School Scoliosis Screenings: Family Experiences and Potential Anxiety After Orthopaedic Referral.

Study Design: Cross-sequential study design that used data from Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC).

Objective: Examine anxiety symptoms and family experiences subsequent to school scoliosis screening (SSS) referrals.

Summary Of Background Data: Use of SSS remains controversial.

Effect of motivation on academic fluency performance in survivors of pediatric medulloblastoma.

It has been proposed previously that extrinsic motivation may enable survivors of childhood medulloblastoma to significantly improve aspects of neurocognitive performance. In healthy populations, enhanced motivation has been shown to promote academic fluency, a domain likely more relevant to the educational outcomes of pediatric medulloblastoma survivors than academic skill development. The present study investigates the effect of enhanced extrinsic motivation on fluent (i.

Differentiating ADHD from oral language difficulties in children: role of movements and effects of stimulant medication.

Background: The current study was designed to test if an objective measure of both attention and movement would differentiate children with Oral Language Disorders (OLD) from those with comorbid Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and if stimulant medication improved performance when both disorders were present.

Methods: The sample consisted of thirty-three children with an identified oral language disorder (of which 22 had comorbid ADHD) ages 6 to 13 who were enrolled in a yearlong intensive learning intervention program. Those on a stimulant medication were tested at baseline and again a year later on and off medication.

School Competence and Fluent Academic Performance: Informing Assessment of Educational Outcomes in Survivors of Pediatric Medulloblastoma.

Academic difficulties are widely acknowledged but not adequately studied in survivors of pediatric medulloblastoma. Although most survivors require special education services and are significantly less likely than healthy peers to finish high school, measured academic skills are typically average. This study sought to identify potential factors associated with academic difficulties in this population and focused on school competence and fluent academic performance.

Depressed Adolescents Treated with Exercise (DATE): A pilot randomized controlled trial to test feasibility and establish preliminary effect sizes.

The Depressed Adolescents Treated with Exercise (DATE) study evaluated a standardized aerobic exercise protocol to treat nonmedicated adolescents that met DSM-IV-TR criteria for major depressive disorder. From an initial screen of 90 individuals, 30 adolescents aged 12-18 years were randomized to either vigorous exercise (EXER) (>12 kg/kcal/week [KKW]) or a control stretching (STRETCH) activity (< 4 KKW) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the blinded clinician rating of the Children's Depression Rating Scale - Revised (CDRS-R) to assess depression severity and Actical (KKW) accelerometry 24hr/7days a week to assess energy expenditure and adherence.

Association of depressive symptoms with hippocampal volume in 1936 adults.

Hippocampal atrophy is reported in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, sample sizes were generally modest, and participant characteristics, including age, differed between studies. This study used a community sample to examine relationships between current depressive symptom severity and hippocampal volume across the adult lifespan.

Maternal depressive symptoms predict adolescent healthcare utilization and charges in youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Objective: To examine whether maternal depressive symptoms predict diabetes-related health care utilization and charges in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes.

Method: Mothers of adolescents ages 11-18 with Type 1 diabetes completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale at enrollment and at 12-month follow-up. Demographic and disease-related variables, including HbA1c, were also assessed.

Preliminary data suggesting the efficacy of attention training for school-aged children with ADHD.

A pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted to examine the initial efficacy of Pay Attention!, an intervention training sustained, selective, alternating, and divided attention, in children diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). After a diagnostic and baseline evaluation, school-aged children with ADHD were randomized to receive 16 bi-weekly sessions of Pay Attention! (n=54) or to a waitlist control group (n=51). Participants completed an outcome evaluation approximately 12 weeks after their baseline evaluation.

Separate and overlapping relationships of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

There is debate regarding the dimensional versus categorical nature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study utilized confirmatory factor analysis to examine this issue. ADHD symptoms rated on interviews and rating scales from a large sample of individuals (ages 3-17, 74 % male, 75 % Caucasian) with ADHD were examined (n = 242).

An open trial of a metacognitive executive function training for young children with ADHD.

Objective: Executive functioning is impaired in children with ADHD and putatively related to the pathogenesis of ADHD. The authors developed an innovative treatment teaching parents to administer a metacognitive executive function training intervention with children, promoting positive interactions during activities designed to improve attention and self-regulation.

Method: A total of 24 young children with ADHD and their parents participated in an 8-week open trial of the intervention designed to assess feasibility and initial efficacy.

Metaparenting: associations with parenting stress, child-rearing practices, and retention in parents of children at risk for ADHD.

The aim of the study is to investigate metaparenting (effortful, deliberate cognition about parenting) in parents of children at risk for ADHD including predictors, correlates, and intervention outcomes. Parents (n = 68) of children with significant ADHD symptoms (i.e.

Children of depressed mothers 1 year after remission of maternal depression: findings from the STAR*D-Child study.

Objective: Maternal major depressive disorder is an established risk factor for child psychopathology. The authors previously reported that 1 year after initiation of treatment for maternal depression, children of mothers whose depression remitted had significantly improved functioning and psychiatric symptoms. This study extends these findings by examining changes in psychiatric symptoms, behavioral problems, and functioning among children of depressed mothers during the first year after the mothers' remission from depression.

A comparison of various methods of measuring antidepressant medication adherence among children and adolescents with major depressive disorder in a 12-week open trial of fluoxetine.

