Gunilla Bohlin

Uppsala University | UU · Department of Psychology

Objective: With a wish to identify early markers of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, we examined effects of temperament and cognitive regulation, during the first 3 years of life, on later inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive behavior. Method: Temperament and cognitive regulation were assessed at 12, 18, 24, and 36 months in 66 typically...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the interplay between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and emotional functioning in relation to peer problems. Parent ratings of ADHD symptoms and regulation/reactivity with regard to four emotions (anger, sadness, fear, and happiness/exuberance) at age six were investigated in...

This study aimed to examine relations between parent and child attachment representations and neuropsychological functions at age 8, as well as relations between these constructs and ADHD symptoms over a 10-year period. A community-based sample of 105 children (52 boys) participated. Measures of attachment representations and a range of neuropsycho...

Objective: The role of heterogeneous self-regulation deficits in ADHD has long been emphasized. Yet, longitudinal studies examining distinct self-regulation processes as prospective predictors of developmental change in ADHD symptoms spanning wide developmental periods are scarce. The aim of the current study was to examine affective and cognitive...

The aim of the present study (N = 69) was to examine whether middle childhood attachment, measured using the Separation Anxiety Test (Slough, Goyette & Greenberg, 1988), predicts aspects of social functioning (social initiative, prosocial orientation, social anxiety, loneliness) in young adulthood. Insecurity-avoidance at age 8.5 years was, as expe...

We seek to understand why a relatively high percentage (39%; vs the meta-analytic average, 15–18%) of disorganized/disoriented (D) classifications has accrued in the low-risk Uppsala Longitudinal Study (ULS) study, using experienced D coders. Prior research indicates that D behaviours do not always indicate attachment disorganization stemming from...

This study examined the contributions of several important domains of functioning to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and conduct problems. Specifically, we investigated whether cognitive inhibition, emotion regulation, emotionality, and disorganized attachment made independent and specific contributions to these externalizi...

It has been proposed that executive functions develop in a hierarchical fashion, such that early, simple abilities seen already during the first year of life become increasingly coordinated with development , thereby enabling the emergence of more complex abilities. Although this hierarchical model has received support from empirical studies compar...

High levels of ADHD symptoms are related to severe negative outcomes, which underscore the importance of identifying early markers of these behavior problems. The main aim of the present study was therefore to investigate whether neuropsychological deficits in preschool are related to later ADHD symptoms and academic achievement, over and above the...

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the specificity of inhibition, working memory (WM), and reaction time variability (RTV) in relation to symptoms of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method: A community-based sample of schoolchildren aged 7 to 9 years (N = 200) completed tasks designed to measure inhibition, WM, and...

This study used the classical A-not-B task (Piaget, ) to explore individual differences in cognitive flexibility in 10-month-old infants by: (1) examining how differences in search performance during A trials relate to search performance during B trials; (2) studying the relation between temperamental dimensions and A-not-B performance; and (3) inv...

The abilities to flexibly allocate attention, select between conflicting stimuli, and make anticipatory gaze movements are important for young children’s exploration and learning about their environment. These abilities constitute voluntary control of attention and show marked improvements in the second year of a child’s life. Here we investigate t...

The overall aim of the present study was to investigate ADHD symptoms in relation to attachment representations. We used both attachment- and non-attachment-related story stems, which allowed us to investigate whether problems with narrative production can explain the relation between ADHD symptoms and attachment representations. We also investigat...

Three groups of 10 Ss each were subjected to a habituation procedure with an auditory stimulus. Recordings were made of EEG and skin conductance. One group was tested in the morning after one night of sleep deprivation ( SD) and the two others in the morning and afternoon following an ordinary night of sleep. The SD group showed a faster occurrence...

In this paper, we examine concurrent and prospective links between attachment and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality from middle childhood to young adulthood (n = 66). At age 8.5 years, attachment was measured with the Separation Anxiety Test and at 21 years with the Adult Attachment Interview, whereas the personality dimensions were assess...

Evaluated the influence of early interactive experiences with the primary caregiver on socio-emotional functioning, expressed in behavior problems at age 4 in a longitudinal sample of 105 Swedish families followed from infant age 6 wks to child age 4 yrs. The mediating role of quality of attachment was also assessed. The importance of contextual fa...

Objectives: This study compared results on cognitive tests measuring nonverbal visualization and reasoning, executive functions, and creativity between 36 boys with experience of living in the street and 31 housed yet socioeconomically equivalent boys, in Bolivia. Results: The street children scored significantly higher on the creativity measure...

