Parenting Stress and Emotional/Behavioral Problems in Adolescents with Primary Headache.

Primary headache is a frequent and disabling disorder, common among children and adolescents, and it is a painful syndrome often accompanied by functional impairment and associated with emotional and behavior problems. The aim of this study was to investigate parenting stress and emotional/behavioral problems in adolescents affected by primary headache compared with healthy adolescents. The study population consisted of 35 adolescents and a control group of 23 healthy subjects. The assessment included the administration of clinical standardized scales such as Parent Stress Index-Short Form, Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment Score Questionnaire, and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Headache group and control group did not differ in terms of parenting stress (p = 0.29). On the contrary, headache group showed more internalizing problems (p = 0.023), affective problems (p = 0.01), anxious (p = 0.001), and somatic complaints (p < 0.001) compared with control group. In addition, we found a significant correlation between PSI domains and specific CBCL subscales in the headache group. The findings emphasize the need for expanded intervention in the clinical treatment of pediatric headache, a treatment that may also include the family members. Further research is needed.

Juvenile sex offenders: Personality profile, coping styles and parental care.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in juvenile sex offenders showing that this population is highly heterogeneous. The aim of the present study was to identify possible different profiles that could help understand the motivation behind offending, comparing 31 Juvenile Sexual Offenders (JSOs), 31 Juvenile Sexual Non Offenders (JSNOs) and 31 Juvenile Non Offenders (Control Group). A data collection form, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) or Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and the Parental Bonding Inventory (PBI) were administered to all participants. The results show that JSOs differs from JNSOs in some domains, such as living in single-parent homes, while maintain some common aspects such as academic failure and previous sexual intercourse. Moreover, JNSOs showed more abnormal personality traits, such as Authority Problems, MacAndrew Alcoholism, Acknowledgement and Alcohol-Drug Problem Proneness compared to JSOs and the Control Group, while JSOs and JNSOs use a coping strategy more oriented to Avoidance and Distraction compared to the Control group. Finally, JSOs described the relationships with fathers characterized by higher care and protection than JNSOs. These findings provide additional evidence with respect the prevention and treatment of criminal sexual behavior in adolescent.

Psychopathology, symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and risk factors in juvenile offenders.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of potential environmental and psychopathological risk factors, with special focus on symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a sample of adolescent offenders in relation to the type of crime committed. METHODS: The assessment included data collection and administration of clinical standardized scales such as the Youth Self-Report and Conners' Adolescent Self-Report Scale. A total of 135 juvenile offenders participated in the study. In relation to the type of crime committed, we identified three groups matched for age and sex (crimes against people, property crimes, and alcohol-drug-related crimes). RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of juvenile offenders reported educational achievement problems and 34% reported a family history of psychiatric disorders. We detected a statistically significant difference between the three groups with regard to ADHD (P=0.01) and conduct problems (P=0.034). Juvenile offenders who had committed crimes against people showed more ADHD symptoms (18%) and conduct problems (20%) than adolescents who had committed property crimes and alcohol-drug-related crimes. Sixty percent of the juvenile offenders who had committed property crimes and 54% of those who had committed alcohol-drug-related crimes showed problems in academic achievement. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the need to implement specific interventions for prevention and treatment of specific criminal behavior.

Mental health in migrant schoolchildren in Italy: teacher-reported behavior and emotional problems.

The migration process is a cause of physical and social stressors that may lead to mental health problems, particularly in children. In Italy, there are few studies about migrant children's mental health; thus, the aim of this study is to compare the prevalence and types of emotional and behavioral problems in migrant schoolchildren to those of native Italian children. The research involved migrant (first- and second-generation) and native schoolchildren attending kindergarten, primary, and secondary school. A questionnaire was administered to parents to collect information about the sociodemographic characteristics of the children. All teachers filled in the Teacher's Report Form for migrant and native children. The findings show that teachers detect academic and adaptive problems more easily in migrant schoolchildren, but they are probably less aware of the children's psychological problems. The observations made in this study provide a starting point in understanding the psychological status and main problems noted among migrant children.

[Parental bonds in adolescent perpetrators of sexual violence]. / Il legame genitoriale in adolescenti autori di violenza sessuale.

A deep understanding of the characteristics of sex offenders may serve to improve clinical prevention and treatment programs. Mostly, however, this knowledge can aid in the creation of better re-education and rehabilitation programs as well as criminological treatment. In prison systems outside of Italy, the use of treatment programs specifically designed for sex offenders is commonplace, whereas in Italy, there is only sporadic experimentation in this field which is aimed at evaluating adults. If this is true for adults, it is even more so for the minors who commit this type of crime that gives rise to worry and a great sense of alarm. The aim of this work is to show the preliminary results of an empirical study that explores the mental representations of the parents of minors who commit acts of sexual violence towards other. This study is an ongoing in collaboration with the Juvenile Justice Center (Centro Giustizia Minorile) of the Region of Apulia, whose first data on 10 juvenile perpetrators of such specific crimes are presented here.

A childhood case of symptomatic essential and psychogenic palatal tremor.

Palatal tremor is a rare movement disorder characterized by rhythmic contractions of the soft palate. It is most often symptomatic, secondary to brainstem or cerebellar disease and, in rarer cases, is categorized as essential in the absence of documented brain lesions. There have also been reports in the literature of cases of palatal tremor described as psychogenic because they were associated with psychological or psychiatric disorders. We describe the case of a 12-year-old boy with palatal tremor presenting clinical features of symptomatic essential and psychogenic palatal tremor, thus suggesting a neuropsychopathological continuum between the different forms of disease.