Project description:BACKGROUND:The revision of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) in the DSM-5 (DSM-5, 2013) proposes a cluster-free model of ASD symptoms in both adults and youth. Published evaluations of competing models of ASD clustering in youth have rarely been examined. METHODS:We used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (combined with multigroup invariance tests) to explore the latent structure of ASD symptoms in a trauma-exposed sample of children and young people (N = 594). The DSM-5 structure was compared with the previous DSM-IV conceptualization (4-factor), and two alternative models proposed in the literature (3-factor; 5-factor). Model fit was examined using goodness-of-fit indices. We also established DSM-5 ASD prevalence rates relative to DSM-IV ASD, and the ability of these models to classify children impaired by their symptoms. RESULTS:Based on both the Bayesian Information Criterion, the interfactor correlations and invariance testing, the 3-factor model best accounted for the profile of ASD symptoms. DSM-5 ASD led to slightly higher prevalence rates than DSM-IV ASD and performed similarly to DSM-IV with respect to categorising children impaired by their symptoms. Modifying the DSM-5 ASD algorithm to a 3+ or 4+ symptom requirement was the strongest predictor of impairment. CONCLUSIONS:These findings suggest that a uni-factorial general-distress model is not the optimal model of capturing the latent structure of ASD symptom profiles in youth and that modifying the current DSM-5 9+ symptom algorithm could potentially lead to a more developmentally sensitive conceptualization.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Chronic pain affects many children, who report severe pain, distressed mood, and disability. Psychological therapies are emerging as effective interventions to treat children with chronic or recurrent pain. This update adds recently published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to the review published in 2009. OBJECTIVES:To assess the effectiveness of psychological therapies, principally cognitive behavioural therapy and behavioural therapy, for reducing pain, disability, and improving mood in children and adolescents with recurrent, episodic, or persistent pain. We also assessed the risk of bias and methodological quality of the included studies. SEARCH METHODS:Searches were undertaken of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycLIT. We searched for RCTs in references of all identified studies, meta-analyses and reviews. Date of most recent search: March 2012. SELECTION CRITERIA:RCTs with at least 10 participants in each arm post-treatment comparing psychological therapies with active treatment were eligible for inclusion (waiting list or standard medical care) for children or adolescents with episodic, recurrent or persistent pain. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:All included studies were analysed and the quality of the studies recorded. All treatments were combined into one class: psychological treatments; headache and non-headache outcomes were separately analysed on three outcomes: pain, disability, and mood. Data were extracted at two time points; post-treatment (immediately or the earliest data available following end of treatment) and at follow-up (at least three months after the post-treatment assessment point, but not more than 12 months). MAIN RESULTS:Eight studies were added in this update of the review, giving a total of 37 studies. The total number of participants completing treatments was 1938. Twenty-one studies addressed treatments for headache (including migraine); seven for abdominal pain; four included mixed pain conditions including headache pain, two for fibromyalgia, two for pain associated with sickle cell disease, and one for juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Analyses revealed five significant effects. Pain was found to improve for headache and non-headache groups at post-treatment, and for the headache group at follow-up. Mood significantly improved for the headache group at follow-up, although, this should be interpreted with caution as there were only two small studies entered into the analysis. Finally, disability significantly improved in the non-headache group at post-treatment. There were no other significant effects. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS:Psychological treatments are effective in reducing pain intensity for children and adolescents (<18 years) with headache and benefits from therapy appear to be maintained. Psychological treatments also improve pain and disability for children with non-headache pain. There is limited evidence available to estimate the effects of psychological therapies on mood for children and adolescents with headache and non-headache pain. There is also limited evidence to estimate the effects on disability in children with headache. These conclusions replicate and add to those of the previous review which found psychological therapies were effective in reducing pain intensity for children with headache and non-headache pain conditions, and these effects were maintained at follow-up.