Objective: In this study, we examined antidepressant (fluoxetine) medication adherence in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). Using electronic monitoring (EM) as the "reference standard," we compared various methods of measuring antidepressant medication adherence (including EM, pill counts, and medication diaries) among children and adolescents with MDD and examined the relationship between EM medication adherence and depression severity across time. We then suggested recommendations for clinical researchers and practicing clinicians regarding medication adherence assessment.

Psychometric properties of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology in adolescents.

Objective: The clinician-rated (QIDS-C₁₆) and self-report (QIDS-SR₁₆) versions of the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology have been extensively examined in adult populations. This study evaluated both versions of the QIDS and the 17-item Children's Depressive Rating Scale - Revised (CDRS-R) in an adolescent outpatient sample.

Method: Both the QIDS-C₁₆ and QIDS-SR₁₆ were completed for the adolescents.

DATE: Depressed adolescents treated with exercise: Study rationale and design for a pilot study.

There is an important need for non-medication interventions for depressed youth. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a standardized aerobic exercise regime to treat non-medicated clinically depressed adolescents based on adherence and completion rates, including 1) establishing effect sizes for the primary outcomes including the Chidren's Depression Rating Scale - Revised (CDRS-R) and Actical (energy expenditure data) as well as selected secondary outcomes; (e.g.

Remission of maternal depression: relations to family functioning and youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Family functioning and parenting were hypothesized to mediate the relation between remission of maternal depression and children's psychosocial adjustment. Participants were 114 mother-child dyads participating in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression Child 3-month follow-up. All mothers had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and were treated initially with citalopram; 33% of mothers experienced remission of depressive symptoms.

Course and Severity of Maternal Depression: Associations with Family Functioning and Child Adjustment.

Number of lifetime episodes, duration of current episode, and severity of maternal depression were investigated in relation to family functioning and child adjustment. Participants were the 151 mother-child pairs in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) child multi-site study. Mothers were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder; children (80 males and 71 females) ranged in age from 7 to 17 years.

Children of depressed mothers 1 year after the initiation of maternal treatment: findings from the STAR*D-Child Study.

Objective: Maternal depression is a consistent and well-replicated risk factor for child psychopathology. The authors examined the changes in psychiatric symptoms and global functioning in children of depressed women 1 year following the initiation of treatment for maternal major depressive disorder.

Method: Participants were 1) 151 women with maternal major depression who were enrolled in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study and 2) their eligible offspring who, along with the mother, participated in the child STAR*D (STAR*D-Child) study (mother-child pairs: N=151).

The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-report: a psychometric evaluation in patients with asthma and major depressive disorder.

Background: Despite the high co-occurrence between depression and asthma, few studies have addressed methods assessing the severity of depressive symptoms among patients with asthma.

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-report (QIDS-SR16), a 16-item measure of depressive symptom severity, in patients with asthma.

Methods: The psychometric properties of the QIDS-SR16 were compared at treatment exit with those of the 30-item self-report Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-SR30) and the 17-item clinician-rated Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD17) in 73 outpatients with asthma who were treated with citalopram or placebo for nonpsychotic major depressive disorder.

Fluoxetine versus placebo in preventing relapse of major depression in children and adolescents.

Objective: The authors compared fluoxetine and placebo in continuation treatment to prevent relapse of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents.

Method: After a detailed evaluation, children and adolescents 7-18 years of age with major depressive disorder were treated openly with fluoxetine. Those who had an adequate response after 12 weeks, as indicated by a Clinical Global Impression improvement score of 1 or 2 and a decrease of at least 50% in Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised score, were randomly assigned to receive fluoxetine or placebo for an additional 6 months.

Research knowledge among the participants in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS).

Objective: We examined the extent to which parents and adolescents participating in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS) understood key aspects of the study.

Method: TADS was a clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), their combination, and placebo in 439 adolescents (12-17 years old) with major depressive disorder. Six weeks after starting treatment, adolescents and their parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about critical elements of the trial.

Remission of maternal depression and child symptoms among single mothers: a STAR*D-Child report.

Objective: Offspring of depressed parents are at increased risk for depressive and other disorders. We recently found that when depressed mothers reached full remission over 3 months of treatment, a significant improvement in the children's disorders occurred. Since only a third of the mothers remitted, factors related to maternal remission rates, and thereby child outcomes, were important.

A pilot study of an electronic, adolescent version of the quick inventory of depressive symptomatology.

Background: Adolescent depression assessments are time-intensive, often requiring separate interviews with an adolescent and a parent/ informant. In adults, a self-rated, interactive voice response (IVR) version of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-IVR) has been shown to be reliable, valid, and sensitive to change. An adolescent version of the QIDS (QIDS-A-IVR) was created using speaker-independent voice recognition technology.

Texas Children's Medication Algorithm Project: update from Texas Consensus Conference Panel on Medication Treatment of Childhood Major Depressive Disorder.

Objective: To revise and update consensus guidelines for medication treatment algorithms for childhood major depressive disorder based on new scientific evidence and expert clinical consensus when evidence is lacking.

Method: A consensus conference was held January 13-14, 2005, that included academic clinicians and researchers, practicing clinicians, administrators, consumers, and families. The focus was to review, update, and incorporate the most current data to inform and recommend specific pharmacological approaches and clinical guidance for treatment of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents.