The normative development of emotion regulation strategy use in children and adolescents: a 2-year follow-up study.

Background: Emotion regulation involves intrinsic and extrinsic processes responsible for managing one's emotions toward goal accomplishment. Research on emotion regulation has predominantly focused on early developmental periods and the majority of emotion regulation research examining the pre-adult years has lacked a comprehensive theoretical framework. The current study examined the use of two strategies of emotion regulation during childhood and adolescents, as conceptualised within Gross's (1998) process-oriented model.

Nighttime fears of children and adolescents: frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, disclosure, and coping behaviours.

The present school-based study investigated the nighttime fears of 511 children and adolescents, aged 8-16 years. Participants were assessed using a structured interview about the frequency, content, severity, harm expectations, coping strategies, and disclosure of nighttime fears. Results indicated that nighttime fears are a common experience, with nearly two-thirds (64.

A comparison of cognitive-behavioral therapy, sertraline, and their combination for adolescent depression.

Objective: To evaluate cognitive-behavioral therapy, antidepressant medication alone, and combined CBT and antidepressant medication in the treatment of depressive disorders in adolescents.

Method: Seventy-three adolescents (ages 12-18 years) with a primary diagnosis of DSM-IV major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, or depressive disorder not otherwise specified were randomly allocated to one of three treatments. Treatment outcome measures were administered before and after acute treatment, and at a 6-month follow-up.

Treatment of children's nighttime fears: the need for a modern randomised controlled trial.

Children's nighttime fears are common and cause significant interference to the child's functioning as well as causing much distress for the child and family. Therefore, effective and cost-efficient interventions are urgently needed by mental health professionals and counsellors. The authors review 29 studies, which investigated the efficacy of psychosocial treatment for children's nighttime fears.

Effects on parental mental health of an education and skills training program for parents of young children with autism: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the impact of a parent education and behavior management intervention (PEBM) on the mental health and adjustment of parents with preschool children with autism.

Method: A randomized, group-comparison design involving a parent education and counseling intervention to control for nonspecific therapist effects and a control sample was used. Two metropolitan and two rural regions were randomly allocated to intervention groups (n = 70) or control (n = 35).

Sexually abused children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder: assessment and treatment strategies.

Child sexual abuse is a highly prevalent problem that frequently occasions the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder in the victimized youngster. This selective review addresses recent advances in the assessment and treatment of sexually abused children with post-traumatic stress disorder. Firstly, we outline the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder and significant moderating variables in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Depression in Adolescents (SEQ-DA). Development and psychometric evaluation.

The 12-item clinician or self-administered Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Depression in Adolescents (SEQ-DA) was developed as a measure of perceived ability to cope with depressive symptomatology. This study examined the reliability and validity of the SEQ-DA in a clinical population of 130 adolescents that were receiving treatment for depression. Psychometric evaluation revealed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

DSM-defined anxiety disorders symptoms in South African youths: Their assessment and relationship with perceived parental rearing behaviors.

This study investigated DSM-defined anxiety symptoms in South African youths. Children and adolescents (N = 701) from various cultural groups completed the SCARED and a questionnaire measuring perceived parental rearing behaviors. Results indicated that the psychometric properties of the SCARED were satisfactory in the total sample of South African youths, and acceptable in colored and black children and adolescents.

Investigation of consumer satisfaction with cognitive-behaviour therapy and sertraline in the treatment of adolescent depression.

Objective: A new instrument, the Adolescent Depression Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ADTSQ) was devised to measure the consumer satisfaction of depressed adolescents and their parents. The objectives of the paper were to present the psychometric properties of the ADTSQ and to investigate the relative consumer satisfaction with cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), sertraline (SRT) and a combined treatment of CBT and SRT (COMBINED) for the treatment of adolescent depression. In addition, participants were asked to rank their most preferred treatment from the following approaches: medication, individual counselling, group program and family therapy.

Childhood Fears and Phobias: Assessment and Treatment.

The specific phobias in children, such as night-time fears and animal phobias, should not be underestimated since they cause personal distress to the child and also much interference with daily activities. Intervention plans should be informed by multi-method assessment, using tools that are empirically sound and developmentally sensitive. We selectively review a number of assessment tools, including structured diagnostic interview schedules, standardised instruments such as anxiety or fear self-report questionnaires, and behavioural tasks.

Explaining labor force status following spinal cord injury: the contribution of psychological variables.

Objective: To investigate the relative influence of demographic, injury and psychological characteristics on the labor force status of people living with spinal cord injury.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Subjects: 459 persons who had experienced a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Fear of the beast: a prospective study on the effects of negative information on childhood fear.

The current study examined the effects of negative information on the enhancement of childhood fear. A large group of normal primary school children aged between 4 and 12 years (N=285) received either negative or positive information about an unknown, doglike animal, called 'the beast'. Children's fears were assessed at three points in time: before, directly after, and one week after the information about the beast was provided (i.

Three traditional and three new childhood anxiety questionnaires: their reliability and validity in a normal adolescent sample.

The current study examined the psychometrics of three traditional [i.e., the trait anxiety version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children - Revised (FSSC-R)] and three new childhood anxiety scales [the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS)] in a large sample of normal adolescents (N=521).

Evaluation of child therapy and caregiver training in the treatment of school refusal.

Objective: To evaluate the relative efficacy of (1) child therapy, (2) parent/teacher training, and (3) the combination of child therapy and parent/teacher training in the treatment of anxiety-based school refusal.

Method: Sixty-one school-refusing children (aged 7-14 years) from throughout Melbourne, Australia, were randomized to a child therapy program, a parent and teacher training program, or a combination of the two. Children were assessed before and after treatment, and at 4.