This study investigated attachment representations and executive functioning (i.e., response inhibition and working memory) at age 8½ in relation to ADHD symptoms one year later. Well-validated laboratory measures of both executive functioning and attachment representations were used. Additive, interaction, as well as mediation effects were investi...

The effects of emotional stimulus content on attention are well-known. In contrast, the impact of emotional information on higher executive control functions is undetermined. To elucidate the role of negative emotion in cognitive control, 56 adult female participants performed a combined working memory and response inhibition task, with threat-rele...

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether attachment insecurity, focusing on disorganized attachment, and the executive function (EF) component of inhibition, assessed at age 5, were longitudinally related to general externalizing problem behaviors as well as to specific symptoms of ADHD and Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and callous...

The present study examined the role of attentional demand on infants' perseverative behavior in a noncommunicative looking version of an A-not-B task. The research aimed at clarifying age-related improvements in the attention process that presumably underlies the development of cognitive control. In a between-subjects design, forty 10-month-olds an...

The effect of emotional stimulus content on working memory performance has been investigated with conflicting results, as both emotion-dependent facilitation and impairments are reported in the literature. To clarify this issue, 52 adult participants performed a modified visual 2-back task with highly arousing positive stimuli (sexual scenes), high...

The objective was to examine the relations between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and four working memory (WM) components (short-term memory and central executive in verbal and visuospatial domains) in 284 6-16-year-old children from the general population. The results showed that verbal and visuospatial short-term memory...

Mothers in Sri Lanka are increasingly seeking overseas employment, resulting in disruption of the childcare environment. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of maternal migration on executive function (EF) and behavior, thereby also contributing to the scientific understanding of environmental effects--or more specifically family...

Forty-five infants were followed from age 5 months to 25 months with the aim of studying the stranger wariness phenomenon from a temperamental perspective. Observations and heart rate reactions in a standardized situation of stranger approach, as well as maternal ratings of temperament at infant age 5 months and 10 months, were used for predicting...

Objective: In this study, the authors investigated whether ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) behaviors share associations with problems in cognitive functioning and/or family risk factors in adolescence. This was done by examining independent as well as specific associations of cognitive functioning and family risk factors with ADHD and...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the independent relations of DSM-IV-defined inattention and behaviors characteristic of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) to neuropsychological factors and problem behaviors often comorbid with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). By controlling for symptoms of DSM-IV-defined inattention, uni...

Using a population-based sample consisting of 401 6- to 12-year-olds, this study examined normative age and sex distributions on motor activity as measured in an actigraphic-based motion tracking system (MTS) and on attention-related functions derived from a Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Specific objectives were to present new knowledge on age...

Results from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study (ULS), which started in 1985, are reported in two sections. The first section gives a summary of longitudinal data from infancy to middle childhood (age 9 years; n = 96) concerning predictions of social functioning aspects from the theoretical perspectives of temperament, attachment, and health psychology...

This study examined independent contributions of executive functioning (EF), state regulation (SR), and social risk factors to symptom dimensions of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in two cohorts, which included 221 Norwegian children and 294 Finnish adolescents. Independent contributions of EF and SR were shown in the Norwegian coh...

This study aimed to specify the deficit in intellectual ability in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), by studying the mediating role of impairments in central executive function (EF)-related components (working memory, inhibition, sustained attention) and non-EFs (short-term memory and processing speed). Two hundred and...

The present study, including children at risk for developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), examined the idea that complex executive functions (EFs) build upon more simple ones. This notion was applied in the study of longitudinal interrelations between core EF components - simple and complex inhibition, selective attention, and w...

Based on formulations about the possible consequences for adaptation of gender nonnormative behaviour, we investigated predictive and concurrent relations of hyperactivity and shyness to various aspects of adaptation focusing on possible effects of sex. At ages 5-6, parents and preschool teachers rated hyperactivity and shyness for 151 children (50...

In a longitudinal study, children of 14 mentally ill women, admitted to hospital within six months after delivery, were compared to children of 23 women who had been somatically ill postpartum, and to a matched sample of children of 22 healthy women. Also, children in the somatic sample were compared to another matched sample of healthy children (n...

In a longitudinal study, 14 mentally ill women were compared to a sample of 24 somatically ill women. Both samples were admitted to hospital within six months after delivery. Further, 76 healthy women were included as controls. Infants in the psychiatric sample showed less affiliative responses and more negative behavior in the ?sociability situati...

The present study investigated whether the Childhood Executive Function Inventory (CHEXI) can discriminate between young children fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and normally developing children. Unlike other executive function rating instruments, the CHEXI focuses specifically on inhibitory co...

