Improving screening cut-off scores for DSM-5 Adolescent Anxiety Disorder Symptom Dimensions with the screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders.

Presently most adolescent anxiety disorder screening instruments make their determination of running a high risk for an anxiety disorder on the basis of a cut-off score measured by a single screening which can lead to false positives. Therefore, the goal of this study is to examine whether a repeated administration of the SCARED screening instrument for DSM-5 anxiety disorder symptoms could help in the detection of true positives while also avoiding false positives. Participants were 923 early adolescents from the general community. The adolescents’ ages at the first annual screening ranged from 10 to 15 with an average of 12.5 years. In a prospective five-year longitudinal design, the adolescents completed the SCARED screening instrument for anxiety disorder symptoms on a yearly basis. To detect true positives and avoid false positives, the data were analyzed with Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) cut-off score analyses. ROC cut-off score analyses revealed that the sensitivity and specificity of high risk were greatly improved for repeated screenings above those of a single screening. The findings of this study demonstrate that a screening instrument (such as the SCARED) should be administered not just once but several times in order to better determine true positives and avoid false positives

Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related EmotionalDisorders (SCARED) in the general Italian adolescent population:A validation and a comparison between Italy and The Netherlands

In this study examination is given to the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in a large community sample of adolescents. Additionally, a comparison was made between the anxiety scores of this Italian adolescent cohort (N = 1975) and a comparative Dutch adolescent cohort (N = 1115). Findings revealed that a five-factor structure of the SCARED applied not only to the Italian adolescents from the general community, but also to boys and girls, and to early and middle adolescents. Moreover, sex and age differences on anxiety scores within the Italian sample were found to be consistent with previous studies of adolescent anxiety disorders. Finally, Italian adolescents reported higher anxiety scores than their Dutch peers. Findings of this study highlight that the SCARED is a valid screening instrument to rate anxiety symptoms of Italian adolescents

Ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen: Een vijfjarig prospectief onderzoek onder adolescenten in de algemene populatie

Achtergrond: Het relatief recente gebruik van moderne statistische analysemethoden zoals een latent groeimodel (lgm) maakt het mogelijk om verschillen in individuele ontwikkelingstrajecten over tijd te bestuderen. doel Prospectief en longitudinaal onderzoeken van de ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen over een periode van vijf jaar in een grote steekproef (n = 1318) uit de algemene adolescentenpopulatie. Methode: Er werd onderscheid gemaakt tussen een cohort jongeren in de vroege adolescentie (gemiddeld 12 jaar oud tijdens de eerste meting) en in de midden adolescentie (gemiddeld 16 jaar oud tijdens de eerste meting). Leeftijds- en sekseverschillen in de ontwikkelingstrajecten van angstsymptomen werden onderzocht met lgm. resultaten Uit de analyses bleek dat de symptomen van de paniekstoornis, schoolangst en separatieangst voor alle adolescent

Onderwijs voor de docent minder arbeidsintensief maken

‘Voor twee kerncursussen in de bacheloropleiding Pedagogiek (Orthopedagogiek 1 en 2) wordt onderzocht hoe het onderwijs minder arbeidsintensief door docenten kan worden verzorgd, zonder afbreuk te doen aan de kwaliteit (bijvoorbeeld het activerende karakter van de werkvormen, de effectiviteit en het niveau van het onderwijs). De cursussen worden op basis hiervan heringericht. Vervolgens wordt in het rapport aangegeven hoe de herinrichting naar andere cursussen minimaal van Pedagogiek en de faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen kan worden vertaald

Lichenometric dating (lichenometry) and the biology of the lichen genus rhizocarpon:challenges and future directions

Lichenometric dating (lichenometry) involves the use of lichen measurements to estimate the age of exposure of various substrata. Because of low radial growth rates and considerable longevity, species of the crustose lichen genus Rhizocarpon have been the most useful in lichenometry. The primary assumption of lichenometry is that colonization, growth and mortality of Rhizocarpon are similar on surfaces of known and unknown age so that the largest thalli present on the respective faces are of comparable age. This review describes the current state of knowledge regarding the biology of Rhizocarpon and considers two main questions: (1) to what extent does existing knowledge support this assumption; and (2) what further biological observations would be useful both to test its validity and to improve the accuracy of lichenometric dates? A review of the Rhizocarpon literature identified gaps in knowledge regarding early development, the growth rate/size curve, mortality, regeneration, competitive effects, colonization, and succession on rock surfaces. The data suggest that these processes may not be comparable on different rock surfaces, especially in regions where growth rates and thallus turnover are high. In addition, several variables could differ between rock surfaces and influence maximum thallus size, including rate and timing of colonization, radial growth rates, environmental differences, thallus fusion, allelopathy, thallus mortality, colonization and competition. Comparative measurements of these variables on surfaces of known and unknown age may help to determine whether the basic assumptions of lichenometry are valid. Ultimately, it may be possible to take these differences into account when interpreting estimated dates

Boekrecensie

Behandeling van angststoornissen bij kinderen en adolescente

Predictive power and construct validity of the Level of Expressed Emotion (LEE) scale

Background The Level of Expressed Emotion scale (LEE) is a questionnaire designed to measure the perception of expressed emotion, an important predictor of the course of several psychiatric disorders. Method In this study, the scale's predictive and construct validity were examined in a sample of 26 clinically depressed out-patients and their partners, and in a sample of 40 couples from the general community. Results In the sample of depressed outpatients, the LEE was predictive of depression improvement at six-month follow-up. With regard to the construct validity, results both samples showed quite strong relationships between the LEE and depressive symptomatology. relational dissatisfaction, and coping styles. Conclusions The LEE may be a useful tool In the study of interpersonal processes and depression, both in clinical and research settings

Reciprocal development of parent-adolescent support and adolescent problem behaviors

Human development takes place in the context of relationships with others.These relationships are thought to influence individuals’ behavior and developmental course (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Parent–child relationshipsare among the most important and central of human relationships, especiallyduring the period of childhood and adolescence. Parents are an importantsource of support, although the relative impact of parental support may changeover the life course. Perceived parental support concerns the perception ofparents as available for support when needed. In the current chapter we willexamine how parental support is related to adolescent adjustment over time