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The study aimed to examine the impact of teaching materials for pupils with mental disorders in public primary schools. The study employed a mixed approach and a case study design, and the social cognitive theory was used as a guiding tool. A sample size of 20 respondents was drawn from 30 populations through purposive and simple sampling technique. The data collection methods were through interviews, observation and questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis and content analysis were used to analyze the collected data. The study revealed that, there is shortage of teaching materials like text books, game puzzles, visual aids, audio visual, video visual and building blocks as indicated in selected four public primary school at Mvomero District Council, where each learner has different level of mental disorders. The study concludes that the government should provide a sufficient fund to these public primary schools so that pupils with mental disorders get better education services and conducive environment which will facilitate all teachers and pupils to improve teaching and learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine and compare oral health status, knowledge and attitude among siblings of mentally disabled with siblings of normal healthy children.Materials and Methods: 240 study subjects consisting of 120 each of siblings of mentally disabled and normal, healthy children (control group) matched for age and gender were selected by convenience sampling. Oral health was assessed using the WHO-1997 proforma. A pretested questionnaire (30 items) was used for oral health knowledge and attitude assessment. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-squared and Mann-Whitney tests.Results: Caries prevalence among the siblings of mentally disabled and control group was 82% (mean DMFT 1.68 ± 1.18) and 45% (mean DMFT 0.58 ± 0.72), respectively (p < 0.05). The siblings of mentally disabled children also showed good oral health knowledge (mean 7.1 ± 1.4) and a positive attitude (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Siblings of mentally disabled children showed higher caries experience. Knowledge and attitude towards oral health was comparatively good among siblings of mentally disabled children. They exhibited favourable attitudes and involvement in helping their sibling to maintain oral health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify which domains of family functioning were associated with odds of internalizing versus externalizing mental health disorder, past-year health professional consultations, hospitalizations, and length of hospital stay in a sample of children with a mental health disorder. One hundred children aged 6–17 years who received mental health services (inpatient or outpatient) and their parents at a large clinical paediatric tertiary care centre in Ontario were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The final recruited and analyzed sample was children aged 8–17 years. Family functioning was measured using the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), child mental health disorder using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and mental health service use using items from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey (Mental Health). Higher scores on affective involvement and problem solving were associated with greater odds of major depressive disorder [OR = 2.12 (1.01, 4.43)] and social phobia [OR = 1.80 (1.09, 2.98)]. Reports of better communication were correlated with lower odds of generalized anxiety disorder [OR = 0.55 (0.35, 0.84)] and shorter length of stay in hospital [OR = 0.93 (0.89, 0.97)]. Higher scores on behaviour control were associated with lower odds of social phobia and oppositional defiant disorder [OR = 0.48 (0.27, 0.86) and OR = 0.52 (0.32, 0.84)], respectively. Future research should aim to gain an understanding of strategies that ameliorate family functioning to limit the impact and severity of childhood mental health conditions. Highlights: Affective involvement is correlated with major depressive disorder and social phobia. Better communication is associated with shorter lengths of stay in hospital. Family-based interventions that consider child mental health need to be examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article surveys end experiences at two mental institutions catering specifically for young people up to 1913: the Scottish National Institution, Larbert, and Stanley Hall, Wakefield. The two establishments differed in the types of children received and in their time spans of operation before changes to the mental deficiency acts in Scotland and England in 1913. The aims and ethos of the two institutions are discussed, followed by exploration of removal of children from asylum registers. "Success" levels claimed by both institutions are considered by surveying outcomes upon discharge but tempered in acknowledging removal of children from registers through their deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare daily, physical education, recess, and after school moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels between children with and without autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Children ages 5 to 12 years wore a uniaxial accelerometer for five days (four weekdays, one weekend day). There were no differences between children with and without ASD at any physical activity setting. Both groups were more active during recess compared to after school, and children with ASD were similarly active in recess and physical education. Although many children with ASD acquired 60 min of physical education per day, this may decrease with age as opportunities for recess and physical education are eliminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which analyzed nationwide hospital treatment data on trends in the case numbers in inpatient care for mentally ill minors and whether the diagnostic spectrum changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Topics include changes in the numbers of cases with pediatric psychiatric diagnoses treated on an inpatient basis for the first six months of 2019 and of 2021, research findings and limitation of the study.

