Managing difficult and violent adolescents ( adolescents difficiles) in France: a genealogical approach.

'Difficult adolescent' is a clinical category defined by psychiatrists' expertise. Since the end of the 1990s, it has been extensively used to describe a population of disruptive, violent yet vulnerable adolescents, at the margins of public institutions that manage youth deviancy in France. For the present study, an interconnected network of 49 documents was analysed using a genealogical method in order to provide comprehensive elements in the results. This category found its ecological niche in the 1960s, revealing a moral tension in the use of constraint. It addressed new problems of intractable individuals, whose dangerousness and vulnerability require coordination between penal, social and psychiatric institutions. It defines an ambiguous condition, suspended between the trouble experienced by the caregivers and an adolescent's individual disorder.

Higiene mental infantil y psicoanálisis en la clínica de conducta, Santiago de Chile, 1936-1938 / Child mental hygiene and psychoanalisis at the clinic of conduct, Santiago de Chile, 1936-1938

Tomando en cuenta la importancia del estudio situado en historia de las ciencias, en este artículo se explora una temprana iniciativa de higiene mental infantil en Chile que aun no ha sido abordada por la literatura especializada: la Clínica de Conducta, fundada en Santiago en 1936 como parte de la Escuela Especial de Desarrollo, la cual había sido creada por la Reforma Educacional de 1928. La Clínica de Conducta puso en marcha un programa estatal de higiene mental infantil que incluía como referencia central al psicoanálisis, en un periodo en que no era habitual encontrarlo en la bibliografía médica local. Se analizará aquí el contexto de creación de estos servicios, así como los modos en que la higiene mental y el psicoanálisis fueron apropiados y utilizados en una institución cuyo principal interés no era la defensa o legitimación de una teoría, sino el abordaje de problemáticas sociales como la delincuencia y la educación infantil. Aparecen así algunas características de la historia de los saberes psi en Chile, mostrando cómo se despliegan en el escenario de problemáticas sociales y cómo se vinculan con el devenir de otras disciplinas y prácticas como la criminología y la pedagogía (AU)

Taking stance in a situated perspective, this article looks into one of the first Chilean state initiatives aimed at the study and care of child psyche. This institution that has not yet been explored by specialized literature: the Clinic of Conduct, founded in the city of Santiago in 1936 as part of the Special School of Development, which was created in the context of a the Educational Reform of 1928. The Clinic of Conduct launched a state managed mental hygiene programme that included psychoanalysis as its main reference at a time when psychoanalysis was not yet a regular reference in the local medical world. We are thus interested in analysing context in which this initiatives were created and the ways in which mental hygiene and psychoanalysis were appropriated and used in an institution in which the principal interest was not the defence or legitimation of a singular theory, but the approach to specific social problems such as child delinquency and education. Some characteristics of the history of psy knowledges in Chile emerge from this study, showing how they unfold on the scenario of social problems and how they relate to other disciplines and practices such as criminology and pedagogy (AU)

Prehistoria del TDAH: aditivos para un diagnóstico insostenible / No disponible

Para defender la validez diagnóstica del TDAH la literatura especializada emplea generalmente un argumento histórico, según el cual dicha validez resultaría indiscutible debido al hecho de que diversas fuentes médicas hablaban ya del TDAH hace varios siglos; esto demostraría que el TDAH no es una creación de nuestro tiempo. Sin embargo, al investigar esas mismas fuentes históricas, se puede comprobar lo injustificado de ese argumento, que contribuye aún más al descrédito de este constructo psiquiátrico tan controvertido. Se analizan en el presente artículo tres ‘hitos’ de la llamada historia o prehistoria del TDAH: Alexander Crichton, Heinrich Hoffmann y George F. Still. El TDAH, al contrario de lo que defiende la literatura dominante, es un invento moderno, y el uso de los argumentos históricos revela su mítica base teórica y una escasez de argumentos que debería ser muy alarmante, debido al número de niños diagnosticados y medicados de TDAH

In order to defend the diagnostic validity of ADHD, the specialized literature usually uses a historical argument, according to which its validity is unquestionable due to the fact that a number of medical sources have referred to ADHD for several hundred years. This proves that ADHD is not a contemporary creation. However, when investigating those same historical sources it is possible to prove that these arguments are unfounded, which contributes even more to undermine this highly controversial psychiatric construct. This paper analyzes the three classic ‘milestones’ of the so-called history or prehistory of ADHD: Alexander Crichton, Heinrich Hoffmann and George F. Still. Contrary to the claims of the dominant literature, ADHD is a modern invention, and the use of these historical arguments reveals its mythical theoretical basis and lack of supporting arguments, which should be a cause for serious concern, due to the number of children being diagnosed and medicated for ADHD

Neurodevelopmental and behavioural paediatrics.

One of the notable shifts in Paediatrics across the last 50 years has been towards disorders that are chronic and qualitative in nature. In addition to physical health, these impact on childhood development, behaviour and wellbeing. Understanding and management of these problems extends the traditional biological toolkit of paediatrics into the complexities of uncertainties of psychological and social context. In Australasia, the profession has responded with the development of Community Paediatrics as a recognised sub-specialty, of which Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatrics is an important component. These developments are reviewed along with consideration of future challenges for this field of health care.

Sons and daughters beyond your control: episodes in the prehistory of the attention deficit/hyperactivity syndrome.

Hyperactive and inattentive children have been discussed in both the pedagogic and medical literature since the nineteenth century, and many controversies associated with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been repeatedly analyzed in different contexts. The 'prehistory' of the ADHD concept-that is, up to the definition of ADHD in DSM-III and of the corresponding 'hyperkinetic disorder' in ICD-9-is outlined, with an emphasis on the literature not previously discussed in English language reviews of the subject.

Traumatic childhood experiences in the 21st century: broadening and building on the ACE studies with data from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

The study objectives were to (a) examine the association between total number of trauma types experienced and child/adolescent behavioral problems and (b) determine whether the number of trauma types experienced predicted youth behavioral problems above and beyond demographic characteristics, using a diverse set of 20 types of trauma. Data came from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network's (NCTSN) Core Data Set (CDS), which includes youth assessed and treated for trauma across the United States. Participants who experienced at least one type of trauma were included in the sample (N = 11,028; age = 1½-18 years; 52.3% girls). Random effects models were used to account for possible intraclass correlations given treatment services were provided at different NCTSN centers. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations among demographic characteristics, trauma, and emotional and behavioral problems as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Significant dose-response relations were found between total number of trauma types and behavior problems for all CBCL scales, except Sleep, one of the subscales only administered to 1½- to 5-year-olds. Thus, each additional trauma type endorsed significantly increased the odds for scoring above the clinical threshold. Results provide further evidence of strong associations between diverse traumatic childhood experiences and a diverse range of behavior problems, and underscore the need for a trauma-informed public health and social welfare approach to prevention, risk reduction, and early intervention for traumatized youth.

Revisiting Kazdin (1980): Contemporary Treatment Acceptability for Problem Behavior in Children

Treatment acceptability may influence whether effective interventions can be disseminated successfully. The current study was designed to assess contemporary acceptability of four treatments for problem behavior in children. Comparisons were made between gender of the respondents and between a group of students and a group of Board Certified Behavior Analysts to evaluate some variables that might influence treatment acceptability. In a replication of Kazdin’s (1980) study, an on-line survey was used to evaluate levels of acceptability for four treatments (time out, electric shock, reinforcement, and drug) for two children’s problem behavior described in brief vignettes. Treatment acceptability was compared as a function of the case, the participant’s gender, and the participant’s status as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Reinforcement was rated most acceptable, followed by time out, drug, and shock. An ANOVA revealed a significant treatment by child interaction. Differences between male and female participants and between certified behavior analysts and untrained individuals were also observed. The findings suggest that treatments vary in acceptability and that variables related to the case and clinician can influence acceptability levels (AU)

No disponible

Between psychology and pedagogy: "moral orthopedics" and case studies of children in fin-de-siècle French medicine.

In the latter decades of the 19th century, European physicians debated a controversial practice that mixed placebos with suggestion therapy to treat children diagnosed with neurotic disorders and behavioral problems. Designed to optimize suggestibility in juvenile patients, this "moral orthopedics" offered parents and therapists the message that children could be saved from becoming victims of their own personalities, of familial neuroses, or even of public health problems. Case studies, published in medical journals and books, circulated accounts of innovative strategies to treat childhood hysteria and to change habits that were considered destructive. Moral orthopedics actualized the insight that suggestibility could be therapeutically productive for juvenile subjects. However, because its adherents sought to manipulate patients' behavior and health by influencing unconscious thought, moral orthopedics provoked questions of expertise and disciplinary propriety among domains of medicine, law, and philosophy. This article reconstructs the controversy surrounding moral orthopedics by examining case studies. I argue that adherents of moral orthopedics did overcome philosophical objections raised against the method, and that they did so through what physician Edgar B6rillon referred to as "education of the will."

Low level lead exposure: history and discovery.

The history of lead toxicity spans 2 millennnia. With increasingly sensitive methods, deficits due to lead exposure have been demonstrated at lower and lower doses. Persuasive evidence suggests that no threshold for lead toxicity exists.

The establishing of Norwegian child psychiatry: ideas, pioneers and institutions.

In this article we analyse the central features of the establishment and development in Norway of a mental health service for children. Influenced by the movements for mental hygiene and child guidance from the 1920s, Norwegian psychiatrists turned their attention increasingly towards prevention of mental and social problems. During the 1930s, IQ-testing and segregation of troublesome children from school became an important tool for handling children with mental or behavioural problems. With increasing public attention, child mental health activities grew from the late 1940s, and the first regular therapeutic clinic for children was established in 1947. Therapeutic ideas derived from psychoanalytical theory and applied in the new clinics, challenged the dominant view of segregation as a solution to mental and social problems. From 1961 a comprehensive mental healthcare service for children was developed in Norway, and the aim of therapeutic treatment changed gradually from segregation to integration.

A great American psychiatrist reconsidered. Commentary on "Neuropsychiatric sequelae of cerebral trauma in children", by Edward A. Strecker and Franklin G. Ebaugh.

In a seminal article from the early twentieth century, a vivid picture was painted of the psychiatric outcomes of child head injury. Reading this now, the insights to be derived are considerable.

[The birth of clinical psychology in the scientific work of Lightner Witmer]. / La nascita della psicologia clinica nell'opera di Lightner Witmer sui bambini con ritardo mentale.

The paper deals with the beginning of Clinical Psychology in the first years of XX century, when a central role was played by the theoretical and practical approach on mental retardation and behavioural disorders of L. Witmer. The author describes the cultural formation of Witmer, between Structural Psychology and Functionalism, and the special attention he devoted to the management and education of children affected by mental retardation and behavioural problems. ... Any child, the functions of whose brain are not developed up to the normal limit for his age, is suffering from retardation ... Retardation must be defined in terms of individual capacity for physical and mental development....

Behaviorally-based disorders: the historical social construction of youths' most prevalent psychiatric diagnoses.

Psychiatry in the USA controls the definitions of mental health disorders and diagnosis through required practice utilization of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and fiscal reimbursement using it. The present sociohistorical research paper presents and critically examines the Manual's systemic and diagnostic development of today's most prevalent youth mental health diagnoses (conduct and oppositional defiant disorders). Through a social construction theoretical paradigm, this research identified diagnostic classification systems, nosology changes, critical time periods, conducive social and cultural conditions, and key individuals involved in the development of these youth behaviorally-based disorders within two distinct historical time frames: 1880 to 1968 and 1969 to 2000. It also identified patterns of nosology system and diagnostic category changes based upon very limited empiricism, inordinately influenced by a limited number of individuals, and understood through a socially constructed framework.