Using alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana during adolescence is associated with risks, yet there is no single cause for adolescent substance use. The etiology of substance use develops over time, across multiple levels of influence. Informed by developmental perspectives, in this review, we provide an overview of biological (e.g., genetic,…

Background/Context: In this paper we draw on an intersectional critical framework to analyze and account for the simultaneous interworkings of race and dis/ability. Specifically, we draw on this framework to examine two aims of modern science: (a) to identify distinct biological markers of race and (b) to locate biological and neurological origins…

Gene-environment interaction (G x E) has been treated as both a statistical phenomenon and a biological reality. It is argued that, although there are important statistical issues that need to be considered, the focus has to be on the biological implications of G x E. Four reports of G x E deriving from the Dunedin longitudinal study are used as…

While both positive and negative peer interactions have long been a focus of scientific interest, much less attention has been given to children who tend to refrain from interacting with peers. This volume brings together leading authorities to review progress in understanding the development, causes, and consequences of shyness and social…

The authors review research on risk factors for eating disorders, restricting their focus to studies in which clear precedence of the hypothesized risk factor over onset of the disorder is established. They illustrate how studies of sociocultural risk factors and biological factors have progressed on parallel tracks and propose that major advances…

The role of neurological, biological, developmental, and allergic factors in producing hyperactivity is examined, and the nature of such modifying factors as the child's basic temperament and personality is analyzed. (CL)

The prevalence and cost of chronic pain is a major physical and mental health care problem in the United States today. As a result, there has been a recent explosion of research on chronic pain, with significant advances in better understanding its etiology, assessment, and treatment. The purpose of the present article is to provide a review of…

The article describes a study being conducted to explore the hypothesis that genetic and/or congenital factors are etiologically significant in certain persons with the syndrome of autism. Preliminary data suggest a larger than expected number of families with multiple incidence of autism. (Author/DB)

The author hypothesizes that central nervous system damage of deficiency associated with mental retardation affects primarily those cortical processes which developed at a late stage in man's evolutionary history. (Author)

The author reviews theories and research on the etiology of infantile autism, specifically regarding its organic basis. He cites controversies over its organic vs. environmental basis and over the family's impact on autism. Quotes from such theoriests as L. Kanner, B. Bettleheim, and B. Rimland are presented along with E. R. Ritvo and M. Coleman.…

The review and analysis of the current status of knowledge about schizophrenia and its treatment begins with a brief review of some statistics on mental health, the National Institute of Mental Health's grants program in schizophrenia, an NIMH-sponsored international conference on Schizophrenia - the Implications of Research Findings for Treatment…

Lytton responds to two critical commentaries in this issue by restating the reasons why it is useful to try to disentangle child effects from parent effects. Argues that 10 convergent lines of research provide evidence that the child's tendencies are stronger contributors to conduct disorder than are parental influences. (RH)

A review of current literature suggests that many cases of autism may well have both environmental and genetic etiologies and that more than one genetic locus is likely. Some evidence suggests that some genetic abnormality of language or sociability is inherited which then interacts with other factors to produce autism. (DB)