The Relationship between Parental Educational Level and Children’s Cognitive Functioning This study investigated the relationship between a child’s measured intelligence and the educational level of that child’s mother and/or father. Correlations between parental educational level and children’s cognitive functioning as measured by a conventional South African intelligence scale, were examined. The instrument used to measure the children’s cognitive functioning in this study was the Senior South African Individual Scale-Revised (SSAIS-R). The children’s scaled scores were obtained from existing results on the SSAISR. Parental educational levels were obtained from existing intake questionnaires, which parents completed before their children were assessed on the SSAIS-R at the Centre for Psychological Services and Career Development (PsyCaD). Correlational analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the two variables of interest. The sample consisted of 23 cases. All of the children were aged between 8 and 10, spoke either English or Afrikaans as a first language, and belonged to the White, Indian or Coloured population groups. The results indicated that maternal level of education was positively and moderately correlated with children’s cognitive functioning. Paternal educational level and children’s cognitive functioning were found to have no correlation or to be inversely correlated. The correlation results between paternal level of education and children’s cognitive functioning should be interpreted with caution since the sample size was very small. Thus, the results are not statistically significant.

A Distrofia Muscular de Duchenne (DMD) é provocada por mutações no gene distrofina. Este gene codifica a proteína distrofina, que exerce papel importante na manutenção da estabilidade da membrana da fibra muscular. Os objetivos do estudo consistiram em examinar o desempenho neuropsicológico de pacientes com DMD e verificar a influência de deleções downstream ao exon 45 sobre o mesmo. Foram avaliados os perfis de inteligência de 63 pacientes com DMD por meio das Escalas Wechsler de Inteligência ou o Teste de Raven. A faixa etária do grupo variou de 6 a 26 anos de idade e a escolaridade, 1 a 16 anos de estudo formal. Os pacientes com escores de inteligência normais (n=34) foram comparados com controles quanto às funções neuropsicológicas. O grupo controle foi composto por 34 jovens do sexo masculino pareados por idade. Os testes incluíram medidas de memória verbal (Teste de Aprendizado Verbal de Rey), habilidade viso-espacial (Teste de Organização Visual de Hooer), funções executivas (fluência verbal e Teste de Wisconsin de Classificação de Cartas). A avaliação também incluiu testes da bateria Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) para o exame de: tempo de reação simples (Simple Reaction Time); tempo de reação com dupla escolha (Choice Reaction Time), atenção visual sustentada (Rapid Visual Processing), amplitude atencional/memória operacional (Spatial Span, ordem direta e inversa), memória visual de curto e longo prazo (Pattern Recognition Memory), reconhecimento de estímulos complexos apresentados simultaneamente ou após intervalo (Delayed Matching to Sample), memória espacial (Spatial Recognition Memory) e tomada de decisão (Information Sampling Task). O Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI) foi administrado para exame de sintomas de depressão e o Inventário de Comportamentos da Infância e Adolescência (CBCL) foi utilizado como medida de alterações de comportamento. Utilizou-se a análise de variância (one-way ANOVA) na comparação entre grupos. As covariáveis foram controladas por meios estatísticos. Os pacientes com DMD obtiveram medias de QIs com 1 desvio padrão abaixo da media da população. Após controle para covariáveis, os pacientes com DMD mostraram desempenhos significantemente inferiores nos testes de Aritmética, Vocabulário, Compreensão, Dígitos e no Teste de Wisconsin (número de erros totais, erros perseverativos, respostas de nível conceitual e categorias completas). Também mostraram tempos de reação mais longos (Simple Reaction Time), menor amplitude atencional tanto na ordem direta, quanto inversa (Spatial Span) e menor número de acertos no teste de tomada de decisão (Information Sampling Task) (p<0,05). A proporção de pacientes com deleções no gene distrofina foi de 54% (34/63). Não foi encontrada associação entre os resultados de inteligência e dados genéticos. Comparados com controles, os 14 pacientes com deleção downstream ao exon 45 e QI&#8805;80 mostraram dificuldades mais específicas. O tempo de reação foi discutido conforme a complexidade da tarefa. Os participantes do grupo controle apresentaram escores mais altos no BDI e CBCL, indicando maior ocorrência de sintomas. Possíveis fatores relacionados foram discutidos. Há evidências de que as deleções downstream ao exon 45 (relacionadas à isoforma cerebral da distrofina Dp140) estão envolvidas com a menor eficiência de tomada de decisão dentre os pacientes com DMD. Os achados também sugerem a associação entre a DMD e disfunções frontais. / Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. This gene codes for dystrophin, a protein important for maintaining