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Vol. 18, No. 4, April 2002
1. Parents' recognition of depression lacking
2. Study examines cognition in children with PTSD

Parents' recognition of depression lacking
To understand parents' ability to identify adolescent depression and how they initiate service use for their depressed adolescents, researchers expressed adolescents, researchers examined four potentially influential factors: 1) the impact of parental perceptions of family burden due to adolescents' depression; 2) adolescent-parent communication; 3) parental symptoms of depression; and 4) comorbid substance use disorders. Forty-four participants ages 12 to 17 who met full DSM-IV criteria for depressive disorder and their families were recruited for participation in the study. Outcome measures included structured clinical interviews, the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, the Beck Depression inventory (for parents) and the Communication subscale of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Many of the parents in the sample failed to identify symptoms of depression in their adolescent children. Parental perceptions of family burden were found to be the strongest predictor of parents' ability to identify depression and of service use. Having a substance use disorder was also a strong predictor of parental depression-identification. Communication between adolescents and parents and parental symptoms of depression were not found to influence parental recognition of depressive symptoms or service use, although better communication was somewhat associated with increased parental identification of depression among girls (not boys). The researchers say that enhancing parent's abilities to recognize and understand depression may facilitate service use among adolescents and emphasize the importance of employing alternative source of help, such as schools, in the identification and referral process. They conclude, "it is crucial to maintain as many pathways as possible to problem identification and service use, in hopes that combined efforts will increase the likelihood of getting assistance to those adolescents who are most in need of help." Logan DE, King C: Parental identification of depression and mental health service use among depressed adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2002; 41: 296-304. Correspondence to: Dr. Logan, Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail: logan@email.chop.edu.

Parents' recognition of depression lacking

To understand parents' ability to identify adolescent depression and how they initiate service use for their depressed adolescents, researchers expressed adolescents, researchers examined four potentially influential factors: 1) the impact of parental perceptions of family burden due to adolescents' depression; 2) adolescent-parent communication; 3) parental symptoms of depression; and 4) comorbid substance use disorders.

Forty-four participants ages 12 to 17 who met full DSM-IV criteria for depressive disorder and their families were recruited for participation in the study. Outcome measures included structured clinical interviews, the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, the Beck Depression inventory (for parents) and the Communication subscale of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment.

Many of the parents in the sample failed to identify symptoms of depression in their adolescent children. Parental perceptions of family burden were found to be the strongest predictor of parents' ability to identify depression and of service use. Having a substance use disorder was also a strong predictor of parental depression-identification. Communication between adolescents and parents and parental symptoms of depression were not found to influence parental recognition of depressive symptoms or service use, although better communication was somewhat associated with increased parental identification of depression among girls (not boys).

The researchers say that enhancing parent's abilities to recognize and understand depression may facilitate service use among adolescents and emphasize the importance of employing alternative source of help, such as schools, in the identification and referral process. They conclude, "it is crucial to maintain as many pathways as possible to problem identification and service use, in hopes that combined efforts will increase the likelihood of getting assistance to those adolescents who are most in need of help."

Logan DE, King C: Parental identification of depression and mental health service use among depressed adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2002; 41: 296-304. Correspondence to: Dr. Logan, Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail: logan@email.chop.edu.

Study examines cognition in children with PTSD
Researchers conducted a pilot study of children to examine cognitive functioning in children with maltreatment-related post-traumatic stress disorder. The traumatic events included sexual abuse (N=7), physical abuse (N=2) and witnessing domestic violence (N=5). Fourteen medication-naive children with DSM-IV diagnosed maltreatment-related PTSD (mean age = 11 years) and 15 healthy controls (mean age = 12 years) were recruited into the study. Investigators measured language, attention, abstract reasoning/executive, function, learning and memory, visual-spatial processing and psychomotor function using a battery of neuropsychological instruments, including the Stroop Color and Word test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting test. The researchers found that compared with healthy controls, children with PTSD performed more poorly on measures of attention and abstract reasoning/executive function. These children appeared to be more distracted and impulsive than controls. In addition, two tests measuring frontal lobe function revealed more deficits among the children with PTSD relative to the control group. There were no significant differences found between groups on measures of language or psychomotor speed. The researchers conclude, "Children with maltreatment-related PTSD demonstrated significant deficits within the domains of attention and abstract reasoning/executive function when compared with sociodemographically similar healthy children who had not been maltreated." Beers SR, De Bellis MD: Neuropsychological function in children with maltreatment-related post-traumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 159: 483-486. Correspondence to: Dr.Beers, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O' Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213; e-mail: BeersSR@msx.upmc.edu

Study examines cognition in children with PTSD

Researchers conducted a pilot study of children to examine cognitive functioning in children with maltreatment-related post-traumatic stress disorder. The traumatic events included sexual abuse (N=7), physical abuse (N=2) and witnessing domestic violence (N=5).

Fourteen medication-naive children with DSM-IV diagnosed maltreatment-related PTSD (mean age = 11 years) and 15 healthy controls (mean age = 12 years) were recruited into the study. Investigators measured language, attention, abstract reasoning/executive, function, learning and memory, visual-spatial processing and psychomotor function using a battery of neuropsychological instruments, including the Stroop Color and Word test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting test.

The researchers found that compared with healthy controls, children with PTSD performed more poorly on measures of attention and abstract reasoning/executive function. These children appeared to be more distracted and impulsive than controls. In addition, two tests measuring frontal lobe function revealed more deficits among the children with PTSD relative to the control group. There were no significant differences found between groups on measures of language or psychomotor speed.

The researchers conclude, "Children with maltreatment-related PTSD demonstrated significant deficits within the domains of attention and abstract reasoning/executive function when compared with sociodemographically similar healthy children who had not been maltreated."

Beers SR, De Bellis MD: Neuropsychological function in children with maltreatment-related post-traumatic stress disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 159: 483-486. Correspondence to: Dr.Beers, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, 3811 O' Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213; e-mail: BeersSR@msx.upmc.edu

The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, April 2002
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