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Background: Diagnosis of monogenic diabetes has important clinical implications for treatment and health expenditure. However, its prevalence remains to be specified in many countries, particularly from South Europe, North Africa and Middle-East, where non-autoimmune diabetes in young adults is increasing dramatically. Aims: To identify cases of monogenic diabetes in young adults from Mediterranean countries and assess the specificities between countries. Methods: We conducted a transnational multicenter study based on exome sequencing in 204 unrelated patients with diabetes (age-at-diagnosis: 26.1 ± 9.1 years). Rare coding variants in 35 targeted genes were evaluated for pathogenicity. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, chi-squared test and factor analysis of mixed data. Results: Forty pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, 14 of which novel, were identified in 36 patients yielding a genetic diagnosis rate of 17.6%. The majority of cases were due to GCK, HNF1A, ABCC8 and HNF4A variants. We observed highly variable diagnosis rates according to countries, with association to genetic ancestry. Lower body mass index and HbA1c at study inclusion, and less frequent insulin treatment were hallmarks of pathogenic variant carriers. Treatment changes following genetic diagnosis have been made in several patients. Conclusions: Our data from patients in several Mediterranean countries highlight a broad clinical and genetic spectrum of diabetes, showing the relevance of wide genetic testing for personalized care of early-onset diabetes. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

The phase noise of surface acoustic wave resonators is explored by a passive measurement system based on the carrier suppression technique. The measurements are focused on 2.44-GHz quartz crystal resonators. These resonators are characterized in terms of motional parameters. The power dissipated through the resonators is around $500~\mu \text{W}$ . The second-order frequency-temperature coefficient of the resonators has been measured to be around −0.038 ppm/°C2 that corresponds to a classical ST cut. The resonator conditioning is presented. The measured noise exhibits a 1/ $f$ frequency fluctuation behavior. The short-term stability (flicker floor) is given in terms of Allan standard deviation. The order of magnitude is around $2\times 10^{\mathbf {-10}}$ . Additional measurements are given for resonators at 433 and 915 MHz in order to compare them. The results are presented according to the intrinsic quality factor of the resonators and compared to the previous works done in the past by T. Parker. These additional data provide valuable information on the dependence of the flicker noise levels on resonator frequency.

Few data are available to describe the changes in incidence of pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to describe changes in incidence and phenotypic presentation of pediatric-onset IBD in northern France during a 24-year period.Pediatric-onset IBD (17 years) was issued from a population-based IBD study in France between 1988 and 2011. Age groups and digestive location were defined according to the Paris classification.1,350 incident cases were recorded (8.3% of all IBD) including 990 Crohn's disease (CD), 326 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 34 IBD unclassified (IBDU). Median age at diagnosis was similar in CD (14.4 years (Q1=11.8-Q3=16.0)) and UC (14.0 years (11.0-16.0)) and did not change over time. There were significantly more males with CD (females/males=0.82) than UC (females/males=1.25) (P=0.0042). Median time between onset of symptoms and IBD diagnosis was consistently 3 months (1-6). Mean incidence was 4.4/10In this population-based study, CD and UC incidences increased dramatically in adolescents across a 24-year span, suggesting that one or more strong environmental factors may predispose this population to IBD.

Les enquetes de la Societe francaise d’endoscopie digestive (SFED), initiees en 1998 et realisees annuellement depuis 2001, ont pour objectif de decrire les caracteristiques des patients beneficiant d’une coloscopie, les conditions de prise en charge, le rendement diagnostique et les eventuelles complications. A partir d’un questionnaire envoye par voie electronique, la pratique de l’endoscopie est evaluee pendant cinq jours consecutifs. Les donnees de l’enquete sont extrapolees sur la population totale des 2 600 gastroenterologues pratiquant des endoscopies digestives, puis comparees aux annees d’exercice precedentes. L’enquete a ete realisee du 16 au 22 janvier 2017. L’enquete SFED 2017 sur l’exercice de la coloscopie en France met en evidence plusieurs points: une participation en hausse, une augmentation du nombre de coloscopies realisees, une amelioration constante de la qualite des coloscopies, liee a plusieurs facteurs: une meilleure prise en charge des patients avant l’examen, une meilleure adaptation des produits de preparation en fonction du profil des patients, l’utilisation plus importante des laxatifs chez les patients constipes avant examen, un meilleur respect des recommandations sauf pour la gestion des traitements anticoagulants avant examen. Les donnees fournies par les enquetes de la SFED representent un outil important dans l’evaluation de l’activite endoscopique en France et sont une image quasi unique en Europe. L’amelioration de la qualite permet d’ameliorer les performances de la coloscopie et montre la pertinence de respecter au mieux les recommandations.

International audience; A carrier suppression system is implemented in order to measure the phase noise of acoustic resonators that have a low motional resistance. A special adapters’ system using transformers is proposed to improve the loaded quality factor of the resonators. With this developed device and described protocol, the inherent noise of resonators can be obtained without the usual electronical oscillator conditioning that could take part in the results. The loaded quality factor is improved from about 10% to 60% of the intrinsic quality factor. As an example, the system is used to study Langatate crystal resonators vibrating at 10 MHz. Langatate crystals can be an alternative to substitute for the quartz crystal resonators for frequency and time applications. Their coupling coefficient and the product quality factor-frequency are normally higher than those in quartz crystal resonators. For ultrastable resonators, the motional resistance obtained with Langatate crystals is about five times lower than that for the quartz crystal; it can reach typically few ohms. These resonators have been characterized in terms of impedance, Q-factors, turnover temperature, amplitude–frequency effect, and phase noise. The short-term stability of these resonators is given in terms of Allan standard deviation. The influence of the driving power is presented

Objectifs Les enquetes de la SFED, initiees en 1998 et realisees annuellement depuis 2001, ont pour objectif de decrire les caracteristiques des patients beneficiant d’une coloscopie, les conditions de prise en charge, le rendement diagnostique et les eventuelles complications.

Erikson's (1950) model of adult psychosocial development outlines the significance of successful involvement within one's relationships, work, and community for healthy aging. He theorized that the consequences of not meeting developmental challenges included stagnation and emotional despair. Drawing on this model, the present study uses prospective longitudinal data to examine how the quality of assessed Eriksonian psychosocial development in midlife relates to late-life cognitive and emotional functioning. In particular we were interested to see whether late-life depression mediated the relationship between Eriksonian development and specific domains of cognitive functioning (i.e., executive functioning and memory). Participants were 159 men from the over-75 year longitudinal Study of Adult Development. The sample was comprised of men from both higher and lower socioeconomic strata. Eriksonian psychosocial development was coded from men's narrative responses to interviews between the ages of 30-47 (Vaillant & Milofsky, 1980). In late life (ages 75-85) men completed a performance-based neuropsychological assessment measuring global cognitive status, executive functioning, and memory. In addition depressive symptomatology was assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. Our results indicated that higher midlife Eriksonian psychosocial development was associated with stronger global cognitive functioning and executive functioning, and lower levels of depression 3 to 4 decades later. There was no significant association between Eriksonian development and late-life memory. Late-life depression mediated the relationship between Eriksonian development and both global cognition and executive functioning. All of these results controlled for highest level of education and adolescent intelligence. Findings have important implications for understanding the lasting benefits of psychosocial engagement in mid-adulthood for late-life cognitive and emotional health. In addition, it may be that less successful psychosocial development increases levels of depression making individuals more vulnerable to specific areas of cognitive decline.

In this paper, a frequency regenerative divider using double closed loops is presented. The principle of this custom built regenerative divider by N is explained. This type of divider as the advantage to increase the division ratio without adding a multiplier inside the feedback loop.

International audience; In this paper, the intrinsic study on Langatate (LGT) crystal resonators has been carried out at 10 MHz resonant frequency. Among the crystals belonging to the Langasite family, the Langatate (La 3 Ga 5.5 Ta 0.5 O 14 ) also called LGT seems to be an alternative option to substitute the quartz crystal resonators for frequency and time applications. The intrinsic properties like electromechanical coupling coefficients, product of quality factor and frequency are normally seen higher than in quartz crystal resonators. Moreover, the amplitude-frequency effect and the force-frequency coefficient are lower. The characterization of these resonators is given in terms of impedance, Q-factors, turnover temperature, amplitude-frequency effect and phase noise. The short-term stability of some resonator pairs has been measured about 3·10 -13 in terms of Allan standard deviation.

