Selective mutism in immigrant families: An ecocultural perspective.

Although the diagnosis of selective mutism (SM) is more prevalent among immigrant children, the link between the disorder and an immigration background has been elusive. Guided by ecocultural models of development, the current study aimed to construct a theory-based description of SM while considering individual, family, and contextual risk factors. Participants were 78 children with SM (38.4% with an immigration background), and 247 typically developed children (18.2% with an immigration background). Consistent with previous studies, our results suggest that anxiety was the most important predictor of SM symptoms, above and beyond immigration background. Immigration, especially if coupled with bilingual status and low family income, predicted increased levels of SM symptoms. Identifying multi-level predictors of SM may help researchers and clinicians to improve early identification and treatment of SM in culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Mental health among children with long COVID during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A growing number of studies report that persons of all ages, infected with SARS-CoV-2, may experience long-term persistent symptoms, known as long COVID (LC) or post COVID-19 condition. This is one of the first studies examining the consequences of LC on children's mental health. In this case-control study, we compared select mental health aspects of 103 children diagnosed with LC to a control group of 113 children uninfected with SARS-COV-2; all 4-18 years old. Both groups were assessed via parents' questionnaires. In comparison to the control group, children with LC exhibited more memory difficulties. However, no group differences emerged in other functional aspects (connection with friends and engagement in physical activities), problems with concentration, or levels of emotional-behavioral problems (externalizing, internalizing, ADHD, and PTSD symptoms). We also found that children with LC had greater exposure to COVID-19-related stressors. Higher levels of parental worries regarding their children's functioning and economic difficulties at home significantly predicted higher levels of children's emotional-behavioral problems and were better predictors than the child's age, social functioning, or LC diagnosis.    Conclusion: LC was associated with impairments in some aspects of children's memory which may relate to academic functioning, but not with higher rates of emotional-behavioral problems, thus warranting interventional programs addressing school functioning and cognitive abilities in this population. Additionally, parents' economic stress and worries regarding their child's emotional adjustment during the pandemic, are important factors affecting pandemic-related emotional-behavioral problems among children, regardless of COVID-19 infection, that should be addressed. What is Known: • Children may have long COVID (LC) after being infected with SARS-COV-2. What is New: • LC may be associated to impairments in some aspects of children's memory, as reported by parents. • Parents' economic stress and worries concerning their children's emotional adjustment during the pandemic are associated with more distress in their children.

From acute stress to persistent post-concussion symptoms: The role of parental accommodation and child's coping strategies.

Background: Acute stress following mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is highly prevalent and associated with Persistent Post-Concussion symptoms (PPCS). However, the mechanism mediating this relationship is understudied. Objective: To examine whether parental accommodation (i.e. parents' attempts to adjust the environment to the child's difficulties) and child's coping strategies mediate the association between acute stress and PPCS in children following mTBI. Method: Participants were 58 children aged 8-16 who sustained a mTBI and their parents. Children's acute stress (one-week post-injury) and coping strategies (three weeks post-injury), and parental accommodation (three weeks and four months post-injury) were assessed. Outcome measures included PPCS (four months post-injury) and neuropsychological tests of cognitive functioning (attention and memory). A baseline for PPCS was obtained by a retrospective report of pre-injury symptoms immediately after the injury. Results: Children's acute stress and negative coping strategies (escape-oriented coping strategies) and four-months parental accommodation were significantly related to PPCS. Acute stress predicted PPCS and attention and memory performance. Parental accommodation significantly mediated the association between acute stress and PPCS. Conclusions: Stress plays an important role in children's recovery from mTBI and PPCS. Parental accommodation mediates this relationship, and thus, clinical attention to parental reactions during recovery is needed.

The Integrated Behavior Therapy for Children with Selective Mutism: Findings from an open pilot study in a naturalistic setting.

