Parental attachment and childhood trauma in adolescents engaged in non-suicidal self-injury.

AIM: In this study, it was aimed to compare parental attachment and childhood traumas in adolescents with NSSI with healthy peers. METHODS: Fifty adolescents aged 14-18 years with lifetime NSSI and 56 healthy peers were included in the study. Inventory of Statements About Self-injury (ISAS), The Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and Child Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28) scales were used. RESULTS: Eighty-two percentage of the NSSI group and 70% of the control group were girls. The mean age was 15.6 ± 1.1 years in the NSSI group and 15.3 ± 0.9 years in the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age and gender. The NSSI group had more negative scores than the control group in terms of childhood traumas and attachment characteristics to both mother and father. The analyses showed that mother PBI care/control and sexual abuse score had a relationship with both ISAS Autonomic Functions and ISAS Social Functions scores. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that secure attachment with the mother may be protective for both the autonomic and social functions of the NSSI. Therefore, interventions for dysfunctional parental attachment may prevent the development of NSSI.

Impact of Gender, Age at Onset, and Lifetime Tic Disorders on the Clinical Presentation and Comorbidity Pattern of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Children and Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogeneous disorder; therefore, there is a need for identifying more homogeneous subtypes. This study aimed to examine the clinical characteristics and comorbidity pattern of a large sample of pediatric OCD subjects, and to examine the impact of gender, age at onset, and lifetime tic disorders on the clinical presentation and comorbidity pattern. METHODS: A total of 110 children and adolescents diagnosed with OCD were assessed using the Kiddle Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) for psychiatric comorbidity, and a clinical data form was filled out. The cutoff for differentiating prepubertal from adolescent onset was 11 years of age. RESULTS: A total of 83.6% of the subjects had at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder. Oppositional defiant disorder and contamination/somatic obsessions were significantly higher in males (p=0.036 and p=0.03, respectively) than in females. Depressive disorders and religious obsessions were significantly higher in the adolescent-onset group (p=0.02, p=0.05, respectively) whereas disruptive behavior disorders were higher in the prepubertal-onset group (p=0.037). Disruptive behavior disorders were significantly more frequent in the tic (+) group than in tic (-) group (p=0.021). CONCLUSIONS: There were differences in the comorbidity pattern and clinical expression between genders and between prepubertal and adolescent-onset cases. Findings of this study supported the introduction of tic-related OCD as a specifier in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. (DSM-5), and the necessity of a detailed assessment of other psychiatric disorders in youth with OCD.