Introduction. The presence of mental disorders in a family may cause various losses in its functioning and characteristics. Objective. To determine which environmental resources are offered to children with mental disorders by their families and how they correlated with the family functioning. Method. The study included a total of 33 persons responsible for children with mental disorders. The subjects responded to two questionnaires to characterize family functioning (FACES IV) and the availability of resources in the family environment (RAF). Data were analyzed in a descriptively and the Spearman correlation test was used to identify associations between variables. Results. Most of the children were male and attended school, and the most frequent psychiatric diagnoses were attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. Most families were considered to have good family functioning (87.9%), with only 12.1% being considered dysfunctional. Regarding environmental resources, the highest mean values were assigned to the presence of toys (6.9 ± 2.0) and to family gatherings for routine activities (6.6 ± 2.3). Family cohesion, flexibility, communication, and satisfaction (functional) were positively correlated with the offer of activities and resources and negatively correlated with unbalanced (dysfunctional) subscales. Discussion and conclusion. Children's mental disorders do not appear to affect family dynamics in a significant manner. However, family functioning interferes with the types of activities and resources it offers to the child and that may have an impact on his/her development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of stress encountered by the parents with very less effective methods to overcome will always be an obstacle to face the tasks involved in parenting the child. The study was conducted to assess the coping strategies among mothers of mentally challenged children in Coimbatore. A descriptive research design was adopted in this study to assess the level of coping among Mothers of Mentally Challenged Children by using convenient sampling technique. Results showed that about 1.9% of mothers had below average level of coping, 5.8% of mothers had average level of coping, 75% of mothers had above average level of coping and 3% of mothers had very good level of coping. It is concluded that, counsellors and educationalists involved in the health care industry must chart out the very strenuous fields and have to meticulously support the usage of various coping strategies to help out the parents in overcoming the difficulties faced by them in bringing up the mentally challenged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the relationship between attitude toward physical activity and self-concept of emotionally disturbed and normal children. The subjects were 470 boys and girls, ranging from 8 to 13 years of age (M= 10.95,5D= 1.91). The sample included 80 emotionally disturbed children from two psychiatric hospitals in Ohio and 390 normal children from a parochial school in Ohio. Data were collected through the Children's Attitude Toward Physical Activity Inventory (CATPA) and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale. A significant difference on CATPA occurred between emotionally disturbed and normal children and between boys and girls. A two-way ANOVA revealed a significant difference in self-concept between emotionally disturbed and normal children. The Pearson product-moment correlation revealed low but significant relationships between self-concept and the following subscales of the CATPA: social experience, thrill, and release of tension. The results indicated that normal children had a more positive attitude toward physical activity and self-concept than emotionally disturbed children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents abstracts from the Fifth Annual Conference of the North American Society of Pediatric Exercise Medicine held from September 21-23, 1990. One abstract summarized a study on how the use of psychotropic medications alters exercise variables in severely emotionally disturbed children. Another abstract summarized a study on how puberty impacts the bioenergetic profile of trained prepubertal male swimmers. Yet another abstract focused on experiments using treadmills for maximal exercise testing.

May 2017 Abstract. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition associated with varying levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. This study investigates brain function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder using measures of nonlinear dynamics in EEG signals during rest. During eyes-closed resting, 19 channel EEG signals were recorded from 12 ADHD and 12 normal age-matched children. We used the multifractal singularity spectrum, the largest Lyapunov exponent, and approximate entropy to quantify the chaotic nonlinear dynamics of these EEG signals. As confirmed by Wilcoxon rank sum test, largest Lyapunov exponent over left frontal central cortex exhibited a significant difference between ADHD and the age-matched control groups. Further, mean approximate entropy was significantly lower in ADHD subjects in prefrontal cortex. The singularity spectrum was also considerably altered in ADHD compared to control children. Evaluation of these features was performed by two classifiers: a Support Vector Machine and a Radial Basis Function Neural Network. For better comparison, subject classification based on frequency band power was assessed using the same types of classifiers. Nonlinear features provided better discrimination between ADHD and control than band power features. Under four-fold cross validation testing, support vector machine gave 83.33% accurate classification results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim. The family functioning and characteristics are the major risk factors in the genesis and persistence of mental disorders in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of functioning of family with mentally ill children and adolescents. Methods. This study explored 47 families with a child/adolescent suffering from mental disorders and 47 families of age matched healthy children/adolescents. The socio-demographic questionnaire, Social Adaptation Self-evaluation scale (SASS) and Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES III) (Olson, 1983) were completed by parents. Results. For all three FACES III dimensions multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed significant differences between groups (Wilks λ = .887; F = 3.839; df = 3; p = 0.012). Univariate analysis results showed significant differences for cohesiveness F = 6.99 p = 0.001 and adaptability F = 10.07 p = 0 .001. The analysis of the social adaption (SASS) assessment showed that the mean score for clinical vs. non-clinical group was 39.66 ± 6.82 vs. 38.06 ± 8.44 without significant difference between groups (p = 0.32). The families of mentally ill children showed frequently lower socioeconomic status and education level, higher number of children per family, and broken home. Conclusion. The results suggested that cohesiveness and adaptability were significantly more prominent among families with mentaly ill children, but adaptation was similar to families with healthy children. It would be useful to evaluate adaptability, cohesiveness and adaptation of primary families when planning prevention and rehabillitation of mentally ill children and adolescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify factors that contributed to premature treatment discontinuation among Thai children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study. The parents of ADHD subjects were divided into three groups which were based on their children's adherence to treatment: 1) early discontinuation [ED] group, 2) late discontinuation [LD] group, and 3) control group. The possible factors that might cause treatment discontinuation were collected through chart reviews and interviews (telephone or face-to-face) by trained personnel. The Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed when appropriate to identify the associated factors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses (backward stepwise method) were also utilized. Results: A total of 375 parents of ADHD patients were recruited. The parents were separated into 3 groups where 195 parents were in the control group, while 105 and 75 were in the ED and LD groups, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that factors associated with treatment discontinuation were increased age (adj. OR = 1.19), family income > 50,000 baht/month (adj. OR = 2.48), parents' knowledge of "Treatment of ADHD is unnecessary." (adj. OR = 1.37) and "Medication for ADHD is an essential intervention for ADHD" (adj. OR = 0.61). The reasons for treatment discontinuation between ED and LD revealed that patients in the LD group experience more "intolerable side effects" (38.7% vs. 22.9%) and less "improved or cured children" (16.0% vs. 29.5) compared to those in the ED group. Conclusion: The significant factors that predicted premature treatment discontinuation among Thai children and adolescents with ADHD were the age of the patients, family income, parents' lack of knowledge of ADHD, and negative parental attitudes toward the pharmacological management of ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many children and teenagers living with mental health problems experience stigma from within their peer group, yet this remains an under-researched topic in developmental science and the broader mental health literature. This paper highlights the limitations of adopting measures, concepts and theories that have exclusively emanated from the adult mental health literature. We argue that the social context of children and adolescents is critical in understanding the development and maintenance of stigma towards those with mental health problems, alongside the changing developmental needs and abilities of children and adolescents. In this article we argue that a theory proposed to explain the development of stereotypes and prejudice in childhood has potential as a framework for integrating existing research findings on mental health stigma in childhood and adolescence and providing direction for further research. The need for interventions that are grounded within the developmental science literature and that explicitly state their theory of change are identified as key research priorities for reducing stigma during childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a resurgence of interest in the role of childhood trauma in the aetiology of psychosis. In this review, recent findings on the association between childhood trauma and a continuum of psychotic symptoms are presented. Evidence of the association between specific childhood trauma subtypes and psychotic symptoms is examined, with a brief discussion of some current hypotheses about the potential mechanisms underlying the associations that have been found. Some practice implications of these findings are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council for Exceptional Children coined the term 'Emotional and Behavioral Disorder1 children including those who were seriously emotionally disturbed. Prominent authors in this field preferred the term 'challenging' than 'inappropriate' or 'problem behavior'. The main forms have been identified as aggressive behavior, destructive behavior, self- injury behavior, stereotype and other socially or sexually unacceptable behavior. Challenging behavior thus, is a cluster of emotional and behavioral problems including both externalizing and internalizing behavioral symptoms. Children with the externalizing behavior problems of conduct disorder are more likely to grow up to become delinquent as adolescents and criminals and violent as adults. Similarly, children's with internalizing behavior problems are more likely to grow up to become depressed and anxious. Methodologically robust studies on community samples in India have reported overall point prevalence rates of 9.4% in children aged 8-12 years, 12.5% in children aged 0-16 years, and 1.81% in adolescence age of 12-16 years. Childhood aggression is associated with a host of personal, social and academic adjustment difficulties including depression, anxiety, peer rejection, loneliness and school dropout. Studies suggested that children who display aggression early in life are also at risk for continued aggression throughout adolescence. Challenging problems are defined more profitably by their function than by their topographies. Thus it is descriptive concept which is largely constructed, and its meaning is subject to change as per social norms and service delivery patterns over time and across geographical areas. Challenging behaviors as being logically linked to a set of predictable consequences and noted that by understanding these specific consequences, it would be possible to design more effective, efficient, and individualized intervention. Evidence suggests behavioral intervention involving an explicit functional analysis of behavior is the most effective means of assessment and treatment for children with challenging behavior. The aim of this review article is to trace out the range of characteristics of challenging behaviors and the success achieved in controlling such behavior through psychological interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The alterations in cortical morphology, such as cortical thinning, observed in psychotic disorder, may be the outcome of interacting genetic and environmental effects. It has been suggested that urban upbringing may represent a proxy environmental effect impacting cortical thickness (CT). Therefore, the current study examined whether the association between group as a proxy genetic variable (patients with psychotic disorder [high genetic risk], healthy siblings of patients [intermediate risk] and healthy control subjects [average risk]) and CT was conditional on different levels of the childhood urban environment and whether this was sex-dependent. Methods: T1-weighted MRI scans were acquired from 89 patients with a psychotic disorder, 95 non-psychotic siblings of patients with psychotic disorder and 87 healthy control subjects. Freesurfer software was used to measure CT. Developmental urban exposure was classified as low, medium, and high, reflecting the population density and the number of moves between birth and the 15th birthday, using data from the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics and the equivalent database in Belgium. Multilevel regression analyses were used to examine the association between group, sex, and urban upbringing (as well as their interactions) and cortical CT as the dependent variable. Results: CT was significantly smaller in the patient group compared to the controls (B = -0.043, p <0.001), but not in the siblings compared to the controls (B = -0.013, p = 0.31). There was no main effect of developmental urbanicity on CT (B = 0.001, p = 0.91). Neither the three-way group × urbanicity × sex interaction (χ2 = 3.73, p = 0.16), nor the two-way group × urbanicity interaction was significant (χ2 = 0.51, p = 0.77). Conclusion: The negative association between (familial risk for) psychotic disorder and CT was not moderated by developmental urbanicity, suggesting that reduced CT is not the outcome of familial sensitivity to the proxy environmental factor ‘urban upbringing’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia represents the extreme end of a distribution of traits that extends well into the general population. Using a recently developed measure of psychotic-like traits in children, we examined the neural substrates of psychotic (and other psychiatric) symptoms using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty-eight typically-developing children (14 males) between the ages of 6–17 years underwent a 3 T MRI scan. Parents completed the Psychiatric and Schizotypal Inventory for Children. Results revealed that caudate, amygdala, hippocampal and middle temporal gyrus volumes were associated with quantitative dimensions of psychiatric traits. Furthermore, results suggest a differential a sexually-dimorphic pattern of brain-schizotypy associations. These findings highlight brain-behavior continuities between clinical conditions such as schizophrenia and normal trait variation in typical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the role of developmental epidemiology in the prevention of child and adolescent mental disorders and the implications for systems of support. The article distinguishes between universal or primary prevention, which operates at the level of the whole community to limit risk exposure before the onset of symptoms, and secondary or targeted prevention, which operates by identifying those at high risk of developing a disorder. It discusses different aspects of time as it relates to risk for onset of disease, such as age at first exposure, duration of exposure, age at onset of first symptoms, and time until treatment. The study compares universal and targeted prevention, describing the systems needed to support each, and their unintended consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim: The present study employed Experience Sampling Methodology to examine whether the interaction between childhood bullying and FKBP5 variability (i) is associated with the expression of psychotic-like experiences, paranoia, and negative affect, and (ii) moderates psychotic-like, paranoid, and affective reactivity to different forms of momentary stress (situational and social) in daily life. Methods: A total of 206 nonclinical young adults were interviewed for bullying with the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse and were prompted randomly eight times daily for one week to complete assessments of their current experiences, affect, and stress appraisals. Participants were genotyped for three FKBP5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs3800373, rs9296158, and rs1360780) that have been linked to hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity. Multilevel analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the interaction between childhood bullying and the FKBP5 haplotype derived from these three SNPs. Results: The interaction between bullying and the FKBP5 haplotype was associated with positive, but not negative, psychotic-like experiences, paranoia, and negative affect. The bullying x FKBP5 interaction also moderated the association of a social stress appraisal (specifically, being alone because people do not want to be with you) with psychotic-like experiences and negative affect in daily life. Simple slopes analyses indicated that, in all cases, the associations were significantly increased by exposure to bullying in participants with the risk haplotype, but not for those with the non-risk haplotype. Discussion: The present study provides the first evidence of the interplay between childhood bullying and FKBP5 variability in the real-world expression of psychosis proneness and social stress reactivity. The findings underscore the importance of investigating how gene-environment interactions are involved in mechanistic pathways to the extended psychosis phenotype and lend further support to the increasing relevance given to socially defeating