Inside out – do adverse childhood experiences predict nonsuicidal self-injury?

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as behavior that is self-directed and deliberate, resulting in injury or potential injury to oneself without suicidal intent, although it consistently correlates with suicidality. Common forms of NSSI include cutting, burning, scratching, banging, hitting, biting etc. Meta-analysis showed that overall childhood maltreatment is associated with NSSI, especially in the case of childhood emotional neglect or emotional abuse. Highly lethal self-harm was associated with childhood physical peer victimization, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect. The NSSI questionnaire designed for this study was based on several questionnaires such as Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI), Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury (ISAS), Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory (OSI) and Self-Harm Behaviour Questionnaire (SHBQ). The NSSI used in this survey contains 12 items with joint binary (yes or no) and numeric (how many times) scales. On all items, respondents provided answers with respect to two time periods: before and after the age of 18 (laws in Serbia restrict rights of persons under the age of 18 and some of those are related to potentially risky behaviors such as rights regarding alcohol purchase). Overall, approximately 4% of respondents reported NSSI at least once in lifetime, out of which 3.6% reported NSSI at least once before the age of 18 and 1.8% at least once after the age of 18. Since this is a form of behaviour is typical for younger adolescents, as expected, the NSSI is more prevalent before the age of 18 (2 = 17.225, p < .01). The correlation between the frequency of NSSI before and after the age of 18 is r = 0.73 (p < .01), while the correlation between suicide attempts and NSSI was Φ = 0.25 (p < .01). When it comes to the prediction of NSSI that occurred after the age of 18, ACE scores were not significant predictors. However, regression analysis showed about 9% of the variance of the NSSI before the age of 18 can be related to ACEs. Specifically, three types of ACEs were significant predictors of NSSI: sexual abuse (β = 0.16, p < .01), incarceration of a family member (β = 0.11, p = 0.051) and abuse of father by the partner (β = 0.15, p = 0.012). Available data suggest that at least one part of the variance can be ascribed to the ACEs. Therefore, emphasis should be put on fostering coping strategies in adolescents that would lead to diminishing negative consequences of ACEs.Knjiga rezimea / XXV naučni skup Empirijska istraživanja u psihologiji 29–31. mart 2019

MULTIPLE FACES OF PERSONALITY DOMAINS: REVALIDATING THE PROPOSED DOMAINS

Background: Despite relatively consistent findings regarding the number of personality pathology domains, differences in domain structure remain. Recently the proposed ICD-11 domains were partially validated in a sample of patients with major depression producing five domains: Detached, Anankastic, Negative Emotional, Antisocial and Borderline. The aim of our study was to attempt to cross-validate these findings in a sample of patients primarily diagnosed with personality disorder (PD). Subjects and methods: All subjects were assessed by Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis II PD. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied on fifty seven DSM PD symptoms selected to represent the five proposed domains. Results: SCID II data were collected from a total of 223 subjects. The EFA extracted five factors. The first factor labeled as borderline-internalizing constituted of borderline together with avoidant and dependent items, the second, labeled as disinhibited/ borderline externalizing, incorporated narcissistic and histrionic items. The other three separate factors in our study labeled as antisocial, anankastic and detached, were less robust. Conclusions: In our study five personality pathology domains were partly replicated. The most robust findings support the existence of the two factors, borderline-internalizing and disinhibited/borderline externalizing. However, the EFA was performed on a relatively low prevalence symptoms distribution, particularly for antisocial and schizoid factors

PERCEPTIONS ON SUPPORT, CHALLENGES AND NEEDS AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: THE SERBIAN EXPERIENCE

