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Background: During the COVID 19 pandemic, there were social restrictions with severe mental stress for a long time. Most studies on mental health consequences of the pandemic focused primarily on the beginning of the pandemic. The present study on families of patients or study participants of a child and adolescent psychiatry aimed to examine long-term profiles of emotions and worries in adults with and without mental health condition (mhc) during the first 1.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We surveyed emotions and worries of 128 adults with (n = 32) and without (n = 96) pre-pandemic mhc over a 1.5-year study period from spring 2020 until summer/autumn 2021. Emotions and worries were captured at four time points: [i] pre-pandemic, [ii] spring 2020 (first lockdown was implemented), [iii] December 2020 (hard lockdown at Christmas time) and [iv] summer/autumn 2021 (considerable ease of regulations); [i] pre-pandemic and [iii] December 2020 were measured retrospectively). First, we run non-parametric tests to compare emotions and worries between adults with and without pre-pandemic mhc at the four time points. Next, we conducted latent profile analysis to identify subgroups from the total sample who share similar trajectories of emotions and worries. Finally, a logistic regression analysis was run to examine whether socio-demographic and psycho-social factors were related to identified trajectories of emotions and worries. Results: Adults without pre-pandemic mhc reported a strong worsening of emotions and worries at the beginning of the pandemic and a lower worsening during the course, while adults with pre-pandemic mhc reported a constant worsening of emotions and worries. The latent profile analysis revealed three profiles of adults who show either i) an adaption, ii) no adaption or iii) a continuous high condition. With increasing age, higher perceived stress and pre-pandemic mhc, the likelihood of an adaption was increased. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggested that adults (both with and without pre-pandemic mhc) coped the crisis with different strategies and that most of them returned to their initial, pre-pandemic levels of emotions and worries when social restrictions were considerably eased or stopped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions in children are common, often co-occur, and can be highly impairing. Moreover, psychiatric disorders that typically do not fully manifest until adulthood, such as schizophrenia, have their roots in early development, with atypical brain and behavioral patterns arising well before a clinical diagnosis is made. The relevance of brain development to improving outcomes of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions underscores the need to cultivate a pipeline of investigators with the necessary training to conduct rigorous, developmentally focused research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions that affect people of all ages. Many psychiatry trainees' first and only experience with eating disorders during training is their Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) rotation. This study aimed to explore the learning experience of psychiatry trainees working within an Eating Disorder Program (EDP) during their CAP rotation. Methods: Fifteen trainees who participated in the EDP were recruited to complete an online survey and focus groups; a thematic analysis design was used to identify themes emerging from their responses. Results: Themes emerged from the trainee learning experience of working in the EDP around what they found they learnt, what aided that process, what was difficult, and recommendations for future improvement. Conclusions: This study provided insight into the trainee experience in an EDP as one example of how trainees can learn about eating disorders and one way that could inform future workforce and training initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficacy and tolerability of psychotropic medications can vary significantly among children and adolescents, and some of this variability relates to pharmacogenetic factors. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) in child and adolescent psychiatry can potentially improve treatment outcomes and minimize adverse drug reactions. This article reviews key pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic genes and principles of pharmacogenetic testing and discusses the evidence base for clinical decision-making concerning PGx testing. This article reviews current guidelines from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC), and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG) and explores potential future directions. This review discusses key clinical considerations for clinicians prescribing psychotropic medications in children and adolescents, focusing on antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and alpha-2 agonists. Finally, this review synthesizes the practical use of pharmacogenetic testing and clinical decision support systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy and postnatally has been shown to be associated with offspring atopic diseases (asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis). The aim of this study was to assess whether this association may be attributable to the child's own mental health disorders. Method: The study population included 15,092 twin children born 2002–2010 in Sweden. Questionnaire data at age 9 years was linked to national patient‐ and prescription registers. Maternal mental health during pregnancy and 3 years postnatally were identified from diagnosis and medication data (depression, anxiety and stress disorders). Atopic diseases in children were identified from questionnaires, diagnosis and medication data. Child mental health status (depression and anxiety) was identified from questionnaires. Three‐way decomposition methods tested for mediation or interaction by child mental health disorders. Results: Maternal mental health disorders were associated with most child atopic diseases including asthma aRR1.36 (95% CI 1.12, 1.60), and child mental health disorders, aRR1.73 (95% CI 1.56, 1.92). Children with mental health disorders were comorbid for atopic diseases with only asthma reaching statistical significance, aRR1.29 (95% CI 1.14, 1.47). Three‐way decomposition found that mediation or interaction by child mental health disorders did not account for the mother mental health and child atopy associations except in parent‐report asthma, where child mental health disorders mediated 13.4% (95% CI 2.1, 24.7) of the effect, but not for objectively defined (diagnosis and medication) asthma. Conclusion: The associations between maternal mental health and child asthma and allergic diseases do not appear to be attributable to child mental health disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mental disorders in children can present with non specific behavioural issues, like irritability and procrastination. These issues are often neglected, which can negatively affect academic performance and overall development. Teachers hold a unique position to promote mental health and facilitate early identification of mental disorders, leading to timely referrals for early intervention. Aim: To examine the knowledge and attitude of school teachers towards mental disorders in school-going children. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Karwar city over a period of two months (July and August 2019) at the Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences, Karnataka, India. A total of 121 primary and high school teachers from 11 schools participated in the study. Purposive sampling was used, as all schools in Karwar city were approached for the study. A self-designed questionnaire consisting of 20 questions (10 questions on knowledge and 10 questions on attitude towards children with mental disorders) was used. Descriptive statistics, such as percentages, were used for data analysis. Results: The study revealed that teachers had moderate knowledge about child mental disorders. However, there was a lack of awareness about the treatment and care of such children. Sixty-three (52.07%) teachers believed that mental disorders result from incorrect thinking. Seventy-nine (65.29%) teachers were of the opinion that sleeping pills are not the only available treatment. Attitude towards children with mental disorders were both positive and negative. 82 (67.77%) teachers believed such children to be less intelligent, while 76 (62.81%) teachers did not believe mentally ill children indulge in violence. Many teachers were aware that these children can be vulnerable to bullying and discrimination by their peers. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is moderate knowledge and mixed attitude among school teachers regarding mental disorders in school-going children. This highlights the need for proper training programs that can aid in early identification, timely referrals for mental health evaluation, and the promotion of child mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents. While most studies in this field have focused on the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder, research focusing on the family environment as a critical context contributing toward the manifestation and maintenance of child ADHD symptoms is still less extensive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine longitudinal and bidirectional associations between child hyperactivity, mother–child negativity, and sibling dyad negativity. Data were analyzed of up to 4,429 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a nationally representative prospective birth cohort study in the United Kingdom, at three time points (T1–T3, children aged 4, 7, and 8 years). At baseline (T1, n = 4,063), the child sample (98.8% White ethnic background) composed of 51.6% males. Child hyperactivity symptoms, mother–child negativity, and sibling dyad negativity were examined based on maternal reports. The random intercepts cross-lagged panel model was adopted to parcel out between-family differences from within-family fluctuations and test bidirectional associations. On the between-family level, families with higher child hyperactivity reported higher mother–child and sibling dyad negativity. On the within-family level, unidirectional spillover processes between sibling dyad negativity and mother–child negativity as well as between mother–child negativity and child hyperactivity emerged. Future work in the area of child hyperactivity should implement a transactional family systems approach incorporating both parent–child and sibling subsystems. Interventions to reduce negative interactions between parents and hyperactive children may offer promising improvements in child symptoms and thus alleviate family burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of ongoing workforce shortages, rising symptom severity, and increased rates of psychotropic prescribing, the 2021 declaration of a national emergency in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) has highlighted the need for innovative strategies to address access to quality care. As valued members of the interdisciplinary team, Board‐Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPPs) in CAP are well‐positioned to address these needs as they are integrated across various settings (e.g., ambulatory clinics, and psychiatric hospitals) and have expertise in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. As educators and advocates for evidence‐based psychotropic medication management, BCPPs in CAP decrease polypharmacy, increase medication adherence and knowledge, and enhance patient outcomes. Given the need for interdisciplinary collaboration among BCPPs, CAP, and primary care providers, it is crucial for pharmacy administrators to respond and recognize the necessity of integrating pharmacy services into CAP and integrating BCPPs into pharmacy departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) launched the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Portal (CAPP), a pediatric mental health care access (PMHCA) program providing remote mental health consultation services to pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) throughout Northern and Central California. The development and implementation of CAPP was guided by Human-Centered Design (HCD), an iterative, rapid-paced innovation process focusing on stakeholders' needs and experiences, which shaped the development of CAPP's programs. The resulting key programmatic elements are designed for pediatric workforce development: (1) PCP consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist via a telephone warmline; and (2) training and education for providers. CAPP has grown rapidly since its launch, having enrolled 1,714 providers from 257 practices spread across 36 counties and provided 3,288 consults on 2,703 unique lives as of August 2023. Preliminary evaluation findings indicate high PCP satisfaction with CAPP's services, despite continued challenges of integrating behavioral health into primary care. Throughout the HCD and implementation process, multidisciplinary partnerships have proven critical in providing end-user input to inform and improve program design. This growing network of partnerships, developed through the cultivation of personal relationships and trust over time, has also proven essential for CAPP's rapid growth and sustainability. Overall, this Community Case Study highlights the critical role of partnerships and the importance of taking a people-centered approach, as captured in CAPP's motto, "Connecting for Care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, child psychiatry appears as a field of opposition between different scientific rationalisms. Added to this is a growing distrust of clinicians' subjectivity and, more broadly, of their "semiological tools", i.e. the whole edifice of institutions, practices and thinking surrounding them. Historically, this questioning of medical reasoning dates back to an ancient debate that has run through the entire practice of Medicine since the Age of Enlightenment. In order to address this, child psychiatry, aware of the complexity of its object of interest – mental phenomena, development, the human person, society – has constructed a "semiological tool" able to apprehend this complexity. It combines multidisciplinary eclecticism, a dynamic understanding of bio-psycho-social trajectories and an awareness of the importance of the clinical encounter. We will consider these elements in relation to three principles used to describe complex objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Resilience and quality of life (QOL) can involve a positive approach in group interventions for parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study aims to evaluate resilience and family QOL at the start of a psychoeducational group. Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of resilience and family QOL used the Family Quality of Life Scale (ECVF) and 14-item Resilience Scale (RS-14). Results: The study group showed high levels of resilience. Parents considered the resources/support domain crucial, although satisfaction in this area was comparatively lower. Concerns about low satisfaction with available resources and support were notable. Gender differences were observed but not statistically significant. Discussion: The study's findings support prior research on parental resilience in families of children with ASD. The literature on the QOL for these families presents mixed findings. The importance of parental involvement in service planning is highlighted. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of resilience in parents of children with ASD, suggesting it as a potential therapeutic target. The findings underscore the need to address the perceived low quality of available resources and support. Further investigation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in parental roles have renewed the focus on a father's involvement in an offspring's psychological development. However, fathers are still under-represented in family research. There are only a few structured father-centered intervention programs in child and adolescent psychiatry. In a German population sample, a pilot father-centered family intervention program with n = 16 participants, conducted in person (n = 8) and online (n = 8), in a child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient/day clinic setting was evaluated by comparing paternal stress, PSE, and child-rated paternal competence in a pre–post design. Participating fathers showed significant decreases in child-related parenting stress (presence: p = 0.042, online: p = 0.047) and significant increases in PSE (p = 0.006/0.012). Parent-related stress and child-rated paternal competence were unaffected (p = 0.108/0.171; p = 0.167/0.101), while small-to-medium effect size measures pointed in the direction of our hypothesis (d = 0.48/0.36; d = 0.37/0.50). Participant satisfaction was higher in person than online (p = 0.008). As social and biological fathers have important influences on child and adolescent well-being and development, they should be included more frequently in prevention and intervention programs. Fathers seem to benefit from gender-specific intervention programs with regard to stress reduction, as well as experiencing competence- and PSE-increasing effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is limited data on gastric emptying in dyspeptic children. We aimed to determine solid and liquid emptying rates in dyspeptic children and correlate with clinical characteristics. Methods: Charts of dyspeptic children undergoing 4‐hour dual‐phase gastric scintigraphy were reviewed for demographics, symptoms, and comorbidities. Key Results: In 1078 dyspeptic patients (65% females, median age 13 years) vomiting (55%), nausea (53%), and abdominal pain (52%) were the most common symptoms. The most common comorbidities were mental health (32%), neurologic (27%), and hypermobility spectrum disorders (20%). Solid and liquid emptying rates were aligned in 61.23%. Delayed solid with normal liquid emptying were noted in 2.5%, compared to delayed liquid with normal solid emptying in 26.16%. Abdominal pain had a trend for association with delayed or normal solid emptying (p = 0.06). Nausea was mostly reported with normal solid emptying (p < 0.0001) and underreported in patients <12 years with vomiting (29%). Abnormal solid emptying (rapid and delayed) was noted more frequently in children with mental health disorders (p = 0.027). Rapid liquid emptying was more common in children with genetic disorders (p = 0.032). Conclusion and Inferences: Over half of children with dyspepsia had delayed liquid gastric emptying, and one quarter had delayed liquid with normal solid emptying. Dual‐phase gastric emptying studies may help target therapy in dyspeptic children. Nausea is not a reliable symptom for dyspepsia in younger children. Given the significant association of abnormal gastric emptying in children with mental health disorders, we recommend screening and treating children with dyspepsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been an increase in telemedicine applied to child neuropsychiatry, such as the use of online platforms to collect remotely case histories and demographic and behavioral information. In the present proof-of-concept study, we aimed to understand to what extent information parents and teachers provide through online questionnaires overlaps with clinicians' diagnostic conclusions on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Moreover, we intended to explore a possible role that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) symptoms played in this process. We examined parent- and teacher-rated questionnaires collected remotely and an on-site evaluation of intelligence quotients from 342 subjects (18% females), aged 3–16 years, and referred for suspected ADHD. An easily interpretable machine learning model—decision tree (DT)—was built to simulate the clinical process of classifying ADHD/non-ADHD based on collected data. Then, we tested the DT model's predictive accuracy through a cross-validation approach. The DT classifier's performance was compared with those that other machine learning models achieved, such as random forest and support vector machines. Differences in ASD symptoms in the DT-identified classes were tested to address their role in performing a diagnostic error using the DT model. The DT identified the decision rules clinicians adopt to classify an ADHD diagnosis with an 82% accuracy rate. Regarding the cross-validation experiment, our DT model reached a predictive accuracy of 74% that was similar to those of other classification algorithms. The caregiver-reported ADHD core symptom severity proved the most discriminative information for clinicians during the diagnostic decision process. However, ASD symptoms were a confounding factor when ADHD severity had to be established. Telehealth procedures proved effective in obtaining an automated output regarding a diagnostic risk, reducing the time delay between symptom detection and diagnosis. However, this should not be considered an alternative to on-site procedures but rather as automated support for clinical practice, enabling clinicians to allocate further resources to the most complex cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines parents' experiences of support, investigation and treatment from child healthcare/psychiatry and habilitation in children with ESSENCE symptoms (neurodevelopmental symptoms). Data were collected through focus interviews, with 13 parents. A conventional qualitative analysis revealed four main categories: confidence, information, competence and collaboration, affecting parents. While waiting for an investigation parents experience anxiety, frustration, lack of information and confidence and doubts about their parenting ability, which also affects the child. The categories were interpreted using Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model to illustrate the effects on the family's interaction with the context. Parents demand a greater insight and participation in the ongoing process and improved collaboration between the various professionals Trial registration: Retrospectively registered clinical Trials 2021, PLUSS identifier, NCT04815889. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peu d'études ont recherché de manière systématique des antécédents de violences sexuelles chez des adolescents présentant des troubles psychiatriques sévères et hospitalisés en pédopsychiatrie. Nous présentons ici les résultats d'une étude rétrospective menée sur les dossiers de l'ensemble des adolescents hospitalisés dans un service de pédopsychiatrie du département de la Seine Saint-Denis entre 2017 et 2021. L'objectif de l'étude était de rechercher la fréquence des Antécédents d'Agression Sexuelle (AAS) chez les adolescents hospitalisés en service de pédopsychiatrie et de tenter de décrire des liens chronologiques et symptomatologiques entre ces antécédents et l'hospitalisation en pédopsychiatrie, dans le but de proposer d'éventuelles recommandations de dépistage et de prise en charge. Nous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective basée sur l'analyse des dossiers médicaux des 141 adolescents hospitalisés dans un service de pédopsychiatrie entre 2017 et 2021. En rappelant l'épidémiologie des agressions sexuelles dans l'enfance et l'adolescence (fréquente, concernant garçons et filles, dans un tiers des cas intrafamiliale, et dans environ la moitié des situations non crue et non-accompagnée) notre étude souligne l'importance de leur dépistage par les médecins et les soignants. La prévalence significativement plus importante des tentatives de suicide et des automutilations doit particulièrement attirer l'attention sur le risque d'antécédents d'agression sexuelle, car ces symptômes sont fortement associés dans notre étude. La prévalence significativement plus importante des dépressions et des troubles de personnalité limite peut permettre d'aller vers une meilleure compréhension des répercussions des agressions sexuelles à l'adolescence. Le délai court entre l'agression sexuelle et sa révélation dans notre observation et les révélations d'agressions sexuelles intra familiales majoritairement faites durant l'hospitalisation soulignent l'intérêt d'une hospitalisation systématique des adolescents, notamment après une tentative de suicide. Le cadre rassurant d'une hospitalisation peut favoriser une révélation d'agression sexuelle plus rapide et ainsi en diminuer les effets psychiques dévastateurs à l'adolescence. Une faiblesse potentielle de notre étude est que, même dans un service spécialisé, de tels antécédents sont encore probablement sous-évalués et insuffisamment notés dans les dossiers médicaux. Une attention accrue est certainement nécessaire lors des entretiens pédopsychiatriques sur d'éventuels antécédent d'agressions sexuelles. Néanmoins, la rareté des études systématiques sur le sujet fait que cette étude ouvre la voie à la réalisation d'études prospectives. Des recommandations peuvent être proposées, également pour des situations moins graves, sans troubles psychiatriques avérés, mais suite à une tentative de suicide. L'hospitalisation peut alors se dérouler en service de pédiatrie avec un accompagnement psychologique adapté et non en service de pédopsychiatrie. Quel que soit le lieu de prise en charge psychologique des adolescents ayant fait une tentative de suicide, l'attention sur les antécédents d'agression sexuelle doit être améliorée afin de les repérer au plus tôt, d'effectuer une prévention secondaire et d'éviter une dégradation psychique du processus adolescent qui s'en trouve fragilisé. Few studies have systematically searched for a history of sexual violence in adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders hospitalized in departments of child psychiatry. Here, we present the results of a retrospective study conducted on the records of all adolescents hospitalized in a child psychiatry department in the Seine Saint-Denis department between 2017 and 2021. The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency of Antecedents of Sexual Aggression (AAS) in adolescents hospitalized in child psychiatry departments and to attempt to describe chronological and symptomatological links between these antecedents and hospitalization in child psychiatry, with the aim of proposing possible screening and management recommendations. We conducted a retrospective study based on analysis of the medical records of 141 adolescents hospitalized in a child psychiatry department between 2017 and 2021. By recalling the epidemiology of sexual aggression in childhood and adolescence (frequent, involving both boys and girls, in a third of cases intrafamilial, and in about half of the situations uncrushed and unaccompanied) our study underlines the importance of their detection by physicians and caregivers. The significantly higher prevalence of suicide attempts and self-harm should draw particular attention to the risk of a history of sexual assault, as these symptoms are strongly associated in our study. The significantly higher prevalence of depression and borderline personality disorder may provide a better understanding of the repercussions of sexual assault in adolescence. The short delay between the sexual assault and its disclosure in our observation, and the fact that most disclosures of intra-family sexual assaults were made during hospitalization, underline the value of systematic hospitalization of adolescents, particularly after a suicide attempt. The reassuring environment of hospitalization may encourage a more rapid disclosure of sexual assault, and thus lessen its devastating psychic effects during adolescence. A potential weakness of our study is that, even in a specialized service, such antecedents are probably still undervalued and insufficiently noted in medical records. More attention should certainly be paid during child psychiatric interviews to any history of sexual assault. Nevertheless, given the scarcity of systematic studies on the subject, this study paves the way for prospective studies. Recommendations can also be made for less serious situations, with no proven psychiatric disorders, but following a suicide attempt. In such cases, the patient could be hospitalized in a pediatric ward, with appropriate psychological support, rather than in a child psychiatry ward. Regardless of where adolescents who have attempted suicide are psychologically cared for, greater attention needs to be paid to any history of sexual aggression, so as to identify it as early as possible, provide secondary prevention and avoid the psychic deterioration of the adolescent process which would be weakened as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les violences sexuelles sur les mineurs ont des répercussions psychologiques importantes tout au long de la vie. Chez les adolescents, elles peuvent notamment se traduire par des mises en danger comme des tentatives de suicide. Leur repérage par les professionnels de santé est donc un enjeu important afin de proposer à ces jeunes une prise en charge