A pilot study of PEERS® for Careers: A comprehensive employment-focused social skills intervention for autistic young adults in the United States.

Background: Autistic young adults are at elevated risk for poor employment/internship outcomes, despite having many strengths relevant to the workplace. Currently, very few employment interventions for this population comprehensively promote skills development and success across the various stages of employment.

Aims: To address this gap, the current study aimed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a novel college to career intervention program, PEERS® for Careers.

Mental Health Care Following Firearm and Motor Vehicle-related Injuries: Differences Impacting Our Treatment Strategies.

Objective: To compare new mental health diagnoses (NMHD) in children after a firearm injury versus following a motor vehicle collision (MVC).

Background: A knowledge gap exists regarding childhood mental health diagnoses following firearm injuries, notably in comparison to other forms of traumatic injury.

Methods: We utilized Medicaid MarketScan claims (2010-2016) to conduct a matched case-control study of children ages 3 to 17 years.

Client-rated facilitators and barriers to long-term youth anxiety disorder recovery.

Objective: This study examined client ratings of 26 facilitators and barriers to anxiety improvement approximately 6 years after randomization to treatment for anxiety.

Method: 319 youth (average 17.12 years old; 82.

Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children During The Early COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: To measure univariate and covariate-adjusted trends in children's mental health-related emergency department (MH-ED) use across geographically diverse areas of the U.S. during the first wave of the Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A Distance-Delivered Social Skills Program for Young Adults with Williams Syndrome: Evaluating Feasibility and Preliminary Efficacy.

Adults with Williams syndrome (WS) display hypersocial behaviors and experience social skills deficits. To improve social outcomes, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an 8-week distance-delivered social skills program for adults with WS. Sessions were offered twice a week for 90 min.

Executive Functioning in Pediatric Anxiety and Its Relationship to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment Response: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

To characterize executive function in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and its relationship to treatment. Using data from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of escitalopram in adolescents ( = 51) 12-17 years of age with GAD, we used the self-report version of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-SR) to assess executive function, at baseline, and examined its relationship to treatment response as measured by the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS). For all baseline subscores of the BRIEF-SR, T-scores were significantly elevated in adolescents with GAD compared to an age- and sex-matched normative healthy sample.

Social cognition and social problem solving skills training to improve job functioning and tenure in veterans with psychotic disorders.

Objective: Veterans with psychotic disorders often experience employment difficulties. Job tenure is highly variable with shorter tenure frequently tied to interpersonal difficulties in the workplace. The present study sought to address this problem by examining the efficacy of social cognition skills training (SCST) and social problem solving skills training (SPSST) interventions, implemented sequentially, and added to usual VA employment services (augmented vocational rehabilitation [VR]).

Metabolite differences in the medial prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia patients with and without persistent auditory verbal hallucinations: a H MRS study.

Studies of schizophrenia (SCZ) have associated auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) with structural and functional abnormalities in frontal cortex, especially medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Although abnormal prefrontal network connectivity associated with language production has been studied extensively, the relationship between mPFC dysfunction (highly relevant to the pathophysiology of SCZ) and AVH has been rarely investigated. In this study, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure metabolite levels in the mPFC in 61 SCZ patients with persistent AVH (pAVH), 53 SCZ patients without AVH (non-AVH), and 59 healthy controls (HC).

Electronic Population-Based Depression Detection and Management Through Universal Screening in the Veterans Health Administration.

Importance: In 2016, the US Preventive Services Task Force newly recommended universal screening for depression, with the expectation that screening would be associated with appropriate treatment. Few studies have been able to assess the population-based trajectory from screening to receipt of follow-up and treatment for individuals with depression.

Objective: To examine adherence to guidelines for follow-up and treatment among primary care patients who newly screened positive for depression in the Veterans Health Administration (VA).

Absence of early mood improvement as a robust predictor of rTMS nonresponse in major depressive disorder.

Background: Symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) are reported to change early in treatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). We evaluated early changes in sleep, anxiety, and mood as predictors of nonresponse to rTMS treatment.

Methods: Three hundred twenty-nine subjects with nonpsychotic MDD completed a 6-week course of rTMS treatment.

Increases in positive emotions as precursors to therapeutic change.

Increases in positive emotions may not only be indicators of progress in therapy but also precursors to that improvement. Conducted in a psychology training clinic, this naturalistic, repeated-measures study tracked changes over the course of therapy in 34 clients' emotional experience and two of the primary targets of clinical interventions, symptom distress and relationship functioning. During treatment, positive emotions increased, negative emotions decreased, and improvements were seen in therapeutic outcomes.

Combining selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioral therapy in youth with depression and anxiety.

Background: Treatment studies of children and adolescents with internalizing disorders suggest that the combination of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) consistently produces greater improvement than either treatment alone. We sought to determine how response to combined treatment varies across disorders (anxiety versus depression), and by specific patient characteristics.

Methods: Three large National Institutes of Health-funded trials of children and adolescents with major depression (n = 2) and anxiety disorders (n = 1) were evaluated, each comparing CBT + SSRI to SSRI only, Bayesian Hierarchical Models (BHMs) were used, for endpoint response, time course of response and predictors of response in participants who received SSRI or SSRI+CBT.

Exploring the impact of adolescent cognitive inflexibility on emotional and behavioural problems experienced by autistic adults.

Autistic people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties. To develop more effective treatments, a greater understanding of the thinking processes that may lead to these difficulties is needed. Cognitive inflexibility, defined as a rigid pattern of thoughts and subsequently behaviours, is one possible thinking trait which has previously been associated with both co-occurring mental health difficulties but also other features of autism such as restricted and repetitive behaviours.

