Assessing Callous-Unemotional Traits Across Early Adolescence: Further Evaluation of Short Versions.

Literature on the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional (ICU) traits has suggested different versions of the instrument for assessing these traits during development. However, consensus on the instrument version and the best factorial solution remains a matter of debate, with only a few studies having validated ICU versions from a longitudinal perspective. The current study aims to contribute to the literature by comparing ICU models in a longitudinal sample of early adolescents (N = 739; 70.

The developmental course of adolescent paranoia: a longitudinal analysis of the interacting role of mistrust and general psychopathology.

Paranoia is the erroneous idea that people are targeting you for harm, and the cognitive model suggests that symptoms increase with emotional and relational distress. A factor potentially associated with paranoia is mistrust, a milder form of suspiciousness. This study investigated the longitudinal course of non-clinical paranoia in a sample of 739 students (age range 10-12 at baseline assessment, 12-14 at second assessment) using data from the Social Mistrust Scale (SMS) and the paranoia subscale of the Specific Psychotic Experiences Questionnaire (SPEQ).

The association between social isolation, loneliness and psychological problems in young adults: A study during the acute phase of COVID-19 in Italy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments had to impose social isolation measures to safeguard the citizens' health. However, this could have affected psychological problems. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects associated with social and emotional isolation during the acute phase of the COVID-19 in Italy.

At-risk early adolescents profiles in the community: A cluster analysis using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire.

Early adolescence, with its several changes and demands, represents a delicate period of life. Several studies highlighted that during early adolescence, emotional and behavioral problems tend to increase. Using a person-centered approach, the present study explored the emotional and behavioral functioning profiles in a sample of Italian preadolescent students.

The Relation of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Bullying in Early Adolescence Is Independent from Sex and Age and Moderated by Conduct Problems.

In youths, callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems (CP) are independently associated with bullying perpetration and these effects are also observed when controlling for sex. Moreover, research indicates that the co-existence of high levels of both CU and CP further increase the risk. Although several studies have examined the relationship between CU traits and traditional bullying, few have also included a measure of cyberbullying and very few of them have focused the early adolescence.

Phantom Phone Signal: why it should be of interest for psychiatry.

Phantom Phone Signal (PPS) refers to the false perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking, when in fact it did not. A recent literature about PPS is growing, parallel to an increasing interest about its possible psychopathological implications. The present review aims to synthesize the current knowledge about the phenomenon, and to present a conceptual framework that integrates PPS as a putative index of psychopathology.

Association between anorexia nervosa and other specified eating or feeding disorders and paranoia in adolescents: what factors are involved?

Introduction: In eating disorders, the association with other psychiatric symptoms is of particular interest. The association between anorexia nervosa and psychotic symptoms is less studied than that with affective disorders (anxiety/depression). The aim of this study is to describe a psychotic symptom (paranoia) in adolescents with anorexia nervosa looking at several potential explicative associated factors: eating disorder symptoms, body image concerns, depression and social anxiety.

Emotional symptoms and their related factors in adolescents during the acute phase of Covid-19 outbreak in South Italy.

Background: Several studies have shown that during COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, emotional symptoms increased in the general population. Less is known about youths.

Methods: We surveyed a sample of Italian adolescents during the strictest quarantine period and assessed the effects of socio-demographic and psychological factors on current emotional symptoms.

Vitamin D deficiency is not related to eating habits in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Background And Aims: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by the impairment of communication and social interaction and by repetitive, restricted and stereotyped interests. ASD is often accompanied by comorbidities; eating disorders are frequent and imply important nutritional deficits (i.e.

Details of the Contents of Paranoid Thoughts in Help-Seeking Adolescents with Psychotic-Like Experiences and Continuity with Bullying and Victimization: A Pilot Study.

: Psychosis recognizes an interaction between biological and social environmental factors. Adversities are now recognized to be consistently associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). The purpose of this study was to describe the contents of paranoid symptoms and to focus on their relationship with bullying and victimization in help-seeking adolescents.

Coping Power Universal for middle school students: The first efficacy study.

Introduction: The present study examined the efficacy of the universal prevention version of the Coping Power Program in reducing behavioral and emotional problems and in promoting prosocial behaviors in middle-school classrooms.

Methods: The study used a randomized control study design; and the sample included 839 middle-school Italian youths (411 males), attending 40 middle-school classrooms. The students were in seventh or eighth grade, and they had an average age of 13.

Attempting to disentangle the relationship between impulsivity and longitudinal self-harm: Epidemiological analysis of UK household survey data.

Background: Impulsivity may be an important risk factor in terms of future self-harm. However, the extent of this, whether it may relate to self-harm that is new in onset and/or repetition of self-harm, and the detail of any interaction with mood instability (MI) and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) requires detailed examination.

Aims: We used the 2000 Adult Psychiatry Morbidity Survey and an 18-month follow-up data to test hypotheses relating to the role of impulsivity, CSA and MI in the inception and persistence of self-harm.

A glance into psychiatric comorbidity in adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Background: Eating disorders display several psychiatric comorbidities. The aim of this study was to describe these comorbidities in a group of adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa or OSFED (Other Specified Feedind or Eating Disorder). We have evaluated the comorbidity both with a clinical interview (categorical comorbidities) and with a self-report interview (dimensional comorbidities) in order to compare the two profiles.

Epidemiological pattern of bullying using a multi-assessment approach: Results from the Bullying and Youth Mental Health Naples Study (BYMHNS).

Background: Bullying is a widespread phenomenon that has captured attention from mental health researchers. Several studies have assessed bullying prevalence with some methodological concerns.

Objectives: Preliminary, we analyzed the psychometric properties of two bullying scales for victimization (the multidimensional peer victimization scale - MPVS) and for perpetration (the bully subscale of the Illinois bully scale - IBS-B); then, we estimated bullying prevalence; finally, we evaluated the effect of gender and classroom on the phenomenon.

Phantom Phone Signals in youths: Prevalence, correlates and relation to psychopathology.

The term Phantom Phone Signals (PPS) refers to the perception of a mobile phone ringing, vibrating and blinking when in fact it did not. Data in youth are lacking, and controversies exist on whether PPS is related to psychopathology. In the present study, we showed data on the prevalence of PPS in a population (N = 2959) of students aged 10 to 14 years.

Differences in Metabolic Factors Between Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain and Non-pharmacological Obesity in Youths.

Background: Youth exposed to antipsychotics may experience several metabolic consequences that often limit the effectiveness of this class of drugs.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare several metabolic markers between subjects who experienced antipsychotic-induced weight gain and untreated obese patients.

Methods: Nineteen non-diabetic youth (mean age 159 months, mean body mass index z-score 1.

Putative Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Use of Lithium in Children and Adolescents: A Critical Review.

Background: Lithium is a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder in adults, but its mechanism of action is still far from clear. Furthermore, evidences of its use in pediatric populations are sparse, not only for bipolar disorders, but also for other possible indications.

Objectives: To provide a synthesis of published data on the possible mechanisms of action of lithium, as well as on its use in pediatric samples, including pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety data.

Psychotic-like experiences in help-seeking adolescents: Dimensional exploration and association with different forms of bullying victimization - A developmental social psychiatry perspective.

Background: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are common in the general population and increase the risk of psychotic disorders. Adolescents are a high-risk group of this condition. Stressful events, such as bullying, have a role in the onset of PLEs.

Conduct disorders and psychopathy in children and adolescents: aetiology, clinical presentation and treatment strategies of callous-unemotional traits.

Conduct Disorder (CD) is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights of others and major age-appropriate social norms or rules are violated. Callous Unemotional (CU) traits are a meaningful specifier in subtyping CD for more severe antisocial and aggressive behaviours in adult psychopathology; they represent the affective dimension of adult psychopathy, but they can be also detected in childhood and adolescence. The CU traits include lack of empathy, sense of guilt and shallow emotion, and their characterization in youth can improve our diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic abilities.

Using Directed Acyclic Graphs in Epidemiological Research in Psychosis: An Analysis of the Role of Bullying in Psychosis.

Modern psychiatric epidemiology researches complex interactions between multiple variables in large datasets. This creates difficulties for causal inference. We argue for the use of probabilistic models represented by directed acyclic graphs (DAGs).

Different Immune Signature in Youths Experiencing Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain Compared to Untreated Obese Patients.

Objectives: To assess cytokine and chemokine levels in youth experiencing antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG) compared to obese patients, hypothesizing a different "immune signature" between the two kinds of obesity.

Methods: We compared a group of youth experiencing AIWG (N 19, mean age 159 months, mean body mass index [BMI] z-score 1.81) and an age-, gender-, and BMI-matched group of untreated obese patients (N 19, mean age 147 months, mean BMI z-score 2) for a wide range of cytokines and chemokines by using a multiplex ELISA test.

Update on the safety of second generation antipsychotics in youths: a call for collaboration among paediatricians and child psychiatrists.

During the past decade, a substantial increase in the use of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) has occurred for a number of juvenile psychiatric disorders, often as off-label prescriptions. Although they were thought to be safer than older, first generation antipsychotics, mainly due to a lower risk of neurological adverse reactions, recent studies have raised significant concerns regarding their safety regarding metabolic, endocrinological and cardiovascular side effects. Aim of this paper is to update with a narrative review, the latest findings on safety of SGAs in youths.