the stability of muscle-fiber membranes. The objectives of the study were to examine neuropsychological performance in patients with DMD and the influence of deletions in the dystrophin gene (the Dp140 regulatory region) on neuropsychological function. General intelligence was investigated in 63 DMD patients using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale or the Raven\'s Matrices Test. The age range for DMD participants was from 6 to 26 years, with a range of 1 to 16 years of formal education. The participants who had intellectual scores in the normal range (n=34) were compared to controls in terms of neuropsychological function. The control group was composed of 34 male age-matched subjects. Patients were divided into groups according to the region of mutation in the dystrophin gene and those with delection downstream of exon 45 were also compared to controls. The battery included the Wechsler scale subtests and measures of verbal memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), viso-perceptual skills (Hooper Visual Organization Test), executive function (FAS, animals and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). The assessment also included tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to examine reaction time (Simple Reaction Time and Choice Reaction Time), sustained attention (Rapid Visual Processing), working memory (Spatial Span, forward and reverse), short and long term visual memory (Pattern Recognition Memory), recognition memory for complex stimuli presented simultaneously or after short interval (Delayed Matching to Sample), spatial memory (Spatial Recognition Memory), and decision making (Information Sampling Task). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered for depression symptoms assessment and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used as a measure of disruptive behavior. Analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was used. Covariates were controlled statistically. The DMD patients had mean IQs about one standard deviation lower than population means. Verbal IQ was significantly lower than Performance IQ. After controlling for covariates, significant difference (p<0.05) appeared between DMD patients and controls and DMD was associated to lower IQs (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance) and worse performances on Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Digit Span, Wisconsin Test (total errors, perseverative errors, conceptual level responses, and categories completed), Spatial Span (forward and reverse recall), and on the number of correct trials on Information Sampling Task. They also showed slower simple reaction times (Simple Reaction Time). The proportion of patients with dystrophin gene deletions was 54% (34/63). No relationship was established between intelligence results and genetic data. Compared to controls, 14 patients with delection downstream of exon 45 and normal IQs showed more specific deficits. Reaction time was discussed in terms of complexity of the task. Controls showed significant higher BDI and CBCL scores than DMD patients. Possible related factors were discussed. There is evidence to indicate that delections downstream of exon 45 (related to cerebral dystrophin isoform Dp140) are involved in decision making impairment in patients with DMD. The findings suggest that DMD may be related to frontal dysfunction.

A Distrofia Muscular de Duchenne (DMD) é provocada por mutações no gene distrofina. Este gene codifica a proteína distrofina, que exerce papel importante na manutenção da estabilidade da membrana da fibra muscular. Os objetivos do estudo consistiram em examinar o desempenho neuropsicológico de pacientes com DMD e verificar a influência de deleções downstream ao exon 45 sobre o mesmo. Foram avaliados os perfis de inteligência de 63 pacientes com DMD por meio das Escalas Wechsler de Inteligência ou o Teste de Raven. A faixa etária do grupo variou de 6 a 26 anos de idade e a escolaridade, 1 a 16 anos de estudo formal. Os pacientes com escores de inteligência normais (n=34) foram comparados com controles quanto às funções neuropsicológicas. O grupo controle foi composto por 34 jovens do sexo masculino pareados por idade. Os testes incluíram medidas de memória verbal (Teste de Aprendizado Verbal de Rey), habilidade viso-espacial (Teste de Organização Visual de Hooer), funções executivas (fluência verbal e Teste de Wisconsin de Classificação de Cartas). A avaliação também incluiu testes da bateria Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) para o exame de: tempo de reação simples (Simple Reaction Time); tempo de reação com dupla escolha (Choice Reaction Time), atenção visual sustentada (Rapid Visual Processing), amplitude atencional/memória operacional (Spatial Span, ordem direta e inversa), memória visual de curto e longo prazo (Pattern Recognition Memory), reconhecimento de estímulos complexos apresentados simultaneamente ou após intervalo (Delayed Matching to Sample), memória espacial (Spatial Recognition Memory) e tomada de decisão (Information Sampling Task). O Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI) foi administrado para exame de sintomas de depressão e o Inventário de Comportamentos da Infância e Adolescência (CBCL) foi utilizado como medida de alterações de comportamento. Utilizou-se a análise de variância (one-way ANOVA) na comparação entre grupos. As covariáveis foram controladas por meios estatísticos. Os pacientes com DMD obtiveram medias de QIs com 1 desvio padrão abaixo da media da população. Após controle para covariáveis, os pacientes com DMD mostraram desempenhos significantemente inferiores nos testes de Aritmética, Vocabulário, Compreensão, Dígitos e no Teste de Wisconsin (número de erros totais, erros perseverativos, respostas de nível conceitual e categorias completas). Também mostraram tempos de reação mais longos (Simple Reaction Time), menor amplitude atencional tanto na ordem direta, quanto inversa (Spatial Span) e menor número de acertos no teste de tomada de decisão (Information Sampling Task) (p<0,05). A proporção de pacientes com deleções no gene distrofina foi de 54% (34/63). Não foi encontrada associação entre os resultados de inteligência e dados genéticos. Comparados com controles, os 14 pacientes com deleção downstream ao exon 45 e QI&#8805;80 mostraram dificuldades mais específicas. O tempo de reação foi discutido conforme a complexidade da tarefa. Os participantes do grupo controle apresentaram escores mais altos no BDI e CBCL, indicando maior ocorrência de sintomas. Possíveis fatores relacionados foram discutidos. Há evidências de que as deleções downstream ao exon 45 (relacionadas à isoforma cerebral da distrofina Dp140) estão envolvidas com a menor eficiência de tomada de decisão dentre os pacientes com DMD. Os achados também sugerem a associação entre a DMD e disfunções frontais. / Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. This gene codes for dystrophin, a protein important for maintaining the stability of muscle-fiber membranes. The objectives of the study were to examine neuropsychological performance in patients with DMD and the influence of deletions in the dystrophin gene (the Dp140 regulatory region) on neuropsychological function. General intelligence was investigated in 63 DMD patients using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale or the Raven\'s Matrices Test. The age range for DMD participants was from 6 to 26 years, with a range of 1 to 16 years of formal education. The participants who had intellectual scores in the normal range (n=34) were compared to controls in terms of neuropsychological function. The control group was composed of 34 male age-matched subjects. Patients were divided into groups according to the region of mutation in the dystrophin gene and those with delection downstream of exon 45 were also compared to controls. The battery included the Wechsler scale subtests and measures of verbal memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), viso-perceptual skills (Hooper Visual Organization Test), executive function (FAS, animals and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). The assessment also included tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to examine reaction time (Simple Reaction Time and Choice Reaction Time), sustained attention (Rapid Visual Processing), working memory (Spatial Span, forward and reverse), short and long term visual memory (Pattern Recognition Memory), recognition memory for complex stimuli presented simultaneously or after short interval (Delayed Matching to Sample), spatial memory (Spatial Recognition Memory), and decision making (Information Sampling Task). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered for depression symptoms assessment and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used as a measure of disruptive behavior. Analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was used. Covariates were controlled statistically. The DMD patients had mean IQs about one standard deviation lower than population means. Verbal IQ was significantly lower than Performance IQ. After controlling for covariates, significant difference (p<0.05) appeared between DMD patients and controls and DMD was associated to lower IQs (Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance) and worse performances on Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Digit Span, Wisconsin Test (total errors, perseverative errors, conceptual level responses, and categories completed), Spatial Span (forward and reverse recall), and on the number of correct trials on Information Sampling Task. They also showed slower simple reaction times (Simple Reaction Time). The proportion of patients with dystrophin gene deletions was 54% (34/63). No relationship was established between intelligence results and genetic data. Compared to controls, 14 patients with delection downstream of exon 45 and normal IQs showed more specific deficits. Reaction time was discussed in terms of complexity of the task. Controls showed significant higher BDI and CBCL scores than DMD patients. Possible related factors were discussed. There is evidence to indicate that delections downstream of exon 45 (related to cerebral dystrophin isoform Dp140) are involved in decision making impairment in patients with DMD. The findings suggest that DMD may be related to frontal dysfunction.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.