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Background Despite progress in youth anxiety assessment, there is need for a measure that is simultaneously (a) free, (b) brief, (c) focused broadly on anxiety and avoidance severity, frequency, and interference, and (d) concerned with the past week. The adult overall anxiety severity and impairment scale (OASIS) was adapted to yield a caregiver-report of past week youth anxiety and interference (OASIS-Y). Methods In a sample of diverse youth seeking anxiety services (N=132; 67% racial/ethnic minority) and their caregivers, analyses examined the OASIS-Y factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity. Hierarchical linear modeling in a participant subset examined OASIS-Y sensitivity to treatment-related change. Results OASIS-Y internal consistency was high and confirmatory factor analysis supported a single-factor structure similar to that found in adults. OASIS-Y convergent validity was supported by a medium-sized association with an established, commercially available measure of youth anxiety, and divergent validity was supported by the absence of unique associations with measures of youth attention and externalizing problems. In a sample subset, session-by-session OASIS-Y scores significantly declined across treatment, and declined at a steeper rate among treatment "responders" versus "non-responders," providing evidence of OASIS-Y sensitivity to treatment-related change. Limitations This study focused on a clinical sample and cannot speak to OASIS-Y performance in community settings. Shared method-variance may have also influenced findings. Conclusions This study offers the first psychometric evaluation of the OASIS-Y, and underscores the promising clinical utility of the measure for assessing past week youth anxiety and impairment and for supporting routine outcome monitoring.

Objective Very few controlled trials have evaluated targeted treatment methods for childhood selective mutism (SM); the availability of evidence-based services remains limited. This study is the first controlled trial to evaluate an intensive group behavioral treatment (IGBT) for children with SM. Method Twenty-nine children with SM (5-9 years; 76% female; 35% ethnic minority) were randomized to immediate SM 5-day IGBT or to a 4-week waitlist with psychoeducational resources (WLP), and were assessed at Week 4 and again 8 weeks into the following school year. Results IGBT was associated with high satisfaction and low perceived barriers to treatment participation. At Week 4, 50% of the immediate IGBT condition and 0% of the WLP condition were classified as "clinical responders." Further, Time × Condition interactions were significant for social anxiety severity, verbal behavior in social situations, and global functioning (but not for SM severity, verbal behavior in home settings, or overall anxiety). School-year follow-up assessments revealed significant improvements across all outcomes. Eight weeks into the following school year, 46% of IGBT-treated children were free of an SM diagnosis. In addition, teachers in the post-IGBT school year rated less school impairment and more classroom verbal behavior relative to teachers in the pre-IGBT school year. Conclusions Findings provide the first empirical support for the efficacy and acceptability of IGBT for SM. Further study is needed to examine mechanisms of IGBT response, and other effective SM treatment methods, in order to clarify which treatment formats work best for which affected children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The parent-report Affective Reactivity Index (ARI-P) is the most studied brief scale specifically developed to assess irritability, but relatively little is known about its performance in early childhood (i.e., ≤8 years). Support in such populations is particularly important given developmental shifts in what constitutes normative irritability across childhood. We examined the performance of the ARI-P in a diverse, treatment-seeking sample of children ages 3 to 8 years ( N = 115; mean age = 5.56 years; 58.4% from ethnic/racial minority backgrounds). In this sample, confirmatory factor analysis supported the single-factor structure of the ARI-P previously identified with older youth. ARI-P scores showed large associations with another irritability index, as well as small-to-large associations with aggression, anxiety, depression, and attention problems, supporting the convergent and concurrent validity of the ARI-P when used with children in this younger age range. Findings support the ARI-P as a promising parent-report tool for assessing irritability in early childhood, particularly in clinical samples.

Despite recent advances in the treatment of early child social anxiety, the broad accessibility of brick-and-mortar services has been limited by traditional barriers to care, and more recently by new obstacles related to efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. The present waitlist-controlled trial examined the preliminary efficacy of a family-based behavioral parenting intervention (i.e., the iCALM Telehealth Program) that draws on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and videoconferencing to remotely deliver clinician-led care for anxiety in early childhood. Young children (3–8 years) with a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (N = 40; 65% from ethnic/racial minority backgrounds) were randomly assigned to iCALM or waitlist. Intent-to-treat analyses found that at post, independent evaluators classified roughly half of the iCALM-treated children, but only 6% of waitlist children, as “Responders” (Wald test = 4.51; p = .03). By Post, iCALM led to significantly greater reductions than waitlist in child anxiety symptoms, fear, discomfort, and anxiety-related social impairment, and also led to greater improvements in child soothability. By 6-month follow-up, the percentage of iCALM-treated children classified as “Responders” rose to roughly 60%. Exploratory moderation tests found iCALM was particularly effective in reducing life impairments and parental distress among families presenting with higher, relative to lower, levels of baseline parental accommodation. The present findings add to a growing body of research supporting the promise of technology-based strategies for broadening the portfolio of options for delivering clinician-led mental health services.

