Prediction of the development of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children using a random forest classifier.

BACKGROUND: Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most common psychiatric disorders observed in children and adolescents exposed to sexual abuse. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of many factors such as the characteristics of a child, abuse, and the abuser, family type of the child, and the role of social support in the development of psychiatric disorders using machine learning techniques. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: The records of 482 children and adolescents who were determined to have been sexually abused were examined to predict the development of depression and PTSD. METHODS: Each child was evaluated by a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the psychiatric aspect according to the DSM-V. Through the data of both groups, a predictive model was established based on a random forest classifier. RESULTS: The mean values and standard deviation of the 10-k cross-validated results were obtained as accuracy: 0.82% (+/- 0.19%), F1: 0.81% (+/- 0.19%), precision: 0.81% (+/- 0.19%), recall: 0.80% (+/- 0.19%) for children with depression; and accuracy: 0.72% (+/- 0.12%), F1: 0.71% (+/- 0.12%), precision: 0.72% (+/- 0.12%), recall: 0.71% (+/- 0.12%) for children with PTSD, respectively. ROC curves were drawn for both, and the AUC results were obtained as 0.88 for major depressive disorder and 0.76 for PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: Machine learning techniques are powerful methods that can be used to predict disorders that may develop after sexual abuse. The results should be supported by studies with larger samples, which are repeated and applied to other risk groups.

Prevalence of Childhood Affective disorders in Turkey: An epidemiological study.

AIM: To determine the prevalence of affective disorders in Turkey among a representative sample of Turkish population. METHODS: This study was conducted as a part of the "The Epidemiology of Childhood Psychopathology in Turkey" (EPICPAT-T) Study, which was designed by the Turkish Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. The inclusion criterion was being a student between the second and fourth grades in the schools assigned as study centers. The assessment tools used were the K-SADS-PL, and a sociodemographic form that was designed by the authors. Impairment was assessed via a 3 point-Likert type scale independently rated by a parent and a teacher. RESULTS: A total of 5842 participants were included in the analyses. The prevalence of affective disorders was 2.5 % without considering impairment and 1.6 % when impairment was taken into account. In our sample, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder was lacking, thus depressive disorders constituted all the cases. Among depressive disorders with impairment, major depressive disorder (MDD) (prevalence of 1.06%) was the most common, followed by dysthymia (prevalence of 0.2%), adjustment disorder with depressive features (prevalence of 0.17%), and depressive disorder-NOS (prevalence of 0.14%). There were no statistically significant gender differences for depression. Maternal psychopathology and paternal physical illness were predictors of affective disorders with pervasive impairment. CONCLUSION: MDD was the most common depressive disorder among Turkish children in this nationwide epidemiological study. This highlights the severe nature of depression and the importance of early interventions. Populations with maternal psychopathology and paternal physical illness may be the most appropriate targets for interventions to prevent and treat depression in children and adolescents.

Gender Differences in Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter Study in Turkey.

The purpose of this study was to examine gender-based differences in abuse-related characteristics and post-abuse psychiatric disorders among sexually abused children and adolescents. The researchers retrospectively examined files, judicial reports, and social examination reports of 1,250 sexually abused youth cases. Results showed that boys were more often victimized by penetration, force, and physical violence. Incidence of sexual abuse by family members, familiar persons, and multiple persons was higher among girls. In addition, a higher rate of major depressive disorder as well as alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking were found in sexually abused girls. No difference was observed between boys and girls in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder, conduct disorder, and other mental disorders. Intellectual disability was more frequent in boys.

Prolonged rooming-in in infancy is associated with generalized anxiety disorder in the adolescent period.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate whether anxiety disorders in adolescents have a link with the separation time of bed/bedroom sharing with parents. It also aims to raise awareness in society about the issue of minimizing anxiety disorders in childhood. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in Sevket Yilmaz Training and Research Hospital between June 2013 and May 2014. The participants included 51 adolescents who were diagnosed as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with no-comorbidity and 71 healthy adolescents as the control group, who were chosen randomly. Diagnosis of GAD was based on the criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed) by child and adolescent psychiatry doctors. The Turkish version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used for the control group. A special survey about demographics and bed-sharing statements was constructed for the purpose of the study. The groups were analyzed in terms of duration of co-sleeping (bed-sharing) and rooming-in (keeping the mother and the baby in same room) with parents during infancy and the development of anxiety disorders in later period. RESULTS: Mean duration of rooming-in was significantly longer in the case group than in the control group (p=0.009). Similarly, mean duration of co-sleeping in the case group was longer than that of the control group. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.529). CONCLUSION: Sleeping in the same room with children for a long time may result in anxiety disorders in later period due to possible difficulties in bonding and/or less self-confidence.