Parental Descriptions of Childhood Avoidance Symptoms after Trauma.

Recognizing and diagnosing the avoidance symptom cluster of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young children has been challenging. This study examines caregivers' descriptions of young children's avoidance reactions. By describing parents' examples of childhood avoidance, clinicians, researchers, and educators may be able to provide more specific psychoeducation which may improve identification of avoidance behaviors in young children.

Parenting, coparenting, and adolescent adjustment in African American single-mother families: An actor-partner interdependence mediation model.

This study examined family processes on the adjustment of adolescents from single-mother households using a dyadic approach. Participants included 107 noncohabiting Black parental dyads of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Each parent completed measures of positive parenting, parent-child relationship quality, parental depressive symptoms, coparenting relationship quality, and adolescent adjustment.

Quality of life and burden in caregivers of youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder presenting for intensive treatment.

Background: Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is associated with deleterious familial effects; caregivers are often enmeshed in the disorder and can experience considerable burden and decreased quality of life (QoL). Consequently, this study examined burden and QoL in caregivers of youth with OCD enrolled in an intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization program.

Method: The relationships between caregiver QoL and burden and the following variables were investigated: OCD symptom severity, functioning (youth functional impairment, general family functioning), family (family accommodation, parental relationship satisfaction, positive aspects of caregiving), and comorbid psychopathology (caregiver anxiety and depressive symptoms, youth internalizing and externalizing behaviors).

Black and White Parents' Willingness to Seek Help for Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms.

Objective: Understanding social and environmental factors that contribute to parental help-seeking intentions is an important step in addressing service underutilization for children in need of treatment. This study examined factors that contribute to parents' intentions to seek formal and informal help for child psychopathology (anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]).

Method: A total of 251 parents (N = 128 mothers, N = 123 fathers; 49% Black, 51% White) read 3 vignettes describing children with anxiety, ADHD, and no diagnosis.

The Treatment Worries Questionnaire: Conjoined measures for evaluating worries about psychosocial treatment in youth and their parents.

Treatment worries, which surround requirements and results of obtaining treatment, may represent an important construct; however, previous measures were limited by their specificity, format, and lack of parent report. Therefore the present study examined the initial outcomes and psychometrics of corresponding measures of treatment worries in youth (Treatment Worries Questionnaire - Child; TWQ-C) and their parents (Treatment Worries Questionnaire - Parent; TWQ-P). Participants were 94 youth (7-17-years old) and parent dyads presenting for treatment of an anxiety disorder.

A meta-analysis of family accommodation and OCD symptom severity.

Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by myriad behaviors, such as modifying family routines, facilitating avoidance, and engaging in compulsions to reduce obsessional distress. It has been linked to various deleterious outcomes including increased functional impairment and poorer treatment response for OCD. Although extant literature suggests a linear relationship between family accommodation and OCD symptom severity, the magnitude and statistical significance of this association has been inconsistent across studies, indicating that moderators may be influencing this relationship.

FEAR CONDITIONING AND EXTINCTION IN YOUTH WITH OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER.

Background: Fear acquisition and extinction are central constructs in the cognitive-behavioral model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which underlies exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Youth with OCD may have impairments in fear acquisition and extinction that carry treatment implications. We examined these processes using a differential conditioning procedure.

Psychometric properties of the Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-Patient Version.

In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), family accommodation is a frequently occurring phenomenon that has been linked to attenuated treatment response, increased obsessive-compulsive symptom severity, and lower levels of functioning. No patient-report version of family accommodation exists, with available measures relying on relatives as informants. However, adult patients with OCD often present to clinical services alone, frequently making it impractical to obtain information from these informants.

The role of anxiety sensitivity in the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative outcomes in trauma-exposed adults.

Background: The development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSs) following a trauma is related to impairment, diminished quality of life, and physical health issues. Yet it is not clear why some trauma-exposed individuals experience negative outcomes while others do not. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of several influential factors related to PTS severity and negative outcomes.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety in youth with an autism spectrum disorder: A follow-up study.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety in youth with an autism spectrum disorder appears efficacious; however, maintenance of treatment gains has not yet been studied. Using a sample of 32 youth who had benefited at least minimally from a past trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety in autism spectrum disorder, this study assessed anxiety symptoms in youth 10-26 months following treatment completion. Compared to baseline, follow-up scores were associated with large effects for treatment.

Inter-rater Reliability of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV in High-Functioning Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The present study examined inter-rater agreement on the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule DSM-IV Child and Parent Interview (ADIS-IV-C/P) in high-functioning youth with autism spectrum disorder and if age and ASD diagnosis moderated agreement. Diagnoses established for 70 7 to 16-year-old youth with ASD during a live administration of the ADIS-IV-C/P were compared to diagnoses identified by a second rater after listening to audiotaped recordings of the interviews. Clinician-to-clinician agreement on individual parent and child reports was excellent (=1.

Child problem recognition and help-seeking intentions among black and white parents.

Parents play a central role in utilization of mental health services by their children. This study explored the relationship between parents' recognition of child mental health problems and their decisions to seek help. Participants included 251 parents (49% Black, 51% White; 49% fathers, 51% mothers) recruited from community settings.

Psychometric properties of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10 among low-income, African American men.

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (CD-RISC 10; Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007) is a self-report measure of resilience that has been found to provide reliable and valid scores among U.S. and international samples, although its psychometric properties have not been validated among African Americans.

Coping Styles of Female Adolescent Cancer Patients with Potential Fertility Loss.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the coping styles of female adolescent cancer patients regarding potential loss of fertility. Expectations and desires for the future, coping styles in typical adolescence, and coping styles when faced with potential loss of fertility due to cancer treatment are discussed.

Methods: Female adolescents diagnosed with cancer aged 12-18 years at study (=14) were administered a 10-item values clarification tool to pilot test the readability and relevance of the items on reproductive concerns, followed by a cognitive debriefing interview asking participants how they would respond to each item.

Dysregulation in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder.

Although obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and common co-occurring conditions share deficits in self-regulatory abilities, there has been minimal examination of impaired self-regulation (dysregulation) in youth with OCD. This study examined the association of dysregulation with symptom severity, impairment, and treatment outcome in pediatric OCD. Clinicians assessed obsessive-compulsive severity, family accommodation and global severity in 144 youth with OCD.

Quality of life in obsessive-compulsive disorder: the role of mediating variables.

This study examined the association of various clinical features of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with quality of life (QoL) in 102 adults with a principal diagnosis of OCD. Participants were assessed by trained clinicians using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule 4th edition, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, and an unstructured clinical interview. Subjects completed the MOS-36 Item Short Form Health Survey, and Beck Depression Inventory-II.

A structural equation analysis of family accommodation in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Family accommodation of symptoms is counter to the primary goals of cognitive-behavioral therapy for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and can pose an obstacle to positive treatment outcomes. Although increased attention has been given to family accommodation in pediatric OCD, relatively little is known about associated child and parent characteristics, and their mediating/moderating effects. This study examined a structural equation model of parent and child variables related to parent reports of family accommodation.

Fathers' ratings in the assessment of their child's anxiety symptoms: a comparison to mothers' ratings and their associations with paternal symptomatology.

We examined the comparability between mothers' and fathers' ratings in the assessment of their child's anxiety symptoms. The sample consisted of 78 youth (6 to 17 years) and their mothers and fathers who presented to a childhood anxiety disorders specialty research clinic. Using intraclass correlation coefficients, mother?father agreement of their child's anxiety symptoms was found to be moderate.

Mental health service utilization among African American and Caucasian mothers and fathers.

Mental health services have been routinely underutilized. This study investigated the influence of parents' gender, race, and psychopathology on perceived barriers and attitudes toward mental health utilization for themselves and for their children. A unique contribution of this study is the examination of father, mother, and child factors influencing service utilization from the parents' perspective.

Fathers' role in the etiology, prevention and treatment of child anxiety: a review and new model.

Fathers have been neglected in investigations of the development, prevention, and treatment of anxiety and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. This review provides a historical background of what is known about fathers' roles in the etiology of anxiety problems and provides evidence from bottom-up, top-down, and cross-sectional correlation studies of the connections between fathers' and their children's anxiety. Treatment and prevention programs are discussed in terms of the limited findings regarding fathers' involvement in treatment for children's and adolescents' anxiety problems.

The relationship between maternal and paternal psychological symptoms and ratings of adolescent functioning.

Families with an adolescent between the ages of 11 and 18 years participated in a study examining the relationship between parental depressive and anxiety symptomatology and parental ratings of adolescents' functioning. This study indicated that mothers, fathers, and adolescents exhibited significant cross-informant correspondence (i.e.

Coping with parental loss because of termination of parental rights.

This article addresses the process by which children and adolescents cope with severe acute stress of parental loss from causes other than divorce or death. Participants were 60 children and adolescents from a residential treatment facility. Most had experienced neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, and their parents had their parential rights terminated.

Still looking for Poppa.

In 1992, V. Phares published an article titled "Where's Poppa?: The Relative Lack of Attention to the Role of Fathers in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology". Since that time, there have been modest gains in the research literature on clinical child issues, but there remains a wide gap between the inclusion of mothers and fathers in clinical child and family research.

Adolescent motherhood and postpartum depression.

Adolescent mothers undergo unique personal and social challenges that may contribute to postpartum functioning. In this exploratory investigation completed within a risk and resilience framework, 149 adolescent mothers, ages 15 to 19, who participated in school-based teen parents' programs, completed measures of parental stress (social isolation and role restriction), maternal competence, weight/shape concerns, and depression. The sample was quite diverse, and no ethnic differences in base rate levels of the variables were detected.

Are fathers involved in pediatric psychology research and treatment?

Background: Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of the roles of fathers in understanding normative developmental processes. Increased attention has been given to the roles of fathers in the area of clinical child research and therapy. However, the presence of fathers in research and treatment in pediatric psychology has not been fully examined.