Project description:ObjectiveCognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder highlight posttraumatic cognitions (PTCs) as a crucial mechanism of trauma adjustment. So far, only dysfunctional PTCs have been investigated in detail. Research on functional PTCs is scarce. This study addresses this gap by developing and validating a self-report measure called Functional Posttraumatic Cognitions Questionnaire (FPTCQ) in children and adolescents.MethodThe questionnaire was administered to 114 children and adolescents aged 7 to 15 years who had experienced an acute accidental potentially traumatic event, such as a road traffic accident or a burn injury, and as a result received medical treatment. In addition to classical item analysis and exploratory factor analysis, reliability and construct validity of the FPTCQ were investigated.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor structure of the FPTCQ. The final 11-item questionnaire displayed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .78), irrespective of age. Functional PTCs were inversely related to dysfunctional PTCs, r = -.44, p < .001, posttraumatic stress symptoms, r = -.35, p < .001, depression symptoms, r = -.22, p < .05, and anxiety symptoms, r = -.43, p < .001, thus supporting construct validity.ConclusionsThe FPTCQ is a reliable and valid measure for standardized assessment of functional PTCs among children and adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Project description:ObjectivesTo investigate the incidence and correlates of early treatment response among youth receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Methods56 youth who participated in a randomized controlled trial of CBT for PTSD and D-cycloserine were included. Youth with PTSD symptoms below clinical cutoff after Session 4 of a 12-session protocol were classified as early treatment responders (32% of parent reports, 44.6% of child reports). Pretreatment characteristics were examined in relation to responder status.ResultsLower levels of pretreatment PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms and fewer trauma types were related to child- and parent-reported responder status (d = .57, d = .52, respectively). Early treatment response was maintained at follow-up.ConclusionsPretreatment symptoms levels and number of traumas may play an important role in predicting early treatment response. Correlates of early treatment response may provide avenues for identifying youth who could benefit from abbreviated protocols.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study is to describe typologies of service utilization among trauma-exposed, treatment-seeking adolescents and to examine associations between trauma history, trauma-related symptoms, demographics, and service utilization. METHOD:Latent class analysis was used to derive a service utilization typologies based on 10 service variables using a sample of 3,081 trauma-exposed adolescents ages 12 to 16 from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Dataset. Services used 30 days prior to the initial assessment from 5 sectors were examined (health care, mental health, school, social services, and juvenile justice). RESULTS:A 5-class model was selected based on statistical fit indices and substantive evaluation of classes: (a) High intensity/multisystem, 9.5%; (b) Justice-involved, 7.2%; (c) Low intensity/multisystem, 19.9%; (d) Social service and mental health, 19.9%; and (e) Low service usage/reference, 43.5%. The classes could be differentiated based on cumulative trauma, maltreatment history, PTSD, externalizing and internalizing symptoms, and age, gender, race/ethnicity and place of residence. CONCLUSIONS:This study provides new evidence about patterns of service utilization by trauma exposed, treatment seeking adolescents. Most of these adolescents appear to be involved with at least 2 service systems prior to seeking trauma treatment. Higher cumulative exposure to multiple types of trauma was associated with greater service utilization intensity and complexity, but trauma symptomatology was not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Project description:We evaluated the clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and psychological characteristics of adolescents with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and compared facial macrotrauma effects between young and older adolescents. This case-control study included 70 randomly selected patients (35 young adolescents aged 12-16 years and 35 older adolescents aged 17-19 years) who had been diagnosed with TMD. Each age group was further subdivided according to the presence (T1) or absence (T0) of a macrotrauma history. All patients completed questionnaires on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and dysfunction. We analyzed TMD severity symptoms using TMD-related indexes and the physical changes of TMJ using TMJ MR images. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised was used to evaluate the patients' psychological status. Anterior disc displacement was the most frequently observed MRI finding, occurring in a significant proportion of young (47 joints, 67.1%) and older adolescents (40 joints, 57.1%). The prevalence of all the MRI findings (disc displacement, disc deformity, condylar degeneration, and effusion) did not differ between the T0 and T1 subgroups among young and older adolescents. Conversely, the psychological factors differed significantly between the subgroups. Among young adolescents, the mean scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness, hostility, phobic ideation, and psychosis were significantly higher in the T1 subgroup than in the T0 subgroup (all p?<?0.05). Furthermore, these increased psychological scores positively correlated with TMD indexes. Clinicians should consider that a weakened psychological status could be an aggravating factor in young adolescents with TMD and should consider the implications in future assessment of such patients.
Project description:The goal of this observational population-based cohort study is to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children and adolescents with primary gastrointestinal malignancies registered in the publicly available Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 17 database during 2000-2019.
Project description:Residents of a large area of north-eastern Italy were exposed for decades to high concentrations of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via drinking water. Despite the large amount of evidence in adults of a positive association between serum PFAS and metabolic outcomes, studies focusing on children and adolescents are limited. We evaluated the associations between serum PFAS concentrations that were quantifiable in at least 40% of samples and lipid profile, blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) in highly exposed adolescents and children. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 6669 adolescents (14-19 years) and 2693 children (8-11 years) enrolled in the health surveillance program of the Veneto Region. Non-fasting blood samples were obtained and analyzed for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated. Systolic and diastolic BP were measured, and BMI z-score accounting for age and sex was estimated. The associations between ln-transformed PFAS (and categorized into quartiles) and continuous outcomes were assessed using generalized additive models. The weighted quantile sum regression approach was used to assess PFAS-mixture effects for each outcome. Analyses were stratified by gender and adjusted for potential confounders. Among adolescents, significant associations were detected between all investigated PFAS and TC, LDL-C, and to a lesser extent HDL-C. Among children, PFOS and PFNA had significant associations with TC, LDL-C and HDL-C, while PFOA and PFHxS had significant associations with HDL-C only. Higher serum concentrations of PFAS, particularly PFOS, were associated with lower BMI z-score. No statistically significant associations were observed between PFAS concentrations and BP. These results were confirmed by the multi-pollutant analysis. Our study supports a consistent association between PFAS concentration and serum lipids, stronger for PFOS and PFNA and with a greater magnitude among children compared to adolescents, and a negative association of PFAS with BMI.