Showing papers in "Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 1977"

Infantile autism: a genetic study of 21 twin pairs

Abstract: Summary A systematic study was made of a representative group of 21 same-sexed twin pairs (11 MZ and 10 DZ) in which at least one twin showed the syndrome of infantile autism. There was a 36 per cent pair-wise concordance rate for autism in MZ pairs compared with o per cent concordance in DZ pairs. The concordance for cognitive abnormalities was 82 per cent in MZ pairs and 10 per cent in DZ pairs. It was concluded that there were important hereditary influences concerning a cognitive deficit which included but was not restricted to autism. In 12 out of 17 pairs discordant for autism, the presence of autism was associated with a biological hazard liable to cause brain damage. It was concluded that brain injury in the infancy period may lead to autism on its own or in combination with a genetic predisposition. Uncertainty remains on both the mode of inheritance and exactly what is inherited.

A review of stimulant drug research with hyperactive children

Abstract: SUMMARY A number of studies using stimulant drugs with hyperactive children are reviewed. Results indicated that most children are judged as improved on the drugs while a small percentage are not. Although most side effects are transitory, suppressed weight and height gain may remain problematic throughout treatment. The drugs appear to energize the central nervous system of these children while increasing their ability to concentrate without responding impulsively. Changes in other abilities are occasionally observed but appear to result from improvement in attentional processes. In contrast, follow-up studies find the long-term psycho-social adjustment of these children to be essentially unaffected by stimulant drug treatment.

Symbolic play in severely mentally retarded and in autistic children

Abstract: SUMMARY Children aged 3–14 on one census day, known to the services for severe mental retardation, or having items of behaviour found in early childhood autism, were identified from the Camberwell register. The children can be divided into 3 groups: (a) 42 with no symbolic play; (b) 23 with stereotyped, repetitive, copying play, (c) 43 who have flexible, varied symbolic play. The last occurs only in children with language comprehension age above the 19 month level, and is seen in less than half of the school-age severely retarded children. The majority of children with no symbolic play, or with stereotyped play, have marked autistic features or the full autistic syndrome. Only 2 of those with true symbolic play have any behaviour like that found in autism and none has the full syndrome. A small group of children with “repetitive” speech and stereotyped play is identified and the relationship with childhood autism is considered. The educational implications of the findings are discussed.

Brain damage syndromes in childhood: concepts and findings*

Abstract: SUMMARY A great deal has still to be learned on the various ways in which brain damage predisposes children to psychiatric disorder. Research has shown that many of the stereotypes of “the brain damaged child” were mistaken and misleading. But, equally, studies have clearly shown the major importance of brain damage as a factor contributing in a substantial way to the genesis of child psychiatric disorder. Treatment methods have still to be evaluated but already there are pointers as to how psychiatric disorders in neurologically impaired or brain damaged children should be treated. In dismissing over simplified catch phrase concepts concerning brain damage syndromes it is important not to overlook the reality of the problems to which they refer.

A three‐year follow‐up of hyperactive preschoolers into elementary school

Abstract: Summary Hyperactive and control children, originally observed in a research nursery at age 4 and then followed-up at 6 1/2, were observed in their elementary school classrooms at 7 1/2. Hyperactive children received more negative feedback from teachers, engaged in more disruptive behaviour, were rated by their teachers as more hyperactive, and expressed somewhat lower self-esteem than controls. However, comparisons between classrooms with hyperactive and control children suggested that the presence of a hyperactive child may influence interaction patterns between the teacher and the class as a whole. Moreover, observer presence influenced teachers' positive behaviours toward the child being observed.

Sexual interest and activity in adolescents with spina bifida.

Abstract: Summary Of 63 adolescents with spina bifida, most had had some form of sex education. The source was much more often schools and parents than their peers. Sexual interest was almost universally acknowledged and was of a markedly pre-occupying nature in about one-quarter of the cases. Some level of physical intimacy in heterosexual relationships had been established by 18 teenagers at some time or another, but boys, in particular, were deeply worried about their capacity to establish full sexual relations. A capacity for potency was claimed by about half the boys. Worries and uncertainties were very common amongst the older subjects and there is a strong case for a programme of group and individual counselling lo be established.

Disturbance of attention among schizophrenic, depressed and well mothers and their young children.

Abstract: SUMMARY Comparing two groups of psychotic mothers (schizophrenic, depressed), and well mothers and their children aged 5–6 on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and Continuous Performance Test (CPT), these attention measures were less inter-correlated within the depressed group. Partialling both mother and child I.Q., there were no significant intergenerational relationships within any of the three diagnostic groups. Although schizophrenic mothers performed less well than mothers in the two other groups on the EFT, children of depressed mothers showed the greatest impairment in intelligence, and, covarying for intelligence, greater impairment than children in either of the two other groups on the EFT.

Amitriptyline and methylphenidate treatment of behaviorally disordered children.

Abstract: SUMMARY A controlled investigation was conducted to assess the relative effectiveness of amitriptyline and methylphenidate for treating hyperactive/aggressive behavior in children originally referred to a learning clinic. Behavioral change was measured through parent and teacher ratings. Drug effects on attention, short term memory, and impulsivity were evaluated with laboratory tasks. It was found that both drugs were largely comparable in attenuating hyperactivity and aggression. Of the laboratory measures, only attention was improved by both drugs. However, neither medication interfered with functioning on the other laboratory tests. With the exception of and trip by line-induced sedation, side effects were of minor degree. Findings raised questions concerning measuring and improving attentiveness. Differences between results of this and other studies were discussed, as were issues regarding pharmacotherapy with amitriptyline in children.

Progressive disintegrative psychosis of childhood

Abstract: Summary The literature concerning dementia and disintegrative psychosis in childhood is reviewed. Two cases with different neurodegenerative disorders presenting with late juvenile onset psychiatric symptoms arc described. There appears little point in retaining the eponymous syndromes of de Sanctis and Heller. The diagnostic category of Progressive Disintegrative Psychosis is appropriate to describe the clinical psychiatric picture in these children. Because of the rarity of such conditions further collaboration between child psychiatrists, paediatiric neurologists and neuropathologists is needed to delineate further the psychiatric syndromes associated with the neurodegenerative disorders.

Symptoms of behaviour disturbance and adjustment to school

Abstract: Summary This paper reports a longitudinal study of behavioural symptoms in 3, 4 and 5 yr old children. The sample consisted of 50 boys and 50 girls living in a working-class area in Inner London, and information was obtained on maternal health and adjustment to school in addition to the expression of behavioural symptoms at home. The results indicate that while maternal health and behaviour disturbance in the home correlate positively together, with the exception of two symptoms there was no relation at all between behaviour at home and adjustment to school. These results are considered to have implications for the prognostic value of behavioural symptoms as well as for the treatment of young children.

Variations in behaviour ratings of children who have been in care.

Abstract: Summary Data from the National Child Development Study showed that the school behaviour of children in the cohort who had been in care by the age of 11 was poorer than that of children never in rare. Children received into care after the age of seven already had poor school behaviour ratings at seven. The behaviour of children in care deteriorated between the ages of seven and 11 relative to those never in care. Children in care were found to have higher scores of “outgoing” behaviour. Analyses of home behaviour ratings were inconclusive Implications for practice are indicated.

Alternation and sequencing behaviour, and response to novelty in autistic children

Abstract: SUMMARY A group of relatively able autistic children were compared with controls paired with the experimental subjects for sex, age, and nonverbal ability in a test of alternation and sequencing behaviour, and response to novelty. The autistic children showed reduced alternation and response to novelty. Their sequences also showed a tendency to follow strict rules at all ages and ability levels, which was not the case in the control group, and rulebound sequencing correlated negatively with response to novelty by the autistic children, which, again, was not the case in the control group. Results are discussed primarily in relation to the possibility of perseveration as a fundamental disturbance in autism. The potential relevance of the findings to hypotheses concerning the neuropathology of autism was also discussed.

Hyperkinesis, autonomic nervous system activity and stimulant drug effects.

Abstract: Summary This study focused on the degree to which resting levels of autonomic “arousal” were related to hyperkinetic behaviors and stimulant drug responses. A total of 24 boys served as subjects, 12 of whom were hyperkinetic and had a history of responding well to methylphenidate while 12 normal boys served as a matched control group. The control boys were evaluated once while the hyperkinetic boys were seen on three occasions during which they participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of methylphenidate. All children were evaluated using five psycho-physiological measures of autonomic nervous system activity and 11 objective measures of activity level and attention taken across four experimental settings. Results indicated no significant differences between hyperkinetic and normal boys in psychophysiological activity. In addition, no consistent relationships between this activity and the objective behavioral measures in either normal or hyperkinetic boys were observed. Improvements in activity level and attention during drug treatment were generally not related to the pretreatment levels of arousal in the hyperkinetic boys. Methylphenidate did not produce any significant effects on autonomic activity. Thus, results suggested that no simple level of arousal hypothesis can account for the behavior patterns of hyperkinetic children and that level of arousal is not a particularly useful predictor of drug responding in these children.

Imaginary companions in young children: relationships with intelligence, creativity and waiting ability.

Abstract: SUMMARY Previous investigators have identified several intellective and personality variables thought to be related to imaginary companion phenomena in young children. In the current study, the presence or absence of imaginary companions was assessed and related to intelligence, several creativity measures, and waiting ability in 84 preschool children comprised equally of boys and girls. No significant differences were found for these major variables between those children who had imaginary companions and those who did not. The findings arc compared with previous descriptive, and empirical literature on imaginary companions. Directions for future research on imaginary companion phenomena are briefly discussed.

Disruptive behaviour and staff attitudes at the st. charles youth treatment centre

Abstract: Summary The incidence of disruptive adolescent behaviour at the Youth Treatment Centre varies according to the attitudes of staff on duty, It is argued that incident-prone staff believe difficult behaviour to be “internally caused”, which does not reflect the reality.

Children in uganda: rates of behavioural deviations and psychiatric disorders in various school and clinic populations

Abstract: SUMMARY A total survey of psychiatric symptoms of primary school children attending three schools in economically distinct areas of Uganda was made. The symptoms were compared with those displayed by primary school aged children committed to a reform school and patients attending a child psychiatric outpatient clinic in the same country. Results indicate that high and low scoring school children and reform school children have different family backgrounds. There was good correlation between parent and teachers in identifying disturbed youngsters and characteristic diagnostic patterns of school and clinic children. The significance of these findings is discussed in terms of the role child psychiatry may play in developing countries.

Assessment of childhood gender behavior change

Abstract: SUMMARY Behavioral assessment and diagnostic testing procedures were developed to evaluate the treatment of an 8-yr-old boy with a pronounced gender disturbance. When a combined response-cost and verbal prompt contingency was applied, the single target mannerism of limping-the-wrist markedly decreased and response generalization of the treatment effect occurred to other mannerisms. Behavior therapy procedures successfully suppressed feminine voice inflections, doll-play, and predominant play with girls, and increased masculine play. The treatment effects were replicated in a multiple-baseline intrasubject design. The 2-yr independent follow-up found a marked shift to normal gender-role adjustment.

A desensitization programme for the treatment of mutism in a seven year old girl: a case report.

Abstract: Summary A behavioural programme was initiated to treat directly the symptom of elective mutism in a seven year old girl. Therapy Was instituted consequent on the consideration that the child had established a good relationship with the therapist during previous psycho therapeutic sessions. The programme involved gradually introducing the therapist into the treatment room while the child read into a tape-recorder, The child's verbal responses to the written word were transferred to the spoken word by degrees. Finally, the class teacher helped transfer the activities to the classroom where six children were included in the programme. The entire programme took place over a period of four weeks.

Truancy and the courts: research note

Abstract: Summary A retrospective survey of 179 children brought to Juvenile Court because of failure to attend school is described. A hundred and seventeen were dealt with by adjournment whereas the more usual procedure of supervision was only adopted in 36 instances. Interim care orders were used on 53 children who failed to respond satisfactorily to adjournment. Children adjourned, supervised or placed in care were found to be very similar on nine antecedent variables. The adjourned group attended school much more satisfactorily than the supervised group during the six months following first appearance in court.

Conditional matching learning set performance in autistic children

Abstract: SUMMARY The performance of a group of autistic children in a conditional matching learning set task was shown to be significantly inferior to that of groups of normal and retarded children matched for mental age. This task involves the use of conditional cues for correct solution of the problems and it is suggested that autistic children suffer from a particular cognitive deficit which is exposed in their inability in this task to make use of symbolic information.

Women who have been “in care”‐psychological and social status during pregnancy

Abstract: SUMMARY In a sample of British born primiparous women attending an ante-natal dink 7% were found to have been admitted to the residential care of a local authority for at least one month. The group admitted were found to be more likely to be teenagers and unmarried, have poor housing conditions and to have moved into the district served by the clinic. They had a higher score on a “malaise” inventory and were more likely to describe their health as having deteriorated during the pregnancy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Responses to reading as perceived by boys with and without specific reading retardation and behavioural disorders: a repertory grid study

Abstract: Summary A sample of 16 boys, with specific reading retardation and behavioural disorders, was compared with a sample of 16 boys without these problems, using a form of repertory grid testing. Problem boys saw less positive responses to reading from self, adult and peer-group figures; their own judgements of their behaviours were closer to the peer-groups', and further from those of adult figures, than was the case with controls; but they did not see any greater discrepancy between the judgements of adults and peer-group figures, nor between the judgements of parents and teachers, than did control boys. Lesser identification with adult values may contribute to the cause and persistence of reading and behavioural difficulties.

Aspects of auditory and visual attention to narrative material in normal and mentally handicapped children

Abstract: Summary Estimates of auditory and visual attention to narrative material presented on a video system were obtained from groups of normal and mentally retarded children. Visual attention was relatively high, and consistently so across time. In comprehension tests, success was greatest on items which could be answered from visual attention alone, then on items which could be answered from either visual or auditory attention, then on items which could be answered from auditory attention alone. Interpretation of these results is discussed, and possible implications indicated both for remedial work with retarded children, and for techniques in basic research with normal children.

Children's knowledge of left and right: research note

Abstract: Summary Children's knowledge of left and right was compared with their knowledge of up and down by asking them to state in which direction the black half of a circle was facing: up, clown, left, or right. For 27 boys between 6J and 11 years, the percentage of correct identifications of up and down exceeded the percentage correct of left and right, especially for the younger children. This result was also found for eight other boys who were poor readers but of normal intelligence. The poor readers did not differ from the normal readers in their ability to tell left from right or up from down, although, if an error were made, the poor readers were more likely than the normal readers to make a mirror-image error.

A note on a rapid retrieval filing system for child psychiatry and related disciplines

Abstract: Summary A method for obtaining, filing and rapid retrieval of the literature of the specialties of child psychiatry and related fields of child development, child neurology, child psychology and education is described. A filing index is suggested as a model for those building a library in these fields. We believe that the active use of a topic filing system breeds a working familiarity with the literature more valuable than random reading. To “read it when you need it” is far more useful than to officiate at the live burial of a good paper in the intact journal whose month has come and gone.