Rating Scales for Behavioral Health Screening System Within Pediatric Primary Care.

Barriers to conducting standardized behavioral health screening within pediatric primary care settings include engaging youth and families, limited time available for this activity, and difficulties related to obtaining behavioral health consultation and treatment from specialists. Child and adolescent psychiatrists may assist pediatric primary care practices with engaging youth and families around screening by assisting with identifying rating scales that have good psychometric characteristics across multiple languages and are validated in diverse samples and available within the public domain. Additionally, they may partner with pediatric primary care professionals to assist with optimizing screening workflows and linkage to specialized services.

Long-term Outcomes of Behavior Therapy for Youth With Tourette Disorder.

Objective: To determine the long-term durability of behavior therapy for tics among youth with Tourette disorder and persistent (chronic) motor or vocal tic disorders.

Method: Of the 126 youth who participated in a randomized controlled trial of behavior therapy 11 years prior, 80 were recruited for this longitudinal follow-up. Consenting participants were interviewed in person or remotely (Web-based video) by trained evaluators to determine the course of tics, current tic severity, and tic-related impairment.

Overview of Ten Child Mental Health Clinical Outcome Measures: Testing of Psychometric Properties with Diverse Client Populations in the U.S.

While many standardized assessment measures exist to track child mental health treatment outcomes, the degree to which such tools have been adequately tested for reliability and validity across race, ethnicity, and class is uneven. This paper examines the corpus of published tests of psychometric properties for the ten standardized measures used in U.S.

Integrating Mental Health in Safety-net Primary Care: A Five-year Observational Study on Visits in a County Health System.

Background: Beginning in 2010, Los Angeles County Departments of Health Services and Mental Health collaborated to increase access to effective mental health care. The Mental Health Integration Program (MHIP) embedded behavioral health specialists in primary care clinics to deliver brief, problem-focused treatments, and psychiatric consultation support for primary care-prescribed psychotropic medications.

Objective: The aim was to compare primary care visits associated with psychiatric diagnoses before and after MHIP implementation.

Longitudinal trajectory and predictors of change in family accommodation during exposure therapy for pediatric OCD.

Family accommodation (FA) is key in the maintenance of OCD. However, most studies are cross-sectional, and have not identified long-term trajectories and correlates of FA changes over treatment. This study investigated changes in clinician-rated FA over 10 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for 142 children with OCD, as well as several key predictors/correlates: (a) clinician-rated OCD symptom severity, (b) child- and parent-rated functional impairment, (c) parent-rated treatment expectancies, and (d) child- and parent-rated therapeutic alliance.

The Unrecognized Role of VA Call Center and Primary Care Clerical Staff in Assisting Patients with Obtaining Needed Care.

Background: VA clerks, or medical support assistants (MSAs), are a critical part of patients' primary care (PC) experiences and are often the first points of contact between Veterans and the healthcare system. Despite the important role they might play in assisting Veterans with accessing care, research is lacking on the specific tasks they perform and what training and preparation they receive to perform their roles.

Objective: Our primary aim in this study was to document MSA perceptions of their roles, the tasks they undertake helping Veterans with accessing healthcare, and additional training they may need to optimally perform their role.

Identifying nootropic drug targets via large-scale cognitive GWAS and transcriptomics.

Broad-based cognitive deficits are an enduring and disabling symptom for many patients with severe mental illness, and these impairments are inadequately addressed by current medications. While novel drug targets for schizophrenia and depression have emerged from recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of these psychiatric disorders, GWAS of general cognitive ability can suggest potential targets for nootropic drug repurposing. Here, we (1) meta-analyze results from two recent cognitive GWAS to further enhance power for locus discovery; (2) employ several complementary transcriptomic methods to identify genes in these loci that are credibly associated with cognition; and (3) further annotate the resulting genes using multiple chemoinformatic databases to identify "druggable" targets.

Beyond Baby Siblings-Expanding the Definition of "High-Risk Infants" in Autism Research.

Purpose Of Review: Much of our understanding of early development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comes from studies of children with a family history of autism. We reviewed the current literature on neurodevelopmental profiles and autism prevalence from other high-risk infant groups to expose gaps and inform next steps. We focused on infants with early medical risk (e.

A Sector Wheel Approach to Understanding the Needs and Barriers to Services among Homeless-Experienced Veteran Families.

Background: Veteran family homelessness is a significant issue, yet little is known about the needs and barriers to services of veteran families experiencing homelessness. This qualitative study examined the experiences, needs, and barriers to services among homeless-experienced veteran families to inform providers for this important population.

Methods: Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted from February through September 2016 with 18 veteran parents with a recent history of homelessness (9 mothers, 9 fathers), and 7 homeless service providers throughout Los Angeles County.

Prolonged Emergency Department Length of Stay for US Pediatric Mental Health Visits (2005-2015).

Background And Objectives: Children seeking care in the emergency department (ED) for mental health conditions are at risk for prolonged length of stay (LOS). A more contemporary description of trends and visit characteristics associated with prolonged ED LOS at the national level is lacking in the literature. Our objectives were to (1) compare LOS trends for pediatric mental health versus non-mental health ED visits and (2) explore patient-level characteristics associated with prolonged LOS for mental health ED visits.

Neural correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation in youth with and without anxiety.

Background: Youth with anxiety disorders struggle with managing emotions relative to peers, but the neural basis of this difference has not been examined.

Methods: Youth (M  = 13.6; range = 8-17) with (n = 37) and without (n = 24) anxiety disorders completed a cognitive reappraisal task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging.