Dissociative identity disorder among adolescents: prevalence in a university psychiatric outpatient unit.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dissociative identity disorder (DID) and other dissociative disorders among adolescent psychiatric outpatients. A total of 116 consecutive outpatients between 11 and 17 years of age who were admitted to the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic of a university hospital for the 1st time were evaluated using the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, adolescent version of the Child Symptom Inventory-4, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and McMaster Family Assessment Device. All patients were invited for an interview with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) administered by 2 senior psychiatrists in a blind fashion. There was excellent interrater reliability between the 2 clinicians on SCID-D diagnoses and scores. Among 73 participants, 33 (45.2%) had a dissociative disorder: 12 (16.4%) had DID, and 21 (28.8%) had dissociative disorder not otherwise specified. There was no difference in gender distribution, childhood trauma, or family dysfunction scores between the dissociative and nondissociative groups. Childhood emotional abuse and family dysfunction correlated with self-reported dissociation. Of the dissociative adolescents, 93.9% had an additional psychiatric disorder. Among them, only separation anxiety disorder was significantly more prevalent than in controls. Although originally designed for adults, the SCID-D is promising for diagnosing dissociative disorders in adolescents, its modest congruence with self-rated dissociation and lack of relationship between diagnosis and childhood trauma and family dysfunction suggest that the prevalence rates obtained with this instrument originally designed for adults must be replicated. The introduction of diagnostic criteria for adolescent DID in revised versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, would refine the assessment of dissociative disorders in this age group.

Psychological adjustment, maternal distress, and family functioning in children with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy.

PURPOSE: To examine emotional and behavioral characteristics of children with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy (OBPP), psychological distress of their mothers and their family functioning, and compare them with healthy peers. METHODS: Participants included 42 children with OBPP (22 boys, 20 girls; age range, 4-16 y; mean, 7 y 0 mo; SD, 3 y 3 mo) and 43 healthy controls (24 boys, 19 girls; age range, 4-15 y; mean, 8 y 0 m; SD, 3 y 0 mo). Childhood Behavior Checklist, Symptom Checklist 90, and Family Assessment Device were filled in by the mothers. RESULTS: Participants with OBPP displayed higher problem scores than the comparison children in most of the domains, including internalizing and externalizing problems. Maternal distress was higher in the OBPP group, and few differences in family functioning were noted. Maternal distress and having the diagnosis of OBPP were the strongest predictors of children's total problem scores and explained 26% of the variance when the effect of age, sex, and family functioning were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Children with OBPP and their mothers are at increased risk for a variety of psychological problems. Professionals should be aware of these children's and their caregivers' psychological adjustment and refer them for further psychological support when needed. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic II.

The role of adverse childhood experiences and attachment styles in social anxiety disorder in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is one of the most common disorders of adolescence and results in marked impairments in social and academic/occupational activities that likely to persist into adulthood. Multiple etiological factors contribute to the development of social anxiety disorder. Two critical factors in presenting with a primary diagnosis of SAD might be adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and attachment styles. The current study examined how ACEs and attachment styles may be related to SAD in adolescents. METHODS: 60 participants with ages ranging from 11 to 18 (M = 14.6; female = 36), who have a primary diagnosis of SAD and 60 control group adolescents (M = 14.6; female = 30) were included in the study. Both groups completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Adolescent Relationship Scales Questionnaire (A-RSQ). RESULTS: After controlling adolescent gender and parental education levels, childhood emotional neglect and income significantly predicted an increased risk for adolescents' SAD diagnosis. Attachment styles did not significantly contribute to predicting adolescents' SAD diagnosis after controlling childhood emotional neglect. CONCLUSION: The high predictive value of emotional neglect in childhood emphasizes its importance as a risk factor of SAD in adolescence.

The Features of Comorbidity of Childhood ADHD in Patients With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Objective: Our aim is to investigate the impact of childhood ADHD comorbidity on the clinical features of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Ninety-five adult outpatients with a diagnosis of OCD were assessed by using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version, ADHD module, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Patients with or without childhood ADHD were compared in terms of the sociodemographic and clinical features, psychiatric comorbidities, and rating scales. Results: The rate of episodic course of OCD (p < .001), religious and sexual obsessions (p = .009, p = .020, respectively), lifetime comorbidity of bipolar disorder (BD), social anxiety disorder (SAD; p = .001, p = .009, respectively), and tic disorder (TD) comorbidity (p < .001) were higher in the OCD + ADHD group than in the OCD without ADHD group. Conclusion: Childhood ADHD may be associated with higher rates of BD, SAD, and TD comorbidity and episodic course of OCD as well as higher frequency of certain types of obsessions.

Culturally adapted transdiagnostic CBT for SSRI resistant Turkish adolescents: A pilot study.

The most common mental health problems among adolescents are anxiety and mood disorders. While disorder-specific cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective for each of these conditions, the comorbidity between anxiety and mood disorders indicates a need for the development of evidence-based transdiagnostic treatments. To examine the efficacy of culturally adapted transdiagnostic CBT (CA-CBT) in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in treatment-resistant Turkish adolescents, 13 adolescent participants with anxiety or mood disorders who were treatment resistant received 10 sessions of CA-CBT in group format. The main outcome measures were the Screen for Childhood Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA), which were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and at 2-month follow-up. At posttreatment, there were large effect sizes for all measures: depression scores (BDI, d = .9), anxiety scores (SCARED, d = 1.1), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA, d = 1.6). Moreover, at 2-month follow-up, depression and anxiety symptoms were either maintained or continued to improve such that from pretreatment to follow-up the effect sizes were as follows: depression scores (BDI, d = 1.4), anxiety scores (SCARED, d = 1.7), and the Turkish Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (TSSA, d = 2.4). In addition, there were no dropouts across treatment. This open trial suggests that CA-CBT is effective in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms and that the treatment is well accepted. A full randomized controlled trial to verify the effectiveness of transdiagnostic CA-CBT in similar populations is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Determinants of Plasma Docosahexaenoic Acid Levels and Their Relationship to Neurological and Cognitive Functions in PKU Patients: A Double Blind Randomized Supplementation Study.

Children with phenylketonuria (PKU) follow a protein restricted diet with negligible amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Low DHA intakes might explain subtle neurological deficits in PKU. We studied whether a DHA supply modified plasma DHA and neurological and intellectual functioning in PKU. In a double-blind multicentric trial, 109 PKU patients were randomized to DHA doses from 0 to 7 mg/kg&day for six months. Before and after supplementation, we determined plasma fatty acid concentrations, latencies of visually evoked potentials, fine and gross motor behavior, and IQ. Fatty acid desaturase genotypes were also determined. DHA supplementation increased plasma glycerophospholipid DHA proportional to dose by 0.4% DHA per 1 mg intake/kg bodyweight. Functional outcomes were not associated with DHA status before and after intervention and remained unchanged by supplementation. Genotypes were associated with plasma arachidonic acid levels and, if considered together with the levels of the precursor alpha-linolenic acid, also with DHA. Functional outcomes and supplementation effects were not significantly associated with genotype. DHA intakes up to 7 mg/kg did not improve neurological functions in PKU children. Nervous tissues may be less prone to low DHA levels after infancy, or higher doses might be required to impact neurological functions. In situations of minimal dietary DHA, endogenous synthesis of DHA from alpha-linolenic acid could relevantly contribute to DHA status.

Ziprasidone Augmentation in an Adolescent with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Case Report.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are widely used to treat OCD, only half of the patients respond well. Several potentiation strategies including off-label use of antipsychotics (mostly risperidone, quetiapine) have been tried. Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic with the best affinity ratio of 5 HT 2A/D2 and 5HT2C/D2 receptors. There is a limited data on ziprasidone in pediatric groups. The case described in the following is an example for the augmentation with ziprasidone to treatment refractory OCD.

Executive Functioning in Subtypes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate executive functions (EF), such as inhibition, planning, working memory, and set shifting, in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by comparing three ADHD subtype groups (ADHD-Inattentive, ADHD-Combined, and ADHD-Comorbid) and a normal control group. METHODS: Participants included 147 children. In total, 111 children were assigned to the ADHD groups of the study. Each child was matched according to the WISC-R Full-Scale IQ-score, sex, and age and was grouped as follows: ADHD-Inattentive group (ADHD-I; n=37), ADHD-Combined (ADHD-C; n=37), ADHD-Comorbid group (ADHD-Comorbid with oppositional defiant disorder and/or conduct disorder; n=37), and control group (n=36). The tests used to assess the children were Conners' Parent and Teacher Rating Scales; Wechsler Intelligence Scale-Revised; Tower of London test; Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; Stroop Color-Word Test, and verbal fluency test. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA between subjects for all dependent variables. RESULTS: Children in the ADHD-I group had significantly better performances in verbal working memory and verbal category shifting than children in the ADHD-C group. There was no significant difference between the ADHD-I and ADHD-C groups in terms of inhibition, set shifting, verbal fluency, cognitive flexibility, and planning. The ADHD-Comorbid group displayed more severe impairments in EF measures than the ADHD-C group; however, the severity was not statistically significant. EF performances of children in the control group were similar to children in the ADHD-I group but better than children in the ADHD-C and ADHD-Comorbid groups. CONCLUSION: The outcome of the study indicated that subjects in the ADHD-Comorbid and ADHD-C groups had more severe EF deficits than subjects in the ADHD-I and control groups.

