This study describes a child adaptation of the Sheehan Disability Scale, a measure of impairment among anxious adults. Parallel child and parent report forms were created to assess the degree to which anxiety interferes with child and parent social, educational/occupational, and family functioning. Data from 267 anxious children (140 boys ages…

An accumulating body of literature has shown a link between early pubertal maturation and internalizing problems, particularly among girls. Our knowledge is, however, limited with regard to what accounts for this association. Based on a hypothesis that early maturing girls have heightened stress sensitivity that increases the risk of internalizing…

This investigation seeks to establish the psychometric properties of an adapted measure of experiential avoidance (EA) in the parenting context by assessing its relation to other parenting constructs and psychosocial correlates of child anxiety in a clinical sample. Participants were 154 children (90 female, 64 male) diagnosed with anxiety…

Jason is a 17-year-old high school senior currently classified as a student who is Other Health Impaired due to anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and germ phobia (an intense fear of something that poses little actual threat--but can cause severe anxiety or a full panic attack). He also has a severe learning disability in reading. Jason is…

Background: The phenotype of children and adults with fragile X syndrome (FXS) includes a number of problem behaviours such as inattention, social anxiety and aggressive outbursts. However, very little work has been conducted with young children with FXS less than 5 years of age to examine the developmental pathway of problem behaviours in this…

This paper discusses how school counselors can support students suffering from anxiety. The causes and prevalence of anxiety are presented as well as the differences between normal and problematic anxiety. The role of school personnel in early identification is discussed with particular emphasis on the responsibilities of the school counselor.…

Background: We have few data on incidence of psychiatric disorders among adolescents. This study examined first incidence of disorders among adolescents and baseline factors which increased or decreased risk of new onset cases a year later. Methods: Data were analyzed from Teen Health 2000 (TH2K), a probability sample of 4,175 youths 11-17 and…

Although some theories suggest that anxious individuals selectively remember threatening stimuli, findings remain contradictory despite a considerable amount of research. A quantitative integration of 165 studies with 9,046 participants (clinical and nonclinical samples) examined whether a memory bias exists and which moderator variables influence…

This study examines the impact of military trauma on contextualized emotional images in children's dreams, and the function of the intensity and valence of the emotional images in protecting mental health from negative trauma impact. Participants were 345 Palestinian children and adolescents (aged 5-16 years) belonging to high trauma (Gaza) and…

Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often delayed in high-functioning children with milder and more varied forms of ASD. The substantial overlap between ASD and other psychiatric disorders is thought to contribute to this delay. This study examined the endorsement of DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for ASD based on semi-structured parent…

This project provides a comprehensive overview of the research literature on social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adolescents and concludes by offering a set of 10 group therapy lesson plans for SAD that therapists can use in their practice. The overview includes a description of social anxiety disorder and highlights various theories of anxiety. The…

A significant proportion of the US young people are currently involved in the juvenile justice system. Of all youth in the United States, approximately 21% suffer from a diagnosable mental or substance use disorder that causes at least minimal impairment. This estimate is likely 2-3 times higher for youth who enter the juvenile justice system. A…

Objectives: The authors reviewed medical student encounters during 3 years of a required psychiatry clerkship that were recorded on a web-based system of six broad competency domains (similar to ACGME-recommended domains). These were used to determine diagnoses of patients seen, clinical skills practiced, and experiences in interpersonal and…

Only about half of Latino, Black and Native American students graduate from high school. Much of the research explains school dropout using statistical relationships between dropout rates and a variety of "risk factors" attributed to students, like income, race/ethnicity, academic achievement and behaviors and attitudes. In contrast, this study…

Selective Mutism (SM) in children and adolescents is characterized by a persistent failure to speak in certain social situations including at school or with friends despite the ability to speak and comprehend language. Not due to a specific communication disorder, SM is actually a pervasive psychological problem that lies along the continuum of…