TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarzenthal, Miriam A1 - Juang, Linda P. A1 - Schachner, Maja Katharina A1 - van de Vijver, Fons J. R. T1 - "When birds of a different feather flock together" - intercultural socialization in adolescents’ friendships JF - International Journal of Intercultural Relations N2 - We conclude that intercultural friendships are associated with important skills that are needed in increasingly multicultural societies if students experience and discuss cultural variations in these friendships. KW - Intercultural friendships KW - Socialization KW - Intercultural competence KW - Cultural intelligence KW - Adolescents Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.07.001 SN - 0147-1767 SN - 1873-7552 VL - 72 SP - 61 EP - 75 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Warschburger, Petra A1 - Zitzmann, Jana T1 - The efficacy of a universal school-based prevention program for eating disorders among German adolescents BT - results from a randomized-controlled trial JF - Journal of youth and adolescence : a multidisciplinary research publication N2 - Disordered eating is highly prevalent during adolescence and has a detrimental effect on further development. Effective prevention programs are needed to prevent unhealthy developmental trajectories. This study evaluated the efficacy of the POPS-program (POtsdam Prevention at Schools), a universal school-based eating disorder prevention program for adolescents. In a cluster-randomized design, we compared the intervention group receiving the prevention program to a waiting control group. Outcomes included indicators of disordered eating and relevant risk factors for eating disorders (body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal, perceived media pressure, perfectionism, emotional element of exercise, social comparison, and perceived teasing). Questionnaires were administered at the start of the intervention, 3 and 12 months post intervention. At baseline, 1112 adolescents aged 10 to 16 years participated (49% girls; 51% intervention group). Intention-to-treat analyses with the complete data set and per-protocol analyses as a completer analysis were performed. The intervention group showed a more favorable course compared to the control group regarding all observed risk factors for eating disorders except for perceived teasing. Effect sizes were small but comparable to other primary prevention programs. At 1-year follow-up, a small but significant effect on disordered eating was observed. Results of the per-protocol analyses were mostly confirmed by the intention-to-treat analyses. Results were promising for both genders although girls benefited more regarding disordered eating and internalization of the thin ideal. Further studies are warranted examining successful program elements and whether gender-specific programs are needed. KW - Eating disorders KW - Evaluation KW - Primary prevention KW - Adolescents KW - School-based KW - RCT Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0852-3 SN - 0047-2891 SN - 1573-6601 VL - 47 IS - 6 SP - 1317 EP - 1331 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiser, Susanne A1 - Esser, Günter T1 - How dysfunctional are dysfunctional attitudes? BT - a threshold model of dysfunctional attitudes and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents JF - Cognitive Therapy and Research N2 - In order to clarify further the role of Beck’s vulnerability-stress model in the early development of depression, this longitudinal study tested a threshold model of dysfunctional attitudes in children and adolescents. An initially asymptomatic sample of 889 youths aged 9–18 years completed measures of dysfunctional attitudes and depressive symptoms. Twenty months later, participants reported stressful life events and current depressive symptoms. Results support a threshold view of cognitive vulnerability as only dysfunctional attitudes above a certain threshold significantly interacted with life events to predict depressive symptoms. Thus, findings suggest that dysfunctional attitudes must exceed a certain threshold to confer vulnerability to depressive symptomatology in youth. The term “dysfunctional” might therefore only apply to higher levels of the “dysfunctional attitudes” proposed by A. T. Beck. Results also indicate that studies using non-clinical samples may systematically underestimate the effect of dysfunctional attitudes when relying on conventional linear methods. KW - Cognitive vulnerability KW - Depression KW - Children KW - Adolescents KW - Dysfunctional attitudes KW - Threshold models Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-017-9842-0 SN - 0147-5916 SN - 1573-2819 VL - 41 SP - 730 EP - 744 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinrich, Angela A1 - Buchmann, Arlette F. A1 - Zohsel, Katrin A1 - Dukal, Helene A1 - Frank, Josef A1 - Treutlein, Jens A1 - Nieratschker, Vanessa A1 - Witt, Stephanie H. A1 - Brandeis, Daniel A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Esser, Günter A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Laucht, Manfred A1 - Rietschel, Marcella T1 - Alterations of Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene Methylation in Externalizing Disorders During Childhood and Adolescence JF - Behavior genetics : an international journal devoted to research in the inheritance of behavior in animals and man N2 - Epigenetic modulations are a hypothesized link between environmental factors and the development of psychiatric disorders. Research has suggested that patients with depression or bipolar disorder exhibit higher methylation levels in the glucocorticoid receptor gene NR3C1. We aimed to investigate whether NR3C1 methylation changes are similarly associated with externalizing disorders such as aggressive behavior and conduct disorder. NR3C1 exon 1F methylation was analyzed in young adults with a lifetime diagnosis of an externalizing disorder (N = 68) or a depressive disorder (N = 27) and healthy controls (N = 124) from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk. The externalizing disorders group had significantly lower NR3C1 methylation levels than the lifetime depressive disorder group (p = 0.009) and healthy controls (p = 0.001) This report of lower methylation levels in NR3C1 in externalizing disorders may indicate a mechanism through which the differential development of externalizing disorders as opposed to depressive disorders might occur. KW - Epigenetic KW - Glucocorticoid receptor KW - Methylation KW - Externalizing disorders KW - Adolescents Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-015-9721-y SN - 0001-8244 SN - 1573-3297 VL - 45 IS - 5 SP - 529 EP - 536 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Warschburger, Petra T1 - SRT-Joy - computer-assisted self-regulation training for obese children and adolescents: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial JF - Trials N2 - Background: Obesity is not only a highly prevalent disease but also poses a considerable burden on children and their families. Evidence is increasing that a lack of self-regulation skills may play a role in the etiology and maintenance of obesity. Our goal with this currently ongoing trial is to examine whether training that focuses on the enhancement of self-regulation skills may increase the sustainability of a complex lifestyle intervention. Methods/Design: In a multicenter, prospective, parallel group, randomized controlled superiority trial, 226 obese children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 years will be allocated either to a newly developed computer-training program to improve their self-regulation abilities or to a placebo control group. Randomization occurs centrally and blockwise at a 1:1 allocation ratio for each center. This study is performed in pediatric inpatient rehabilitation facilities specialized in the treatment of obesity. Observer-blind assessments of outcome variables take place at four times: at the beginning of the rehabilitation (pre), at the end of the training in the rehabilitation (post), and 6 and 12 months post-rehabilitation intervention. The primary outcome is the course of BMI-SDS over 1 year after the end of the inpatient rehabilitation. Secondary endpoints are the self-regulation skills. In addition, health-related quality of life, and snack intake will be analyzed. Discussion: The computer-based training programs might be a feasible and attractive tool to increase the sustainability of the weight loss reached during inpatient rehabilitation. KW - Obesity KW - Randomized-controlled trial KW - Computer-assisted self-regulation training KW - Children KW - Adolescents KW - Weight Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-015-1078-2 SN - 1745-6215 VL - 16 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER -