Humanitarian accountability, bureaucracy, and self-regulation: the view from the archive.

This paper contains a systematic exploration of local and national archives and sources relevant to charities and humanitarian fund appeals of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras (1870-1912) in Great Britain. It shows that the charitable world and humanitarian work share the same matrix and originate from the same roots, with considerable overlap between fundraising for domestic charity and overseas relief. These campaigns engaged in crucial self-regulatory processes very early on that involved concepts such as formal accountability and the close monitoring of delivery. Far from lagging behind in terms of formal practices of auditing and accounts, charities and humanitarian funds often were in the pioneering group as compared with mainstream businesses of the period. The charitable sector, notably through the Charity Organisation Society in cooperation with the press, developed and delivered accountability and monitoring, while the state and the Charity Commission played a negligible role in this process.

Clinicopathological significance of psychotic experiences in non-psychotic young people: evidence from four population-based studies.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological research has shown that hallucinations and delusions, the classic symptoms of psychosis, are far more prevalent in the population than actual psychotic disorder. These symptoms are especially prevalent in childhood and adolescence. Longitudinal research has demonstrated that psychotic symptoms in adolescence increase the risk of psychotic disorder in adulthood. There has been a lack of research, however, on the immediate clinicopathological significance of psychotic symptoms in adolescence. AIMS: To investigate the relationship between psychotic symptoms and non-psychotic psychopathology in community samples of adolescents in terms of prevalence, co-occurring disorders, comorbid (multiple) psychopathology and variation across early v. middle adolescence. METHOD: Data from four population studies were used: two early adolescence studies (ages 11-13 years) and two mid-adolescence studies (ages 13-16 years). Studies 1 and 2 involved school-based surveys of 2243 children aged 11-16 years for psychotic symptoms and for emotional and behavioural symptoms of psychopathology. Studies 3 and 4 involved in-depth diagnostic interview assessments of psychotic symptoms and lifetime psychiatric disorders in community samples of 423 children aged 11-15 years. RESULTS: Younger adolescents had a higher prevalence (21-23%) of psychotic symptoms than older adolescents (7%). In both age groups the majority of adolescents who reported psychotic symptoms had at least one diagnosable non-psychotic psychiatric disorder, although associations with psychopathology increased with age: nearly 80% of the mid-adolescence sample who reported psychotic symptoms had at least one diagnosis, compared with 57% of the early adolescence sample. Adolescents who reported psychotic symptoms were at particularly high risk of having multiple co-occurring diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotic symptoms are important risk markers for a wide range of non-psychotic psychopathological disorders, in particular for severe psychopathology characterised by multiple co-occurring diagnoses. These symptoms should be carefully assessed in all patients.

Relationship between maternal adverse childhood experiences and infant development: A systematic review (protocol).

INTRODUCTION: Twenty years ago, the first study was conducted to access adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their relation to outcomes in adulthood. The effects of exposure to childhood trauma can also be transmitted to other generations. There are some studies that suggest the hypothesis that intergenerational transmission may begin during intrauterine life through the change in placental-fetal physiology due to maternal exposure to adverse events in childhood. Those exposures can lead to a variety of conditions such as altered brain architecture, increase in placental corticotrophin hormone (pCRH) at the end of gestation, or emotional and behavioral changes during childhood and adolescence. The systematic review, therefore, is established to determine if there is a reliable association between maternal ACEs in childhood and altered child development. METHOD: We will conduct a systematic review according to the guidelines of the meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (MOOSE) and with the preferred reporting items for systematic review with a focus on health equity (PRISMA-E). A comprehensive search strategy will be conducted in the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, SCOPUS, Lilacs, and SciELO. Following a 2-step screening process, data including the full reference, objectives, target population, description of the exposure (ACEs), outcome measures, study design, length of follow-up period, and the study results will be extracted, synthesized, and reported. Risk of bias and quality of the studies will also be assessed. DISSEMINATION AND ETHICS: The results of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. Because all of the data used in this systematic review has been published, this review does not require ethical approval. DISCUSSION: This systematic review of the last 20 years will summarize and present the evidence for the relationship between maternal ACEs and the development of her child. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO #CRD42018111456.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electroencephalography in baclofen coma.