Children with selective mutism (SM) experience significant challenges in a variety of social situations, leading to difficulties with academics, peers, and family functioning. Despite the extensive evidence base for cognitive-behavioral interventions for youth anxiety, the literature has seen relatively limited advancement in specialized treatment methods for SM. In addition, geographic disparities in SM treatment expertise and the roughly 6-month duration of some of the supported SM treatment protocols can further restrict the accessibility and acceptability of quality SM care. Intensive group behavioral treatment (IGBT) for SM was developed to expand the portfolio of evidence-based SM treatment options by offering brief, but high-dose, expert SM intervention in a group format for youth ages 3–10 years that can be completed in 1 week. In this article, we outline IGBT for SM program, which has already received initial support in a waitlist-controlled trial. Our presentation is organized around the five main components of the treatment model: (1) individual “lead-in” sessions, (2) camp (i.e., all-day group sessions for children held in a simulated classroom setting, with an emphasis on graduated exposures and structured reinforcement), (3) parent training, (4) school outreach, and (5) booster treatment, as needed. We conclude with a discussion of clinical considerations and future directions for further IGBT refinement and evaluation.

Although recent studies have linked pediatric anxiety to irritability, research has yet to examine the mechanisms through which youth anxiety may be associated with irritability. Importantly, sleep related problems (SRPs) have been associated with both child anxiety and irritability, but research has not considered whether the link between youth anxiety and irritability may be accounted for by SRPs. The present study investigated whether SRPs mediated the relationship between anxiety severity and irritability in a large sample of treatment-seeking anxious youth (N = 435; ages 7-19 years, M = 12.7; 55.1% female). Anxiety severity, SRPs and irritability showed significant pairwise associations, and the indirect effect of youth anxiety severity on irritability, via SRPs, was positive and significant. The present analysis is the first to examine youth anxiety, irritability, and SPRs in a single model in a sample of anxious youth, and provides preliminary evidence that SRPs partially mediate links between child anxiety and irritability.

Introduction Schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BP) are linked to multiple impairments in everyday functioning which share cognitive and symptom risk factors. Other risk factors for critical aspects of every day functioning (e.g., gainful employment; residential independence) such as physical health have not been evaluated, despite poor health in SCZ and BP. Methods We analyzed 20-year follow-up data from the Suffolk County Mental Health Project cohort of consecutive first admissions with a psychotic disorder to 12 psychiatric facilities in Suffolk County, NY, between September 1989 and December 1995. Both 20-year symptom, health, and cognition data, and the 20-year course of weight gain were included as predictors of employment and residence status. Results The analysis sample consisted of 122 participants with SCZ ad BP, with SCZ participants less likely to work or live independently. Correlational analyses showed symptoms and cognition predicted vocational outcomes in both samples. The effect of diagnosis was significant for both gainful employment and independence in residence. After consideration of diagnosis, mobility and negative symptoms predicted gainful employment in both samples, but there were no additional predictors of residential independence. Prospective analysis of BMI found that baseline BMI, but not changes during the 20-year follow up, predicted labor force participation. Discussion Health status limitations were associated with residential and, particularly, employment status independent from other, previously established predictors of everyday outcomes, including cognition and symptoms. The importance of health status limitations for predicting outcome was confirmed in both SCZ and BP, with schizophrenia representing the more impaired group.

Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), defined as the dispositional interpretation of uncertain or ambiguous events as stressful and problematic, has been linked to excessive worry and other anxiety-related problems in adults and youth. IU has been conceptualized as a vulnerability factor for excessive worry and anxiety, but the historical absence of a supported measure of IU in young children has hampered longitudinal research needed to evaluate temporal relationships between IU and anxiety and the differential developmental pathways of IU leading to different anxiety disorders and depression. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of a newly developed 17-item parent-report measure of younger children's Responses to Uncertainty and Low Environmental Structure (i.e., the RULES questionnaire). We examined the preliminary structure, reliability, and validity of the RULES within a treatment-seeking sample of children aged 3-10 (N=160) with anxiety. Findings from an exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor model that retained all 17 items. The RULES demonstrated strong internal consistency, and predictive, convergent, and divergent validity. In this early childhood sample, the RULES also showed stronger associations with anxiety than did a previously supported measure of IU developed for older youth, and showed preliminary sensitivity to treatment-related change. Findings provide preliminary psychometric support for the RULES as a parent-report measure of children's responses to uncertainty and low environmental structure that may inform etiologic models of anxiety.