Two experiments investigated the determinants of performance on a go/no-go task by studying the interplay of two executive function components, working memory (WM) and inhibition. Systematically varied task demands on WM and inhibition were used in the analysis of performance together with individual capacity measures of both functions, thereby inv...

Executive functions, including working memory and inhibition, are of central importance to much of human behavior. Interventions intended to improve executive functions might therefore serve an important purpose. Previous studies show that working memory can be improved by training, but it is unknown if this also holds for inhibition, and whether i...

This community-based study investigated the relationships between measures of specific cognitive functions (such as working memory [WM] and interference control) and intelligence in 283 8- to 11-year-old children, including 124 children who fulfilled criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to overcome issue...

The aim of the present study was to investigate different neuropsychological impairments and comorbid behavioral problems in relation to symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), studying the independent effects of different functions as well as specific relations to symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention. A commun...

This study investigated, in children aged 6–13 years, how different components of the working memory (WM) system (short-term storage and executive processes), within both verbal and visuospatial domains, relate to fluid intelligence. We also examined the degree of domain-specificity of the WM components as well as the differentiation of storage and...

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported social phobia in a community sample of Swedish adolescents in junior high school, at the risk-period for developing social phobia. Of particular interest was to investigate gender differences in prevalence across ages. Prevalence of sub-threshold social phobia was also studied...

— The factorial stability of a previously constructed six-factor check-list for self-reported arousal was studied in three different situations which were conceived of as inducing different levels of arousal, viz. in the evening before going to bed, at a lecture, and at an examination. The analyses showed that the six factors obtained in the Lectur...

This study examines differences between children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder combined type (ADHD-C) and normal controls on verbal and visuospatial working-memory (WM) tasks. The extent to which WM deficits in children with ADHD-C are independent of impaired inhibitory control was also examined. Two groups of 7- to 12-year-old boy...

This longitudinal study investigated ADHD symptoms and EF impairments in terms of continuity and cross-domain associations, as well as their predictive relations to a range of socioemotional problem behaviors. We applied a factorial ANOVA design to study additive and interactive effects in a sample of non-clinical preschool children (N = 87) and co...

The main aim of this study was to investigate the developmental course of motor response inhibition and execution as measured by the stop-signal task in a population-based sample of 525 4- to 12-year-olds. A further aspiration of the study was to enhance the limited knowledge on how the various stop-signal measures relate to ADHD behaviors in a nor...

The aim of the present study was to investigate how three different types of inhibitory control - interference control within task, interference control outside task, and prepotent response inhibition - and two types of working memory - verbal and spatial - would relate to early symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and opposi...

Relations between child self-reports of specific aspects of emotion regulation and specific aspects of social functioning in school were studied in two samples (N = 129/135) of 8- to 9-year-old children. The newly developed child self-report measure had significant relations to parent (Sample 1) and teacher (Sample 2) ratings of emotion regulation....

This study examined the predictive relations from symptoms of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and executive functioning (EF) to social and school functioning in 112 (62 girls) school children. High levels of teacher and parent ratings of ADHD symptoms at the ages of 8-8 1/2 years, and poor EF measured at the age of 8 1/2, were assoc...

Two groups of mother-infant pairs, with infants aged 1 to 5 months, were recruited by child health nurses. One group (n = 10) of infants had rational difficulties, whereas the other group (n = 22) did not. The research team was blind to group membership. The mothers were interviewed about background variables, their cognitive-emotional orientation...

This study compared infants who developed food refusal during the first year of life with a healthy control group concerning feeding, growth pattern, family situation, and infant behavioral characteristics. Infants with food refusal had a lower relative weight at inclusion in the study and at follow-up at the age of 2 years. Food refusal was also a...

In a sample of 92 children aged 6–13 years this study investigates the normal developmental change in the relation between executive functioning (EF) and the core behavioural symptoms associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention) as well as symptoms often co-occurring with childhood hype...

In a group of 112 children (46% boys), representations of attachment to parents and shyness at age 5 were used as predictors of social relationships in preschool at age 6. A Story Completion task was used to assess attachment representations and shyness was assessed through parent ratings and observations. Preschool teachers rated the child-teacher...

There are some indications that maternal lifestyle during pregnancy (smoking and stress) contributes to symptoms of ADHD in children. We prospectively studied whether prenatal exposure to maternal smoking and/or stress is associated with ADHD symptoms and diagnostic criteria (according to DSM-IV) in 7-year-olds. Nulliparous Scandinavian women were...

A sample of 81 children was followed longitudinally to assess the contributions of behavioral inhibition, early attachment security, and experience of nonparental care to individual differences in social competence. Additive, mediational, and moderator models were tried. Attachment security was assessed in the Strange Situation at 15 months of age....