médicale et sociale adaptée. Des recommandations professionnelles émergent quant au repérage des violences sexuelles chez les mineurs, mais malgré cela elles restent souvent sous-diagnostiquées. Au sein du centre hospitalier Robert-Ballanger (Aulnay-sous-Bois, Seine-St-Denis), un protocole spécifique permet l'hospitalisation en pédiatrie de tous les adolescents suicidants. Nous avons réalisé une étude afin de mettre à profit ce temps d'hospitalisation pour un meilleur repérage des antécédents d'agressions sexuelles chez les adolescents. Nous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective basée sur l'analyse des dossiers médicaux de 138 adolescents hospitalisés dans le service de pédiatrie et suivis par l'équipe de liaison de pédopsychiatrie au centre hospitalier Robert-Ballanger en 2021. Nous retrouvions significativement plus d'adolescents agressés sexuellement parmi les adolescents hospitalisés pour des gestes ou des idées suicidaires (12 sur 54; 22 %) que parmi les adolescents hospitalisés pour d'autres motifs pédopsychiatriques (5 sur 84; 6 %). Les situations d'agressions sexuelles décrites par les adolescents concernés étaient concordantes avec les données des études épidémiologiques françaises : elles concernaient majoritairement les filles (14 sur 17), étaient des agressions répétées dans les trois quarts des cas, et il s'agissait d'agressions intrafamiliales dans un tiers des cas. La révélation des faits était souvent faite à un soignant (pour 5 adolescents sur 17). Les adolescents avec un antécédent d'agression sexuelle étaient davantage concernés par des faits de violences intrafamiliales, mais aussi de harcèlement scolaire. Nous retrouvions un nombre significativement plus élevé de tentatives de suicide chez les adolescents agressés sexuellement, ainsi qu'un nombre plus élevé de tentatives de suicide ayant nécessité une hospitalisation en réanimation. L'hospitalisation en pédiatrie des adolescents suite à une tentative de suicide apparaît comme un outil intéressant pour le repérage des antécédents d'agression sexuelle chez ces jeunes. Notre étude met en évidence une sur-représentation des adolescents agressés sexuellement parmi ceux pris en charge pour des idées suicidaires ou des tentatives de suicide, ainsi que des points de vigilance spécifiques. Un cadre rassurant, la sensibilisation des professionnels et une attention particulière pourraient permettre un meilleur repérage et, de fait, une meilleure protection et un suivi thérapeutique adapté. Sexual violence against minors has important psychological repercussions throughout life. In adolescents, it can result in endangerment or self-aggressive behaviour such as suicide attempts. Its detection by health professionals is therefore an important issue in order to provide these young people with appropriate medical and social care. Professional recommendations call for systematic hospitalization of adolescents who have attempted suicide, but these recommendations have not yet been widely applied. At the Robert-Ballanger hospital (Aulnay-sous-Bois, Seine-St-Denis, France), a specific protocol has been established between paediatrics and child psychiatry departments, allowing all suicidal adolescents to be hospitalized in paediatrics. We conducted a study to take advantage of this hospitalization time to better identify sexual violence in adolescents. We conducted a retrospective study based on the analysis of the medical records of 138 adolescents hospitalized in the paediatric ward and followed by the child psychiatry liaison team at the centre hospitalier Robert-Ballanger (Aulnay-sous-Bois) in 2021. We found significantly more sexually assaulted adolescents among those hospitalized for suicidal gestures or ideas (12 out of 54; 22%) than among those hospitalized for other reasons (5 out of 84; 6%). The sexual assaults described by the adolescents concerned were consistent with data from epidemiological studies and French victimization surveys : they mainly concerned girls (14 out of 17), were repeated assaults in three quarters of cases, and were intrafamilial assaults in one third of cases. The disclosure was often made to a caregiver (for 5 of 17 adolescents). Adolescents with a history of sexual assault were more concerned with intrafamilial violence but also with school harassment. We found a significantly higher number of suicide attempts among sexually assaulted adolescents, as well as a higher number of suicide attempts requiring hospitalization in intensive care. Paediatric hospitalization of adolescents attempting suicide appears to be an interesting tool for identifying a history of sexual assault in these young people. Our study highlights an over-representation of sexually assaulted adolescents among those treated for suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts, as well as specific factors that should be vigilantly monitored. A reassuring environment, awareness-raising among professionals, and special attention to detail could all help to improve detection and hence protection and appropriate therapeutic follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objective: Direct coercion is used in psychiatry as a last resort method to control a patient who behaves in an auto- or allo-aggressive manner, in a situation when other measures have failed. The aim of the study was to analyse coercive measures applied in child psychiatry wards with regard to patient-related and institution-related factors. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 153 direct coercive measures applied from 26 March 2023 to 18 March 2024 in an inpatient child psychiatry department with a total of 20 beds. Results: In the one-year period covered by this study, 368 patients were admitted to the ward; 31 of them (8.42%) were under direct coercion in a total of 153 situations. The most commonly applied form of coercion was isolation -- 93 times (42.66%). Doctors applied coercive measures 104 times (67.97%), while nurses -- 49 times (32.03%). Overall, the median duration of direct coercion was 65 minutes. The median duration of direct coercion at day shifts was significantly longer in comparison to night shifts. Direct coercion was used in almost 70% of cases in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Conclusions: The therapeutic dynamics in paediatric psychiatry is unique to its field. Despite the same legal regulations, the characteristics of coercive measures in child psychiatry differ from the data reported for adult patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors sought to explore the availability of mental health supports within public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic by using survey data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. K–12 public schools collected in October–November 2021. The prevalence of 11 school-based mental health supports was examined within the sample (N=437 schools). Chi-square tests and adjusted logistic regression models were used to identify associations between school-level characteristics and mental health supports. School characteristics included level (elementary, middle, or high school), locale (city, town, suburb, or rural area), poverty level, having a full-time school nurse, and having a school-based health center. Universal mental health programs were more prevalent than more individualized and group-based supports (e.g., therapy groups); however, prevalence of certain mental health supports was low among schools (e.g., only 53% implemented schoolwide trauma-informed practices). Schools having middle to high levels of poverty or located in rural areas or towns and elementary schools and schools without a health infrastructure were less likely to implement mental health supports, even after analyses were adjusted for school-level characteristics. For example, compared with low-poverty schools, mid-poverty schools had lower odds of implementing prosocial skills training for students (adjusted OR [AOR]=0.49, 95% CI=0.27–0.88) and providing confidential mental health screening (AOR=0.42, 95% CI=0.22–0.79). Implementation levels of school-based mental health supports leave substantial room for improvement, and numerous disparities existed by school characteristics. Higher-poverty areas, schools in rural areas or towns, and elementary schools and schools without a health infrastructure may require assistance in ensuring equitable access to mental health supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable devices and telemedicine are increasingly used to track health-related parameters across patient populations. Since gait and postural control deficits contribute to mobility deficits in persons with movement disorders and multiple sclerosis, we thought it interesting to evaluate devices in telemedicine for gait and posture monitoring in such patients. For this systematic review, we searched the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed), SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus. Of the 452 records retrieved, 12 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data about (1) study characteristics and clinical aspects, (2) technical, and (3) telemonitoring and teleconsulting were retrieved, The studies were quality assessed. All studies involved patients with Parkinson's disease; most used triaxial accelerometers for general assessment (n = 4), assessment of motor fluctuation (n = 3), falls (n = 2), and turning (n = 3). Sensor placement and count varied widely across studies. Nine used lab-validated algorithms for data analysis. Only one discussed synchronous patient feedback and asynchronous teleconsultation. Wearable devices enable real-world patient monitoring and suggest biomarkers for symptoms and behaviors related to underlying gait disorders. thus enriching clinical assessment and personalized treatment plans. As digital healthcare evolves, further research is needed to enhance device accuracy, assess user acceptability, and integrate these tools into telemedicine infrastructure. CRD42022355460 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We aimed to provide an update on trends in antipsychotic (AP) use among children and adolescents in Germany. Materials and methods: Based on nationwide outpatient claims data from Germany, we conducted a cross-sectional study. For each year from 2011 to 2020, we determined the prevalence of AP use, defined as the proportion of children and adolescents with at least one AP dispensation. We evaluated trends in AP use by age, sex, and AP class (typical vs. atypical). Additionally, we assessed trends in the specialty of AP prescribers and the frequency of psychiatric diagnoses among AP users. Results: Overall, data from more than 12 million children and adolescents were included for each calendar year (2011: 12,488,827; 2020: 13,330,836). From 2011 to 2020, the overall prevalence of pediatric AP use increased from 3.16 to 3.65 per 1,000, due to an increase in use of both typical APs (from 1.16 to 1.35 per 1,000) and atypical APs (from 2.35 to 2.75 per 1,000). The largest increase in AP use was found among 15- to 19-year-old females, with an increase from 3.88 per 1,000 in 2011 to 7.86 per 1,000 in 2020 (+103%), mainly due to rising quetiapine use (from 1.17 to 3.46 per 1,000). Regarding prescribers' specialty, the proportion of APs prescribed by child and adolescent psychiatrists increased during the studied period (2011: 24.8%; 2020: 36.4%), whereas prescriptions by pediatricians (2011: 26.0%; 2020: 19.9%) and general practitioners (2011: 18.0%; 2020: 12.4%) decreased. Risperidone was the most commonly used AP in males, and quetiapine was the leading AP in females, each with the highest prevalence in 15- to 19-year-olds. In male risperidone users in this age group, the most frequent diagnosis was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (50.4%), while in female quetiapine users it was depression (82.0%). Discussion: Use of APs among children and adolescents in Germany has continued to increase over the last decade. The sharp increase in AP use among 15- to 19-year-old females, which is largely due to an increased use of quetiapine, is remarkable. Potential reasons for this increase--e.g., limited access to psychosocial treatments--should be carefully analyzed. Also, the introduction of more restrictive prescribing guidelines might be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prediction of mental disorders based on neuroimaging is an emerging area of research with promising first results in adults. However, research on the unique demographic of children is underrepresented and it is doubtful whether findings obtained on adults can be transferred to children. Methods: Using data from 6916 children aged 9–10 in the multicenter Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, we extracted 136 regional volume and thickness measures from structural magnetic resonance images to rigorously evaluate the capabilities of machine learning to predict 10 different psychiatric disorders: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (BD), psychotic symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, post‐traumatic stress disorder, obsessive‐compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder. For each disorder, we performed cross‐validation and assessed whether models discovered a true pattern in the data via permutation testing. Results: Two of 10 disorders can be detected with statistical significance when using advanced models that (i) allow for non‐linear relationships between neuroanatomy and disorder, (ii) model interdependencies between disorders, and (iii) avoid confounding due to sociodemographic factors: ADHD (AUROC = 0.567, p = 0.002) and BD (AUROC = 0.551, p = 0.002). In contrast, traditional models perform consistently worse and predict only ADHD with statistical significance (AUROC = 0.529, p = 0.002). Conclusion: While the modest absolute classification performance does not warrant application in the clinic, our results provide empirical evidence that embracing and explicitly accounting for the complexities of mental disorders via advanced machine learning models can discover patterns that would remain hidden with traditional models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School‐Age Children‐Present and Lifetime version (K‐SADS‐PL) is a widely used semi‐structured diagnostic interview in child and adolescent psychiatry. However, the psychometric properties of its updated version, the K‐SADS‐PL for DSM‐5, have scarcely been examined, especially for criterion validity. This study was designed to examine the inter‐rater reliability, criterion validity and construct validity of the K‐SADS‐PL for DSM‐5 in 137 Japanese outpatients. Methods: Two of 12 experienced clinicians independently performed the K‐SADS interview for each patient in a conjoint session, and the resulting consensus diagnosis was compared with a "best‐estimate" diagnosis made by two of eight experienced clinicians using all available information for the patient. Results: The inter‐rater reliability was excellent, as shown by κ > 0.75 for all disorders, with the exception of current separation anxiety disorder. The criterion validity was fair to good, as shown by κ > 0.40 for all disorders, with the exception of current and lifetime agoraphobia. The construct validity was also good, as shown by theoretically expected associations between the K‐SADS‐PL diagnoses and subscales of the child behavior checklist. Conclusion: The K‐SADS‐PL for DSM‐5, now available in Japanese, generates valid diagnoses in child and adolescent psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's screen time may affect their growth and development. However, differences in the impact of various psychiatric and psychological factors on children's screen time is a research gap. This study aimed to explore the differences in the influence of related factors affecting children's screen time based on their sleep, difficulties, and parental control among Japanese elementary and junior high school students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents in Japan. Data on screen time duration, parent–child background, strengths and difficulties, sleep variables, and parental control types were collected from 225 households. A regression analysis revealed that high Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores (β = 0.166, p = 0.008), sleep duration (β = −0.281, p < 0.001), and parental control (β = −0.204, p = 0.001) were significantly related to children's screen time. Additionally, it was found that parents' late bedtimes affect children's screen time by mediating children's sleep duration. This study, together with previous research, provides comprehensive insights into design interventions to decrease the screen time of children in the Japanese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between headaches and psychiatric symptoms in a psychiatric clinic. Methods: We compared 102 children aged 8-16 years (31 girls, 30.4%) who presented to the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic (study group) with 100 children aged 8-16 years, (52 girls, 52%) who did not (control group). Headache was evaluated with the Headache-Attributed Restriction, Disability, Social Handicap, and Impaired Participation (HARDSHIP) Questionnaire. Psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, sleep, attention, hyperactivity) were evaluated via standardized scales. Results: The study group had more headaches in the preceding year as well as the day before. Depression, anxiety and sleep problems were positively correlated with headache frequency in the preceding week in the study group, and in the study group, children with migraine had more depression, anxiety, and emotional problems. While the total quality of life (QoL) scores were not significantly different between groups, migraine decreased the QoL in both the study and control groups. Conclusion: This study indicates that headache type and burden should be evaluated in psychiatric clinics as depression and anxiety are associated with headache, especially migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En France, les soins en pédopsychiatrie peuvent comporter des défis éthiques importants. Suite aux dernières recommandations du Contôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté (CGLPL) et aux modifications de la loi encadrant les mesures d'isolement et de contention en psychiatrie adulte, il est nécessaire de réfléchir à leur opérationnalisation dans la pratique des soins afin de trouver l'équilibre entre les impératifs de protection et le respect des jeunes hospitalisés en pédopsychiatrie. Élaborer des recommandations concernant l'usage de l'isolement et de la contention en pédopsychiatrie à la lumière des modifications législatives récentes et des enjeux éthiques spécifiques à la discipline. Dans le cadre de la Commission nationale de la psychiatrie, un groupe de travail, réunissant de nombreux pédopsychiatres, a été mis en place, en 2021, pour réfléchir aux enjeux contemporains de notre discipline. L'un des axes étudié – en lien avec le groupe de psychiatrie légale – a porté spécifiquement sur l'isolement et le contention en pédopsychiatrie. Une analyse des enjeux éthiques, à partir des principes de Beauchamp and Childress, est définie et adaptée au contexte pédopsychiatrique. Le groupe de travail a permis d'identifier les enjeux juridiques et éthiques spécifiques à leur discipline. À partir de l'analyse éthique de deux situations d'accompagnement difficile en pédopsychiatrie : (1) la pratique de l'électroconvulsivothérapie auprès des adolescents ; et (2) la gestion de la violence chez les jeunes avec autisme et déficience intellectuelle, les principaux conflits de valeurs sont identifiés en se référant, notamment, aux principes de non-nuisance, de bienfaisance, d'autonomie et de justice. À partir des travaux de recherches en éthique de l'enfance, la dimension relationnelle de l'autonomie est discutée en se référant aux concepts de « vulnérabilité partagée » et de « participation aux soins ». Des préconisations spécifiques à la pédopsychiatrie sont proposées pour promouvoir la reconnaissance des enfants et des adolescents hospitalisés en pédopsychiatrie, en tant qu'agent moral. In France, child psychiatry care can involve significant ethical challenges. Following the last recommendations of the Controller General of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL) and the modifications of the law framing the control measures (seclusion room and restraints) in adult psychiatry, it is necessary to reflect on their operationalization in providing care in order to find the balance between the imperatives of protection and the respect of the young people hospitalized in child psychiatry. To develop recommendations concerning the use of seclusion and restraint in child psychiatry in the light of recent legislative changes and associated ethical issues. Within the framework of the national commission of psychiatry, a working group bringing together many child psychiatrists was set up in 2021 to reflect on contemporary issues in our discipline. One of the axes studied – in connection with the forensic psychiatry group – was specifically concerned with isolation and restraint in child psychiatry. An analysis of the ethical issues based on the four principles of Beauchamp and Childress is defined and adapted for the child psychiatric context. The working group identified the legal and ethical issues specific to their discipline. Based on the ethical analysis of two difficult support situations in child psychiatry: (1) the practice of electroconvulsive therapy with adolescents; and (2) the management of violence in young people with autism and intellectual disabilities, the main conflicts of values were identified referring to the principles of non-maleficience, beneficence, autonomy and justice. Based on research in childhood ethics, the relational dimension of autonomy is discussed with reference to the concepts of "shared vulnerability" and "shared care planning". Specific recommendations for child psychiatry are proposed in order to promote the recognition as moral agents of children and adolescents hospitalized in child psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les notions de crise et d'urgence sont fréquemment confondues autant par les familles que par bon nombre de professionnels bien qu'elles ne soient pas synonymes. L'urgence en pédopsychiatrie correspond à une situation pathologique aiguë à laquelle s'associe la notion de risque vital pour le jeune. Alors que l'urgence exige une prise en charge immédiate du jeune, la crise nécessite, quant à elle, le développement de nouvelles manières de voir et de faire ainsi que de nouveaux mécanismes adaptatifs pour faire face aux changements. Suite à la nouvelle politique en santé mentale enfants-adolescents développée par le ministère de la Santé publique belge en 2015, l'unité thérapeutique adolescents destinée aux 10–18 ans de l'hôpital Vincent Van Gogh, a dédié 2 de ses 15 lits pour la prise en charge spécifique de la crise pédopsychiatrique. L'objectif de cet article est de présenter le fonctionnement du dispositif « lits de crise » au sein de l'unité. Seront définis tout d'abord la notion de crise ainsi que les modèles théoriques d'intervention proposés en clinique. Ensuite, le contexte historique de l'implémentation des lits de crises de l'hôpital VVG ainsi que leur fonctionnement seront évoqués. Enfin, 3 cas cliniques illustreront non seulement toute la prise en charge réalisée en unité de crise mais aussi les différentes issues possibles au terme du séjour. À travers ceux-ci, sera mis en évidence également l'impact qu'ont les facteurs individuels intrapsychiques et systémiques sur la crise et son devenir. The notions of crisis and emergency are frequently mixed up by family members, as well as by many professionals, although they are not synonymous. In child psychiatry, an emergency is an acute pathological situation which is associated with the idea that the child's life is in danger. While an emergency requires immediate care, a crisis requires the development of new ways of seeing and navigating the world, as well as new adaptive mechanisms to deal with these changes. Following the new child-adolescent mental health policy developed by the Belgian Ministry of Public Health in 2015, the therapeutic unit for adolescents (10 to 18-year-old) at the Vincent Van Gogh Hospital dedicated two of its fifteen beds to the treatment of child psychiatric crises. The objective of this paper is to present the functioning of the "crisis beds" device within the hospital unit. We will begin with a definition of the notion of crisis and of the theoretical models of intervention offered in clinics. This will be followed by an explanation of the historical context behind the implementation of the crisis beds in the Vincent Van Gogh hospital and a description of how this device works. We will conclude with an overview of three clinical cases which illustrate the extent of the treatment provided in the crisis unit and the different possible outcomes at the end of the stay. The influence of individual intrapsychic and systemic factors on the crisis and its aftermath will be highlighted through these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth depression is an impairing pediatric condition for which psychotherapy effects are modest. Can outcomes be improved by treatments that address the family context, as proposed in practice parameters of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry? To find out, we searched five decades of research for randomized controlled trials testing family-based interventions; 11 trials were found for ages 4–18 years. Using robust variance estimation, we obtained estimates of effect size (ES) and tested candidate moderators that might explain variation in ES. Overall pooled ES of the studies was 0.33 at posttreatment, similar to that reported for all youth depression treatments in three prior meta-analyses (i.e., 0.36, 0.30, and 0.29), but higher for adolescents (ages ≥ 13, 0.50) than children (0.04). Taken together, our findings do not show superior outcomes for family-based interventions, and raise questions about how much confidence can be placed in the evidence base to date. The small number of relevant studies in more than five decades, together with the publication bias and risk of bias concerns, highlights the need for more trials testing family-based treatment, and for pre-registered reports, publicly-available preprints, and other mechanisms for improving the dissemination of completed research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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An expert consensus approach was used to determine the adequacy of children's psychopharmacology and to examine whether adequacy varied by demographic or clinical characteristics. Data were from the baseline interview of 601 children, ages 6–12 years, who had visited one of nine outpatient mental health clinics and participated in the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms study. Children and parents were interviewed with the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia and the Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents to assess the child's psychiatric symptoms and lifetime mental health services use, respectively. An expert consensus approach informed by published treatment guidelines was used to determine the adequacy of children's psychotropic medication treatment. Black children (compared with White children; OR=1.84, 95% CI=1.53–2.23) and those with anxiety disorders (vs. no anxiety disorder; OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.08–2.20) were more likely to receive inadequate pharmacotherapy; those whose caregivers had a bachelor's degree or more education (vs. those who had a high school education, general equivalency diploma, or less than high school education; OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.61–0.89) were less likely to receive inadequate pharmacotherapy. The consensus rater approach permitted use of published treatment efficacy data and patient characteristics (e.g., age, diagnoses, history of recent hospitalizations, and psychotherapy) to assess adequacy of pharmacotherapy. These results replicate findings of racial disparities reported in previous research using traditional methods to determine treatment adequacy (e.g., with a minimum number of treatment sessions) and highlight the continued need for research on racial disparities and strategies to improve access to high-quality care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosocial interventions for children's mental health problems typically differ in several characteristics, such as therapist training, content, motivation for treatment, and extent of comorbid conditions among patients, depending on whether the interventions take place in clinical research studies or in real-life settings. Accordingly, the effects found in research studies may not be generalizable to typical service provision. The authors sought to examine the potential associations between receiving usual care and later psychiatric symptoms, impairment, and potential improvements in social skills. Participants (N=996) drawn from the 2003–2004 birth cohorts in