Internalizing disorders and quality of life in adolescence: evidence for independent associations

Objective: To investigate whether internalizing disorders are associated with quality of life (QoL) in adolescents, even after accounting for shared risk factors. Methods: The sample comprised 102 adolescents from a community cross-sectional study with an oversampling of anxious subjects. Risk factors previously associated with QoL were assessed and divided into five blocks organized hierarchically from proximal to distal sets of risk factors. Results: Multiple regression analysis yielded a hierarchical model accounting for 72% of QoL variance. All blocks were consistently associated with QoL (p < 0.05), accounting for the following percentages of variance: 12% for demographics; 5.2% for family environment; 37.8% for stressful events; 10% for nutritional and health habits; and 64.2% for dimensional psychopathological symptoms or 22.8% for psychiatric diagnoses (dichotomous). Although most of the QoL variance attributed to internalizing symptoms was explained by the four proximal blocks in the hierarchical model (43.2%), about 21% of the variance was independently associated with internalizing symptoms/diagnoses. Conclusions: QoL is associated with several aspects of adolescent life that were largely predicted by our hierarchical model. Our findings reinforce the hypothesis that internalizing disorders and internalizing symptoms in adolescents have a high impact on QoL and deserve proper clinical attention. .

Brazilian Portuguese version of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS-Brasil) / Versão em português brasileiro da Escala Spence de Ansiedade Infantil (SCAS-Brasil)

Objective: To describe the cross-cultural adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) for use in Brazil. Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation followed a four-step process, based on specialized literature: 1) investigation of conceptual and item equivalence; 2) translation and back-translation; 3) pretest; and 4) investigation of operational equivalence. All these procedures were carried out for both the child and the parent versions of the SCAS. Results: A final Brazilian version of the instrument, named SCAS-Brasil, was defined and is presented. Conclusion: The SCAS-Brasil instrument seems to be very similar to the original SCAS in terms of conceptual and item equivalence, semantics, and operational equivalence, suggesting that future cross-cultural studies may benefit from this early version. As a result, a new instrument is now available for the assessment of childhood anxiety symptoms in community, clinical, and research settings (AU)

Objetivo: Descrever a adaptação transcultural da Escala Spence de Ansiedade Infantil (Spence Children's Anxiety Scale, SCAS) para uso no Brasil. Método: O processo de adaptação transcultural seguiu um processo de quatro etapas baseado em literatura especializada: 1) investigação da equivalência conceitual e dos itens; 2) tradução e retrotradução; 3) pré-teste; e 4) investigação da equivalência operacional. Todos os procedimentos foram realizados tanto para a versão da criança quanto para a versão dos pais da SCAS. Resultados: Uma versão final brasileira do instrumento, denominada SCAS-Brasil, foi obtida e é apresentada. Conclusão: A SCAS-Brasil se mostra muito similar à versão original da SCAS no que diz respeito à equivalência conceitual e dos itens, semântica e equivalência operacional, sugerindo que futuros estudos transculturais poderiam se beneficiar desta primeira versão. Como resultado, um novo instrumento está agora disponível para a avaliação de sintomas de ansiedade na infância, em contextos comunitário, clínico e de pesquisa (AU)