A Pilot Study Examining the Use of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule in Community-Based Mental Health Clinics.

Community-based mental health (CMH) services play an important, but relatively understudied role in the identification and treatment of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who may be receiving care for other psychiatric conditions. Little is known about the role of standardized ASD assessment measures administered by providers working in generalist community-based mental health (CMH) settings. This pilot study extracted data from three CMH clinics to examine the use of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) by 17 CMH providers who received ASD assessment training with 62 youth ( = 10.

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.

Training child and adolescent psychiatrists to be culturally competent.

The changing face of the United States urges the field of child and adolescent psychiatry toward more culturally sensitive care. This article gives a comprehensive review of the history of cultural education, empirical findings that speak to its need, and the challenges that may be faced in the conception and implementation of a cultural competency curriculum. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's model curriculum is presented to help child and adolescent residency programs design one that is specific to their resources and needs.

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).

Remissions in maternal depression and child psychopathology: a STAR*D-child report.

Context: Children of depressed parents have high rates of anxiety, disruptive, and depressive disorders that begin early, often continue into adulthood, and are impairing.

Objective: To determine whether effective treatment with medication of women with major depression is associated with reduction of symptoms and diagnoses in their children.

Design: Assessments of children whose depressed mothers were being treated with medication as part of the multicenter Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial conducted (between December 16, 2001 and April 24, 2004) in broadly representative primary and psychiatric outpatient practices.

Children of currently depressed mothers: a STAR*D ancillary study.

Objective: To assess the current and lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children of currently depressed mothers and to assess the association of clinical features of maternal depression (i.e., severity, chronicity, and clinical features) with child psychopathology.