Trondheim, Norway, included children who received usual care and those who did not receive any services (as a control group). The children were assessed with biennial clinical interviews from ages 4 to 14 years. Random intercept, cross-lagged panel models were combined with propensity scoring to adjust for measured time-varying and all unmeasured time-invariant confounders. Usual care was not associated with alterations in social skills or impairment due to mental health problems. Similarly, usual care provided to 7- to 12-year-olds did not predict changes in the number of symptoms of psychiatric disorders. However, usual care received at ages 0–4 and 5–6 predicted a slight increase in the number of psychiatric symptoms 2 years later. No significant associations between usual care and improved outcomes were detected. These observational findings reveal the need to implement existing evidence-based approaches in usual care and to develop evidence-based approaches to the complex cases often seen in specialty and community care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder affecting children in their early stages. Detection of ADHD is considered a challenging task for experts because there is no accurate test to determine whether a child has ADHD or not. Mainly, most of previous studies are used electroencephalography (EEG) signals to detect ADHD. In this study, a robust model for ADHD detection-integrated discrete wavelet transform (DWT), statistical features, and a least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) is proposed to detect ADHD from EEG signals. The EEG signals are decomposed into five bands and then, a set of statistical features are tested to find the optimal feature sets using K-means model. A public dataset is used to evaluate the proposed model. A total of 45 ADHD patients and 45 healthy are involved to evaluate the proposed model. Several metrics are used to evaluate the proposed model including 10-fold cross-validation precision, sensitivity, and specificity metrics. A channel selection is also investigated, and we found that the channels 'P3, P7, Pz' are more important and gave better prediction results than other channels. The proposed model obtained an average accuracy of 98.06% with LS-SVM, and 95.46% with the KNN classifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives Anticipatory anxiety and heightened responses to uncertainty are central features of anxiety disorders (ADs) that contribute to clinical impairment. Anxiety symptoms typically emerge during childhood, and even subthreshold‐AD symptoms are associated with distress and risk for future psychopathology. This study compared facial emotional response to threat and uncertainty between preadolescent girls with ADs, girls with subthreshold‐AD symptoms, and controls. Methods Facial emotional responding was characterized in preadolescent girls (age 8–11) with a range of anxiety symptoms: no/low anxiety (controls, n = 41), subthreshold‐AD (n = 73), and DSM‐5 diagnoses of separation, social, and/or generalized ADs (n = 45). A threat anticipation paradigm examined how image valence (negative/neutral) and image anticipation (uncertain/certain timing) impacted activity of the corrugator supercilii, a forehead muscle implicated in the “frown” response that is modulated by emotional stimuli (negative > neutral). Corrugator magnitude and corrugator timecourse were compared between groups. Results Findings demonstrate greater corrugator activity during anticipation and viewing of negative stimuli, as well as increased corrugator reactivity in subthreshold‐AD and AD girls. Timecourse analyses of negative versus neutral stimuli revealed that AD and subthreshold‐AD girls had greater uncertainty‐related increases in corrugator activity compared to controls. Conclusion Results extend the physiological characterization of childhood pathological anxiety, highlighting the impact of subthreshold‐AD symptoms.

Abstract Objectives Identification of clinically significant irritability in preschool age is important to implement effective interventions. However, varying informant and measurement methods display distinct patterns. These patterns are associated with concurrent and future mental health concerns. Patterns across multi‐informant methods in early‐childhood irritability may have clinical utility, identifying risk for impaired psychosocial functioning. Methods Using data from the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (N = 425), latent profile analysis identified irritability patterns through the parent‐reported Multidimensional Assessment Profile Scales–Temper Loss (MAPS‐TL), parent‐reported interviewer‐rated Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA), and observer‐rated Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB‐DOS). These profiles were characterized on protective factors, global functioning, and mental health syndromes, concurrently and at early school age and preadolescent follow‐up. Results Fit indices favored a five‐class model: Low All, High Observation with Examiner (high DB‐DOS Examiner Context), High All, High Parent Report (high MAPS‐TL/PAPA), and Very High Parent Report (very high MAPS‐TL/PAPA). Whereas Low All and High Observation with Examiner exhibited strong psychosocial functioning, remaining profiles showed impaired psychosocial functioning, with the Very High Parent Report group showing higher impairment at follow‐ups, ds = 0.37–1.25. Conclusions Multi‐informant measurements of irritability may have utility for clinical prediction, and future studies should test utility for diagnostic precision.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic led to a prompt implementation of remote care, especially in mental health care. The evidence supporting this modality of care is still emerging, with few qualitative studies describing its implementation in Latin American countries. This study aims to understand the perspectives of therapists and patients regarding the use of telehealth in a child and adolescent mental health unit of a Chilean public service. Methods This is a qualitative study. Two focus groups were defined with 14 professionals, and 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with users of an outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory model. Results In the group of therapists, four main categories emerged: background of mental telehealth, implementation, mental telehealth from the therapist's position, and projections. Three main categories emerged in the patient's group: implementation, evaluation of mental telehealth users, and projections. Conclusions There are elements in common between the opinions of patients and therapists. Something to note within the patient's group is that, despite accepting remote care and recognizing its positive aspects, aside from the pandemic context, they prefer face-to-face or mixed care.

This report describes the case of a 13-year-old boy with chronic insomnia and increased daytime sleepiness linked to excessive nocturnal media use. Implementing a restriction on digital device usage after 9 pm led to a significant improvement in the sleep duration with no adverse event. Throughout the 16-week treatment period, the total sleep time of the patient normalized, and the daytime sleepiness problem was resolved. This is an indication that the treatment was effective. This case emphasizes the potential of nighttime screentime restriction in treating pediatric chronic insomnia and highlights the importance of addressing screen time in sleep disorder management.

Children’s screen time may affect their growth and development. However, differences in the impact of various psychiatric and psychological factors on children’s screen time is a research gap. This study aimed to explore the differences in the influence of related factors affecting children’s screen time based on their sleep, difficulties, and parental control among Japanese elementary and junior high school students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents in Japan. Data on screen time duration, parent–child background, strengths and difficulties, sleep variables, and parental control types were collected from 225 households. A regression analysis revealed that high Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores (β = 0.166, p = 0.008), sleep duration (β = −0.281, p < 0.001), and parental control (β = −0.204, p = 0.001) were significantly related to children’s screen time. Additionally, it was found that parents’ late bedtimes affect children’s screen time by mediating children’s sleep duration. This study, together with previous research, provides comprehensive insights into design interventions to decrease the screen time of children in the Japanese context.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid transformation of child mental health services from mostly in-person to fully remote delivery at an urban safety-net hospital. No-show rates substantially declined when implementing video visits, and the volume of service delivery was unchanged compared to prepandemic in-person visits. In addition, no-show rates for telehealth sessions did not increase over time. Recommendations for telehealth quality assurance and improvement to best respond to children and families with existing mental health needs and limited resources during disasters and in their aftermath are suggested. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

An editorial focuses on the importance of considering sex differences in child and adolescent psychiatry, particularly in understanding the clinical presentation, response to treatment, and outcomes of psychiatric disorders. It highlights the nuanced manifestations of conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in girls compared to boys.

