Prevalence of depression and protective factors in a population of children aged 8 to 10 years, suffering from specific learning disorders, in a special education and home care service (SESSAD).

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the prevalence of depression in a population of children aged 8 to 10 years with learning disabilities treated in a Special Education and Home Care Service (SESSAD) and identify the protective factors that might preserve these children from depressive and affective problems. METHODS: Twenty children, aged 8 to 10, with learning disabilities were evaluated prior to their admission in SESSAD. Depression had been assessed through the Multiscore Depression Inventory for Children (MDIC), adapted to the French population as well as their developmental position in relation with their perceptual maturity of their body schema, through the Draw your family drawing. The protective factors were assessed through the qualitative analysis of the stories told on the Draw your family projective drawing and card 4, 9, 20 of The Socialization Test for Children (TSEA). Quantitative data were computed through descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests (Spearman's correlation test) by the jamovi© statistic software (V.2.3.24), and the qualitative data were analyzed through thematic content analysis and lexical text analysis through the TROPES software (V.8.3). RESULTS: Quantitative data showed for the entire group: (1) a perceptual maturity delay of the body schema in 75% of the sample; (2) a low incidence of depression in this population with, however, 40% of the sample, (aged 8 and 9) displaying a critical threshold for feelings of helplessness. The qualitative analysis of the Draw your family and TSEA stories allowed to underline some of the protective factors against depression and those which refer, in decreasing order, to the social support given by family members, peers, and the emotional substitutes (animals). CONCLUSIONS: This research highlighted the precocity of the feelings of helplessness in this population and the importance given by these children to the social support. These findings and future research on the topic might be used to guide the design and implementation of adjusted interventions addressing both the development of their learning capability and psychological empowerment.

Emotion Regulation Scale and Mindfulness Scale in School Aged Children: Construction and Validation of French Versions.

Few measuring scales seem to evaluate Mindfulness and emotion regulation in school aged children. This article aims to present four studies describing the construction and validation of two French measuring scales for children: French Emotion Regulation Scale for Children (FERS-C) and Mindfulness Scale for Children French version (MSC-F). We discuss the elaboration and choice of the items for each measure, examine their phrasing and comprehensibility from the children's standpoint. The main sample consisted of 421 non-clinical, 6 to 12 years old children, who consented to fill out the measuring scales in order to test the factor structure. Additionally, we assessed and confirmed temporal stability and determined convergent validity. Results support that both scales appear to be reliable emotion regulation and mindfulness measures for school aged children. Results also reveal a relevant factor structure for both measures. The results of these studies support that the two scales are appropriate and useful measures of mindfulness and emotion regulation capacities for school aged children. In conclusion, we call for further research to improve and develop measures assessing child mindfulness skills in both clinical and research contexts.

School Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Youth, and Considerations for Anxiety, Depression, and a Positive School Climate-A Systematic Literature Review.

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are growing in popularity, with research concerning their efficacy with youth populations. Following a preliminary analysis of the existing literature, and given the positive effects of such programs, we felt it relevant to assess whether research has considered the implications for MBIs on children and adolescents, with regard to depression, anxiety, and school climate. OBJECTIVES: We aim to estimate the effect of MBIs as innovative interventions addressing youths in school settings, with special consideration for anxiety, depression, and school climate outcomes. METHOD: This review investigates the existing literature in the field of mindfulness, using quasi-experimental and randomized control trial (RCT) models, targeted at youth (5-18 years) in school settings. A search was carried out in four databases-WebofScience, Google Scholar, PubMed, and PsycARTICLES. This resulted in 39 articles, which were sorted based on predetermined inclusion criteria; 12 articles qualified. RESULTS: The results show discrepancies in terms of methodological and implementation variables, types of interventions, instructor trainings, assessment measures, and choice of practices and exercises, which make the effects of existing school MBIs difficult to compare. Consistencies were observed in emotional and behavioral regulation, prosocial behaviors, and reducing stress and anxiety in students. The results of this systematic review also suggest that MBIs could be potential mediators in improving student well-being and environmental factors, such as school and class climates. Specifically, children's sense of safety and community can be improved by an improved quality of relationships between students, their peers, and teachers. Future research should consider incorporating school climate perspectives, such as implementing whole-school MBI approaches and using replicable and comparable study designs and methods, whilst considering the capacities and limitations of the academic and institutional context.

A Systematic Review: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Parents of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy for the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. PsychInfo, CINAHL, PubMed, Science Direct, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection were searched using the terms "acceptance and commitment", "autism" and "parent". A total of eight articles met the eligibility criteria. One study was a randomized controlled trial, one was quasi-experimental, and the other six were exploratory. Study outcomes concerned ACT processes, mental health, and quality of life. These studies showed that ACT interventions can be helpful for the parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Nevertheless, as this field of research is relatively new, future research would benefit from creating a standard procedure and larger randomized controlled trials .

Patients and Parents' Experience of Multi-Family Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Family therapy is considered as the gold standard in treatment of adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). Among the different types of family therapy, multi-family therapy (MFT) is increasingly used for treating AN, and shows promising results. In this article, our focus relied on the patients' and their parents' perceptions of the effectiveness and the underlying mechanisms of the MFT. METHODS: The present pilot exploratory qualitative study included two focus groups conducted using a semi-structured approach: one with the adolescents (n = 3), and another with one or two of their parents (n = 4 mothers; n = 2 fathers). The subjects discussed were the changes observed in both AN symptoms and family interactions following therapy, and the mechanisms underlying these changes. We crossed the perspectives of the adolescents and of the parents on these two points. RESULTS: Qualitative analysis revealed that while both adolescents and parents had difficulties relating the changes they observed in the last year to MFT, they were able to say that the group cohesion had several positive effects and that their family dynamics had improved. In the light of analysis the adolescents perceived more improvements related eating disorders symptoms than their parents did, while parents were concerned about a negative effect of MFT on their children. DISCUSSION: While both patients and parents perceived improvements in both AN symptoms and family interactions in the past year, it was not clear if they considered MFT to have led to these improvements. FG also explored the MFT mechanisms underlying changes. Both adolescents and their parents stressed the beneficial effects of identification to others members of the group and shared experience to overcome social isolation. Parents also mentioned the sympathy they felt for each other. The idea that they give a central place to families in the therapy was also described by the families.

Memory: Between traumatic shock and psychic historicization.

'I want to erase him from my memory,' she said, 'his eyes, his eyes staring at me … they are there every night, his hand … every night it hits me again and again …'. On the basis of these few words taken from the therapeutic work with Keltoum, the author reflects theoretically and clinically on the place of memory in a traumatism: a fixed memory, a 'frozen image', the signs of a traumatic compulsion to repeat, are the expressions of a process of psychic disorganization but also of a 'symbolized and symbolizing' memory anticipating a possible historicization of this memory, of a path, therefore, towards a resolution of the trauma resulting from a process of psychic integration and reorganization.

Psychological Disorders and Ecological Factors Affect the Development of Executive Functions: Some Perspectives.

The links between deficits in executive functions (EFs) (e.g., mental flexibility, inhibition capacities, etc.) and some psychological disorders (e.g., anxiety and depressive disorders) have been investigated in the past decades or so. Observations evidenced that some deficits in working memory, planning, and mental flexibility were highly correlated with anxiety and depressive disorders. The majority of studies focused on adults' population, whereas it seems important to adopt a developmental perspective to fully understand the dynamic relation of these EF/psychological disorders. We suggest to focus on the following two axes in future research: (i) relations between EF and anxiety traits through development and (ii) the possible role of external factors such as parent-child relationships on the development of EF.