers, providing proof of principle that coaching parents with video-feedback promotes parental sensitive limit-setting to both children. It remains to be seen whether this finding can be replicated in families with non-twin siblings, or other parental susceptibility markers. Trial registration Trial NL5172 (NTR5312), 2015-07-20.

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An experimental test of the fetal programming hypothesis: Can we reduce child ontogenetic vulnerability to psychopathology by decreasing maternal depression?

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579418000470 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 787-806 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Elysia Poggi Davis ◽

Benjamin L. Hankin ◽

Danielle A. Swales ◽

M. Camille Hoffman

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Maternal Depression ◽

Experimental Test ◽

Fetal Programming ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Past Research ◽

Maternal Depressive Symptoms ◽

Randomized Controlled

AbstractMaternal depression is one of the most common prenatal complications, and prenatal maternal depression predicts many child psychopathologies. Here, we apply the fetal programming hypothesis as an organizational framework to address the possibility that fetal exposure to maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy affects fetal development of vulnerabilities and risk mechanisms, which enhance risk for subsequent psychopathology. We consider four candidate pathways through which maternal prenatal depression may affect the propensity of offspring to develop later psychopathology across the life span: brain development, physiological stress regulation (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis), negative emotionality, and cognitive (effortful) control. The majority of past research has been correlational, so potential causal conclusions have been limited. We describe an ongoing experimental test of the fetal programming influence of prenatal maternal depressive symptoms using a randomized controlled trial design. In this randomized controlled trial, interpersonal psychotherapy is compared to enhanced usual care among distressed pregnant women to evaluate whether reducing prenatal maternal depressive symptoms has a salutary impact on child ontogenetic vulnerabilities and thereby reduces offspring's risk for emergence of later psychopathology.

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Experimental evidence for differential susceptibility: Dopamine D4 receptor polymorphism (DRD4 VNTR) moderates intervention effects on toddlers' externalizing behavior in a randomized controlled trial.

Developmental Psychology ◽

10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.293 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 293-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 277

Author(s):

Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg ◽

Marinus H. Van IJzendoorn ◽

Femke T. A. Pijlman ◽

Judi Mesman ◽

Femmie Juffer

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Externalizing Behavior ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Differential Susceptibility ◽

Dopamine D4 Receptor ◽

Intervention Effects ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

D4 Receptor ◽

Receptor Polymorphism

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ORCHIDS: an Observational Randomized Controlled Trial on Childhood Differential Susceptibility

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/1471-2458-12-917 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Rabia R Chhangur ◽

Joyce Weeland ◽

Geertjan Overbeek ◽

WalterCHJ Matthys ◽

Bram Orobio de Castro

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Differential Susceptibility ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Treatment Fidelity Procedures for an Aphasia Intervention Within a Randomized Controlled Trial: Design, Feasibility, and Results

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2019_ajslp-cac48-18-0227 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (1S) ◽

pp. 412-424

Author(s):

Elissa L. Conlon ◽

Emily J. Braun ◽

Edna M. Babbitt ◽

Leora R. Cherney

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Treatment Protocol ◽

Treatment Fidelity ◽

Protocol Adherence ◽

Study Condition ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Aphasia Therapy ◽

Percent Accuracy ◽

Over Time

Purpose This study reports on the treatment fidelity procedures implemented during a 5-year randomized controlled trial comparing intensive and distributed comprehensive aphasia therapy. Specifically, the results of 1 treatment, verb network strengthening treatment (VNeST), are examined. Method Eight participants were recruited for each of 7 consecutive cohorts for a total of 56 participants. Participants completed 60 hr of aphasia therapy, including 15 hr of VNeST. Two experienced speech-language pathologists delivered the treatment. To promote treatment fidelity, the study team developed a detailed manual of procedures and fidelity checklists, completed role plays to standardize treatment administration, and video-recorded all treatment sessions for review. To assess protocol adherence during treatment delivery, trained research assistants not involved in the treatment reviewed video recordings of a subset of randomly selected VNeST treatment sessions and completed the fidelity checklists. This process was completed for 32 participants representing 2 early cohorts and 2 later cohorts, which allowed for measurement of protocol adherence over time. Percent accuracy of protocol adherence was calculated across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition (intensive vs. distributed therapy). Results The fidelity procedures were sufficient to promote and verify a high level of adherence to the treatment protocol across clinicians, cohorts, and study condition. Conclusion Treatment fidelity strategies and monitoring are feasible when incorporated into the study design. Treatment fidelity monitoring should be completed at regular intervals during the course of a study to ensure that high levels of protocol adherence are maintained over time and across conditions.

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Phonomotor Versus Semantic Feature Analysis Treatment for Anomia in 58 Persons With Aphasia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-18-0257 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (12) ◽

pp. 4464-4482 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Diane L. Kendall ◽

Megan Oelke Moldestad ◽

Wesley Allen ◽

Janaki Torrence ◽

Stephen E. Nadeau

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Response Latency ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Semantic Knowledge ◽

Semantic Feature ◽

Feature Analysis ◽

Group Differences ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Confrontation Naming ◽

Semantic Feature Analysis

Purpose The ultimate goal of anomia treatment should be to achieve gains in exemplars trained in the therapy session, as well as generalization to untrained exemplars and contexts. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of phonomotor treatment, a treatment focusing on enhancement of phonological sequence knowledge, against semantic feature analysis (SFA), a lexical-semantic therapy that focuses on enhancement of semantic knowledge and is well known and commonly used to treat anomia in aphasia. Method In a between-groups randomized controlled trial, 58 persons with aphasia characterized by anomia and phonological dysfunction were randomized to receive 56–60 hr of intensively delivered treatment over 6 weeks with testing pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment termination. Results There was no significant between-groups difference on the primary outcome measure (untrained nouns phonologically and semantically unrelated to each treatment) at 3 months posttreatment. Significant within-group immediately posttreatment acquisition effects for confrontation naming and response latency were observed for both groups. Treatment-specific generalization effects for confrontation naming were observed for both groups immediately and 3 months posttreatment; a significant decrease in response latency was observed at both time points for the SFA group only. Finally, significant within-group differences on the Comprehensive Aphasia Test–Disability Questionnaire ( Swinburn, Porter, & Howard, 2004 ) were observed both immediately and 3 months posttreatment for the SFA group, and significant within-group differences on the Functional Outcome Questionnaire ( Glueckauf et al., 2003 ) were found for both treatment groups 3 months posttreatment. Discussion Our results are consistent with those of prior studies that have shown that SFA treatment and phonomotor treatment generalize to untrained words that share features (semantic or phonological sequence, respectively) with the training set. However, they show that there is no significant generalization to untrained words that do not share semantic features or phonological sequence features.

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