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Introduction: Among the environmental factors recognized to convey an increased risk for psychosis, childhood trauma (CT) holds a prominent position. CT is a generic term encompassing experiences of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and neglect during childhood and adolescence. Due to the fact that CT in adult patients with psychosis has been mainly assessed through retrospective reports, concerns have been raised about the reliability and validity of these data. Objectives: We sought to explore the short-term reliability of retrospective CT reports in a group of patients with schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis (SSP). Methods: We assessed 63 SSP patients on two different early adversity self-report measures to establish concurrent validity by confirming the similarity of CT ratings; and on two separate occasions (T1: inpatient status; T2: outpatient status, three months after initial testing) to establish test-retest reliability by confirming the temporal stability of abuse and neglect reporting. Early adversity was measured with the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). Results: High concurrent validity was detected between CECA.Q antipathy scales and PBI care and protection scales; and between CECA.Q neglect scales and PBI care scales. High test-retest reliability was confirmed for all CECA.Q and PBI scales. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that retrospective CT reports are a reasonably reliable and valid means of assessing early experiences of abuse and neglect in SSP patients. However, additional provisions are required for corroborating these reports through other sources and removing the effect of confounding variables, such as caveats of autobiographical memory, desirability bias and psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Auditory processing disorders involve deficits in the processing of information in the auditory domain that are not due to higher order language, cognitive or other related factors. Purpose: To evaluate the possibility of structural brain abnormalities in preterm children manifesting as auditory processing disorders. Research Design : A case report of a young girl, preterm at birth, with language difficulties, learning problems at school, and additional listening problems. Results: A diagnosis of a central auditory processing disorder was made on the basis of severe deficits in three nonspeech temporal tests (the frequency and duration pattern and the random gap detection tests). Her brain MRI revealed large porencephalic cysts and thinning of the corpus callosum. Conclusions: The observed auditory deficits would be compatible with a pressure effect of the cysts at a brainstem or higher level for the random gap detection test, and with the thinning of the corpus callosum for the pattern tests, the latter requiring interhemispheric transfer of information. The case highlights that preterm children with learning difficulties may suffer from an auditory processing disorder, in the presence of structural brain abnormalities that are due to birth and neonatal complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Childhood trauma (CT) has been recognized as a risk factor for psychosis. Among the pathways implicated in the CT-psychosis association, attributional biases (ABs) hold a prominent position. ABs disrupt reality testing, thus laying a conducive ground for the emergence of paranoid symptoms. Paranoid patients have been theorized to externalize the causality of negative life events (externalizing bias; EB), mainly by blaming other people (personalizing bias; PB), in an attempt to maintain their self-esteem. Objectives: We sought to investigate the presence and intercorrelations of CT and ABs in a group of patients with schizophreniaspectrum psychosis (SSP). Methods: We compared 63 SSP inpatients to a healthy control group (HC) on measures of CT and attributional style. CT was assessed with the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), and attributional style with the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ). Results: SSP inpatients displayed higher levels of CT (X2 (1, N = 124) = 34.5, p < .001) and PB (U = 1309, p = .002) than HCs. EB was not detected in the SSP group. Within the SSP group, PB was negatively correlated to the severity of maternal antipathy (rs = - 0.380, p = .002) and neglect (rs = - 0.300, p = .017). Conclusions: SSP inpatients do not favor external attributions for negative events. However, when they do externalize causality for negative events, they tend to personalize the blame. If PB serves the purpose of preserving an intact self-image in paranoid patients, negative maternal rearing behaviors appear to reduce this defensive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Healthcare services are increasingly confronted with challenges related to old age mental disorders. The survey aimed to provide an overview of existing psychogeriatric services in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and North Macedonia. Methods. After identification of psychogeriatric units across the four countries, their head physicians were asked to provide data on their clinical, teaching, and research activity, as well as staff composition. Moreover, the attitudes of head physicians to current needs and future service development were explored. Results. A total of 15 psychogeriatric units were identified (3 in Bulgaria, 8 in Greece, and 4 in North Macedonia). Results show wide variation regarding the location, team size and composition, service availability, numbers of patients attending, and inpatient treatment length. Most head physicians underscored the urgent need for breakthroughs in the graduate and postgraduate education in psychogeriatrics of medical and nonmedical professionals, as well as in the interconnection of their units with community primary healthcare services and long-term care facilities for seniors via telemedicine. They would welcome the development of national standards for psychogeriatric units, potentially embodying clear pointers for action. A number of head physicians advocated the development of nationwide old age mental health registries. Conclusions. Regional disparities in resources and services for seniors' mental health services were unveiled. These data may enrich the dialogue on optimizing psychogeriatric services through planning future cross-border collaborations mainly based on telemedicine services, especially in the era of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and training/education in psychogeriatrics of mental health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]