Epilepsy, Psychogenic Seizure, Trauma in the Developmental Process.

An epileptic seizure, can cause trauma for its sudden emergence, leading to functional impairment, accidents and injuries, and fear of death. The seizure can be traumatizing itself, besides, an head trauma that may occur during the seizure can also cause epilepsy. As the severity and duration of epilepsy increases, disturbances in development and traumatic effects occur. Conversion (psychogenic) seizures may be added over the years in epileptic patients. The comorbidity of trauma-related dissociative disorder and psychogenic seizures is observed in approximately half of the cases. Dissociative disorders are known to occur in children with chronic diseases due to the traumatic effect of the disease. Conversion disorder and psychogenic seizures are frequently seen in dissociative disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, and psychogenic seizures are often comorbid diagnoses in epilepsy. For this reason, traumatic effect and associated dissociative disorder dimension should be kept in mind in the psychiatric approach when handling with cases of epilepsy.

Parental adjustment, parenting attitudes and emotional and behavioral problems in children with selective mutism.

The present study investigated emotional and behavioral problems in children with selective mutism (SM) along with the psychological adjustment and parenting attitudes of their mothers and fathers. Participants included 26 children with SM (mean age = 8.11 ± 2.11 years), 32 healthy controls (mean age = 8.18 ± 2.55 years) and the parents of all children. Children with SM displayed higher problem scores than controls in a variety of emotional and behavioral parameters. They predominantly displayed internalizing problems, whereas aggressive and delinquent behavior was described among a subsample of the children. Significant differences existed between the SM and control groups only in paternal psychopathology, which included anxiety and depression. They did not differ with respect to maternal psychological distress or mother or father reported parental attitudes. Another important result of the present study was that the severity of emotional and behavioral problems of children with SM was correlated with maternal psychopathology but not paternal psychopathology.

Psychiatric Co-morbidity and Efficacy of Mirtazapine Treatment in Young Subjects With Chronic or Cyclic Vomiting Syndromes: A Case Series.

The aim of this case report was to evaluate the psychiatric co-morbidity and efficacy of mirtazapine treatment in young subjects with chronic or cyclic vomiting syndromes. This is a case series of 8 young subjects (age range of 6-16 years, 11.12 ± 3.52 years) who were referred or consulted to child psychiatry department. They were referred or consulted by pediatric gastroenterology or surgery departments for the presence of non-remitting and medically unexplained vomiting. They were investigated for co-morbid psychiatric disorders using a structured psychiatric interview. An open trial of mirtazapine was conducted for the treatment and/or prevention of vomiting. Primary outcome measure was Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale. Subjects were diagnosed with chronic (n = 5) or cyclic (n = 3) vomiting syndromes. Duration of vomiting ranged from 6 months to 10 years (3.5 ± 3.2 years). All subjects received multiple psychiatric diagnoses with anxiety disorders being the most frequent. Maximum mirtazapine dosage was 7.5-30 mg/day (16.00 ± 6.16 mg/day). Three subjects showed complete remission and 5 subjects showed much to very much improvement in vomiting. Most frequent side effects were increased appetite, weight gain and sedation. Young subjects with chronic or cyclic vomiting may frequently suffer anxiety and/or depressive symptoms or disorders. Mirtazapine could be an effective treatment option for the treatment of vomiting and co-morbid anxiety or depressive disorders in these subjects. More systematic research are needed on this topic.

Risk factors for the development of PTSD and depression among child and adolescent victims following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.