This report describes a 14-year-old female who presented with coma and seizures. Continuous electroencephalographic monitoring revealed suppression and semiperiodic sharp waves. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy performed 1 day after admission suggested a good outcome despite her clinical examination and electroencephalogram. She was subsequently found to have elevated serum baclofen levels after an intentional overdose. At the time of her discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit, she manifested no neurologic deficits, and on telephone follow-up 2 years after the ingestion the patient had no complaints of any cognitive problems or neurologic dysfunction.

White Matter Differences Among Adolescents Reporting Psychotic Experiences: A Population-Based Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

IMPORTANCE: Abnormal brain connectivity is thought to have a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. White matter (WM) abnormalities have been reported in patients with schizophrenia and patients with prodromal syndromes. To our knowledge, no studies have yet reported on WM differences among adolescents who report psychotic experiences, a known vulnerability group for later severe psychopathology, including psychotic illness. OBJECTIVE: To study WM differences using diffusion-weighted imaging (whole-brain and tractography analyses) in adolescents who report psychotic experiences. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A population-based case-control study of 28 adolescents 13 to 16 years old who reported psychotic experiences and a matched sample of 28 adolescents who did not report psychotic experiences drawn from a sample of 212 young people recruited from primary schools in North Dublin and Kildare, Ireland. The study dates were 2008 to 2011. INTERVENTIONS: High-angular resolution diffusion-weighted imaging data were used to conduct whole-brain WM analysis using tract-based spatial statistics. Based on this exploratory analysis, a tractography-based approach with constrained spherical deconvolution was performed. RESULTS: Compared with control group participants, adolescents who reported psychotic experiences showed WM differences bilaterally in striatal regions in proximity to the putamen (increased fractional anisotropy, P = .01, false discovery rate corrected), and tractography identified significant WM differences bilaterally in the uncinate fasciculus (increased fractional anisotropy in the right [P = .001] and axial diffusivity in the left [P = .01] uncinate fasciculus, respectively). Similar patterns of WM differences between groups survived adjustment for other psychopathology, indicating some specificity for psychotic experiences. Exploratory along-tract analyses showed WM differences between groups in the frontal projections of the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (reduced radial diffusivity in approximately 32% of the tract segment [P ≤ .0001] and increased fractional anisotropy in approximately 16% of the tract segment [P ≤ .0009]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a population-based study of adolescents reporting psychotic experiences, we found a number of WM differences in the region of the putamen located between the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the uncinate fasciculus and in the left parietal regions that include the fiber bundle of the superior longitudinal fasciculus. These findings suggest that subtle structural changes to WM microstructure are not merely a consequence of disorder but may index vulnerability to psychosis even at a very early age.

Causal information on children's attitudes and behavioural intentions toward a peer with obesity.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effect of types of causal information about overweight on children's attitudes and intentions toward a peer presented as overweight. METHODS: Participants (N = 176) were randomly assigned to read a vignette of an overweight peer in one of three conditions, which varied in the explanatory information provided for the aetiology of the peer's overweight condition: biological, environmental or no causal information, along with a vignette of an average-weight peer. RESULTS: The provision of information that the overweight was the result of biological factors and of no causal information yielded more positive attitudes toward the overweight peer compared to those who were provided with environmental information. Information on overweight had no impact on behavioural intentions. A social desirability bias was found for each of the three experimental conditions and for the average weight condition. CONCLUSION: Information explaining overweight had a minimal positive effect on attitudes and no effect on intentions toward an overweight peer.

Psychotic symptoms in adolescence index risk for suicidal behavior: findings from 2 population-based case-control clinical interview studies.

