Temperament and character among Korean children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the temperament and character of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders in samples from Korean community. The study subjects were children and adolescents diagnosed with social phobia (n = 66), separation anxiety disorder (n = 47), specific phobia (n = 415), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 42) with the diagnostic interview schedule for children, version IV (DISC-IV) in representative community samples. Among these, we excluded other psychiatric disorder comorbid samples, with the exception of externalizing disorders. We assessed the subjects of each anxiety group using the junior temperament and character inventory (JTCI). Social phobias were significantly associated with high harm avoidance and low self-directedness on the JTCI. The association of specific phobias with high harm avoidance, and obsessive-compulsive disorder with low self-directedness was also significant. Separation anxiety disorder was not associated with any temperament and character on the JTCI. Children and adolescents with anxiety disorders have different temperaments and character profiles in accordance with diagnostic groups, which implies the specific pathophysiological mechanism of each anxiety disorder.

Full syndrome and subthreshold attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a Korean community sample: comorbidity and temperament findings.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to investigate the comorbid disorders and temperamental profiles of full syndrome and subthreshold attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHOD: A sample of 2,493 students was randomly selected from six representative elementary schools in Seoul, Korea. Among 245 children with full syndrome and subthreshold ADHD diagnosed by the diagnostic interview schedule for children-4th version, parents of 185 subjects (mean age 9.0 +/- 1.7 years) and of a random sample of 185 age- and gender-matched non-ADHD children have completed the parent's version of the children behavior checklist (CBCL) and the juvenile temperament and character inventory (JTCI). RESULTS: The prevalence rates of full syndrome and subthreshold ADHD were, respectively, 5.90% (95% confidence interval = 4.74-7.06) and 9.00% (95% confidence interval = 7.58-10.41). Subthreshold ADHD cases did not differ from full syndrome ADHD in any JTCI profile, showing high novelty seeking/low persistence/low self-directedness than controls. Subthreshold ADHD also showed increased risk for externalizing disorders and higher scores in eight CBCL scales (somatic complaints, anxious/depressed, social problems, attention problems, delinquent behaviors, aggressive behaviors, externalizing problems and total behavioral problems) compared to the controls. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the clinical relevance of subthreshold ADHD in Asian culture. Increased clinical awareness for children with subthreshold ADHD is needed.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome due to three atypical antipsychotics in a child.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is a rare, potentially fatal and idiosyncratic drug reaction. It is characterized by a sudden loss of body temperature control, renal and respiratory failure, muscle rigidity, loss of consciousness and impairment of autonomic nervous system. Although NMS was previously associated with the use of classical high-potency neuroleptics, cases have started to emerge with atypical neuroleptics. This article discusses the first case of NMS in a child, induced by the use of risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine.