Mapping the duration and severity of preschool‐aged children's depressive moods and behaviors
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21344394 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara J Bufferd (0000-0003-2915-4225, University of Louisville Louisville KY USA, corresponding author), Akira J Isaac (0000-0002-6472-0504, University of Louisville Louisville KY USA), Thomas M Olino (0000-0001-5139-8571, Temple University Philadelphia PA USA), Lea R Dougherty (0000-0003-2612-7686, University of Maryland College Park College Park MD USA) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1156-1164 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9630 • E-ISSN: 1469-7610 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jcpp.13954 |
| PMID | 38366750 |
| OpenAlex | W4391897737 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
BACKGROUND: Depressive moods and behaviors are developmentally normative, yet potentially impairing, in preschool-aged children. In addition to frequency, duration of behavior is an important parameter to consider when characterizing risk for worsening mood dysregulation. The goal of this study was to identify the duration and severity of depressive moods and behaviors and associations with impairment in a large community sample of preschool-aged children using an online parent-report daily diary. METHODS: Primary caregivers (N = 900) of 3-5-year-old children reported the daily duration of each instance of seven depressive moods and behaviors for 14 days. We used item response theory analyses to examine duration item characteristics. RESULTS: Moods and behaviors occurred at specific durations to be considered psychometrically severe/rare; for example, instances of sadness had to last an average total of 32 min per day or more, irritability at least 38 min, tantrums at least 30 min, and tearfulness/sensitivity at least 35 min. Longer durations of mood and behavior were associated with daily impairment, as well as older child age and less parental education. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study to delineate specific duration ranges for depressive moods and behaviors in preschool-aged children. These data, coupled with information about the frequency of mood-related behaviors, can assist child practitioners in differentiating normative patterns from less normative mood problems to evaluate which children may be at risk. Future work should identify the duration of depressive moods and behaviors in early childhood that predict clinically significant psychopathology over time
Anger · Anxiety · Depressive symptoms · Developmental psychology · Duration (music) · Irritability · Mood · Normative · Psychiatry · Psychopathology · Sadness · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Infant Health and Development · Psychology · Sleep and related disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Poverty, Stress, and Brain Development
Childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and risk of past-year psychiatric disorder
Item response theory.
The Development of Emotion Regulation and Dysregulation
Stress and child development
Emotion regulation and understanding
Depression and sensitization to stressors among young women as a function of childhood adversity.
Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis
Toward an integrated clinical-developmental model of guilt
A Cross-Sectional Study of Onset, Cessation, Frequency, and Duration of Children's Temper Tantrums in a Nonclinical Sample
Mapping the Frequency and Severity of Depressive Behaviors in Preschool-Aged Children
Affective Dynamics and Mean Levels of Preschool Irritability and Sadness
| Highly cited | No |
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