Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome and Autism Traits are Empirically Distinct from each Other and from Other Psychopathology Dimensions.

Recently, an association between cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS), formerly sluggish cognitive tempo, and autism has been documented, but it is not known if the association is due to overlapping autism and CDS traits or if CDS is empirically distinct from autism. Mothers rated 2,209 children 4-17 years (1,177 with autism, 725 with ADHD-Combined type, and 307 with ADHD-Inattentive type) on the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Factor analysis of the Pediatric Behavior Scale items indicated that CDS and autism traits are empirically distinct from each other without cross-loading and are distinct from eight other factors (attention deficit, impulsivity, hyperactivity, oppositional behavior, irritability/anger, conduct problems, depression, and anxiety).

Somatic Symptoms in a Population-Based Sample from Childhood to Adolescence: Stability and Concurrent and Longitudinal Predictors.

The present study investigated group and individual stability and predictors of somatic symptoms from childhood to adolescence in a population-based sample. 259 youth were evaluated at 6-12 years (M 8.1) and 8 years later (M 15.

Reactive, Proactive, Relational, and Slow Dissipation of Aggression in Children.

Objective: This study investigated the associations between aggression subtypes (reactive, proactive, relational, and slow dissipation of aggression), callous-unemotional traits (CU), irritability (IRR), and sex among children.

Method: The sample included 508 children 5 to 12 years of age, rated by their mothers.

Results: A 4-factor model of aggression subtypes (reactive, proactive, relational, slow dissipation) provided a good fit to the data.

Pharmacotherapy guideline concordance for major depressive disorder and its link to functioning via symptom change.

Introduction: Alleviation of symptom severity for major depressive disorder (MDD) is known to be associated with a lagged improvement of functioning. Pharmacotherapy guidelines support algorithms for MDD treatment. However, it is currently unclear whether concordance with guidelines influences functional recovery.

Callous-unemotional traits moderate the association between inhibitory control and disruptive behavior problems.

The presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits may not be unique to conduct disorder (CD) but also extend to oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). While a distinct neurocognitive profile characterizes CU traits, it remains unclear whether this CU-related neurocognitive profile differs between youth with CD and ODD. This study investigated whether CU traits moderate the relationship between inhibitory control and CD or ODD symptoms.

Characterizing psychopharmacological prescribing practices in a large cohort of adolescents with borderline personality disorder.

Background: Psychiatric medications are not efficacious for treating borderline personality disorder (BPD), yet many patients with BPD are prescribed multiple psychiatric medications. This study aimed to (1) characterize psychiatric medication prescribing practices in adolescents with BPD and (2) assess whether demographic features are associated with prescribing practices.

Method: This sample was N = 2950 pediatric patients with BPD (ages 10-19) across the U.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Autism and ADHD.

Our study compared oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in children with autism to ADHD-Combined presentation and ADHD-Inattentive presentation. Mothers of 2,400 children 3-17 years old with autism and/or ADHD completed the Pediatric Behavior Scale. ADHD-Combined was most strongly associated with ODD, with an ODD prevalence of 53% in children with ADHD-Combined only.

Measuring Children's Reward and Punishment Sensitivity: An Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Contingency Response Rating Scale.

Existing research shows that children's responses to rewards and punishments are essential for understanding attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and callous-unemotional traits. The present study developed the Contingency Response Rating Scale (CRRS) to fulfill the need for a reliable and valid measure of children's contingency response style that is brief, easy to use in applied settings, and provides additional information to existing clinical measures. We examined the psychometric properties of the CRRS in a sample of 196 children (ages 5-12), most of whom were referred to evaluate attention and behavior problems in an outpatient clinic.

Synthetic Marijuana: Assessment of Usage, Motivation and Associated Risks in Adolescent Substance Users.

Objectives: Use of Synthetic and designer products, including synthetic marijuana (SM), among adolescents poses a major risk to public health. Little is known about the motivating factors of synthetic substance use in adolescents. This study examined the motivations, predictors, perceived risks and benefits, and differences with SM versus natural marijuana among adolescents.

Novel Quality Control Metric for the Pharmacotherapy of Major Depressive Disorder: Measuring Guideline Concordance and Its Impact on Symptom Severity.

Studies suggest that people with major depressive disorder (MDD) often receive treatment that is not concordant with practice guidelines. To evaluate this, we (1) developed a guideline concordance algorithm for MDD pharmacotherapy (GCA-8), (2) scored it using clinical data, and (3) compared its explanation of patient-reported symptom severity to a traditional concordance measure. This study evaluated 1,403 adults (67% female, 85% non-Hispanic/Latino White, mean age 43 years) with non-psychotic MDD (per codes), from the Penn State Psychiatry Clinical Assessment and Rating Evaluation System (PCARES) registry (visits from February 1, 2015, to April 13, 2021).

Treatment Utilization Pattern of Preschool Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify patterns of ADHD care, including factors that guide selection and sequencing of treatments in a large nationwide sample of preschool-aged youth over the past 6 years.

Method: A retrospective cohort study utilizing a large electronic health record (TriNetX) of nearly 24,000 children ages 3 to 6 diagnosed with ADHD.

Results: One in three preschoolers with ADHD were prescribed psychotropic medication, most commonly methylphenidate and guanfacine.

Social and Monetary Reward Processing in Youth with Early Emerging Personality Pathology: An RDoC-Informed Study.

Very little is known about the mechanisms underlying the development of personality disorders, hindering efforts to address early risk for these costly and stigmatized disorders. In this study, we examined associations between social and monetary reward processing, measured at the neurophysiological level, and personality pathology, operationalized through the Level of Personality Functioning (LPF), in a sample of early adolescent females (M = 12.21 years old, SD = 1.

Gender differences in transdiagnostic domains and function of adults measured by DSM-5 assessment scales at the first clinical visit: a cohort study.

Background: Measurement-based care has been called for as best practice in psychiatric care and learning health systems and use of transdiagnostic measures was suggested as part of the DSM-5. Our objective is to examine gender differences in first visit socioeconomic, transdiagnostic, and functional characteristics of a dynamic, real-world measurement-based care cohort.

Methods: Transdiagnostic, functional, and clinical measures were collected from 3,556 patients at first visit in an ambulatory psychiatric clinic.

A Pilot Study on the Effectiveness of Prazosin as a Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-Related Nightmares in Women with Bulimia Nervosa.

Objectives Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are reported in over 36% of individuals with bulimia nervosa. To date, none of the clinical trials have examined nightmare reduction in this population. We evaluated the effectiveness of prazosin in bulimic females experiencing PTSD-related nightmares.

Physical Aggression Toward Others and Self: Correlates in Autism, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Population-Based Child Samples.

Objective: This is the first study investigating physical aggression toward others and toward self (self-injurious behavior [SIB]) and its association with comorbid disorders and symptoms and demographics in large autism, ADHD, and population-based samples.

Method: The referred sample comprised 2,456 children (1,415 with autism, 739 with ADHD-combined, and 302 with ADHD-inattentive) aged 2 to 17 years. The population-based sample consisted of 665 children evaluated at baseline (6-12 years of age) and 259 reevaluated at follow-up (12-17 years).

Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (CDS) (Formerly Sluggish Cognitive Tempo), Autism, and Insomnia Symptoms in Childhood Predict CDS in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study.

Our study is the first using multiple variables to compare concurrent with longitudinal predictors of cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS). The population-based sample comprised 376 youth (mean baseline age 8.7 and follow-up 16.

Effects of a Primary Care-Based Engagement Intervention for Improving Use of ADHD Treatments.

Introduction: Uptake of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatments is low in primary care. A quasi-experimental study assessed the impact of a primary care-based engagement intervention to improve ADHD treatment use.

Method: Families of children with ADHD from four pediatric clinics were invited to participate in a two-stage intervention.

Agreement between mother, father, and teacher ratings of cognitive disengagement syndrome (sluggish cognitive tempo) in children with autism and children with ADHD.

No studies have analyzed differences between mother, father, and teacher ratings of cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS; formerly sluggish cognitive tempo). The sample included 1,115 children with autism and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 4-16 years of age who were rated by mothers on the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Subsets of these children were also rated by fathers and/or teachers, resulting in 896 mother/father, 964 mother/teacher, and 745 father/teacher dyads.

The Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale: Updated Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, and National Caregiver Norms.

Objective: To provide the first caregiver-report national norms for the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (DBDRS) and an updated evaluation of its factor structure and measurement invariance across child sex, informant sex, and child age.

Methods: Caregivers of children aged 5-12 years (N = 962) based in the United States completed the four DBDRS subscales. Using both severity scoring and dichotomous scoring procedures, confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor model of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, oppositional defiant symptoms, and conduct disorder symptoms.

Multi-Informant Ratings of Childhood Limited Prosocial Emotions: Mother, Father, and Teacher Perspectives.

Objective: Modest agreement between mothers', fathers', and teachers' reports of child psychopathology can cause diagnostic ambiguity. Despite this, there is little research on informant perspectives of youth's limited prosocial emotions (LPEs). We examined the relationship between mother-, father-, and teacher-reported LPE in a clinical sample of elementary school-aged children.

Comparison of the Cognitive Disengagement and Hypoactivity Components of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Autism, ADHD, and Population-Based Samples of Children.

An international Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) Work Group proposed a new term for SCT, "cognitive disengagement syndrome," that more accurately describes the syndrome than does SCT. According to the Work Group, symptoms of SCT represent a cognitive dimension (cognitive disengagement) and a motor dimension (hypoactivity). Our study determined (1) if distinct factors representing cognitive disengagement and hypoactivity emerged when SCT items were factor analyzed and (2) the degree of differences in cognitive disengagement and hypoactivity within diagnostic groups.

Report of a Work Group on Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Key Research Directions and a Consensus Change in Terminology to Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome.

Objective: The aim of this work was 2-fold: (1) to evaluate current knowledge and identify key directions in the study of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT); and (2) to arrive at a consensus change in terminology for the construct that reflects the current science and may be more acceptable to researchers, clinicians, caregivers, and patients.

Method: An international Work Group was convened that, in early 2021, compiled an online archive of all research studies on SCT and summarized the current state of knowledge, noted methodological issues, and highlighted future directions, and met virtually on 10 occasions in 2021 to discuss these topics and terminology.

Results: Major progress has been made over the last decade in advancing our understanding of SCT across the following domains of inquiry: construct measurement and stability; genetic, environmental, pathophysiologic, and neuropsychological correlates; comorbid conditions; functional impairments; and psychosocial and medication interventions.