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) significantly impact lives of affected individuals and their families. They confront daunting challenges and multiple demands in their daily life, when compared to parents of children with other disabilities or parents of typically developing children. Subjects and methods: Participants completed The Caregiver Needs Survey, the survey intended for parents or primary caregivers of children with a diagnosis of ASD. During the study, 231 parents were interviewed; 167 mothers and 64 fathers. Parents were recruited from the patient database comprised of families from the two largest cities in Serbia. All of them were contacted before the study, either via phone or at the child’s regular check-in visit. Results: Over 90 percent of the parents reported that additional support at schools, home, and improved relationships with service providers are necessary and important. The most important challenges related to care were child’s communication difficulties, social interaction difficulties, and problems with daily living skills. The significant predictors of lower overall satisfaction were parent’s higher education, having a first concern related to problems of the child’s interaction with others or playing alone, and parent frustration with accessing services in the past 12 months. Greater overall satisfaction, on the other hand, was related to having an in-school tutor training or assistance in managing child’s needs or implementing treatments, and having primary care doctor or pediatrician as a source of information on autism. Conclusions: Future efforts to develop ASD-related policies and services should also take the following into consideration: the low level of awareness among caregivers and health care providers about the early signs of autism; disparities in access to services; educational problems and significant levels of dissatisfaction with the overall care and stigma

PERCEPTIONS ON SUPPORT, CHALLENGES AND NEEDS AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: THE SERBIAN EXPERIENCE

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) significantly impact lives of affected individuals and their families. They confront daunting challenges and multiple demands in their daily life, when compared to parents of children with other disabilities or parents of typically developing children. Subjects and methods: Participants completed The Caregiver Needs Survey, the survey intended for parents or primary caregivers of children with a diagnosis of ASD. During the study, 231 parents were interviewed; 167 mothers and 64 fathers. Parents were recruited from the patient database comprised of families from the two largest cities in Serbia. All of them were contacted before the study, either via phone or at the child’s regular check-in visit. Results: Over 90 percent of the parents reported that additional support at schools, home, and improved relationships with service providers are necessary and important. The most important challenges related to care were child’s communication difficulties, social interaction difficulties, and problems with daily living skills. The significant predictors of lower overall satisfaction were parent’s higher education, having a first concern related to problems of the child’s interaction with others or playing alone, and parent frustration with accessing services in the past 12 months. Greater overall satisfaction, on the other hand, was related to having an in-school tutor training or assistance in managing child’s needs or implementing treatments, and having primary care doctor or pediatrician as a source of information on autism. Conclusions: Future efforts to develop ASD-related policies and services should also take the following into consideration: the low level of awareness among caregivers and health care providers about the early signs of autism; disparities in access to services; educational problems and significant levels of dissatisfaction with the overall care and stigma

Dual training as clinician-scientist in child and adolescent psychiatry : are we there yet?

Peer reviewe

Linking child maltreatment history with child abuse potential: Relative roles of maltreatment types

The independent roles of each childhood maltreatment type on child abuse potential in adults have been insufficiently explored and are inconsistent, with dissociation as one of the possible suggested mediators of intergenerational child abuse. We investigated these effects among 164 non-clinical adult parents, who filled in general questionnaires: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) and Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). Among all maltreatment types (emotional, physical and sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect), emotional abuse was the only independent predictor in the regression model of child abuse potential. The relationship between emotional abuse history and child abuse potential was partially mediated by dissociation. The findings could speak in favor of the potentially unique detrimental role of emotional abuse in intergenerational maltreatment, with dissociation as one of the possible mechanisms

Interaction of glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms and tobacco smoking during pregnancy in susceptibility to autism spectrum disorders

Abstract Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of complex psychiatric disorders, with a proposed gene-environment interaction in their etiology. One mechanism that could explain both the genetic and environmental component is oxidative stress. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential role of common polymorphisms in genes for glutathione transferase A1, M1, T1 and P1 in susceptibility to ASD. We also aimed to explore the possible oxidative stress - specific gene-environment interaction, regarding GST polymorphisms, maternal smoking tobacco during pregnancy (TSDP) and the risk of ASD. This case-control study included 113 children with ASD and 114 age and sex-matched controls. The diagnosis was made based on ICD-10 criteria and verified by Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R). We investigated GSTA1, GSTM1, GSTP1 and GSTT1 genotypes and explored their individual and combined effects in individuals with ASD. Individual effect of GST genotypes was shown for GSTM1 active genotype decreasing the risk of ASD (OR = 0.554, 95%CI: 0.313–0.983, p = 0.044), and for GSTA1 CC genotype, increasing susceptibility to ASD (OR = 4.132, 95%CI: 1.219–14.012, p = 0.023); the significance was lost when genotype-genotype interactions were added into the logistic regression model. The combination of GSTM1 active and GSTT1 active genotype decreased the risk of ASD (OR = 0.126, 95%CI: 0.029–0.547, p = 0.006), as well as combination of GSTT1 active and GSTP1 llelle (OR = 0.170, 95%CI: 0.029–0.992, p = 0.049). Increased risk of ASD was observed if combination of GSTM1 active and GSTP1 llelle was present (OR = 11.088, 95%CI: 1.745–70.456, p = 0.011). The effect of TSDP was not significant for the risk of ASD, neither individually, nor in interaction with specific GST genotypes. Specific combination of GST genotypes might be associated with susceptibility to ASD, while it appears that maternal smoking during pregnancy does not increase the risk of ASD

How are parental practices and attitudes towards corporal punishment related to child academic, developmental, or psychological–emotional dysfunctioning?

Corporal punishment (CP) is a widely spread disciplining practice among parents and caregivers globally. Our paper aimed to explore the relationship between the parental attitudes towards CP, expected outcomes of CP, and parenting practices on one hand, with the reported dysfunctions of their children, on the other. Additionally, we aimed to explore the relationship between the use of CP and the reported academic, developmental, and psychological–emotional dysfunctions of their children. The present study involved a nationally representative sample of 1186 parents in Serbia, who had at least one child aged 0–18 years at the moment of interviewing. The parents filled out a series of questionnaires on their attitudes towards CP, expectations of CP outcomes, and their parental practices. Findings indicate that parents that report having a child with dysfunctions have positive attitudes towards CP and expect positive outcomes of CP. These parents also report using more CP as a disciplining method, as well as other harsh disciplining practices. We also identified parental positive expectations of CP, use of physical assault, psychological aggression, neglect as significant predictors of reported child dysfunctions severity. Having all the results in mind, we can assume that children with health-related and school-related issues might be at potential risk of further maltreatment.This is the peer reviewed version of the paper:Grujicic, R., Toskovic, O., Lazarević, L. B., Mandic-Maravic, V., Mitkovic-Voncina, M., Radanović, A., Radosavljev-Kircanski, J., Videnović, M., Pekmezovic, T., & Pejovic Milovancevic, M. (2022). How are parental practices and attitudes towards corporal punishment related to child academic, developmental, or psychological–emotional dysfunctioning? European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-02061-z

How are parental practices and attitudes towards corporal punishment related to child academic, developmental, or psychological–emotional dysfunctioning?

Corporal punishment (CP) is a widely spread disciplining practice among parents and caregivers globally. Our paper aimed to explore the relationship between the parental attitudes towards CP, expected outcomes of CP, and parenting practices on one hand, with the reported dysfunctions of their children, on the other. Additionally, we aimed to explore the relationship between the use of CP and the reported academic, developmental, and psychological–emotional dysfunctions of their children. The present study involved a nationally representative sample of 1186 parents in Serbia, who had at least one child aged 0–18 years at the moment of interviewing. The parents filled out a series of questionnaires on their attitudes towards CP, expectations of CP outcomes, and their parental practices. Findings indicate that parents that report having a child with dysfunctions have positive attitudes towards CP and expect positive outcomes of CP. These parents also report using more CP as a disciplining method, as well as other harsh disciplining practices. We also identified parental positive expectations of CP, use of physical assault, psychological aggression, neglect as significant predictors of reported child dysfunctions severity. Having all the results in mind, we can assume that children with health-related and school-related issues might be at potential risk of further maltreatment.Peer-reviewed manuscript: [http://ipir.ipisr.org.rs/handle/123456789/908