This article discusses the importance of psychometric properties in psychiatric measurement tools for adolescents and young adults. Adolescence is a critical period characterized by biological changes and evolving psychosocial competencies. Mental health problems and disorders affect a significant percentage of this population, leading to increased disability. Validity and reliability are key aspects of psychometric properties, ensuring that measurement tools accurately measure the intended concepts and produce consistent results. The article emphasizes the need for evidence-based culture, reporting trial results, refining and selecting items, and continual re-evaluation to enhance the psychometric properties of measurement tools. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Traumatic physical injuries are the number one cause of hospitalization and death among children in Canada. The majority of these injuries are preventable. The burden from injury can be reduced through prevention programs tailored to at-risk groups, however, existing research does not provide a strong explanation of how social factors influence a child's risk of injury. We propose a theoretical framework to better understand social factors and injury in children and will examine the association between these social factors and physical traumatic injury in children using large population-wide data. Methods and analysis: We will examine data from 11,000 children hospitalized for traumatic physical injury and 55,000 matched uninjured children by linking longitudinal administrative and clinical data contained at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. We will examine 14 social determinants of child health measures from our theoretical framework, including receipt of income assistance, rural/urban status, socioeconomic status, children in care, child mental disorder, and parental factors (involvement with criminal justice system, education, social housing, immigration status, high residential mobility, mother's age at first birth, maternal Axis I mental disorder, maternal Axis II mental disorder and maternal physical disorder) to identify groups and periods of time when children are at greatest risk for traumatic physical injury. A conditional multivariable logistic regression model will be calculated (including all social determinant measures) to determine odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for cases (injured) and controls (non-injured). Ethics and dissemination: Health Information Privacy Committee (HIPC No. 2017/2018-75) and local ethics approval (H2018-123) were obtained. Once social measures have been identified through statistical modelling, we will determine how they fit into a Haddon matrix to identify appropriate areas for intervention. Knowing these risk factors will guide decision-makers and health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Psychiatry is a challenging setting that requires extraordinary effort from the staff. Healthcare workers in the field of psychiatry face substantial levels of violence, making the identification of abuse risk factors a social concern. Both the conduct of the children and their relatives can pose potential harm. Our study delved into the criminological and psychiatric factors underlying violence against healthcare workers. Methodology: We used qualitative, semi-structured, self-developed, online questionnaire involving 21 respondents. The participants were representing the staff composition of our department. The data set was coded in two phases using a multi-stage content analysis method. The results were compared with Hungarian and international literature. Findings: Among the participants, 52% reported no instances of physical abuse. The most prevalent form of perceived non-contact abuse was threats, accounting for 38% of reported cases. The identified risk factors for abuse included the child's psychiatric disorder, communication issues, parental behavior, and low socio-economic status. Psychological trauma was identified as the most severe consequence. The respondents' opinion indicated that the most common cause of violence (52%) was attributed to the child's mental disorder. Workers primarily deal with abuse through negative emotions, with 76% of them reporting feelings of victimization. Additionally, 43% believed that abuse cannot be avoided, while 19% emphasized the significance of worker competence. Value: Our research can help to identify risk factors in child psychiatry wards and provide guidance for developing effective responses to violence against healthcare workers in Hungary, especially at our ward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In light of the youth mental health crisis, as 1 in 5 children have a mental disorder diagnosis by age 3, identification of transdiagnostic behavioral vulnerability prior to impairing psychopathology must occur at an earlier phase of the clinical sequence. Here, we lay the groundwork for a pragmatic irritability measure to identify at‐risk infant‐toddlers. Methods: Data comprised N = 350 diverse infant‐toddlers and their mothers assessed at ∼14 months old for irritability (Multidimensional Assessment Profiles‐ Temper Loss‐Infant/Toddler (MAPS‐TL‐IT) and impairment (Early Childhood Irritability‐Related Impairment Interview, E‐CRI; and Family Life Impairment Scale (FLIS). Bimonthly follow‐up surveys assessed impairment (FLIS) over the following year. Results: Stepwise logistic regression indicated that 5 MAPS‐TL‐IT items were most informative for differentiating concurrent impairment on the FLIS: "frustrated about small things"; "hit, bite, or kick during tantrums"; "trouble cheering up when grumpy"; "grumpy during fun activities" and "tantrums in public". With this summed score, Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis differentiating concurrent impairment on the E‐CRI indicated good classification accuracy for (Area under the curve = 0.755, p < 0.05), with a cutoff of 5 maximizing sensitivity (71.4%) and specificity (70.6%). Elevated irritability on this MAPS‐TL‐IT clinically optimized screener increased likelihood of persistently elevated FLIS impairment trajectories over the following year more than fourfold (OR = 4.37; Confidence intervals = 2.40–7.97, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our findings represent the first step toward a pragmatic tool for screening for transdiagnostic mental health risk in toddlers, optimized for feasibility in clinical care. This has potential to strengthen resilience pathways via earlier identification of mental health risk and corollary prevention in toddlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Almost all over the world, psychiatry training of undergraduate medical students has been criticized to be deficient in imparting required knowledge and improving the perception of students towards psychiatry and psychiatric treatment. Considering the large mental health need gap in the community, it is essential to improve undergraduate students’ attitude toward psychiatry. Aim: Hence, this study was planned to study the impact of psychiatry clinical posting on attitude toward psychiatry of undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods: Undergraduate medical students undergoing psychiatry posting were assessed on the first and last day of clinical posting with the help of semi-structured proforma consisting of sociodemographic information, favored future career choice, the relevance of psychiatry to their future careers, the usefulness of particular knowledge and skills, the value of knowledge of psychiatric specialties and the utility of different settings for learning psychiatry. Results: After their clinical posting, students had a more positive attitude towards the usefulness of psychiatry knowledge in future general practice and the usefulness of psychiatry knowledge from undergraduate training in the future. Knowledge of alcohol withdrawal management, detection and management of delirium, and Mental Health Acts were perceived more essential in the future. Also, specialties such as deaddiction and child and adolescent psychiatry were felt more useful in future practice. After posting, students perceived that psychiatry can also be learned at medical and surgical wards as well as during home visits. However, despite some positive changes in attitude toward psychiatry, there was no significant change in choosing psychiatry as a career by the students after posting. Conclusion: Undergraduate psychiatry training during clinical posting was able to make some positive changes in the knowledge and attitude of students. However, still, there were lacunae in some areas of concern. Preference of psychiatry as a branch of specialization was not increased after posting. This indicates the need for better reforms in psychiatry education at the undergraduate level to improve the perception of undergraduate students about psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]