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Physically abused adolescents: behavior problems, functional impairment, and comparison of informants' reports.

OBJECTIVE: This study, like earlier studies that focused on younger abused children, ascertained whether physically abused adolescents exhibited increased internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Relevance to pediatric practice is discussed. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used to compare the behavior of physically abused adolescents and comparison adolescents using self-reports, parent reports, and teacher reports. The level of agreement among raters was also examined. PARTICIPANTS: The subjects were 99 physically abused adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years, who were recruited from Child Protective Services. Comparison subjects were 99 community-recruited nonabused adolescents who were matched for age, gender, and income with the abused adolescents. MEASURES: The behavior of the adolescents was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, and the comparable Youth Self-Report and Teacher Report Form, which are widely used measures of behavioral and emotional problems. The Child Global Assessment Scale was also used as a measure of functional impairment and of the need for mental health services. RESULTS: Parents and teachers rated the problems of abused adolescents as significantly greater than the problems of nonabused adolescents on all checklist subscales. Abused adolescents reported significantly greater problems only on externalizing behavior subscales. In addition, based on interviewer ratings, physically abused adolescents exhibited significantly greater functional impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to previous research on abused children, physically abused adolescents exhibit externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and experience greater functional impairment. Parent, teacher, and adolescent reports of externalizing behaviors were similar, but physically abused adolescents reported fewer internalizing behaviors than did the other informants.

Acting Out↗

Adolescent behavior and sexually transmitted diseases: the dilemma of human papillomavirus.

Adolescence is a period of physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and moral development that often results in risk-taking behavior. As a consequence, adolescents are at high risk for sexually transmitted disease (STD). Two of the most common STDs in the United States, chlamydia and human papillomavirus (HPV), affect millions of adolescent women. HPV, contrasted with chlamydia, poses a unique challenge to health care providers. In addition to causing genital warts, HPV has been shown to be the causative agent in the development of cervical cancer. Interventions that are effective in decreasing the transmission of chlamydia, such as increasing condom use, are less effective in prevention of HPV. Efforts to increase adolescent awareness of HPV, to increase age of first coitus, and to decrease numbers of sexual partners are more effective for HPV prevention. Early screening for HPV, smoking cessation, and health promotion may be effective in decreasing the incidence of cervical cancer in young women. Nurse practitioners and other primary health care providers need a more holistic approach to the prevention of HPV in adolescent women.

Adolescent↗

Bulimic symptoms in the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development: correlates, comorbidity, and genetics.

BACKGROUND: This paper addresses bulimia symptoms in a large community sample of twins aged 8 to 17 years. We aim to identify environmental correlates of bulimia symptoms and relationships with other psychiatric disorder symptoms. The twin design allows examination of the structure of genetic and environmental effects. METHODS: DSM-IIIR bulimia symptoms and consequential impairment were measured by interview in the first wave of the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development. Comorbidity with other psychiatric symptoms and environmental correlates were examined and the relative contributions of genes and environment were assessed using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: An item-response theory model indicated that the range of bulimic symptoms represented a single underlying trait. Bulimia symptoms were more common in postmenarche girls and positively associated with body-mass index. Subdiagnostic symptomatology was associated with impairment in psychosocial functioning. Bulimia symptoms were strongly associated with other psychiatric disorders symptoms including anxiety and depression. Genetic model fitting identified strong additive genetic effects on the symptom score. Accounting for a potential violation of the equal environment assumption for identical and fraternal twins slightly reduced estimated genetic variance. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of comorbidity suggests overlap between bulimia symptoms and those of internalizing disorders. Substantial genetic variance (44%) was evident in the most conservative model.

Adolescent↗

Prevention programs for reducing adolescent problem behaviors: Implications of the co-occurrence of problem behaviors in adolescence.

PURPOSE: To examine the correlations between multiple risk behaviors in adolescent populations to document the extent to which problem behaviors are intercorrelated and to identify factors associated with variations in these correlations. METHODS: Studies from 1977 through the end of 1999 that included two or more problem behaviors in adolescents were identified by literature searches using the PsychLit database, Social Sciences Citation Index, manual journal searches and "ancestry" approaches. The behaviors studied were alcohol use, marijuana use, illicit drug use, cigarette smoking, general deviant behavior, and sexual activity. Included studies reported correlation coefficients between variables. RESULTS: Across all studies, the mean correlation between any two pairs of problem behaviors was 0.35, with a standard deviation of 0.28. This suggests that, on average, about two-thirds of the variation in problem behavior is the result of unique rather than common causes. The magnitude of the correlations varied as a function of the age of the adolescent, with lower correlations being evident for older adolescents. In addition, the magnitude of the correlation varied as a function of when the study was conducted, with studies of past generations showing stronger connections between risk behaviors than current generations. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that there is considerably more unique variation in classic adolescent problem behaviors than common variation.

Adolescent↗

[Psychosomatic symptom formation as a health status indicator in early adolescence: behavioral epidemiologic analysis].