Des arguments actuels en etudes observationnelles, de cohortes ou cas-temoins montrent que la coloscopie reduit de 70 % non seulement la mortalite, mais aussi l’incidence du cancer colorectal (CCR). Les etudes en population suggerent que l’efficacite ultime des strategies de depistage « en deux temps » apres Hemoccult® ou rectosigmoidoscopie positive est directement liee au taux de recours a la coloscopie parmi la population cible et qu’un taux de coloscopie d’environ 20 % est necessaire pour obtenir une reduction durable de la mortalite et de l’incidence du CCR dans la population consideree. Alors qu’il n’existe pas d’argument publie sur l’efficacite du test immunologique et que les pays ayant propose une attitude multimodale au depistage enregistrent des resultats encourageants, il est important de savoir si les discours des gastroenterologues sont en accord avec leurs actes. Ainsi, 65 % souhaitent ou ont fait une coloscopie de depistage et 72 % sont en faveur d’une strategie et d’une offre multimodale.

The sequential FOLFOX7–FOLFIRI combination is not superior to FOLFOX4 in colorectal cancer patients with resectable metastases. Patients with synchronous metastases preferably received perioperative chemotherapy, while patients with metachronous metastases were given postoperative chemotherapy in preference. We observed the highest long-term survival rates ever reported in this setting. Background Perioperative FOLFOX4 (oxaliplatin plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin) chemotherapy is the current standard in patients with resectable metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC). We aimed to determine whether a sequential chemotherapy with dose-dense oxaliplatin (FOLFOX7) and irinotecan (FOLFIRI; irinotecan plus 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin) is superior to FOLFOX4. The chemotherapy timing was not imposed, and was perioperative or postoperative. Patients and methods In this open-label, phase III trial, patients with resectable or resected metastases were randomly assigned either to 12 cycles of FOLFOX4 (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2) or 6 cycles of FOLFOX7 (oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2) followed by 6 cycles of FOLFIRI (irinotecan 180 mg/m2). Randomization was done centrally, with stratification by chemotherapy timing, type of local treatment (surgery versus radiofrequency ablation with/without surgery), and Fong's prognostic score. The primary end point was 2-year disease-free survival (DFS). Results A total of 284 patients were randomized, 142 in each treatment group. Chemotherapy was perioperative in 168 (59.2%) patients and postoperative in 116 (40.8%) patients. Perioperative chemotherapy was preferentially proposed for synchronous metastases, whereas postoperative chemotherapy was more frequently used for metachronous metastases. Two-year DFS was 48.5% in the FOLFOX4 group and 50.0% in the FOLFOX7–FOLFIRI group. In the multivariable analysis, more than one metastasis [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.15] and synchronous metastases (HR = 1.63) were independent prognostic factors for shorter DFS. Five-year overall survival (OS) rate was 69.5% with FOLFOX4 versus 66.6% with FOLFOX7–FOLFIRI. Conclusions FOLFOX7–FOLFIRI is not superior to FOLFOX4 in patients with resectable metastatic CRC. Five-year OS rates observed in both groups are the highest ever reported in this setting, possibly reflecting the pragmatic approach to chemotherapy timing. Clinical trials number NCT00268398.

1. Abstract 1.1. Objective : To examine the relation of age to sustained cognitive competence in late life among men who underwent a prospective, multidisciplinary assessment from age 19 to 95, with little attrition except death and dementia. 1.2. Method: A prospective 75-year study of 268 Harvard College sophomores was begun in 1939 with data points every 2-5 years and with multiple blinded raters. Measurements included assessment of childhood environment, objective mental and physical health over time, vascular risk factors andexercise. At age 80 the surviving 142 men, wereassessedusing the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Cognitive status was reassessed at ages 85, 90 and 95. 1.3. Results: The observed incidence of dementia (14 per 1,000-person years) (age 76-85) was about half that expected. Between age 80 and 90 the mean TICS score the 40 still surviving, cognitively competent men had declined only 0.65 of a point. Between ages 80 and 95 the mean TICS score of the 11 surviving cognitively competent men had declined only 0.55 of a point over 15 years. In both groups almost, half of the men’s TICS scores had not declined at all-or even increased. 1.4 . Conclusions : Excluding those men developing dementia or MCI,age per se from 80 to 95 did not appear to play a very significant role in cognitive decline among unusually long-lived, highly educated men. 2. Keywords: Cognitive Decline; Dementia; Longitudinal; MCI; Prospective; Risk Factors; TICS

