| 1. |
- Heiervang, Einar, et al.
(author)
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Psychiatric disorders in Norwegian 8- to 10-year-olds: an epidemiological survey of prevalence, risk factors, and service use.
- 2007
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 46:4, s. 438-447
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The Bergen Child Study is a longitudinal study of child mental health from the city of Bergen, Norway. We present methods and results from the first wave of the study, focusing on prevalence of disorders, associations with risk factors, and the use of services. METHOD: The target population included all 9,430 children attending grades 2 to 4 in Bergen schools during the academic year 2002/2003. The main screening instrument was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, whereas diagnoses were based on the Development and Well-Being Assessment. Information about child and family risk factors and service use was also obtained in this second stage. RESULTS: In the first phase, the teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was obtained for 9,155 (97%) of the target children and the matching parent Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 6,297 (67%); 1,011 children (11%) were assessed with the Development and Well-Being Assessment in the second phase. The weighted prevalence for any DSM-IV psychiatric disorder was 7.0% (95% confidence interval 5.6%-8.5%). Disorders were associated with age, gender, learning difficulties, family type, and poverty. Although 75% of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder had been in contact with specialist mental health services, this was true for only 13% of those with pure emotional disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children is relatively low in this Norwegian sample, when assessed with the Development and Well-Being Assessment. Children with emotional disorders have limited access to specialist services.
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| 2. |
- Hultman, Christina, et al.
(author)
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Birth weight and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms in childhood and early adolescence : A prospective Swedish twin study
- 2007
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 46:3, s. 370-377
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To determine whether low birth weight increases the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood and early adolescence. METHOD: In a population-based sample of 1,480 twin pairs born in the period 1985-1986 ascertained from the Swedish Twin Registry, birth weight was collected prospectively through the Medical Birth Registry. ADHD symptoms were measured with a 14-item checklist covering DSM-III-R criteria (parental rating) at age 8 to 9 years and 13 to 14 years. We used both a dichotomous approach for birth weight (>400 g or 15% weight difference) and ADHD (eight or more symptoms) and continuous measures to investigate between- and within-twin pair effects. RESULTS: Our results showed that low birth weight was a risk factor for symptoms of ADHD and the associations did not diminish when we controlled for genetic influence. The lighter twin in birth weight-discordant pairs had on average 13% higher ADHD symptom score at age 8 to 9 years (p = .006) and 12% higher ADHD score at age 13 to 14 years (p = .018) compared with the heavier twin. The genetic correlations suggest modest or no genetic overlap between birth weight and ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that low birth weight is associated with the development of ADHD symptoms was supported in this prospective twin study. Fetal growth restriction seems to represent a modest but fairly consistent environmental influence on the development of ADHD symptoms.
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| 3. |
- Khalifa, Najah, et al.
(author)
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Psychopathology in a Swedish population of school children with tic disorders
- 2006
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 45:11, s. 1346-1353
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To examine patterns of psychiatric comorbid disorders and associated problems in a school population of children with tic disorders. Method: From a total population of 4,479 children, 25 with Tourette's disorder (TD), 34 with chronic motor tics (CMT), 24 with chronic vocal tics (CVT), and 214 with transient tics (TT) during the past year were found. A three-stage procedure was used: tic screening, telephone interview, and clinical assessment. The TD group was compared with 25 children with TT and 25 controls without tics. Results: Psychiatric comorbid disorders were found in 92% of the children with TD. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was most common, and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity were similar in children with TD and CVT, but not with CMT and TT. Aggressive behavior was more common in children with TD than other tic disorders. Conclusions: Psychiatric comorbid disorders are common even in community-based samples of children with TD and CVT TD and CVT seem to be part of the same disease entity, with TD being a more severe form. Chronic tics may be a marker for behavioral and learning difficulties in children, and awareness of these associations is critical to the care and treatment of children with tics.
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| 4. |
- Klingberg, Torkel, et al.
(author)
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Computerized training of working memory in children with ADHD--a randomized, controlled trial.
- 2005
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 44:2, s. 177-186
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Deficits in executive functioning, including working memory (WM) deficits, have been suggested to be important in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). During 2002 to 2003, the authors conducted a multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind trial to investigate the effect of improving WM by computerized, systematic practice of WM tasks. METHOD: Included in the trial were 53 children with ADHD (9 girls; 15 of 53 inattentive subtype), aged 7 to 12 years, without stimulant medication. The compliance criterion (>20 days of training) was met by 44 subjects, 42 of whom were also evaluated at follow-up 3 months later. Participants were randomly assigned to use either the treatment computer program for training WM or a comparison program. The main outcome measure was the span-board task, a visuospatial WM task that was not part of the training program. RESULTS: For the span-board task, there was a significant treatment effect both post-intervention and at follow-up. In addition, there were significant effects for secondary outcome tasks measuring verbal WM, response inhibition, and complex reasoning. Parent ratings showed significant reduction in symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, both post-intervention and at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that WM can be improved by training in children with ADHD. This training also improved response inhibition and reasoning and resulted in a reduction of the parent-rated inattentive symptoms of ADHD.
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| 5. |
- Larsson, Henrik, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Genetic contributions to the development of ADHD subtypes from childhood to adolescence
- 2006
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 45:8, s. 973-981
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Little is known about how genes influence the development of symptoms included in the DSM-IV subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from childhood to adolescence. The aim of this study was to examine genetic influences contributing to the development of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and inattentive symptoms of ADHD from childhood to adolescence.METHOD: The sample included all 1,480 twin pairs born in Sweden between May 1985 and December 1986. Parents responded to mailed questionnaires on three occasions, when the twins were 8 to 9, 13 to 14, and 16 to 17 years old. The authors used dimensional scales of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention derived from a checklist of items based on the DSM symptoms of ADHD.RESULTS: Symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity declined with increasing age, whereas there was no decline in symptoms of inattention. Persistent genetic influences explain between 45% and 90% of the total genetic variance in hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention across age. Persistent genetic variance was primarily operating across subtypes, even though persistent subtype-specific influences were also significant.CONCLUSIONS: The finding of persistent cross-subtype (i.e., combined) and persistent subtype-specific genetic influences (i.e., primarily hyperactive-impulsive and primarily inattentive) are in line with a genetic basis for the DSM-IV classification of ADHD subtypes.
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| 6. |
- Martin, Andrés, et al.
(author)
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Early to bed : a study of adaptation among sexually active urban adolescent girls younger than age sixteen.
- 2005
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 44:4, s. 358-67
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between sexual activity among urban adolescent girls and four global measures of psychosocial adaptation (academic motivation, school achievement, depressive symptoms, and expectations about the future).METHOD: Data derived from the Social and Health Assessment, a self-report survey administered in 1998 to students in the public school system in New Haven, CT (149 classes at 17 middle and high schools).RESULTS: Of 1,413 respondents (57% black, 28% Hispanic; mean age 13.4 +/- 1.7 years), 414 (29%) acknowledged prior sexual intercourse; the proportions of sexually active girls in 6th, 8th, and 10th grades were 14%, 30%, and 50%, respectively. In multivariate analyses of covariance, sexual activity was significantly associated with all four measures of psychosocial adaptation (p < .001). Other correlates of at least one measure of maladaptation included socioeconomic status, sensation seeking, and lower school grade (p < .001 for each), peer pressure (p < .01), and black ethnicity, and the interaction of sexual activity by lower school grade (p < .05 for each).CONCLUSIONS: Compared with their sexually naive peers, sexually active adolescent girls had lower scores on global measures of psychosocial adaptation. These findings have clinical, policy, and research relevance to a vulnerable population at high risk of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
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| 7. |
- Rastad, Cecilia, et al.
(author)
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High prevalence of self-reported depressive mood during the winter season among Swedish senior high school students
- 2006
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 45:2, s. 231-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: There are few studies regarding the prevalence of seasonal variation in mood among children and adolescents. The main objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported depressive mood during the winter season among Swedish adolescents and to investigate gender differences. Another aim was to analyze the factor structure and internal consistency of the Kiddie SPAQ (K-SPAQ), a pediatric version of the Seasonal Pattern Questionnaire (SPAQ). METHOD: All students 17 to 18 years old, registered in the second year of senior high school in Falun, a district in central Sweden, were screened with the K-SPAQ in January 2003 (response rate 87.3%, n = 756). RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported depressive mood during the winter season was estimated at 20.1% (n = 151/751) and was higher among girls (25.5%) than boys (13.8%). Approximately 8% reported more severe depressive symptoms. Depressive mood during the summer was rare (0.1%, n = 1/751). Factor analysis of the General Seasonal Score items in the K-SPAQ revealed a two-factor structure. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 demonstrated a good internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms during autumn and winter were common among Swedish senior high school students, especially among girls. This is probably an underdiagnosed condition among adolescents that ought to receive more attention from the health and school authorities.
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