Comparing immigrant children with native Greek in self-reported-Quality of Life.

UNLABELLED: Research on an international and national context regarding immigrant children and adolescents' quality of life (QoL) is rather scarce. Few international studies have been conducted investigating the presence of psychopathology and providing evidence of behavioural and psychological problems in immigrant adolescents. Regarding immigrant quality of life, thus far investigation was directed mainly to adult immigrant individuals and not to their children. The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of life (QoL) of immigrant children and young adolescents who live in the greater Athens area, and to compare them with their native Greek peers living in the same communities and attending the same schools. METHOD: Sixty three immigrant children, from Albanian and Eastern European origin (mean age 11.9 years) and 489 native children (mean age 11.33 years) were administered a QoL instrument specifically developed for children and adolescents: the Kid-KINDL® Questionnaire for 8-12 years old and the Kiddo-KINDL® Questionnaire for 13-16 years old. The dimensions examined in the KINDL® questionnaire refer to: physical wellbeing, emotional well-being, self- esteem, friends, family life and everyday life (school life). The Greek version is reported to show satisfactory values of validity and reliability. Administration of questionnaires was conducted at school after parent consent. Analysis included student's t-test, chi-square test, and multivariate linear regression analysis, as to investigate the relationship between KINDL® QoL dimensions' scores and nationality status, after controlling for gender and age. The results indicated that self-reported QoL scores of immigrant children were significantly poorer in comparison to native children in the domains of self-esteem and family life, as well as in the total QoL scores. In the rest of the QoL domains, similar scores were reported in both immigrant and their native classmates, that is in the dimensions of physical well-being, emotional well-being, friends and school. Investigating the effect of gender in KINDL® QoL parameters, after controlling for nationality and age, no evidence was found for differences between male and female children. Regarding the effect of age, older compared to younger in age children scored significantly lower in emotional well-being, self-esteem, and friends, school and total QoL. The results provide evidence of QoL deficits in self-esteem and family life in immigrant children. QoL deficits seem to increase in more areas as immigrant children grow older. Dimensions regarding self-perception and family may be interrelated, mutually influencing one another. It may be suggested that immigrant children seem to experience reduced self-esteem and distressful feelings within family interpersonal relations. As they grow older, distress seems to become more evident in emotional and social areas of QoL. Mental health interventions should take into account the multilevel impact of family interpersonal experiences on child's psychosocial development, as to design and deliver appropriate interventions supporting parenting for immigrant groups of individuals. Also, specialized mental health promotion programs need to be provided for adolescent immigrant individuals.

Predictors and characteristics of anxiety among adolescent students: a Greek sample.

In the Greek society, there is a strong cultural tendency to overestimate the value of University studies. So students are under high emotional pressure during the long lasting period of the preparation for the university entrance exams. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of anxiety in a general adolescent population of senior high school students in Athens, Greece. Also to examine the association between the anxiety's severity with various demographic and socio-cultural factors, as well as with academic performance, extracurricular activities, sleep duration and presence of somatic problems. The sample consisted of 696 adolescent students of three Senior High Schools (SHS) (391 girls and 305 boys). Two of the schools were general education institutions (GE1 and GE2, N=450), while the third was a technical one (TE, N=246). The school sample was selected to reflect the proportion between the two different types of SHSs in Athens as well as other major urban areas in Greece. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered and personal data were also collected. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05 and analyses were conducted using STATA 7.0. 567 adolescents lived with both parents and 121 with one or none of them. Father's educational level was low for 138, middle for 154, high for 195 and mother's was low for 135, middle for 417, high for 140. The average sleep duration was 7.5 hours per day (SD=1.3). The average time per week spent in school related activities was 7.94 hours (SD=7.56) and in extracurricular activities was 9.02 hours (SD=12.44). 107 adolescents reported somatic complaints in the last year The academic achievement was poor for 233, good for 264, excellent for 196 students. Adolescents with extracurricular activities for more than 11 hours per week had lower scores, both on State and Trait scales. More hours in school-related activities were associated with greater levels of Trait anxiety. Adolescents whose father had a high educational level had lower scores on State anxiety compared to those whose father had a low educational level. Adolescents who reported the presence of somatic problems had a higher score in Trait anxiety. A significant negative correlation was found between sleep duration and both State (r=-0.14, p<0.001) and Trait anxiety (r=-0.10, p=0.008) scores. Stepwise linear regression analyses confirmed the association of gender and of father's educational level with both State and Trait subscale scores. The association of somatic problems with Trait anxiety was greater for girls compared to boys. The hypothesis that there is exam-related anxiety in our sample was not confirmed. There were no differences between school years and GE and TE schools. Also there was not an association of anxiety level with academic achievement and the number of parents the adolescent was living with. This study shows that girls, especially those reporting somatic problems, and adolescents coming from families with low parental education, are particularly prone to higher level of anxiety and that extracurricular activities are linked to lower level of anxiety. These findings could contribute to the planning of preventive measures for student's anxiety.

Quality of life in newly diagnosed children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) and differences from typically developing children: a study of child and parent reports.

INTRODUCTION: Research on quality of life (QoL) of school children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) and their parents is scarce. The present study explores QoL deficits in newly diagnosed children with SpLD and their parents, in comparison to a similar age group of typically developing children. Possible associations between parental and child QoL were statistically explored in both groups of children. METHODS: 70 newly diagnosed children with SpLD [International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) criteria] (38 boys, 32 girls, mean age 10.1 years) and a control group of 69 typically developing children of the same age (40 boys, 29 girls, mean age 10.6 years) were recruited. Children were of normal intelligence quotient, attending mainstream schools. Their parents were also recruited so a child's scores could be associated with corresponding parental scores (mother or father). Children's QoL was assessed by the German questionnaire for measuring quality of life in children and adolescents (KINDL(R) ) questionnaire and parental QoL by World Health Organization Quality of Life brief questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) of the World Health Organization. RESULTS: Children with SpLD in comparison to typically developing children reported according to the KINDL(R) measurement poorer emotional well-being, lower self-esteem and satisfaction in their relationships with family and friends. Surprisingly, school functioning was not reported by these children as an area of concern. Parents of children with SpLD indicated experiencing lower satisfaction in the WHOQOL-BREF domains of social relationships and environment. Correlational and regression analysis with parental-child QoL scores provided evidence that in the SpLD group, parental scores on WHOQOL-BREF social relationships and psychological health domains could be predictors of the child's emotional well-being, satisfaction with family, friends and school functioning. Stepwise regression analysis verified the effect of parents' WHOQOL-BREF social relationships domain on several dimensions of children's KINDL(R) QoL. CONCLUSIONS: The results may suggest certain significant effects of the SpLD condition on newly diagnosed children's QoL. Emotional and social deficits seem to be experienced by this cohort of children and their parents. Investigation into the possible interrelationships between parental and child QoL seems to indicate that parental social wellbeing may to a certain extend influence some dimensions of the child's QoL. The findings are useful for policy making and specialized interventions for children with SpLD and their families.

Adolescents' self-reported suicide attempts, self-harm thoughts and their correlates across 17 European countries.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents in Europe. Self-harm thoughts and behaviours are documented precursors of completed suicide. It is therefore of great importance to investigate the prevalence of suicide thoughts and attempts and their correlates, with the aim of preventing this major life-threatening public health problem. This study provides cross-national European data on self-reported suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents. METHODS: Data were obtained from 45,806 high school students aged 15-16 years from 17 countries that participated in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) 2007 school survey. The standardised methods of the ESPAD survey ensure comparability across countries. Students completed an anonymous questionnaire in their classrooms. The prevalences of suicidal thoughts and attempts are reported as well as their sociodemographic and psychosocial correlates identified in logistic regression. RESULTS: The median prevalence of any lifetime self-reported suicide attempt was 10.5% across the participating countries (range 4.1%-23.5%). The median of frequent self-harm thoughts (at least five times) was 7.4% (range 2.1%-15.3%). Suicidal behaviour and thoughts had significant associations with gender, substance use, family integrity and socioeconomic status. Countries with higher prevalence of substance use tended to have a weaker association between substance use and self-reported suicide attempts. CONCLUSION: Although self-reported self-harm thoughts and suicide attempts vary in prevalence within Europe, there are common correlates across countries. These have an important impact on understanding the phenomenon of suicide among young people and in guiding prevention.

Does the subjective quality of life of children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) agree with their parents' proxy reports?

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate agreement between child-parent proxy reports on quality of life (QoL) in children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) and in a control group of typically developing children. METHODS: One hundred and sixteen children aged 8-14 years with SpLD, and 312 same age typically developing children with their parents (one or both), respectively, completed the child and parent versions of the KINDL(R) questionnaire. Values were analyzed with ANOVA and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: Significant mean differences were found between children with SpLD and their mother's proxy ratings. So, mothers reported significantly lower scores in the dimension of everyday functioning in school, but significantly higher scores regarding the child's physical and emotional well-being. For typically developing children, significant differences between children and parents' proxy ratings were found in physical well-being and self-esteem with both parents reporting higher scores. Concerning ICC, correlations were few and low in the SpLD group but more robust in the typically developing child-parent proxy ratings with values ranging from 0.22 to 0.46. CONCLUSION: In the case of SpLD, the child's problem area, which is reflected in the KINDL(R) dimension of everyday functioning in school, seems to be an issue of controversial value that may be differentially perceived by children and their mothers. Further, it can be argued that as mothers seemed to perceive in a more negative way the child's QoL at school, they were at the same time attempting to counterbalance their reactions by overestimating the child's physical and emotional well-being. Besides differences, there is a tendency even low for mothers and children with SpLD to converge toward similar perceptions regarding the child's physical and emotional well-being and satisfaction with friends that is showing some rather common understanding of the child's overall well-being and his/her relationships with peers. In the control group, agreement between children and parents seems to be more even and evident. Proxy assessments in children with SpLD and their parents may be useful for planning targeted support interventions for these families.

Increased frequency and service delivery for children with pervasive developmental disorders.

Many investigators have reported the increasing incidence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), noting that this is probably due to more precise diagnoses, as a result of professionals' increased awareness and knowledge, as well as increased publicawareness. Child mental health services are usually the first to examine these patients and consequently are required to deal with this increase on a practical basis. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors which may be responsible for this increase in PDD cases in a communitymental health centre over a ten year period and to examine whether this has led to a differentiation in service delivery. Consequently, two sets of factors are investigated: factors pertaining to the children themselves, as well as their families and factors related to service provision and delivery.48 children, aged between 2 and 6 years (Mean: 3,5 yrs) with pervasive developmental disorder, as well as their families are divided into two groups according to year of intake. Data collected from patient files included prenatal and perinatal information; medical the and developmental history;family functioning; and hereditary factors. Data from the Service included professionals involved in each case; number of diagnostic sessions; referral for further examinations; patient's symptoms and level of functioning; cognitive functioning; recommendations and outcome. There was no significantdifference in age at intake between groups. The number of cases with pervasive developmental disorder has doubled over a ten year period at our Service. There was no significant difference between groups, with regard to conception, perinatal, developmental and medical histories. Thereis a trend for increased non-medical referrals. Service delivery has not differentiated over the ten year period. In conclusion, no specific factors were identified to justify the increase in PDD cases at our Service over a ten year period, however the trend for more non-medical referrals seems toimply a rise in public awareness of these disorders. Despite augmented patient intake without the complementary increase in staff, service provision at our setting has remained stable, delivered according to a multidisciplinary model and designed according to individual patient needs.

[University entrance of dyslexic students in Greece].

Students with specific developmental learning disorders (dyslexia) may be examined orally in university entrance examination providing they have a certificate to that effect from a public child psychiatric or psychoeducational centre. The aim of this study was to investigate the success rate of dyslexic students in the university entrance examinations. Our hypothesis was, firstly, that these students will have the same success rate as other students and secondly, that they will mainly enter schools of science or technology. Our sample consisted of 420 dyslexic students who had sat for university entrance exams in 2006. Data was collected anonymously from Ministry of Education's files and consisted of the number of dyslexic students who were examined, their success rate, their choice of school and their grade. This data was derived from three examination centres in Athens and from five examination centres in an equal number of large provincial towns. Results showed that the success rate of dyslexic students in university entrance examinations was 39.76%, which was statistically lower than that of the general population of candidates which was 65.36%. Our hypothesis that these students would have a similar university entrance rate was not confirmed. Our second hypothesis concerning the preferred school of these candidates was confirmed since the majority of dyslexic students chose to study schools of sciences or technology. The dyslexic students' grades reveal a similar pattern to those of the general student population in the university entrance examinations, as long as these grades are greater than 9 on a score from 1-20. However dyslexic students entered technological colleges twice as often as the general student population. Our results are representative since our data was collected from 25% of university candidates throughout Greece. The anonymous nature of our data does not allow us to draw conclusions concerning socio-economic status, IQ levels or the quality and quantity of psycho-educational intervention, which would have led us to a more detailed analysis of the parameters leading to success or failure. Further investigation of the academic progress of dyslexic students would give us a more complete view of their educational achievements.