The present study examines changes in defense maturity from mid to late life using data from an over 70-year longitudinal study. A sample of 72 men was followed beginning in late adolescence. Participants' childhoods were coded for emotional warmth. Defense mechanisms were coded by independent raters using the Q-Sort of Defenses (Roston et al., 1992, Ego mechanisms of defense: A guide for clinicians and researchers 217–233) based on interview data gathered at approximately ages 52 and 75. We examined psychosocial correlates of defenses at midlife, late life, and changes in defense from mid to late life. Overall, defenses grew more adaptive from midlife to late life. However, results differed on the basis of the emotional warmth experienced in the participants' childhoods. In midlife, men who experienced warm childhoods used more adaptive (mature) defenses; yet by late life, this difference in defensive maturity had disappeared. Men who experienced less childhood warmth were more likely to show an increase in adaptive defenses during the period from mid to late life.

In this paper, a passive measurement system is used to explore the phase noise of surface acoustic wave resonators. This method is based on the carrier suppression technique. The resonant frequency is around 2.4 GHz and the power dissipated through the resonators around 500 μW. The 1/f noise is measured and the Allan standard deviation s y_floor of an oscillator containing the test resonator is estimated.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) works because it discovered the use of positive emotions as a therapeutic tool 50 years before academic psychology discovered positive psychology. First, AA's emphasis on admitting dependence on and attachment to others, leads to the positive emotion of love and second, the recognition that to keep it you have to give it away, leading to the positive emotion of joy. The first three Steps of AA involve turning oneself over to a trusted other as long as it is not “me” (AA has always been clear that the definition of “God” was the alcoholic's choice) is to allow oneself to feel loved. The second component of AA is guiding new members toward joy via the last two Steps of AA. The 12th step, of course, is “As the result of these Steps: we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles (positive emotions) in all our affairs.” Secure attachment (a.k.a. love), as extrapolated from brain-imaging studies of mother–child attachment, is like addiction associated w...

The factors leading to the development of clinical dementia remain puzzling. Of seven major factors commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD): diabetes, midlife hypertension, smoking, depression, low educational attainment, cognitive inactivity, and physical inactivity (Barnes and Yaffe 2011), none have been consistently identified by prospective studies to play a causal role in AD. One reason for debate is the lack of multi-decade studies. Shorter, decade-long prospective studies (Bennett et al 2005, Albert et al 1995, Kawas et al 2000) can produce unreliable solutions, which may confuse association with cause. For example, are depression and diminished physical and intellectual activity causes of dementia or are they premonitory symptoms? A second reason for debate is the absence of autopsy examination. Most of these seven risk factors for AD, compellingly documented in the review by Barnes and Yaffe, have a known causal effect on small vessel disease. To claim causal attribution of these risk factors to AD arises from the fact that clinical dementia correlates only modestly with autopsy evidence of either AD or small vessel pathology alone (MRC CFAS 2001, Schneider et al 2007, Riley et al 2002). Rather, dementia is much more likely to occur when small vessel disease and amyloid plaques and tau tangles occur together making an either/or diagnosis uncertain. This suggests that the alleged predictors of AD may actually be predicting dementia partially due to small vessel disease (de la Torre, 2013). In addition, longitudinal studies like the Nun Study (Snowdon 1997) and the Rush Memory and Aging Project (Bennett et al 2005) have provided dramatic case studies reflecting discrepancies between Braak Staging of AD neuropathology and severity of dementia. Our study uses 70 years of prospectively collected longitudinal data to examine the environmental predictors of sustained intact cognition and of dementia by age 90. The value of our study lies in the fact that due to high education (76% attended graduate school) and social class, our sample is unusually long-lived and had less than the expected number of risk factors for early vascular disease. (U.S. Census data reveals that the 30% survival at 90 of the original 268 men in our Study was roughly 10 times the expected proportion for white men born in 1920. (National Vital Statistics Reports 2007). When the Study members were contrasted to an Inner City comparison group (Vaillant 2002), both vascular risk factors and mortality (10 years difference) differed significantly. The Inner City men manifested diabetes, a BMI > 29, and heavy smoking (40+ pack-years) three times more frequently than our Study sample and a diastolic blood pressure at age 50 >89 mm hg twice as often. The present report is of the 196 College men (out of an original cohort of 268) who survived until age 70—when the first Study members developed dementia—and who have been followed prospectively every two years from adolescence until death or age 90 (Vaillant 2002, Vaillant 2012). First, the Study provides a means of addressing many of the cart/horse temporality directionality questions related to the environmental contributions to dementia. Second, because of the cohort’s relatively low prevalence of vascular risk factors, it is possible to question whether these are not risk factors for vascular dementia rather than AD. Third, the long follow-up permits examination of childhood risk factors for dementia. Admittedly, due to its small numbers and selected cohort, our study will only be hypothesis generating.

OBJECTIVES. Prior studies confirm that after experiencing childhood adversity, resilient adults can recover and engage in generative growth. This study explored the long-term effects of childhood adversity (assessed as harsh parenting and/or childhood poverty) on successful aging for individuals who either achieved or failed to achieve Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stage of generativity in midlife. METHOD. The study utilized a sample of 636 men from the Harvard Sample and Inner City Cohort of the 73-year longitudinal Study of Adult Development. Nested ordinary least squares regression models were used to test the mediating and moderating effects of midlife generativity on later life health and adjustment to aging. RESULTS. Men who experienced childhood adversity were less likely than men with no childhood adversity to achieve generativity in midlife. Although achievement of generativity was associated with better later life health and adjustment to aging, it neither mediated nor moderated the negative relation between childhood poverty and later life health outcomes. However, for men who experienced an adversarial childhood, achievement of generativity mediated and moderated adjustment to aging. DISCUSSION. Results suggest that psychosocial growth in adulthood can compensate for the long-term negative effects of an adversarial childhood on adjustment to aging, but not for later life health.

International audience; In this paper, a passive measurement system is used to explore the phase noise of high overtone bulk acoustic wave resonators. The chosen overtone is around 373 MHz and the temperature coefficient of frequency at room temperature is 4 ppm/K. The 1/f noise is clearly shown and a flicker floor of about σy_floor = 1.5×10-11 is demonstrated.

International audience; In this paper, passive measurement system is used to explore the phase noise of aluminum nitride contour mode resonators. Their resonant frequencies are around 220 MHz. The carrier suppression technique is used. The noise floor of the measurement system is around -135 dBc/Hz @ 1 Hz offset from the carrier. Then, measurements of several resonators are presented and discussed.

International audience; In this paper we present several configurations enabling to obtain a low-noise 5 MHz signal from the 100 MHz delivered by the frequency synthesis of a Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator. The residual single-sideband phase noise of several dividers is reported. Especially the noise of a custom built regenerative divider has been measured to be around ℒ5MHz(1 Hz) = -145 dBc/Hz. This performance is sufficient to measure the residual phase noise of an ultra-stable quartz crystal resonator using a carrier suppression system

Purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once important to self and directed at making a difference in the world beyond the self. In the present study, ratings of one aspect of purpose, pro-social beyond-the-self intentions, were gleaned from data collected from young men attending college between 1938 and 1942 as a part of the Study of Adult Development. Associations were examined between pro-social beyond-the-self intentions and childhood environment, and between pro-social beyond-the-self intentions and college and adult personality, psychological adjustment, and achievement. Higher levels of pro-social beyond-the-self intentions were associated with informant ratings of global impressions of positive childhood environment, and with humanistic, political, and well-integrated personality dispositions in college.

Coping responses to stress can be divided into three broad categories. The first coping category involves voluntarily mobilizing social supports. The second category involves voluntary coping strategies like rehearsing responses to danger. The third coping category, like fever and leukocytosis, is involuntary. It entails deploying unconscious homeostatic mechanisms that reduce the disorganizing effects of sudden stress, DSM-5 offers a tentative hierarchy of defenses, from psychotic to immature to mature. The 70-year prospective Study of Development at Harvard provides a clinical validation of this hierarchy Maturity of coping predicted psychosocial adjustment to aging 25 years later, and was associated with not developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after very severe WWII combat.

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences including maltreatment, family instability, and economic hardship are well-documented risk factors for psychopathology (Gilman et al. 2003; Green et al. 2010; Kessler et al. 1997). The finding that such adversities are associated with elevated risk for disorder onset not only in childhood, but also in adulthood (Green et al. 2010; Kessler et al. 1997), suggests that exposure to childhood adversity creates a generalized diathesis to psychopathology that persists across the life-course. One possible explanation for this increased liability to psychopathology is that exposure to stressors early in life impacts the development of the physiological stress response system (Heim and Nemeroff 2001; Heim et al. 2008; Loman and Gunnar 2010). Indeed, dysregulation in physiological systems has been documented among both children (Chen and Matthews 2001; Ellis et al. 2005; Essex et al. 2002) and adults (Carpenter et al. 2007; Heim et al. 2000; van der Vegt et al. 2009) exposed to psychosocial adversity in childhood. Childhood adversity is also associated with heightened emotional reactivity to stress. Elevated emotional reactivity to daily events has been documented among individuals exposed to maltreatment and other trauma (Glaser et al. 2006; Wichers et al. 2009). Although elevated physiological and emotional reactivity also have been found among children and adults with mood and anxiety disorders (Boyce et al. 2001; Goldin et al. 2009; Heim and Nemeroff 2001; Yehuda 2000), the extent to which such reactivity mediates the association between childhood adversity and adult psychopathology has, to our knowledge, not been examined directly. Importantly, the particular aspects of childhood environments that lead to maladaptive stress reactivity are poorly characterized. The term childhood adversity is used to describe a wide variety of adverse childhood experiences ranging from poverty to parental instability to maltreatment (Green et al. 2010). It may be that only severe adverse events, like abuse, lead to alterations in stress reactivity. Indeed, the preponderance of studies on childhood contributors to stress reactivity have focused on these relatively severe experiences (Carpenter et al. 2007; Glaser et al. 2006; Harkness et al. 2006; Heim and Nemeroff 2001; Kendler et al. 2004; Wichers et al. 2009). On the other hand, some evidence suggests that environments characterized by chronic adversity, such as low socio-economic status (SES) and high family conflict, are associated with elevated physiological reactivity (Chen and Matthews 2001; Ellis et al. 2005; Essex et al. 2002; Kapaku et al. 2002). The strength of the association between such environments and maladaptive patterns of stress reactivity may not be as strong as the associations with more severe experiences like abuse. However, the ubiquity of such exposures suggests their role in determining the population-level distribution of psychiatric disorders could be substantial. Extant evidence on the links between childhood adversity, stress reactivity, and psychiatric disorders has come primarily from cross-sectional studies that examine emotional and physiological responses to laboratory-based stressors (Boyce et al. 2001; Heim et al. 2000; Steptoe and Marmot 2006). Thus, it remains unclear whether emotional reactivity to stress represents a risk factor for psychopathology or simply a concomitant of current distress. Recent work has attempted to overcome this problem by demonstrating longitudinally that liability to mood and anxiety disorders following stressful life events in adulthood is heightened among individuals who have experienced childhood adversities (Hammen et al. 2000; Harkness et al. 2006; Kendler et al. 2004). These studies have assumed that a stronger association between adult stress and psychopathology is indicative of greater emotional and physiological reactivity, though reactivity was not measured directly. We are unaware of prospective research directly examining the association between emotional reactivity and the later onset of psychopathology. The current study examines the associations between the childhood social environment, adolescent emotional reactivity to stress, and the subsequent onset of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood using prospective data from a cohort of healthy young men followed into late life. We first examine the associations between aspects of the childhood environment and emotional reactivity in late adolescence. Second, we examine the association between emotional reactivity and the onset of mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood. Finally, we evaluate whether emotional reactivity is a mechanism underlying the association between adverse childhood environments and the onset of adult psychiatric disorders. Because the sample includes men from relatively privileged backgrounds, we provide a stringent test of the relationship between the childhood social environment and emotional reactivity. If variation in the childhood environment is associated with reactivity in this sample, then the effect of the childhood environment on stress reactivity would be expected to be much greater in the general population.

According to theories of stress-related growth, coping with traumatic events can lead to greater psychosocial maturity in resilient individuals or psychosocial maladjustment in less resilient individuals. Using a sample of 160 World War II veterans of the 60-year longitudinal Study of Adult Development, this research examined the long-term effects of high and no combat exposure among Harvard-educated white men who either achieved or failed to achieve Erikson's psychosocial developmental stage of generativity in midlife. Although combat exposure by itself was unrelated to the outcome variables, only among veterans with high combat exposure was generativity consistently positively related to physical and psychological health, wisdom characteristics, and well-being. The results indicate a resilience effect for men with high combat exposure who experienced subsequent psychosocial growth.