CONTEXT Recent evidence from both clinical and population research has pointed to psychotic symptoms as potentially important markers of risk for suicidal behavior. However, to our knowledge, there have been no epidemiological studies to date that have reported data on psychotic symptoms and suicidality in individuals who have been clinically assessed for suicidal behavior. OBJECTIVES To explore associations between psychotic symptoms in nonpsychotic adolescents and risk for suicidal behavior in (1) the general population, (2) adolescents with psychiatric disorder, and (3) adolescents with suicidal ideation. DESIGN Two independently conducted case-control clinical interview studies. SETTING Population-based studies in Ireland. PARTICIPANTS Study 1 included 212 adolescents aged 11 to 13 years. Study 2 included 211 adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Participants were recruited from schools. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Suicidal behavior and psychotic symptoms, assessed by semi-structured diagnostic clinical interview. RESULTS Psychotic symptoms were associated with a 10-fold increased odds of any suicidal behavior (ideation, plans, or acts) in both the early and middle adolescence studies (odds ratio [OR], 10.23; 95% CI, 3.25-32.26; P < .001 and OR, 10.5; 95% CI, 3.14-35.17; P < .001, respectively). Adolescents with depressive disorders who also experienced psychotic symptoms were at a nearly 14-fold increased odds of more severe suicidal behavior (suicide plans and suicide acts) compared with adolescents with depressive disorders who did not experience psychotic symptoms (OR, 13.7; 95% CI, 2.1-89.6). Among all adolescents with suicidal ideation, those who also reported psychotic symptoms had a nearly 20-fold increased odds of suicide plans and suicide acts compared with adolescents with suicidal ideation who did not report psychotic symptoms (OR, 19.6; 95% CI, 1.8-216.1). CONCLUSIONS Psychotic symptoms are strongly associated with increased risk for suicidal behavior in the general adolescent population and in adolescents with (nonpsychotic) psychiatric disorder. In both studies, an absolute majority of adolescents with more severe suicidal behavior (suicidal plans and acts) reported psychotic symptoms when directly questioned about this as part of a psychiatric interview. Assessment of psychotic symptoms should form a key part of suicide risk assessment.

Identification and characterization of prodromal risk syndromes in young adolescents in the community: a population-based clinical interview study.

While a great deal of research has been conducted on prodromal risk syndromes in relation to help-seeking individuals who present to the clinic, there is a lack of research on prodromal risk syndromes in the general population. The current study aimed first to establish whether prodromal risk syndromes could be detected in non-help-seeking community-based adolescents and secondly to characterize this group in terms of Axis-1 psychopathology and general functioning. We conducted in-depth clinical interviews with a population sample of 212 school-going adolescents in order to assess for prodromal risk syndromes, Axis-1 psychopathology, and global (social/occupational) functioning. Between 0.9% and 8% of the community sample met criteria for a risk syndrome, depending on varying disability criteria. The risk syndrome group had a higher prevalence of co-occurring nonpsychotic Axis-1 psychiatric disorders (OR = 4.77, 95% CI = 1.81-12.52; P < .01) and poorer global functioning (F = 24.5, df = 1, P < .0001) compared with controls. Individuals in the community who fulfill criteria for prodromal risk syndromes demonstrate strong similarities with clinically presenting risk syndrome patients not just in terms of psychotic symptom criteria but also in terms of co-occurring psychopathology and global functioning.

Psychometric properties of the Revised Male Body Attitudes Scale among Irish men.

The psychometric properties of a revised version of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (Tylka, Bergeron, & Schwartz, 2005) were investigated using two independent online samples of Irish men (ns=241 and 253, respectively). Exploratory factor analyses suggested that a 15-item, 3-factor solution representing men's attitudes toward their body fat, muscularity, and height best described the data. The internal consistency and construct validity of scores on the Revised Male Body Attitudes Scale suggest that this measure holds promise as an indicant of men's attitudes toward their physical appearance. Limitations and strengths associated with the current research are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.

Anti-fat, pro-slim, or both? Using two reaction-time based measures to assess implicit attitudes to the slim and overweight.

Two measures of implicit attitudes, the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) and the Implicit Association Test (IAT), were compared with each other and with a measure of explicit attitudes in the assessment of implicit pro-slim/anti-fat bias. Results from both implicit tests indicated higher levels of bias than revealed by the explicit measure. The IRAP data suggested that it was participants' pro-slim rather than anti-fat bias, which was driving this effect. Explicit attitudes and feelings towards the overweight were significant predictors of behavioural intentions towards the overweight with the IRAP offering a greater contribution to predictive validity than the IAT.