appraisals in the experience of reality distortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: It has been reported that a great proportion of mental health disorders have an origin in early childhood. In order to evaluate factors possibly associated with children's health, the health monitoring units have been established since 2004 in six study regions in Bavaria, Germany. The second health monitoring survey, implemented in 2005-06, focuses on the mental health status of preschool children. The goal of this study is (1) to examine the association of sociodemographic and environmental factors with mental health and (2) to analyze the applicability of the results of the health monitoring units to all preschool children in Bavaria by calculating weighting factors.Methods: Data on 6206 preschool children are available. Logistic regression analysis is applied to analyze possible associations with mental health. A weighting method is applied to correct for deviances compared to the whole population of preschool children in Bavaria (N=132,783).Results: 11% of preschool children show mental health problems. Regarding different indicators of sociodemographic status, low household income [unadjusted OR 3.34, 95% CI: 2.23-4.98] shows the strongest association of mental health problems. Non-accessibility of green space [unadjusted OR 2.74, 95% CI: 1.87-4.00] is also strongly associated with mental health. The results of the unweighted and weighted analysis are similar.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that sociodemographic status and factors in the living environment show associations with mental health of children. Based on the results of the unweighted and weighted analyses, the second health monitoring analysis shows little deviances compared to data of all Bavarian preschool children. Therefore, the results can be compared to all Bavarian preschool children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment or prevention of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) disorders often requires an individualized, sequential approach to intervention, whereby treatments (or prevention efforts) are adapted over time based on the youth’s evolving status (e.g., early response, adherence).Adaptive interventionsare intended to provide a replicable guide for the provision of individualized sequences of interventions in actual clinical practice. Recently, there has been great interest in the development of adaptive intervenions by investigators working in CAMH. The development of such replicable, real-world, individualized sequences of decision rules to guide the treatment or prevention of CAMH disorders represents an important “next step” in interventions research. The primary purpose of this special issue is to showcase some recent work on the science of adaptive interventions in CAMH. In this overview article, we review why individualized sequences of interventions are needed in CAMH, provide an introduction to adaptive interventions, briefly describe each of the articles included in this special issue, and describe some exciting areas of ongoing and future research. A hopeful outcome of this special issue is that it encourages other researchers in CAMH to pursue creative and significant research on adaptive interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article investigates organizational solutions in welfare services, from a service management perspective. The aim is to highlight important factors in solutions leading to improved efficiency. The empirical material consists of case studies that deal with work on children who have multiple problems and mental illness. Factors behind the increased efficiency include staff coordinating their efforts into a cohesive service process based on both the day-to-day life and the life situation of the child and his/her family. They act in such a way that the child and family receive support enabling them to utilize their own capacity during value creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methamphetamine exerts neurotoxic effects and elicits psychotic symptoms. This study attempted to compare clinical differences between methamphetamine users with persistent psychosis (MAP) and patients with schizophrenia. In addition, we examined the discrimination validity by using symptom clusters to differentiate between MAP and schizophrenia. Methods: We enrolled 53 MAP patients and 53 patients with schizophrenia. The psychopathology of participants was assessed using the Chinese version of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Logistic regression was used to examine the predicted probability scores of different symptom combinations on discriminating between MAP and schizophrenia. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and area under the curve (AUC) were further applied to examine the discrimination validity of the predicted probability scores on differentiating between MAP and schizophrenia. Results: We found that MAP and schizophrenia demonstrated similar patterns of delusions. Compared to patients with schizophrenia, MAP experienced significantly higher proportions of visual hallucinations and of somatic or tactile hallucinations. However, MAP exhibited significantly lower severity in conceptual disorganization, mannerism/posturing, blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, and motor retardation compared to patients with schizophrenia. The ROC analysis showed that a predicted probability score combining the aforementioned 7 items of symptoms could significantly differentiate between MAP and schizophrenia (AUC = 0.77). Conclusion: Findings in the current study suggest that nuanced differences might exist in the clinical presentation of secondary psychosis (MAP) and primary psychosis (schizophrenia). Combining the symptoms as a whole may help with differential diagnosis for MAP and schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood onset schizophrenia (COS), with onset of psychosis before age 13, is a rare form of schizophrenia that represents a more severe and chronic form of the adult onset illness. In this review we examine structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of COS and non-psychotic siblings of COS patients in the context of studies of schizophrenia as a whole. Studies of COS to date reveal progressive loss of gray matter volume and cortical thinning, ventricular enlargement, progressive decline in cerebellar volume and a significant but fixed deficit in hippocampal volume. COS is also associated with a slower rate of white matter growth and disrupted local connectivity strength. Sibling studies indicate that non-psychotic siblings of COS patients share many of these brain abnormalities, including decreased cortical thickness and disrupted white matter growth, yet these abnormalities normalize with age. Cross-sectional and longitudinal neuroimaging studies remain some of the few methods for assessing human brain function and play a pivotal role in the quest for understanding the neurobiology of schizophrenia as well as other psychiatric disorders. Parallel studies in non-psychotic siblings provide a unique opportunity to understand both risk and resilience in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study were to assess how many patients received occupational therapy after diagnosis of developmental disorder (DD) in child psychiatrist practices in Germany and which factors influenced the prescription of occupational therapy.Methods: This study was a retrospective database analysis in Germany utilising the Disease Analyzer® Database (IMS Health, Germany). The study population included 11,112 children aged between 3 and 17 from 13 child psychiatrist practices. The observation period was five years in total.Results: 32% of study children were referred for occupational therapy within three years of first diagnosis of DD. Younger age, female gender, statutory health insurance, specific DD of motor function or reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders positively influenced the referral rate and time of occupational therapy.Conclusions: One out of three children with DD receive the referral of occupational therapy within three years of first diagnosis of DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is increasing interest in elucidating the association of different childhood adversities with psychosis-spectrum symptoms as well as the mechanistic processes involved. This study used experience sampling methodology to examine (i) associations of a range of childhood adversities with psychosis symptom domains in daily life; (ii) whether associations of abuse and neglect with symptoms are consistent across self-report and interview methods of trauma assessment; and (iii) the role of different adversities in moderating affective, psychotic-like, and paranoid reactivity to situational and social stressors. Method: A total of 206 nonclinical young adults were administered self-report and interview measures to assess childhood abuse, neglect, bullying, losses, and general traumatic events. Participants received personal digital assistants that signaled them randomly eight times daily for one week to complete questionnaires about current experiences, including symptoms, affect, and stress. Results: Self-reported and interview-based abuse and neglect were associated with psychotic-like and paranoid symptoms, whereas only self-reported neglect was associated with negative-like symptoms. Bullying was associated with psychotic-like symptoms. Losses and general traumatic events were not directly associated with any of the symptom domains. All the childhood adversities were associated with stress reactivity in daily life. Interpersonal adversities (abuse, neglect, bullying, and losses) moderated psychotic-like and/or paranoid reactivity to situational and social stressors, whereas general traumatic events moderated psychotic-like reactivity to situational stress. Also, different interpersonal adversities exacerbated psychotic-like and/or paranoid symptoms in response to distinct social stressors. Discussion: The present study provides a unique examination of how childhood adversities impact the expression of spectrum symptoms in the real world and lends support to the notion that stress reactivity is a mechanism implicated in the experience of reality distortion in individuals exposed to childhood trauma. Investigating the interplay between childhood experience and current context is relevant for uncovering potential pathways to the extended psychosis phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Prior work by our group identified personality profiles associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLE's) in healthy adults that were strikingly similar to those found in schizophrenia patients, with the exception of two key differences. Specifically, higher levels of PLE's were linked to higher persistence and cooperativeness, suggesting that these characteristics might represent personality-based resilience factors. Notably, age and personality were significantly correlated in these data, raising questions about whether healthy children and adolescents would show similar results. To date, no study has examined personality profiles associated with both positive and negative PLE's in healthy children and adolescents using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Thus, this study examined the relationship between TCI dimensions and PLE's in healthy children and adolescents. Method The TCI and the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) were administered to 123 healthy children and adolescents aged 8–18. Multiple regression models were used to examine personality dimensions associated with overall severity of PLE's as well as severity of positive and negative PLE's separately. Results Positive, negative, and overall PLE severity were all associated with a personality pattern of higher harm avoidance and lower self-directedness. Negative PLE severity was also associated with lower persistence. Conclusions Personality correlates of PLE's in healthy children and adolescents were largely consistent with our past work on PLE's in healthy adults. However, our previously identified resilience factors were notably absent in this sample. These findings may suggest that these personality characteristics have not yet crystallized or emerged to aid in coping with PLE's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the parental negligence law with the parental liability for parents of adult mass shooters based upon a special relationship. It mentions that negligence in general and its complexities, as well as exploring whether a duty to protect or warn can be established in mass shooting cases. It also mentions that aforementioned parents' breach caused the shooting victims' injury or death with aggressive measures to keep firearms out of their mentally ill child's hands.

This paper is part of my research into psychotic transference and is also related to the psychotic aspect of any adult or infantile patient in analysis. In my research, I studied the origin of the concept of transference in Charcot's time before Freud, and the transformation of this concept in psychoanalysis. Freud thought that psychotic patients were not able to establish a transference relationship, but some of his early papers show the opposite. In fact, Freud himself and then several other analysts were able to develop a personal experience regarding the possibility of contact and transferring feelings and delusional experiences in a therapeutic context – individual, group, or institution. I provide some clinical examples in this paper, as well as some theoretical, personal views regarding intrapersonal and interpersonal transference. Like Freud and Melanie Klein, I believe that transference starts with life, but that in psychoanalysis it has a particular meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The association between stressful childhood experiences (SCE) and psychotic symptoms is still not clearly understood, and different causal pathways have been proposed. Generalized estimating equation modeling was used to test the dose–response relationship between SCE and delusions and hallucinations at baseline and follow-up periods and the possible confounding effects of dissociation on this relationship. The prevalence of SCE in individuals with psychotic disorders was high, with more co-occurring SCE categories being positively associated with more types of delusions and hallucinations. Each additional SCE was associated with a 1.20 increase in the incidence rate ratio (95% confidence interval [CI; 1.09, 1.32]) for hallucinations and a 1.19 increase (CI [1.09, 1.29]) for delusions, supporting a dose–response association. After we controlled for the mediating effects of dissociative symptoms at follow-up, SCE remained independently associated with delusions. We propose that cumulative SCE can result in complex trauma reactions that present with a broad range of symptomatology, including dissociative, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychotic symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In mainstream education, positive relationships with teachers and peers have been found to positively influence children's behavioral development. However, high levels of classroom behavior problems may hinder the formation of such positive relationships. Therefore, findings from mainstream education cannot be generalized to special education. The present study investigated the developmental links between disobedience and positive as well as negative relationships with teachers and peers among boys in restrictive special educational settings. At three assessment waves across one school year, teacher-reports of teacher-child closeness and conflict, and peer-reports of peer acceptance, rejection and disobedience were collected among 340 boys (mean age = 10.1 years, SD = 1.58, range = 5-13) with psychiatric disorders receiving special education. Autoregressive cross-lagged models were fitted to explore the nature of these developmental links. The impact of boys' age was examined using multiple group analyses. Findings supported the importance of teacher-child conflict, but not closeness, and positive and negative peer relationships for the development of boys' disobedience, with a stronger effect of negative than positive relationships. However, teacher-child and peer relationships were not longitudinally related and the effect of boys' age was minimal. This study extends prior research by suggesting that, despite differences in educational setting and severity of behavior problems between children in mainstream and special education, reducing negative classroom interactional patterns is most important in preventing the development of problematic classroom behavior in boys with severe social-emotional and behavioral difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Best interests' is a key principle of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England and Wales), Mental Capacity Bill (2014) (Northern Ireland) and Mental Health Act 2001 (Ireland), although there are currently proposals to remove 'best interests' from Irish legislation. Legislation in Scotland refers to 'benefit' resulting from interventions. Judicious use of 'best interests', in line with guidelines that prioritise the person's autonomy, will and preferences, is a powerful way to promote the values and rights that underpin the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to safeguard the dignity of individuals with mental disorder and/or reduced mental capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at psychoeducational principles of reclaiming troubled and troubling children and youth. Particular focus is given to the development of Fritz Redl and colleagues of Life Space Crisis Intervention and Re-Education of Emotionally Disturbed Children (Re-ED), in which observations concerning troubled and troubling children. The role of advances in neuroscience in studying the storage of traumatic memories in the brain is noted.

This research presents linguistic preventive intervention initiative for the English Faculty to screen emotionally disturbed Pakistani university students. The aim was to investigate creative writing data of the youth for detection of depression and suicide related language, on a text analysis tool-SNARE. Poems and essays of 380 university students were run on SNARE results of which showed that linguistic warning signs of emotional disturbance were found in the writing of 170 students. The results supported the viability of a pedagogical linguistic approach of detecting emotionally disturbed students with the vision to take timely measures for their wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at deriving a profile of behavioral problem on this given population. A total sample of 200 was collected from children diagnosed with ID and Autism and those referred for behaviour modification. Assessment was done by using Behavioural Assessment Scales for Indian Children with Mental Retardation (BASIC MR Part B). Result indicated hyperactivity as the most common problem regardless of differences in socio - demographic profile. Children from Joint family were found to have lower percentage of behavioral problem. The children with severe (Intellectual Disability) ID's commonly reported problems in the domain of temper tantrum and Self Injurious Behaviour (SIB). Among moderate ID's problem behavior was reported in eight domains except for antisocial behavior and fear. This group reported higher percentage of cases in five domains than children with mild ID's i.e., violent and destructive behavior misbehaves with others, rebellious behavior, repetitive behavior and odd behavior. Least problem behavior was identified among low average intelligence group. Children with Autism predominantly shows problem in the domains of - hyperactivity, temper tantrum, repetitive behavior and fear, on the other hand children with ID's reported higher percentage of cases in violent and destructive behavior and misbehave with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported decision making (SDM) refers to the process of supporting people, whose decision making ability may be impaired, to make decisions and so promote autonomy and prevent the need for substitute decision making. There have been developments in SDM but mainly in the areas of intellectual disabilities and end-of-life care rather than in mental health. The main aim of this review was to provide an overview of the available evidence relevant to SDM and so facilitate discussion of how this aspect of law, policy and practice may be further developed in mental health services. The method used for this review was a Rapid Evidence Assessment which involved: developing appropriate search strategies; searching relevant databases and grey literature; then assessing, including and reviewing relevant studies. Included studies were grouped into four main themes: studies reporting stakeholders' views on SDM; studies identifying barriers to the implementation of SDM; studies highlighting ways to improve implementation; and studies on the impact of SDM. The available evidence on implementation and impact, identified by this review, is limited but there are important rights-based, effectiveness and pragmatic arguments for further developing and researching SDM for people with mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the normal mental and social development of all children it is essential that the early emotional attachment and exchange of perceptions and experiences between children and their parents should take place. Early detection of impairments and developing strategies to uphold the normal development of the child is a primary and extremely important step in addressing problems associated with disabilities. Parents especially mothers often suffer from psychological problems that arise from disabilities of their children. The problems faced by the mothers of the children said to differ according to the gender of the mentally challenged child. The study is focused on determining the level of Subjective Well-Being, Social Support, Hope, Stress and Coping of the mothers of male and female mentally retarded children. Among the total sample, 50 mothers were of male mentally challenged children and 50 mothers were of female mentally challenged children. After the administration of the tests, scores were obtained and statistical measures like mean, SD, standard error of difference and t-ratio were applied. It was observed that mothers of male mentally challenged perceived significantly more subjective wellbeing and feeling of hopein comparison to the mothers of female mentally challenged children no significant difference was observed in the level of social support, stress and coping. Implications of the study were stated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In striking down the death penalty for intellectually disabled and juvenile defendants, Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons have been understandably heralded as important holdings under the Court's Eighth Amendment jurisprudence that has found the death penalty "disproportional" for certain types of defendants and crimes. This Article argues, however, that the cases have a far more revolutionary reach than their conventional understanding. In both cases the Court went one step beyond its usual two-step analysis of assessing whether imposing the death penalty violated "evolving standards of decency." This extra step looked at why even though intellectual disability and youth were powerful mitigators, juries were not able to reliably use them in their decisionmaking. The Court thus articulated expressly for the first time what this Article calls the "unreliability principle :" if too great a risk exists that constitutionally protected mitigation cannot be reliably assessed, the unreliability means that the death penalty cannot be constitutionally imposed. In recognizing the unreliability principle, the Court has called into serious question the death penalty for other offenders to whom the principle applies, such as mentally ill defendants. And, unlike with the "evolving standards" analysis, the unreliability principle does not depend on whether a national consensus exists against the practice. This Article identifies the six Atkins-Roper factors that bring the unreliability principle into play and shows why they make application of the death penalty to mentally ill defendants unconstitutional. The principle, which finds its constitutional home in the cases of Woodson v. North Carolina and Lockett v. Ohio, has profound implications for the death penalty, and if taken to its logical endpoint calls into question the Court's core premise since Furman v. Georgia, that by providing individualized consideration of a defendant and his crime, the death penalty decision will be free of arbitrariness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]