Systematic review of efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapies in childhood and adolescent depressive disorder

Objective: To determine whether cognitive behaviour therapy is an effective treatment for childhood and adolescent depressive disorder.

Risk factors for development of sexually abusive behaviour in sexually victimised adolescent boys: cross sectional study

Objective: To identify factors that may increase the risk of a sexually victimised adolescent boy developing sexually abusive behaviour.

Should inhaled anticholinergics be added to β2 agonists for treating acute childhood and adolescent asthma? A systematic review

Objectives To estimate the therapeutic and adverse effects of addition of inhaled anticholinergics to β2 agonists in acute asthma in children and adolescents.

Consequences of adolescent's evening preference on psychological functioning: a review

This review provides an overview of the role of circadian preference in psychological functioning of adolescents taking into account their shift to eveningness during this stage of life. After a brief explanation about morningness/eveningness and other terms related, an overview of the changes that occur on three of the most important areas in the adolescent‟s life is presented: school performance, personality styles, and health. Consequences of evening preference on school achievement are considered from the analysis of the relevance of sleep debt and time-of-day in cognition and mood aspects. In general, students who are able to choose activity times coinciding with their preferred times may have a greater opportunity to optimize their performance. The personality styles and health of morning and evening types are also important factors related to school and family adaptation. At last, some recommendations and conclusions in order to promote a healthy psychological functioning are described.

Parent Loss in Adolescence and its Impact on Sense of Self: When an Adolescent Boy Loses His Mother.

Adolescence is a developmental phase that involves physical, emotional, and cognitive changes. Often this period is one of transition that requires significant adjustment both with the individual and the family. It is considered to start with puberty, sometime between the ages of 10 and 13, and end with the transition into adulthood (Kruse & Walper, 2008). Puberty is a term that is used to describe the physical changes that generally occur during adolescence. It is an aspect of the changes that occur during the overarching phase of development. Within adolescence, individuals are confronted with many developmental tasks such as establishing an individual identity, making decisions about the future, and moving from dependence on families to independence (Austrian, 2008).There are many changes that occur during adolescence, including sexual maturation and functioning, endocrine developments, and skeletal and muscular changes. Boys will see a growth of body, pubic, and facial hair, their voice will deepen, and they will begin having erections and wet dreams (Kruse & Walper, 2008). The accelerated transformation of this phase generally has an emotional impact and individuals may feel concerned or self-conscious about their appearance. Ausubel, Montemayor, and Svajian (1977) suggest that adolescents may be more sensitive during this period of development. This sensitivity may be in part due to the rapid growth resulting in a sense of awkwardness in appearance and physical coordination.

The Psychology of Adolescent Out-of Wedlock Pregnancy and Childbearing

Illegitimate adolescent pregnancy creates a variety of problems, beginning with the difficult decision about whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. If the pregnancy is carried to term, choices follow regarding marriage or single parenthood and keeping or relinquishing the child. All of these choices involve consequences for the adolescent, many of them negative ones. This paper examines the problem of out-of-wedlock teen pregnancy and its possible psychological sources. It also introduces a method for analyzing the psychology of unwed teen pregnancy and childbearing and reviews the literature on the subject by this method. NOTE: Approvals page submitted to digital archive lacks signatures

Measure of Maturity: The Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment

The construct of maturity is often discussed in the realm of adolescent development; however, relatively little research has been devoted to developing a comprehensive, reliable, and valid measure with which to assess it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of the Montana Adolescent Maturity Assessment - III (MAMA-III), a proxy measure completed by clinicians regarding an adolescent's functioning, with the immaturity scale (IMM) of the MMPI-A. To provide more specified results, a factor analysis of the IMM was undertaken. Results yielded a low but significant correlation between the MAMA-III and the IMM, as well as significant convergent correlations between individual factors of the MAMA and IMM scales. Correlations among the MAMA-III factors, the IMM factors, and the ten clinical scales of the MMPI-A were also analyzed with the goal of better understanding what each measures. Implications are discussed regarding the clinical distinctions between the two measures, and the prospect of a more comprehensive understanding of the construct of maturity.

Knowledge and attitudes of Spanish adolescent girls towards human papillomavirus infection: where to intervene to improve vaccination coverage

Background: HPV vaccine coverage is far from ideal in Valencia, Spain, and this could be partially related to the low knowledge about the disease and the vaccine, therefore we assessed these, as well as the attitude towards vaccination in adolescent girls, and tried to identify independently associated factors that could potentially be modified by an intervention in order to increase vaccine coverage. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a random selection of schools of the Spanish region of Valencia. We asked mothers of 1278 girls, who should have been vaccinated in the 2011 campaign, for informed consent. Those that accepted their daughters’ participation, a questionnaire regarding the Knowledge of HPV infection and vaccine was passed to the girls in the school. Results: 833 mothers (65.1%) accepted participation. All their daughters’ responded the questionnaire. Of those, 89.9% had heard about HPV and they associated it to cervical cancer. Only 14% related it to other problems like genital warts. The knowledge score of the girls who had heard about HPV was 6.1/10. Knowledge was unrelated to the number of contacts with the health system (Pediatrician or nurse), and positively correlated with the discussions with classmates about the vaccine. Adolescents Spanish in origin or with an older sister vaccinated, had higher punctuation. 67% of the girls thought that the vaccine prevented cancer, and 22.6% felt that although prevented cancer the vaccine had important safety problems. 6.4% of the girls rejected the vaccine for safety problems or for not considering themselves at risk of infection. 71.5% of the girls had received at least one vaccine dose. Vaccinated girls scored higher knowledge (p = 0.05). Conclusion: Knowledge about HPV infection and vaccine was fair in adolescents of Valencia, and is independent to the number of contacts with the health system, it is however correlated to the conversations about the vaccine with their peers and the vaccination status. An action to improve HPV knowledge through health providers might increase vaccine coverage in the adolescents.

Idiopathic Adolescent Scoliosis: Living with a Physical Deformity

A qualitative, phenomenological, hermeneutical study with the aim of explaining the experience of having a body deformity diagnosed as idiopathic adolescent scoliosis. A semistructured interview conducted with scoliosis patients admitted to the unit of spinal cord at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital was used. The youth defined their scoliosis based on how they perceived their deformity. They spoke of pain and deformity as characteristic symptoms of suffering, and explained how this symptom affected their social relationships. Their deformity was associated with words such as “horrible”, “shame”, “complex” and “problem.” It is concluded that the symptommost referred is pain and the biggest concern of the youth was their body aesthetic and feelings associated with it. They attempt to solve this problem by adapting the way they dress and through surgery. Surgery can resolve the body deformity but not self-perception of their body image.