Deficits in emotion regulation partly mediate the relation between sleep problems and depressive symptoms in adolescent inpatients with depression

Sleep problems are a risk factor for the development of depressive disorders and influence the severity and treatment of depressive symptoms negatively. To enhance treatment for depression in young people, it is important to advance the understanding of the relationship between sleep problems and depressive symptoms. Since deficits in emotion regulation are discussed as possible underlying mechanisms, the present study investigated the mediating effect of maladaptive and adaptive strategies for emotion regulation on the association between sleep problems and depressive symptoms. Emotion regulation strategies, depression and sleep quality were assessed via self-report in a large clinical sample of 602 adolescents (age 13–18 years) who reported clinically relevant symptoms of depression. The questionnaires were assessed at admission for inpatient psychiatric treatment. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed. There was a significant partial mediation effect ($\beta$ = 0.554, $\it p$ < 0.001, $R_2$ = 0.527), indicating that sleep problems influenced depressive symptoms via the decreased use of adaptive strategies and the increased use of maladaptive strategies. Additionally, a direct effect of sleep problems on depressive symptoms emerged ($\beta$ = 0.251, $\it p$ < 0.001, $R_2$ = 0.364). This cross-sectional study provides first indications that additional treatment modules focusing on sleep and ER skills in prevention and treatment programs for adolescents would be important steps. Longitudinal studies are needed to substantiate these results

Turning to the negative

Patients with irritability, temper outbursts, hyperactivity and mood swings often meet the dysregulation profile (DP) of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) or the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which have been investigated over the past few decades. While the DP has emerged as a transdiagnostic marker with a negative impact on therapeutic outcome and psychosocial functioning, little is known about its underlying mechanisms such as attention and emotion regulation processes. In this study, we tested whether adolescent psychiatric patients ($\it n$ = 27) with the SDQ-DP show impaired emotional face processing for task-irrelevant stimuli compared to psychiatric patients without the SDQ-DP ($\it n$ = 30) and non-clinical adolescents ($\it n$ = 21). Facial processing was tested with event-related potential (ERP) measures known to be modulated by attention (i.e., P1, N1, N170, P2, and Nc) during a modified Attention Network Task, to which task-irrelevant emotional stimuli (sad, fearful, and neutral faces) were added prior to the actual trial. The results reveal group differences in the orienting and in the conflicting network. Patients with DP showed a less efficient orienting network and the clinical control group showed a less efficient conflicting network. Moreover, patients with the dysregulation profile had a shorter N1/N170 latency than did the two control groups, suggesting that dysregulation in adolescents is associated with a faster but less arousing encoding of (task-irrelevant) emotional information and less top-down control

Onset and severity of early sisruptive eehavioral disorders in treatment-seeking substance use disorder patients with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

$\bf Aims:$ This study addressed the age of onset of conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in treatment-seeking substance use disorder (SUD) patients with and without adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its association with early onset of SUD. $\bf Methods:$ We examined data from the 2nd $\textit {International ADHD in Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study}$, including 400 adults in SUD treatment from Puerto Rico, Hungary, and Australia. ADHD, SUD, and CD/ODD were assessed with the $\textit {Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV}$, the $\textit {MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview}$, and the K-SADS, respectively. Cox regression analyses modeled time to emergence of CD/ODD separately for SUD patients with and without adult ADHD. Linear regression models examined associations between age of onset of SUD and presence of ADHD and adjusted for sex, age, and country. To assess the mediating role of CD/ODD on the association of ADHD with onset of SUD, adjusted regression models were estimated. $\bf Results:$ Treatment-seeking SUD patients with ADHD presented an earlier onset of CD/ODD compared with those without ADHD. CD/ODD symptom loads were higher among the SUD and ADHD group. Age of first substance use and SUD were significantly earlier in SUD patients with ADHD, and these findings remained significant after adjustment for demographics and coexisting CD/ODD. $\bf Conclusions:$ ADHD is associated with earlier onset of SUD as well as with an earlier onset of more frequent and more severe disruptive behavioral disorders. These findings may inform preventive interventions to mitigate adverse consequences of ADHD

International consensus statement for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of adolescents with concurrent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorder

$\bf Background:$ Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for substance misuse and substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescence and (early) adulthood. ADHD and SUD also frequently co-occur in treatment-seeking adolescents, which complicates diagnosis and treatment and is associated with poor treatment outcomes. Research on the effect of treatment of childhood ADHD on the prevention of adolescent SUD is inconclusive, and studies on the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents with ADHD and SUD are scarce. Thus, the available evidence is generally not sufficient to justify robust treatment recommendations. $\bf Objective:$ The aim of the study was to obtain a consensus statement based on a combination of scientific data and clinical experience. $\bf Method:$ A modified Delphi study to reach consensus based upon the combination of scientific data and clinical experience with a multidisciplinary group of 55 experts from 17 countries. The experts were asked to rate a set of statements on the effect of treatment of childhood ADHD on adolescent SUD and on the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of adolescents with comorbid ADHD and SUD. $\bf Results:$ After 3 iterative rounds of rating and adapting 37 statements, consensus was reached on 36 of these statements representing 6 domains: general ($\it n$ = 4), risk of developing SUD ($\it n$ = 3), screening and diagnosis ($\it n$ = 7), psychosocial treatment ($\it n$ = 5), pharmacological treatment ($\it n$ = 11), and complementary treatments ($\it n$ = 7). Routine screening is recommended for ADHD in adolescent patients in substance abuse treatment and for SUD in adolescent patients with ADHD in mental healthcare settings. Long-acting stimulants are recommended as the first-line treatment of ADHD in adolescents with concurrent ADHD and SUD, and pharmacotherapy should preferably be embedded in psychosocial treatment. The only remaining no-consensus statement concerned the requirement of abstinence before starting pharmacological treatment in adolescents with ADHD and concurrent SUD. In contrast to the majority, some experts required full abstinence before starting any pharmacological treatment, some were against the use of stimulants in the treatment of these patients (independent of abstinence), while some were against the alternative use of bupropion. $\bf Conclusion:$ This international consensus statement can be used by clinicians and patients together in a shared decision-making process to select the best interventions and to reach optimal outcomes in adolescent patients with concurrent ADHD and SUD