To test the hypothesis that the Integrated Behavior Therapy for Children with Selective Mutism (IBTSM), administered in a naturalistic setting, is (a) a feasible and acceptable treatment, (b) effective in reducing children's selective mutism (SM) and social anxiety (SA) symptoms, and (c) effective in reducing parents' accommodation behaviors to their children's anxiety. This was an open, uncontrolled trial with assessments at baseline, first session, and post-treatment. The study treated 30 children aged 4-13, using the IBTSM protocol. The diagnosis of SM was established by psychologists using a structured interview. The parents reported levels of SM, SA, and parental accommodation on questionnaires, and the level of children's global functioning was rated by clinicians. Feasibility and acceptability of the IBTSM were assessed using dropout rates, protocol adherence, adverse events, and therapist's acceptability ratings. The IBTSM had acceptable dropout rates, with no adverse events and high acceptability rates. Following IBTSM, children's SM and SA levels, and parents' accommodation, significantly decreased. 75% of children were rated by clinicians as treatment responders. IBTSM is a feasible, acceptable, and efficacious treatment for children with SM, utilized in clinical settings. The results of this open trial must be replicated in randomized controlled studies.

[Formula: see text]Persistent post-concussion symptoms in children: pre-injury social difficulties and acute stress reaction as risk factors.

Following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) children usually experience one or more somatic, cognitive, and/or emotional-behavioral post-concussion symptoms (PCS). PCS may be transient, however for some children, persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) might linger for months or years. Identifying risk factors for PPCS may allow earlier interventions for patients at greater risk. We examined pre-injury social difficulties and acute stress reaction as risk factors to PPCS in children. Participants were 83 children (aged 8-16) with mTBI. In a prospective follow-up, pre-injury social difficulties, 24-hours post-concussion symptoms, and acute stress reactions were tested as predictors of one-week and four-months PCS reports. Parents' reports, self-reports, and neurocognitive tests were employed. One-week PCS level was associated with acute stress, and not with 24-hours post-concussion symptoms or pre-injury social difficulties. Four-months PCS level was predicted by pre-injury social difficulties and 24-hours post-concussion symptoms, with no contribution of acute stress. Interestingly, less symptoms at 24-hour from injury were associated with a higher level of PCS at four months. Cognitive functioning at four months was predicted by acute stress, with no contribution of 24-hours post-concussion symptoms or pre-injury social difficulties. Cognitive functioning did not differ between children with and without PPCS. In conclusion, non-injury, socio-emotional factors (pre-injury social difficulties, acute stress) should be considered, alongside injury-related factors, in predicting recovery from mTBI. Pre-injury social difficulties and stress reaction to the traumatic event might pose an emotional burden and limit one's social support during recovery, thus require clinical attention in children following mTBI.

Involvement in litigation in children with PTSD following motor vehicle accident: Associations with emotional distress and treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Litigation is common in the context of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), adding contradicting motivations to individuals' engagement in psychotherapeutic interventions. This study's main goal was to explore the relationship between litigation status and emotional distress among children with PTSD following motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). We also present preliminary findings from a pilot study on treatment efficacy for children with PTSD, with and without litigation. METHODS: Participants included 76 children with PTSD following MVA and their main caregiving parent. The associations between litigation status (litigation involvement, litigation phase, and litigation's emotional impact) and children's global distress, PTSD, persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS), and sub-optimal effort, and parents' PTSD symptoms were assessed before and after intervention for PTSD. Comorbid mTBI was explored as a possible moderating factor. RESULTS: Involvement in litigation was not related to children's and parents' pre-intervention distress, nor to the presence of mTBI or to children's effort. However, higher emotional impact of litigation on parents was associated with children's higher PPCS pre-intervention. A pilot study on intervention outcomes found an improvement both in children with and without litigation involvement. A greater decrease in PPCS following intervention was found in children of parents with higher emotional impact of litigation. CONCLUSIONS: The emotional impact of litigation on parents should be considered while addressing children in litigation context. However, this study's preliminary findings suggest that children with litigation involvement may benefit from treatment, thus litigation should not serve solely as an exclusion criterion for psychological intervention. A larger study should further explore this issue.

Efficacy of Psychological Intervention for Children with Concurrent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are common conditions following motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). Mild TBI and PTSD not only share similar features but may also coexist and interact. Nonetheless, research on psychotherapeutic interventions for PTSD in patients with a history of mTBI, particularly regarding pediatric populations, is limited. The present study compared the efficacy of the prolonged exposure treatment protocol for children and adolescents (PE-A) with PTSD and mTBI (n = 16) versus PTSD alone (n = 21); treatment commenced at least 3 months following an MVA. Emotional status and cognitive functioning were assessed pre- and postintervention using questionnaires and standardized neuropsychological tests. Participants from both groups benefitted from the intervention, as reflected in their emotional status via increased ratings of well-being and decreased ratings of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and postconcussive symptoms, η2 = .21-.50. Ratings of cognitive function also improved for cognitive flexibility, η2 = .30; executive function in everyday life, η2 = .27; and attention and inhibition, η2 = .16. Parental PTSD was the strongest predictor of improvement after intervention, sr2 = .35. Thus, it appears that PE-A is an effective intervention for children with MVA-related PTSD regardless of its comorbidity with mTBI.

Gender Differences in Neurocognitive Performance Among Children With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are frequent sequelae after motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). These two pathologies often have overlapping neurocognitive deficits across several domains, such as attention, memory, and executive functions. The present study was an effort to examine the contribution of gender to these overlapping symptoms. To this end, psychodiagnostic and neuropsychological data were collected on 61 children and adolescents 3 months following MVA. All participants were diagnosed with PTSD, and about half (n = 33) also received a diagnosis of mTBI. Analyses of variance revealed significant interactions between gender and mTBI (ηp2=.15), such that girls with mTBIs preformed significantly worse than noninjured girls on measures of executive functions (Cohen's d = 3.88) and sustained attention (Cohen's d = 3.24). Boys, on the other hand, did not differ significantly on any of those measures, irrespective of TBI injury status. Similarly, comparisons to the normative population revealed that, whereas boys showed impaired neurocognitive performances regardless of TBI status, impaired performances in girls were limited to those cases in which the girls were comorbid for PTSD and mTBI. It appears then that whereas PTSD alone might explain boys' reduced neurocognitive performance, among girls the comorbidity of PTSD and mTBI is required to account for performance deficits.

The contribution of posttraumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury to persistent post concussive symptoms following motor vehicle accidents.

OBJECTIVE: Persistent postconcussive symptoms (PPCS) are a set of physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms that often follow mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Some of these symptoms also occur in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current study examined the unique contribution of mTBI and PTSD to PPCS. The roles of neurocognitive and motivational factors were also addressed. METHOD: Sixty one children and adolescents (ages 6-18), at least 3 months post motor vehicle accident (MVA), participated in the study. All participants were diagnosed with PTSD symptoms. Thirty three participants met mTBI criteria, and 28 did not. Standard instruments for assessment included a semistructured clinical interview, self-report questionnaires, and a neuropsychological evaluation. RESULTS: No differences were found between the mTBI and non-TBI groups on any of the emotional or neurocognitive measures, including PPCS symptoms. Multiple regression analyses revealed that emotional status, such as state anxiety and depression, were the best predictors of PPCS. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analyses revealed a double mediation model, in which suboptimal effort mediated the relationship between neurocognitive performance and PPCS, and emotional status mediated the relationship between suboptimal effort and PPCS. CONCLUSION: These findings underscore the importance of emotional status in the diagnosis of PPCS among children who suffer from PTSD. It is possible that PPCS reflect a more general expression of accident-related emotional distress, rather than being a direct result of the injury. (PsycINFO Database Record

Role of parenting style in achieving metabolic control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of parenting style in achieving metabolic control and treatment adherence in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Parents of 100 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed assessments of their parenting style and sense of helplessness. Parents and patients rated patient adherence to the treatment regimen. Glycemic control was evaluated by HbA(1c) values. RESULTS: An authoritative paternal parenting style predicted better glycemic control and adherence in the child; a permissive maternal parenting style predicted poor adherence. A higher sense of helplessness in both parents predicted worse glycemic control and lesser adherence to treatment. Parental sense of helplessness was a significant predictor of diabetes control after correcting for other confounders (patient age, sex, and treatment method). CONCLUSIONS: An authoritative nonhelpless parenting style is associated with better diabetes control in adolescents. Paternal involvement is important in adolescent diabetes management. These results have implications for psychological interventions.