Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed April 28, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3299.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2008. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 719 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2006. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 29 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Psychology)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: The present study tested the factor structure of the externalizing disorders (e.g. attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (SE), and substance experimentation (SE) ) in adolescence. In addition, this study tested the influence of the GABRA2 gene on the factors of the externalizing spectrum. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the factor structure of the externalizing spectrum. Specifically, three competing alternate confirmatory factor analytic models were tested: a one-factor model where all disorders loaded onto a single externalizing factor, a two-factor model where CD and SE loaded onto one factor and ADHD loaded onto another, and a three-factor model, where all three disorders loaded onto separate factors. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effect of a GABRA2 SNP, rs279858, on the factors of the externalizing spectrum. Analyses revealed that a three-factor model of externalizing disorders with correlated factors fit the data best. Additionally, GABRA2 had a significant effect on the SE factor in adolescence, but not on the CD or ADHD factors. These findings demonstrate that the externalizing disorders in adolescence share commonalities but also have separate sources of systematic variance. Furthermore, biological mechanisms may act as a unique etiological factor in the development of adolescent substance experimentation. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Psychology 2012

abstract: Alcohol use disorders and internalizing disorders are highly comorbid in adults, but how this comorbidity unfolds over development is not well understood. Previous retrospective studies in adults have shown that internalizing problems are associated with a rapid transition from first drink and first regular drinking to the onset of alcohol dependence. Some results also suggest that internalizing is a stronger predictor of rapid transitions through later stages of alcohol involvement, but these stage-specific effects have not been explicitly tested. The present study utilized a prospective dataset to investigate effects of adolescent internalizing symptoms on speed of transition through multiple stages of alcohol involvement. Specifically, it was hypothesized that greater early internalizing symptoms would predict a later age of first drink, a slower transition from first drink to first binge, and a faster transition from first binge to first dependence symptom. The moderating effects of gender were also examined. Data were from a longitudinal study of children of alcoholics and matched controls (n = 454) followed from late childhood to mid-life. Linear regression and Cox regression were the primary analytic strategies. Covariates were externalizing symptoms, family history of alcohol use disorders, and gender. Analyses also controlled for age at which the participant entered each interval. Generally, stage-specific hypotheses concerning the effects of internalizing were not supported. Internalizing symptoms marginally predicted an earlier age of first drink and a faster transition from first binge to first dependence symptom, and significantly predicted a faster transition through the overall interval from first drink to first dependence symptom. Internalizing was a stronger predictor of rapid transitions for women, and the effects of internalizing were not specific to early or later stages of alcohol involvement among women. These results suggest that early internalizing problems are a general risk factor for a rapid transition through all stages of alcohol involvement, and this risk may be stronger for women than for men. These results have important implications for our theoretical understanding of the relationship between internalizing problems and alcohol use disorders as well as prevention and intervention efforts targeting these problems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2014

A paralisia cerebral é definida como uma alteração permanente do desenvolvimento da postura e movimento, causando limitações nas atividades, que são atribuídas a um distúrbio não progressivo que ocorre precocemente no encéfalo em desenvolvimento. A presença de comorbidades psiquiátricas traz piora funcional e na qualidade de vida dessas crianças e seu reconhecimento e tratamento deveriam fazer parte da rotina de centros de reabilitação. Este projeto tem como objetivo estudar as comorbidades psiquiátricas na paralisia cerebral. Foram avaliados 550 indivíduos com diagnóstico de paralisia cerebral, procedentes de um centro terciário de reabilitação física. A comorbidade psiquiátrica mais frequentemente observada foi a deficiência intelectual. Outras comorbidades psiquiátricas frequentes foram os transtornos ansiosos, transtornos do comportamento, transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade, transtorno do espectro autista e depressão. Embora não fosse o objetivo deste trabalho estudar a ocorrência de epilepsia nessa população, observamos que 43,2% dos nossos pacientes apresentaram essa associação. A presença de transtornos do espectro do autismo foi significativamente maior nos pacientes com epilepsia. A presença de um transtorno psiquiátrico impactou significativamente a percepção da funcionalidade das crianças com paralisia cerebral. Pensar na reabilitação desses sujeitos é levar em conta a presença de transtornos psiquiátricos. A pesquisa ativa de comorbidades deve ser prática rotineira dentro de centros de reabilitação terciários. Pensar em reabilitação do paciente com paralisia cerebral deve extrapolar os objetivos físicos e olhar com a mesma atenção para os aspectos emocionais, comportamentais, acadêmicos e sociais / Cerebral palsy is defined as a permanent change of posture and movement development, causing limitations in activities that are assigned to a non-progressive disorder that occurs early in the developing brain. The presence of psychiatric comorbidity brings functional deterioration and worsens quality of life of these children and their recognition and treatment should be part of routine of rehabilitation centers. This project aims to study psychiatric comorbidities in cerebral palsy. We evaluated 550 individuals diagnosed with cerebral palsy coming from a tertiary physical rehabilitation center. The most frequent psychiatric comorbidity was intellectual disability. Other frequent psychiatric comorbidities were anxiety disorders, behavioral disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and depression. Although it was not the objective of this work to study the occurrence of epilepsy in this population, we observed that 43.2% of our patients had this situation. The presence of autism spectrum disorders was significantly higher in patients with epilepsy. The presence of a psychiatric disorder significantly impacted the functionality of children with cerebral palsy. Thinking about the rehabilitation of these subjects is to take in account the presence of psychiatric disorders. The active search of comorbidities should be a routine practice in tertiary rehabilitation centers. Thinking about the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy should extrapolate the physical goals and look with the same attention to the emotional, behavioral, academic and social aspects

A identificação de genes responsáveis por doenças humanas pode fornecer conhecimentos sobre mecanismos patológicos e psicológicos que são essenciais para o desenvolvimento de novos diagnósticos e terapias. Sabemos que uma doença é raramente uma consequência de uma anormalidade num único gene, porém reflete desordens de uma rede intra e intercelular complexa. Muitas metodologias conhecidas na Bioinformática são capazes de priorizar genes relacionados a uma determinada doença. Algumas abordagens também podem validar a pertinência ou não destes genes em relação à doença estudada. Uma abordagem de priorização de genes é a investigação a partir de doenças que acometem pacientes ao mesmo tempo, as comorbidades. Existem muitas fontes de dados biomédicos que podem ser utilizadas para a coleta de comorbidades. Desta forma, podemos coletar pares de doenças que formam comorbidades epidemiológicas e assim analisar os genes de cada doença. Esta análise serve para expandirmos a lista de genes candidatos de cada uma dessas doenças e justificarmos a relação gênica entre essas comorbidades. O objetivo principal deste projeto é o de integração dos dados epidemiológicos e genéticos para a realização da predição de genes causadores de doenças. Isto se dará através do estudo de comorbidade destas doenças. / The identification of genes responsible for human diseases can provide knowledge about pathological and physiological mechanisms that are essential for the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics. It is known that a disease is rarely a consequence of an abnormality in a single gene, but reflects complex intra and intercellular network disorders. Many methodologies known in Bioinformatics are able to prioritize genes related to a particular disease. Some approaches can also validate how appropriate or not these genes are relative to a disease. An approach for prioritizing genes is the research from diseases afecting patients at the same time, i.e. comorbidities. There are many sources of biomedical data that can be used to collect comorbidities and analyse genes of each disease. We can also expand the list of candidate genes for each singular disease and justify the genetic relationship of these comorbidities. The main objective of this project is the integration of epidemiologic and genetic data to perform the prediction of causing genes through the study of comorbidity of these illnesses.