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: In adolescence, due to the ongoing biological-hormonal and psychosocial changes, the formation of psychosomatic symptoms becomes more frequent. The psychosomatic symptom formation has an influence on adolescents' self-perceived health as well as on their later health and illness related attitudes and behaviors. The main goal of the present study has been to detect the occurrence of psychosomatic symptoms among early adolescents, and to see the impact of psychosocial and psychological variables on the symptom formation. METHODS: In the frame of the South Plain Youth Study, the survey was going on among middle school aged students (N = 548, classes 5-8, mean age of 12.2 years). Data were collected by means of self-completed questionnaires which contained items on sociodemographics (age, gender, parental schooling, socioeconomic status of the family), mapping psychosomatic symptoms, and certain psychosocial and psychological variables affecting psychosomatic symptom formation (such as academic achievement, health-compromising behaviors, the lack of aggression control and social comparison). Statistical analyses included chi2 test, student's t-test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Fatigue proved to be the most frequent psychosomatic symptoms in both sexes which was followed by headache and lower back pain. These latter symptoms were more common among girls (p < 0.001). Good academic achievement was a protective factor (p < 0.05), while the lack of aggression control increased the psychosomatic symptom formation (boys: beta = 0.37, p < 0.001, girls: beta = 0.21, p < 0.01). Smoking (beta = 0.24, p < 0.01) and social comparison (beta = 0.16, p < 0.05) were predictors only among girls. CONCLUSION: The results draw the attention to the importance of psychosomatic symptom formation in clinical practice. Beyond the difficulties in differential diagnosis, all efforts should be made to start a causal therapy of the latent psychosocial problems so as to prevent the onset of more serious ill health states.

Abdominal Pain↗

The relation of childhood personality types to adolescent behavior and development: a longitudinal study of Icelandic children.

The relation of childhood personality types, or configurations of personality traits, to adolescent development was examined. Three personality types were identified in an inverse factor analysis of California Child Q-Sort data on 128 Icelandic 7-year-olds: resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled. Growth curve analyses demonstrated that in comparison to children of the other 2 types, children of the resilient personality type had higher levels of academic achievement and lower levels of concentration problems throughout adolescence; resilient children also developed sophisticated friendship reasoning and an internal locus of control more quickly. Children of the overcontrolled type were found to be more prone to social withdrawal and low levels of self-esteem during adolescence than children of the other 2 types. In contrast to the other 2 types, children classified as undercontrolled showed an increase in aggressive behavior in adolescence. Implications of the findings for research on personality development are discussed.

Adolescent↗

[Analysis of disorders of adolescent behavior at the Diagnostic- Referral Family Center in Szczecin].

As many as 120 subjects, directed in 1984-1988 to the Diagnostic-Consultative Family Centre in Szczecin, were studied due to behaviour disorders or penal acts. Thirteen (10.8%) juveniles were exempted from further studies, since they were diagnosed to have mental deficiency or encephalopathy. The rest was studied by means of diagnostic criteria for behaviour disorders according to DSM-III-R. Those complying with the criteria made up a group with Behaviour Distemper Syndrome (BDS)--74 persons (55 boys and 19 girls), while the others formed a group holding Single Behaviour Distemper (SBD)--33 persons (21 boys and 12 girls). Two age subgroups, 7-14 and 15-17 years, were isolated from each of the groups. Use was made of own questionnaire to collect data concerning factors that might induce the revealed behaviour disorders. Groups BDS and SBD were compared with regard to the type and incidence rate of respective signs of behaviour disorders, according to criteria DSM-III-R, and also the age, sex as well as social background, living environment, and hereditary encumberance, course of pregnancy and delivery, former psychophysical development, use of condiments, somatic disorders actually evidenced, parental and school environmental atmosphere and that of peers of the studied group.

Adolescent↗

Peer suicidal behavior and adolescent risk behavior.

The relationship between adolescent suicide attempts and death by suicide and psychosocial functioning of peers remains poorly understood, especially in the myriad ways that these suicidal behaviors might impact friends. This study explored the relationship between peer suicidal behavior and adolescent risk behavior using a large, nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 5852). Results indicate that youth exposed to peer suicidal behavior are significantly more likely to have their own suicidal ideation and attempts, and to smoke cigarettes and marijuana, binge drink, be involved in a serious physical fight, and have inflicted injuries that require medical attention. These results highlight the need for professionals to be aware of these risks in friends of those who have attempted or died by suicide. Assessment and intervention for peers is appropriate and required for this at-risk group.

Adolescent↗

Mediating and moderated effects of adolescent behavioral undercontrol and parenting in the prediction of drug use disorders in emerging adulthood.

This study tested whether the effects of parental alcoholism on drug use disorders in emerging adulthood were mediated by behavioral undercontrol and parenting in adolescence and whether parenting buffered the relation between undercontrol and drug use disorders. Participants were 175 children of alcoholics and 190 matched control participants from an ongoing longitudinal study (L. Chassin, F. Rogosch, & M. Barrera, 1991). Results showed that undercontrol and parental discipline mediated 58% of the effect of parental alcoholism on drug use disorders. The relation between behavioral undercontrol and drug use disorders was further moderated by parental support. This effect was "protective but reactive" (S. S. Luthar, D. Cicchetti, & B. Becker, 2000); at high levels of behavioral undercontrol the protective effect of parental support was lost. Highly undercontrolled adolescents may have such a strong diathesis for drug use disorders that buffers may not have the same effect as in those with better control.

Adolescent↗

A comparison of the verbal social behavior of adolescents with behavioral disorders and regular class peers.

Improved social functioning of adolescents with behavioral disorders (BD) is of critical importance for the successful integration of these students in school, domestic, vocational, and community settings. Three comparisons were addressed in the study; overall verbal responding of BD adolescents was compared to verbal responding of their regular class peers, verbal responding of the same BD adolescents was compared across their self-contained and mainstreamed settings, and responding of the BD adolescents when in mainstreamed settings was compared to responding of regular class peers. Portable microcomputers were used to collect data across 10 categories of verbal responding for 14 BD adolescents and 14 regular class peers. Results supported several general conclusions: (a) Adolescents with behavioral disorders engaged in more negative verbal responding than their regular class peers; (b) BD adolescents exhibited less inappropriate verbal behavior when in the mainstream than when self-contained; and (c) when in the mainstream, the verbal behavior of BD students was similar to that of their regular class peers. Implications of the general and specific differences that emerged from the comparisons were presented and discussed.

Adolescent↗