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SAGE Journal User Guide

The Impact of Environmental Experiences on Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Across the Life Span. Kendler, K. S., Eaves, L. J., Loken, E. K., Pedersen, N. L., Middeldorp, C. M., Reynolds, C., Boomsma, D., Lichtenstein, P., Silberg, J., & Gardner, C. O. (2011). Psychological Science, 22, 1343-1352.

Abstract:

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are relatively stable over time. Can this stability be explained by genetic influences, or is it caused by the long-lasting effects of accumulating environmental experiences? To address this question, we analyzed longitudinally assessed symptoms of anxiety and depression in eight samples of monozygotic twins of widely varying ages. These samples were drawn from American and European population-based registries. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined individual differences and individual changes in the level of symptoms over time. This method enabled us to decompose the variance into the predictable variance shared by both members of each pair of twins, the differences between individuals within pairs, and the residual variance. We then modeled how these components of individual variation changed over time. Within pairs, the twins’ predicted levels of symptoms increasingly diverged from childhood until late adulthood, at which point the divergence ceased. By middle adulthood, environmental experiences contributed substantially to stable and predictable interindividual differences in levels of anxiety and depression.

Discussion Questions:

1. What type of specialized design was used in this study? Explain your answer.
2. What are the advantages of the design type used in this study? What are the disadvantages?
3. Was the study an experiment (see Chapter 11) or quasi-experiment (see Chapter 12)? How do you know?
4. What types of extraneous factors might affect the results in this study? Explain how each factor may have caused the results found by the researchers.

‘What Happened Next’: A Study of Outcomes for Maltreated Children Following Care Proceedings.  Mulcahy, G., Badger, J., & Erskine, C. (2014). Adoption & Fostering, 38, 314-330.

Abstract:

This is the first report from a study of outcomes for 114 children from 49 families assessed in an expert multi-disciplinary service during care proceedings. The study investigated the extent of children’s adaptation following judicial decisions made in the proceedings and what factors might be involved in changes in the children’s adaptation and well-being. We also aimed to investigate the reliability of the expert placement and treatment recommendations made to the court.

The original assessment reports for the court were independently coded using a comprehensive child adaptation measure (Target and Fonagy, 1992). At follow-up, mean time of 26 months after their assessment, the researchers re-employed the child adaptation measure in semi-structured interviews with carers in birth, adoptive, foster and kinship placements. The data were independently coded and the results compared with the child’s original score as a measure of change in adaptation post proceedings in their substitute family or birth family. Researchers also collected information about the children’s placement(s) and any support or treatment received.

The study found that children’s well-being significantly improved by an average of +6.7 points between initial assessment (M = 68.13; SD = 9.86) and follow-up (M = 74.82; SD = 7.84), (t (67) = −5.0, p < .001, d = 0.76). Children whose global adjustment scores were clinically concerning at the time of assessment hardly improved their scores (.44), compared to children whose global adjustment scores were within the normal range at the time of assessment. Interestingly, the majority (88%) of expert placement recommendations had been accepted and implemented. However, less than 50% of the children and only 30% of parents received the support and treatment recommended in the experts’ reports in the proceedings. The implications for both policy and practice in working with children and their families during and after care proceedings are explored.

Discussion Questions:

1. What type of specialized design was used in this study? Explain your answer.
2. What are the advantages of the design type used in this study? What are the disadvantages?
3. Was the study an experiment (see Chapter 11) or quasi-experiment (see Chapter 12)? How do you know?
4. What types of extraneous factors might affect the results in this study? Explain how each factor may have caused the results found by the researchers.