Objective. PTSD and major depression occur frequently following traumatic exposure, both as separate disorders and concurrently. Although much of Turkey is under threat of severe earthquakes, risk factors for developing psychiatric disorders among Turkish children have not yet been studied. The aim of the study was to examine risk factors for PTSD and depression develpoment in children. Method. A total of 160 survivors (102 girls and 58 boys) severely impacted by Turkey's 7.4-magnitude quake participated in a psychiatric interview 6-20 weeks after the disaster. The mean age was 14.43. Logistic regression was used to test effects of pre-disaster, disaster-related and post-disaster factors on diagnoses, yielding odds ratios (OR). Results. CAPS indicated that 96 (60%) had PTSD, and psychiatric interview found 49 (31%) with depression. Children diagnosed with PTSD were more likely to have witnessed death (OR=2.47) and experienced an extreme parental reaction (OR=3.45). Children with depression were more likely to be male (OR=4.48), have a higher trait anxiety score (OR=1.12 for every additional point), sustain injury (OR=4.29), and have lost a family member in the quake (OR=10.96). Focusing on the 96 children with PTSD, those with comorbid depression were more likely male, have a higher trait anxiety score, and have lost of family member. Conclusions. Mental health professionals should offer support to children witnessing death or losing a family member in a disaster. The ability of the family to remain calm and reassuring also may be a key factor in preventing PTSD.

Suicide ideation after the 1999 earthquake in Marmara, Turkey.

This study aims to investigate the psychological effects of the earthquake. We investigated the psychological conditions of 3,609 students survived from the Marmara Earthquake, which occurred on 17 August 1999. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was employed to assess the levels of depression and other psycho-pathological states. The BDI was classified as mild depression if the score was < or = 13, moderate depression (14-24) and serious depression (> or = 25). Depression level was estimated as mild in 71.5% of the students, and serious depression in 9.6% of the students. The prevalence of suicidal tendency/thought was 16.7% in this study. The prospect of suicidal thought was 1.76-time (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 1.40-2.22) higher in the students who were injured or whose relatives were injured seriously enough to require medical treatment. Suicidal thought was higher by 1.57 times (95% CI: 1.28-1.92) in students who lost their relatives and by 1.35 times (95% CI: 1.13-1.63) in those who saw extensive damage or destruction occurred in their home or property. According to logistic regression analyses, the gender influenced the thought of suicide; suicide thought was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60-0.85) time lower in females than males. The present study indicates that injury to the self or to the loved ones, damage to home or property, or the loss of family members as a result of the earthquake enhances the suicidal tendencies.

The psychological effects of forced emigration on Muslim Albanian children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: The object of this study was to investigate the psychological effects of forced emigration on Muslim Albanian children and adolescents who were forced to emigrate due to the war in Kosova. METHOD: The sample of the study consisted of 150 children between the ages 9-12 and 100 adolescents between the ages 15-19 living in the Gaziosmanpasa Refugee Shelter in Turkey, and as a control group, 66 children and 52 adolescents; making a total of 368 subjects were included in the study. We applied State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) as well as a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire investigating the socio-demographic characteristics and psychiatric symptoms of the study and control groups. RESULTS: Trait anxiety (TAI) levels of the children in the study group are higher than these in the control group. The analysis of the average Depressive Symptom scores of study group children (M = 15.70) and control group children (M = 7.37) was conducted with the application of t-test. The highly significant values of t = 7.73 p < 0.0001 indicate depressive symptoms among study group. Trait anxiety (TAI) scores of study group adolescents were higher than these in the control group (M = 43.56) and (M = 35.59), respectively and the values of t = 5.95, p < 0.0001 show that this is a highly significant difference. The comparison of the average depressive (BDI) symptom scores of study group and control group adolescents (M = 17.57 and M = 4.59 respectively) revealed the very significant values of t = 7.88, p < 0.0001. The evaluation of the semi-structured questionnaires also revealed that depressive symptoms, somatic symptoms and other psychiatric symptoms were also higher in the study group. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the common opinion that war and terror incidents severely hurt children.

Suicide attempt and self-mutilation among Turkish high school students in relation with abuse, neglect and dissociation.

A questionnaire consisting of items about abuse, neglect, self-mutilation and suicide attempt and the Turkish Version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale were given to 862 high school students. The rates of suicide attempt and self-mutilative behaviors were 10.1% and 21.4%, respectively. Abused or neglected groups (34.3%) had 7.6-fold higher suicide attempts and 2.7-fold higher self-mutilation behaviours. The logistic regression model showed that each type of trauma and dissociation contributed to suicide attempts and self-mutilation, but dissociation was the most powerful. Suicidal and self-destructive adolescents should precisely be evaluated for abuse, neglect and dissociation in clinical practice.