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Examined the prevalence of anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders in the parents of anxiety disordered (AD) children relative to children with no psychological disorder (NPD). The specificity of relationships between child and parent anxiety disorders was also investigated. Results revealed higher prevalence rates of anxiety disorders in parents of AD children relative to NPD children. Specific child-mother relationships were found between child separation anxiety and panic disorder and maternal panic disorder, as were child and maternal social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and specific phobias. Findings are discussed with reference to theory, clinical implications, and future research needs.

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS-C) (Laurent et al. Psychol Asses 1: 326-338, 1999) in a sample of 139 children (ages 7-14 years) diagnosed with a principal anxiety disorder. Results from this study provided support for the convergent validity of the PANAS-C with established measures of childhood anxiety and depression. As predicted, negative affect was significantly associated with measures of anxiety and depression whereas positive affect was associated with depression. However, weaknesses in discriminant validity were found, most notably with regard to social anxiety. Consistent with previous research, social anxiety was significantly associated with low levels of positive affect (PA). Furthermore, results from regression analyses indicated that PA made a significant unique contribution to the prediction of social anxiety as well as depression scores. Findings are discussed with regard to the usefulness of the PANAS-C to differentiate anxiety and depression in children with anxiety disorders.

The study examined the shape of therapeutic alliance using latent growth curve modeling and data from multiple informants (therapist, child, mother, father). Children (n = 86) with anxiety disorders were randomized to family-based cognitive-behavioral treatment (FCBT; N = 47) with exposure tasks or to family education, support, and attention (FESA; N = 39). Children in FCBT engaged in exposure tasks in Sessions 9-16, whereas FESA participants did not. Alliance growth curves of FCBT and FESA youths were compared to examine the impact of exposure tasks on the shape of the alliance (between-subjects). Within FCBT, the shape of alliance prior to exposure tasks was compared with the shape of alliance following exposure tasks (within-subjects). Therapist, child, mother, and father alliance ratings indicated significant growth in the alliance across treatment sessions. Initial alliance growth was steep and subsequently slowed over time, regardless of the use of exposure tasks. Data did not indicate a rupture in the therapeutic alliance following the introduction of in-session exposures. Results are discussed in relation to the processes, mediators, and ingredients of efficacious interventions as well as in terms of the dissemination of empirically supported treatments., (Copyright 2009 APA)

The authors examined the effect of a positive emotional state on interpretation bias for threat in children with anxiety disorders. Participants were 34 children with anxiety disorders and 34 children without any psychological disorders who were randomly assigned to either a positive or neutral emotion induction condition. Consistent with the broaden-and-build theory, children with anxiety disorders exhibited an interpretation bias for threat, but not when they were in a positive emotional state. Furthermore, results indicated that positive emotional state made a unique prediction of interpretation bias score, whereas state anxiety did not. Findings are discussed with reference to theory, clinical implications, and suggestions for future research., ((Copyright) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.)

The present study aimed to examine somatic complaints in children with anxiety disorders compared to non-anxious control children and whether somatic complaints predict poorer academic performance. The sample consisted of 108 children and adolescents (aged 8-14 years) assessed by a structured diagnostic interview: 69 with a principal (i.e., most severe and/or interfering) anxiety disorder diagnosis and 39 non-anxious community controls. Established child and parent report measure of somatic complaints, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms were completed. The participants' primary teacher was used to assess academic performance. Findings indicated that children with anxiety disorders reported more somatic complaints than the non-anxious community controls. Furthermore, a greater frequency of somatic complaints uniquely predicted poorer academic performance beyond that accounted for by anxiety and internalizing symptoms based on both child and parent report measures. Knowledge about somatic complaints in children with anxiety disorders and their relation to academic functioning may allow for early identification and prevent academic problems.

The authors examined maternal and paternal reports of family functioning and their relationship with child outcomes as well as the association between anxiety and depression in family members and family functioning. Results reveal that maternal and paternal reports of family functioning were both significantly associated with worse child outcomes, including child anxiety disorder (AD) severity, anxiety symptoms, and child global functioning. Maternal and paternal anxiety and depression predicted worse family functioning, whereas child report of anxiety and depression did not. Parents of children with ADs reported significantly worse family functioning and behavior control, but only fathers reported worse problem solving and affective involvement compared with fathers of children with no psychological disorders. Findings from this study suggest that paternal as well as maternal anxiety and depression play a role in worse family functioning in children with ADs and that unhealthier family functioning is associated with worse child outcomes in this population., ((c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.)

Background: Prescription opioids are abused throughout the United States. Several monitoring programs are in existence, however, none of these systems provide up-to-date information on prescription opioid abuse. This article describes the use of poison centers as a real-time, geographically specific, surveillance system for prescription opioid abuse and compares our system with an existing prescription drug abuse monitoring program, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)., Methods: Data were collected from eight geographically dispersed poison centers for a period of twelve months. Any call involving buprenorphine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, and oxycodone was considered a case. Any case coded as intentional exposure (abuse, intentional misuse, suicide, or intentional unknown) was regarded as misuse and abuse. Comparative data were obtained from DAWN., Results: Poison center rates of abuse and misuse were highest for hydrocodone at 3.75 per 100,000 population, followed by oxycodone at 1.81 per 100,000 population. DAWN emergency department (ED) data illustrate a similar pattern of abuse with most mentions involving hydrocodone and oxycodone. Poison center data indicate that people aged 18 to 25 had the highest rates of abuse. DAWN reported the majority of ED mentions among 35 to 44-year-olds. Geographically, Kentucky had the uppermost rates of abuse and misuse for all opioids combined at 20.69 per 100,000 population. CONCLUSIONS. Comparing poison center data to DAWN yielded mostly comparable results, including hydrocodone as the most commonly mentioned drug. Our results suggest poison center data can be used as an indicator for prescription opioid abuse and misuse and can provide timely, geographically specific information on prescription drug abuse.

Our primary goal was to examine the relations of the specific components of the tripartite model of anxiety and depression [Clark, L. A., Watson, D. (1991). Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 316-336] to two types of social anxiety (social interaction anxiety and performance anxiety) in 148 individuals with social phobia. In line with previous research, overall social anxiety was more closely related to the anhedonic depression (AD) or low positive affect factor of the tripartite model than to the physiological hyerarousal factor, controlling for general distress. However, as hypothesized, performance anxiety was more closely associated with the physiological hyerarousal factor, whereas social interaction anxiety was more closely associated with the AD or low positive affect factor. We also examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ; [Watson, D., Clark, L. A. (1991). The mood and anxiety symptom questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Iowa City]). Intercorrelations of the MASQ subscales were as expected, but correlations with measures of social anxiety, nonsocial anxiety, and depression provided only modest support for convergent and discriminant validity. Findings from this study provide a more detailed account of the specific components of the tripartite model that characterize the diversity of symptoms subsumed by social phobia.

Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) are the most common abnormal cytological result on Papanicolaou (Pap) smear. We analyzed four management strategies in a hypothetical cohort of women divided by age group: (1) immediate colposcopy, (2) repeat cytology after an ASC-US Pap smear result, (3) conventional Pap with reflex human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, and (4) liquid-based cytology with reflex HPV testing. Parameter variables were collected from previously published data. Strategies that included reflex HPV testing had the lowest overall costs for all age groups combined. Repeat Pap smears had the highest number of true positive results throughout all stages but also had the uppermost number of missed cancers and highest costs. Immediate colposcopy had the second highest overall costs and detected fewer true positive results than liquid-based cytology. Younger women (aged 18-24 yr) consistently had higher total costs for all strategies investigated. Using the incremental cost-effectiveness (CE) ratio, the immediate colposcopy strategy was more costly and less effective than liquid-based cytology and, therefore, was dominated. The incremental CE ratio was lowest for liquid-based cytology compared with conventional cytology and liquid-based cytology with reflex HPV testing was the most cost-effective strategy., (Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)