Factors Associated with Substance Use in Adolescents Under Legally Required Health Care

Objective:In this study, cases who applied to the polyclinic, where we followed the patients under legally required health care clinic in the last year, were evaluated. It was aimed to compare the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who use and do not use substances.Methods:Between September 2021 and August 2022, the files of cases aged 14-18 years with health precautions were reviewed retrospectively. Data of 75 cases with complete file information were recorded and analyzed.Results:Seventy-five patients (47 girls, 28 boys) were included in the study. Thirty four patients (21 girls, 13 boys) had substanceuse. The mean age was 15.9±1.2 years and the mean duration of education was 9.5±1.9 years. Legally required counseling was 72% (n=54), education was 29.3% (n=22), institutional care was 22.7% (n=17) Smoking and alcohol use (p=0.001) school absenteeism (p=0.002), criminal behavior (p=0.012), number of negative life events (p=0.025), exposure to emotional abuse (p=0.025) and care measures (p=0.017) were found to be higher in patients with substance use. Academic achievement was lower in patients using substance (p=0.001). Substance use was found to be higher in those residing in the city center than in the districts and rural areas (p=0.002). At least one psychiatric diagnosis (p=0.001), more than one psychiatric diagnosis (p=0.001) and conduct disorder (p=0.016) were detected more frequently in the substance abuser group. Cannabis was the most frequently used substance (79.4%) in the group using drugs.Conclusion:Adolescents who are monitored with in the scope of under legally required health care and who use substances are different from the non-substance use group in terms of some socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Knowing these features can contribute to the prevention and treatment studies of forensic medicine and child and adolescent mental health clinics working with patients who receive legally required treatment. Therefore, it is recommended to increase cooperation between the clinics

The Relationship of OCD and OCD Symptoms with the Thought Action Fusion in Children and Adolescents during the Pandemic Period

INTRODUCTION: The aim of our study is to examine the effects of pandemic-related features on OCD symptoms during the period of restrictions, and to evaluate the relationship between OCD and TAF during the pandemic. METHODS: A total of 69 patients aged 7-18 years, who applied to our outpatient clinics and were diagnosed with OCD, were included in the study. Sociodemographic data form, Children's Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) and Thought Action Fusion Scale for Children were used in the study. RESULTS: The CY-BOCS obsession score was found significantly higher in cases with an increase in the time spent with the family during the pandemic, obsession and compulsion scores in those with an increase in the cleaning efforts related to the pandemic, and compulsion score in those with an increase in the behaviors performed for the purpose of preventing virus transmission. The TAFTOTAL score was found to be significantly higher in females, and the TAFSELF subscale score was found to be significantly higher in patients over 12 years old. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: TAF appears to be critical in the onset and maintenance of OCD. It is thought that early diagnosis and intervention will be important in the prognosis before the chronicity of cognitive distortions of OCD

Karantina Döneminin Çocuk ve Ergenlerin Dikkat Eksikliği Hiperaktivite Bozukluğu ve Yıkıcı Davranış Bozukluklarının Belirti Şiddeti ve Stresle Baş Etme Becerileri Üzerindeki Etkisi: Araştırma Makalesi

Introduction and Objective: The aim is to examine changes in the severity of symptoms during the lockdown period in patients diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBD), and to determine the relationship between the methods of coping with the stress experienced by the children and the severity of ADHD and DBD. Method: 92 patients, between the ages of 6-18, who were diagnosed with ADHD were included in the study. Sociodemographic data form and the Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale were given to parents, and the Coping Styles of Stress Scale was given to children. Results: It was found that ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Conduct Disorder (CD) scores decreased significantly, compared to before the pandemic. There wasn’t a significant difference between pandemic-related features and ADHD, ODD, and CD scores. A significant relationship was not observed between stress-coping methods and ADHD and CD scores and as ODD scores increased, the rate of using the submissive approach increased. Conclusion: Adaptation to acute changes such as a pandemic can be challenging for children and adolescents. During these processes, especially children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD are at risk for developing additional mental problems. Evaluating the stress-coping methods of patients diagnosed with ADHD and DBD and their parents who apply to outpatient clinics in interviews and supporting them to develop healthy coping methods are important issues both during stressful situations and in terms of providing psychological resilience against subsequent stresses.Giriş ve Amaç: Dikkat Eksikliği Hiperaktivite Bozukluğu (DEHB) ve Yıkıcı Davranış Bozuklukları (YDB) tanısı konmuş hastaların karantina dönemindeki semptom şiddetindeki değişikliğin incelenmesi ve DEHB ve YDB'nin şiddeti ile çocuklar tarafından yaşanan stresle baş etme yöntemleri arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Yöntem: Çalışmaya DEHB tanısı almış 6-18 yaş arası 92 hasta dahil edilmiştir. Ebeveynlere sosyodemografik veri formu ve Turgay Çocuk ve Ergenlerde Davranım Bozuklukları için DSM-IV’e Dayalı Tarama ve Derecelendirme Ölçeği, çocuklara ise Stresle Başa Çıkma Tarzları Ölçeği verilmiştir. Bulgular: Pandemi öncesine göre DEHB, Karşıt Olma Karşı Gelme (KOKGB) ve Davranım Bozukluğu (DB) puanlarının anlamlı olarak düştüğü saptanmıştır. Pandemi ile ilişkili özellikler ile DEHB, KOKGB ve DB puanları arasında anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır. Stresle başa çıkma yöntemleri ile DEHB ve DB puanları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki gözlenmemiş ve KOKGB puanları arttıkça boyun eğici yaklaşımı kullanma oranının arttığı saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Pandemi gibi akut değişikliklere uyum çocuk ve ergenler için zorlayıcı olabilmektedir. Bu süreçlerde özellikle DEHB tanılı çocuk ve ergenler ek ruhsal sorunlar geliştirmek açısından risk altındadır. Polikliniklere başvuran DEHB ve YDB tanılı hastaların ve ebeveynlerinin stresle başa çıkma yöntemlerinin görüşmelerde değerlendirilmesi ve sağlıklı baş etme yöntemleri geliştirmeleri açısından desteklenmesi hem stres yaratan durumun yaşandığı süreçte hem de sonraki streslere karşı psikolojik dayanıklılık sağlanabilmesi açısından önemli konulardır