Development of the psychosomatic problems picky eating and headache and stomachache complaints in middle childhood was investigated from an emotion regulation perspective. The role of negative emotionality and family emotion regulatory factors (attachment to mother and parental perceived control) was studied. The sample (N=87) was a predominantly m...

A cross-sectional study using 92 children aged 6 to 13 years investigated the dimensionality and the development of executive functioning. The measures were drawn from developmentally relevant conceptualizations of executive functioning and included a go/no-go task, a verbal fluency task, a continuous performance task, a Stroop-like task, a hand mo...

The aim was to investigate two inhibitory concepts—executive inhibition and inhibition to the unfamiliar. The relation between these two phenomena was studied as well as how they, alone or in combination, are related to the development of hyperactivity, social anxiety, and social competence. The results showed that there was a low, positive relatio...

Nyberg, L., Bohlin, G. & Hagekull, B. (2004). Assessing Type A behavior in children: A longitudinal exploration of the overlap between Type A behavior and hyperactivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45, 145–156. Child Type A behavior and its relation to hyperactivity were investigated developmentally using a longitudinal normal sample of 91...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of Barkley's (1997a) model of inhibition and executive functioning in describing the deficits associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Besides group differences, the present study addressed the question of independent effects of inhibition and the other executive fu...

As part of the validation procedure of a new parent questionnaire ("Five to Fifteen" or the FTF) a random sample of 1500 children aged 5-13 years from the Swedish Population Register (SPAR) was approached. The FTF and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were sent to the parents of the children together with questions about background conditions. Af...

The present study examined whether inhibition measured as early as preschool can predict more general executive functioning and ADHD symptoms at school age. In contrast to previous studies, the present study focused specifically on ADHD symptoms rather than general disruptive behavior problems, and boys and girls were studied separately. The main r...

To study sustained performance and its relation to regulation of effort among four different groups of children: two clinical subgroups of children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)--one with and one without comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD); a control sample of children without a diagnosis of ADHD but with p...

In light of the previously found overlap between Type A behaviour as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) and hyperactivity scales, the overall aim of this study was to clarify the standing of MYTH-defined Type A behaviour relative to hyperactivity and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), using observed task motivation...

Gender-typed behaviors and interests were investigated in 26 girls, aged 2-10 years, affected with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and in 26 unaffected girls matched for age. Girls with CAH were more interested in masculine toys and less interested in feminine toys and were more likely to report having male playmates and to wish for masculine...

This study investigated relations between emotionality, emotion regulation, and children's behavioral adaptation in a longitudinal design. Mothers rated emotionality and emotion regulation related to anger, fear, and positive emotions-exuberance for 151 children at age 5 and later at age 6 years 6 months. Emotionality and emotion regulation measure...

To increase our understanding of developmental aspects of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, prospective relations from infant temperament and attachment security to the 'Big Five' dimensions of personality in middle childhood were studied in a sample of 85 Swedish middle class children. Combined maternal and paternal temperament ratings a...

The present study was aimed at clarifying the standing of Type A behavior, as measured by behavioral observations, relative to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), using measures of inhibitory control and executive functioning. The study sample included 20 boys exhibiting Type A behavior, 21 boys exhibiting Type B behavior and 14 boys d...

Previous studies have shown that girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a syndrome resulting in overproduction of adrenal androgens from early fetal life, are behaviorally masculinized. We studied play with toys in a structured play situation and correlated the results with disease severity, assessed by CYP21 genotyping, and age at diagno...

Investigated the relation among response inhibition, hyperactivity, and conduct problems in a nonclinical sample of 115 preschool children, using 2 different types of go/no-go tasks well as a Stroop-like task. In line with the assumption that hyperactivity is related to disinhibition, the results showed that it was the measures of response inhibiti...

A longitudinal sample of 96 children was followed from 15 months of age to 8–9 years. Attachment relationships were studied in infancy with the Strange Situation and at school age with the Separation Anxiety Test. Social functioning was studied at school age through mother and teacher ratings, observations at school, and in children’s self-reports....

Studied socioemotional functioning in 3 groups (n = 15) of high-inhibited, low-inhibited-overfriendly, and low-inhibited-low-overfriendly children at age 9, who were identified by parental ratings in a sample (N = 392) at age 7. Ratings of social inhibition and overfriendliness were stable over the 2-year period from age 7 to age 9. Validity of rat...

The study investigated the role of parental perceived control in child development. A discussion of the conceptual bases of two parental locus-of-control scales led to differential predictions as regards their relations with parent experiences during infancy and child problems and competencies at 4 and 9 years. The Parental Control of Child’s Behav...

There is current interest in symptoms during pregnancy, but yet little is known about their prevalence and how often they are experienced across pregnancy. The reasons why some women experience more symptoms or experience them more often than others has received limited research attention. To document the prevalence and frequency of 27 pregnancy sy...

Examined high, medium, and low social inhibition groups in a Swedish sample (N = 815) of 7- and 8-year-old children on the basis of parental reports about their children's reaction to novel social situations. High social inhibition was associated with increased levels of internalizing problems and low social competence. Among the low-inhibited chil...

This study examined health behaviours among nulliparous pregnant Swedish women. Structural equation modelling ( N = 350) was used to predict smoking and exercise at gestational weeks 20 and 32 from psychosocial factors measured in early and mid-pregnancy. Although women altered their lifestyle early in pregnancy, so that by gestational week 20 both...

In a longitudinal study, 14 mentally ill women were compared to a sample of 24 somatically ill women. Both samples were admitted to hospital within six months after delivery. Further, 76 healthy women were included as controls. Infants in the psychiatric sample showed less affiliative responses and more negative behavior in the 'sociability situati...

In a longitudinal study, children of 14 mentally ill women, admitted to hospital within six months after delivery, were compared to children of 23 women who had been somatically ill postpartum, and to a matched sample of children of 22 healthy women. Also, children in the somatic sample were compared to another matched sample of healthy children (n...

Several studies regarding expectations of gender-stereotyped behaviour have involved children, unfamiliar to the subjects, and most of the studies have been conducted in gender-traditional societies. In this study, Swedish mothers of 1- and 3-year-olds were asked how they expected and wished their own child to behave at the age of five. By also ask...

This cross-sectional study investigated toy-choice in 38 one-year-old, 33 three-year-old, and 35 five-year-old children, who could choose between 10 different toys (four feminine, four masculine, and two neutral) in a structured play-session. The children played alone for 7 minutes and together with their accompanying parent for another 7 minutes (...

Perceived health was studied longitudinally in a sample of 364 nulliparous women. Psychosocial, contextual, and biomedical factors were taken into account to predict medically relevant versus benign symptoms which were then used to predict perceived health over time. The results of structural equation modeling showed that pregnancy adjustment and m...

Early feeding problems, assessed in maternal reports about general problems and refusal behaviors, were investigated in a normal sample (n = 115) at the ages of 10 months and 2 years. In a longitudinal design, stability of feeding problems was studied. A model for development of nonorganic failure to thrive proposed by Chatoor (1989: Chatoor & Egan...

This study examined the interactional patterns of mothers and their infants who showed food refusal (N = 24) and of mothers and infants in a control group (N = 24) during feeding and play. The observations revealed significant group differences in both infant and maternal behavior. Infants in the case group rejected food more often and showed less...

Associations between preschool temperament and environment factors and school-age personality were prospectively investigated in a Swedish sample of 93 children. Parental temperament ratings of emotionality, activity, sociability, shyness, and impulsivity and maternal and teacher personality ratings of the Big Five dimensions were used. Maternal co...

Reports an error in "Measurement of two social competence aspects in middle childhood" by Ann-Margret Rydell, Berit Hagekull and Gunilla Bohlin (Developmental Psychology, 1997[Sep], Vol 33[5], 824-833). On page 825, Method section, 4th paragraph, line 2, the sentence incorrectly reads, "The county sample consisted of 423 children (M =8 years 5 mont...

The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for...

The effects of preterm birth and the perinatal infant health condition on mother-infant interactions were analysed in 278 mother-infant pairs, divided into four groups according to infants' gestational age at birth: group 1, 23-31 weeks; group 2, 32-36 weeks; group 3, 37-42 weeks; and group 4, a control group of healthy full-term infants. The metho...

The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for...

This study attempted to examine, by using behavioral observations, the overlap found between Type A behavior, as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) questionnaire, and measures of hyperactivity in children. The sample consisted of 91 children (46 boys and 45 girls) between the ages of 8 and 9 who were part of a longitudinal study...

The study investigated effects of day care quality in interaction with child and family characteristics on socioemotional development concurrently at 29 months and longitudinally at 4 years. By international standards, the study was performed in high-quality day care settings and in a fairly homogeneous group of well-functioning families. In a grou...

This study investigated the discrepancy between parental reports indicating a high prevalence of feeding problems during infancy and the relatively low identification rate of such cases at child health care centers. Thirty nurses were interviewed about definitions, prevalence, causes, and interventions for such problems. Thereafter, they were retro...