Childhood Masturbation: Sleep Habits of Children, Maternal Psychopathology, and Other Risk Factors-A Controlled Study.

The current study aimed to explore sleep habits, maternal psychological symptoms, and other risk factors in children with childhood masturbation (CM). The study was conducted with 80 children with CM and 44 children as a control group. Sleep habits were assessed with the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and mothers' psychiatric symptoms were screened using the Symptom Checklist-90. In the CM group, sleeping in the same room with parents, history of unplanned pregnancy, and not playing with the child every day were more common than in the control group. Sleep problems (in particular, night waking) are associated with increased incidence of CM. The simple act of parents playing with their children every day may protect against children engaging in CM. Maternal psychiatric symptoms were more common among children with CM than in the control group. By expanding our knowledge about potential risk factors associated with CM, clinicians can distinguish between desirable and undesirable behavior and intervene in pathological cases. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 60(1), 38-47.].

Psychological Well-Being Among Internally Displaced Adolescents and the Effect of Psychopathology on PTSD Scores Depends on Gender.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the post-traumatic symptoms and psychological well-being among internally displaced (ID) adolescents in the early phase of the conflict in the southeast part of Turkey and clarify the effect of psychopathology on PTSD scores depends on gender. With the help of the results of our study, we aimed to enhance our understanding of adolescent mental health. Our study was completed with 102 ID adolescents (42 boys, 60 girls). Our results showed that ID adolescents flee from conflict had significantly higher levels of mental disorders and PTSD. Girls show higher rates of PTSD symptoms than boys and there was no significant interactive effect of gender and emotional, behavioral and peer problems on PTSD. However, boys with ADHD seem to be more prone to develop PTSD than girls. We aimed to highlight the challenges facing adolescents forced to flee from conflict zones who were temporarily relocated. These results may help us to enlighten our understanding of ID adolescents and may suggest more studies to provide beneficial gender-specific intervention program.

Effectiveness of autism training programme: An example from Van, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge and attitudes of family practitioners before and after their participation in a training programme. METHODS: The study was conducted at Van Training and Research Hospital, Van, Turkey, from December 1to 15, 2016, and comprised family practitioners. Before the training, the practitioners were asked to fill out a questionnaire that was prepared by the researchers. Subsequently, the training course was presented by the child and adolescent psychiatrists. After the training, participants were asked to fill out the same questionnaire again. The results of survey were compared before and after training. Data was evaluated using SPSS 22.Descriptive analyses were used and baseline characteristics were compared between groups using McNemar's test and paired t-test. RESULTS: Of the 79 family practitioners who filled out the questionnaire,75(94.9%) were included. The mean age of the practitioners was 28.2±11.63, with 40(53%) being females. Moreover,26(34.7%) participants thought that they had sufficient information regarding autism spectrum disorder before training, and this number increased to 66(88%) after training. There was a significant difference between pre-training and post-training scores of the questionnaire (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There was a deficiency in knowledge about autism symptoms, aetiology, prevalence and treatment among family practitioners. .

Sibling Death after Being Thrown from Window by Brother with Autism: Defenestration, an Emerging High-Risk Behavior.

Children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) may have serious behavioral problems such as aggression, self-injury, and violence. However, the literature on ASD either overrules any correlation between aggression and ASD or maintains the fact that the efforts to link them have so far been inconclusive. Although severe forms of violence are extremely rare in children with autism, there are a few cases reported in the literature with significant harm to siblings. We hereby report an 8-year-old boy with ASD who caused the death of his sibling by throwing her out of the window. Shared similarities of all defenestration cases indicate a pattern of high-risk behavior threatening the survival of minors. We recommend precautions against this high-risk behavior in children with ASD.