Recognizing religiosity and spirituality as related yet distinct phenomena, and conceptualizing psychological well-being as a multidimensional construct, this study examines whether individuals' frequency of formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions are independently associated with diverse dimensions of psychological well-being (negative affect, positive affect, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and autonomy). Data came from 1,564 respondents in the 2005 National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS). Higher levels of spiritual perceptions were independently associated with better psychological well-being across all dimensions, and three of these salutary associations were stronger among women than men. Greater formal religious participation was independently associated only with more purpose in life and (among older adults) personal growth; greater formal religious participation was also associated with less autonomy. Overall, results suggest a different pattern of independent linkages between formal religious participation and spiritual perceptions across diverse dimensions of psychological well-being.

The authors examined the quality of sibling relationships in childhood as a predictor of major depression in adulthood.Study subjects were 229 men selected for mental and physical health and followed from ages 20 through 50 and beyond as part of a study of adult psychosocial development. Data were obtained from interviews with participants and their parents at intake and from follow-up interviews and self-report questionnaires completed by participants at regular intervals. These data were used to rate the quality of relationships with siblings, the quality of parenting received in childhood, and family history of depression as well as the occurrence, by age 50, of major depression, alcoholism, and use of mood-altering drugs (tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and stimulants).Poorer relationships with siblings prior to age 20 and a family history of depression independently predicted both the occurrence of major depression and the frequency of use of mood-altering drugs by age 50, even after adjustment for the quality of childhood relationships with parents. Poor relationships with parents in childhood did not predict the occurrence of depression by age 50 when family history of depression and the quality of relationships with siblings were taken into account. Quality of sibling relationships and family history of depression did not predict later alcohol abuse or dependence.Poor sibling relationships in childhood may be an important and specific predictor of major depression in adulthood. Further study of links between childhood sibling relationships and adult depression is warranted.

Although previous studies of shorter duration have identified numerous risks and protective factors that powerfully influence outcomes in young adulthood and midlife, this long-term prospective study examines the effect of these prognostic factors on age at retirement and satisfaction with retirement.In this prospective study, a cohort of socially disadvantaged men (N=151) were followed from adolescence until a mean age of 75 years (SD=2). Periodic interviews, biennial administration of questionnaires, and physical examinations every 5 years were conducted to determine biopsychosocial risk variables, age at retirement, and satisfaction with retirement.Early age of retirement was found to be a function of preexisting mental and physical health and later age of retirement a function of occupational status. A surprising finding was that risk factors such as poor objective physical health, low income, and depression, which are commonly associated with poor outcomes in young adulthood and in midlife, were largely unrelated to satisfaction with retirement.A relatively high level of satisfaction with retirement was often attained by men who had reported many risk factors for poor child and midlife development (e.g., low IQ, dropping out of school, poor mental health, and being part of a multiproblem family) but who in later life had some positive resources (e.g., a good marriage, a low level neuroticism, enjoyment of vacations, and a capacity for play). In short, retirement may offer some men a fresh lease on life.

Objective: The present report attempts to replicate on the probands' brothers, a previously reported (1992) negative relationship between maternal grandfather longevity (MGFL) and affective illness in grandsons. Hitherto this finding had not been replicated. To provide further evidence that the association may be recessive and X-linked, we also examined the association between MGFL and affective illness in the probands' mothers. Finally, in order to examine why MGFL might be a predictor of affective illness, the report examines the association of the probands' affective illness and their own mortality.Method: A 60-year prospective study of men selected in 1940 and followed until the present day provided good information on depressive illness in relatives and longevity of ancestors. To overcome the uncertainty of depressive diagnoses, we assessed affective illness in the probands categorically, dimensionally, operationally and with the Lazare Personality Inventory.Results: Presence of affective illness in brothers was negatively associated with MGFL (p=0.003) but maternal affective illness was independent of MGFL. Test items suggesting emotional lability in the probands were significantly and negatively associated with MGFL. Consistent with the association of increased MGFL with low affective distress in the probands, the 70 probands showing the least evidence of affective distress before age 50 had twofold (pConclusion: The strong negative association of proband affective distress – and equally important – the positive association of proband mental health with MGFL and the lack of association of maternal longevity and depression with MGFL points to the possibility of a recessive X-gene or genes playing a role in depressive illness.