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A body of accumulating evidence showed that dissociation, obsessive-beliefs, and poor self-esteem are causally implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adult samples. This study aimed at expanding and refining the current evidence in children and adolescents. A total of 41 patients with OCD and 51 healthy individuals, aged between 11 and 17, were included in the study. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI), Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES), Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale – Child Version (RCADS- CV), and Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire - Child Version (OBQ-CV) were completed by participants. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Present and Lifetime Version DSM-5 (K-SADS PL DSM-5) and Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS-C) were further administered among juvenile OCD patients. Specific phobias (39.0%), depressive disorders (22.0%), social phobia (17.1%), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (12.2%) were the more prevalent comorbid clinical conditions in the OCD group. A-DES scores were significantly associated with both obsessions and compulsions subscales of the CY-BOCS-C in the clinical group. OCD-afflicted youths had lower levels of general self-esteem than healthy controls (HC). Most and foremost, low general self-esteem and maternal psychopathology significantly contributed to the development and maintenance of juvenile OCD. We found no support for the significant associations of obsessional beliefs with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Compared to healthy youths, the results suggested that juvenile OCD seems to pursue a different developmental pathway concerning dissociative symptomatology and self-concept.

Background: To investigate the relationship between symptomatic improvement and functional improvement in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were being treated with OROS methylphenidate. Methods: Parents evaluated the severity of ADHD symptoms on the Turgay-DSM-IV ADHD/Disruptive Behavior Disorders Scale (T-DSM-IV). They assessed functioning on the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale - Parent Form (WFIRS-P), and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was used to assess quality of life. Clinicians rated global outcome on the Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI). Response was measured in terms of the following criteria: a 20\% change in symptoms, a CGI-I score that was much improved (2) or very much improved (1), or an improvement of 0.25 (the minimally important difference) on the WFIRS. Improvement in quality of life was defined as >= 20\% change in PedsQL score. Results: Sixty-three children completed the study. After 12 weeks, 77.7\% of patients met the a priori criteria for treatment response rate. Among patients who exhibited improvement in symptoms, 42.9\% also showed improved functioning. Among those who showed improved functioning, 95.5\% showed improvement in symptoms. Of patients who showed improvement in symptoms, 34.6\% percent also showed improvement in quality of life. Of those who showed improvement in quality of life, 94.4\% also showed improvement in symptoms. Conclusions: Evaluation of changes in functional improvement, quality of life improvement, and symptom improvement during ADHD treatment enables clinicians to identify individuals whose functional impairment/quality of life persists despite symptom improvement. On that basis, additional treatment interventions can be organized for those individuals.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the duration of breastfeeding in relation to various parafunctional oral habits in children with anxiety disorders.The study includes 195 children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and age- and gender-matched 255 healthy control subjects. Diagnoses were made with semistructured interview (K-SADS). Information about breastfeeding and parafunctional oral habits was investigated via a questionnaire prepared for the study.The mean age was 11.50 ± 2.50 years for clinical group and 11.27 ± 2.33 years for controls. Fifty-four percent of the clinical group and 56% of the control group were female subjects. Duration of exclusive (4.72 ± 2.86, 5.55 ± 2.36; p = 0.002) and total breastfeeding (12.38 ± 10.32, 15.89 ± 9.09; p 0.001) was significantly lower and duration of bottle-feeding (22.30 ± 19.54, 16.64 ± 12.79; p = 0.005) was higher than controls in the clinical group. Duration of exclusive breastfeeding was significantly correlated with duration of bottle-feeding (r = -0.263, p 0.001) and duration of pacifier use (r = -0.249, p = 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed that duration of exclusive breastfeeding (β = 0.88, p = 0.006) and bottle-feeding (β = 1.02, p = 0.005), as well as various oral habits, was associated with diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.Nutrition methods in early years of life may result in long-term consequences regarding anxiety disorders for children. Clinicians should encourage parents for a shorter duration of bottle-feeding and a longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding.

OBJECTIVE: The concept of thought-action fusion has long been recognized as a cognitive vulnerability factor for psyhopathology that given its clinical relevance and importance reliable assessment of this phenomenon seems to be essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Thought-Action Fusion Inventory for Children (TAFIC) among Turkish children and adolescents. METHODS: Five hundred and ninety-one subjects (mean age=14.16±2.08 years) participated in the study. Voluntered subjects completed the TAFIC, Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Revised–Child Self-Report (SCARED-R-CV), and Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the original four-factor structure excellently fit the data on the Turkish version of the TAFIC. Internal reliability of the instrument was acceptable to excellent, with Kuder-Richardson coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.89. The convergent validity of the TAFIC was adequate, with significant correlation coefficients with magical ideation, meta-cognitions, depression, and anxiety related emotional problems. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, we concluded that the Turkish version of the TAFIC has promising psychometric properties in assessing thought-action fusion among children and adolescents.