Objective Most research on irritability and child psychopathology has focused on depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, and/or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Less is known about relationships between child anxiety and irritability and moderators of such associations. Method Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine associations between anxiety severity and irritability in a large sample of treatment-seeking youth with anxiety disorders (N = 663, aged 7–19 years, mean = 12.25 years), after accounting for comorbid depressive disorders and ODD. Additional analyses examined whether associations were moderated by child gender, age, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) status. Results There was a direct link between child anxiety and irritability even after accounting for comorbid depressive disorders and ODD. Links between child anxiety and irritability were robust across child gender and age. Furthermore, relationships between child anxiety and irritability were comparable across youth with and without GAD, suggesting that the anxiety–irritability link is relevant across child anxiety disorders and not confined to youth with GAD. Conclusion Findings add to an increasing body of evidence linking child irritability to a range of internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies, and suggest that child anxiety assessment should systematically incorporate irritability evaluations. Moreover, youth in clinical settings displaying irritability should be assessed for the presence of anxiety. Treatments for childhood anxiety may do well to incorporate new treatment modules as needed that specifically target problems of irritability.

Although most research with youth exposed to violent manmade disasters has focused on internalizing problems, recent work suggests conduct problems (CPs) may also manifest in exposed youth. However, the extent to which youth postevent CPs present independently, versus co-present in conjunction with PTSD symptoms, remains unclear. The present study examined PTS and CP symptom profiles among affected Boston-area youth following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. This study used latent profile analysis to identify distinct PTS and CP symptom profiles among Boston-area youth ages 4-19 years (N=344) affected by the Boston Marathon bombing events. PTS and CPs were measured using the UCLA-PTSD-RI and the SDQ parent reports, respectively. Analyses identified 3 distinct profiles: presentations characterized by (a) low PTS, low CPs, (b) moderate PTS, low CPs, and (c) high PTS, elevated CPs. The profile characterized by the highest PTS was the only profile with elevated CPs; hyperarousal and emotional numbing/avoidance symptoms showed the greatest distinguishing properties among profiles with and without elevated CP. Types of traumatic exposure experienced by youth were differentially associated with profiles. Specifically, direct (but not relational) exposure distinguished youth classified in the profile showing elevated CPs. Findings suggest interventions following violent manmade disasters may do well to incorporate CP modules when working with youth showing the greatest hyperarousal and emotional numbing, and/or who have directly witnessed the most violence.

Background In DSM-5, the agoraphobia core symptom criterion has been revised to require fear about multiple situations from across at least two distinct domains in which escape might be difficult or panic-like symptoms might develop. The present study examined patterns and correlates of the recent change in a sample of anxious youth with symptom presentations consistent with the DSM-IV agoraphobia definition and/or specific phobia (SP) to consider how the recent diagnostic change impacts the prevalence and composition of agoraphobia in children and adolescents. Method Analyses (N = 151) evaluated impairment and correlates of agoraphobic youth who no longer meet the DSM-5 agoraphobia criteria relative to agoraphobic youth who do meet the new DSM-5 criteria. Secondary analyses compared agoraphobic youth not meeting DSM-5 criteria to SP youth. Results One-quarter of youth with symptom presentations consistent with the DSM-IV agoraphobia definition no longer met criteria for DSM-5 agoraphobia, but showed comparable severity and impairment across most domains to youth who do meet criteria for DSM-5 agoraphobia. Further, these youth showed higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and internalizing psychopathology relative to youth with SP. Conclusions A substantial proportion of impaired youth with considerable agoraphobic symptom presentations have been left without a specified anxiety diagnosis by the DSM-5, which may affect their ability to receive and/or get coverage for services and their representation in treatment evaluations. Future DSM iterations may do well to include a “circumscribed” agoraphobia specifier that would characterize presentations of fear or anxiety about multiple situations, but that do not span across at least two distinct situational domains.

Having passed the one-year anniversary of the initial DSM-5 publication, this paper presents a guiding summary of key areas of change—and lack thereof—across DSM definitions of disorders affecting anxious youth, and offers data-informed evaluations and commentaries clarifying the areas in which DSM-5 should be celebrated as a meaningful advancement in the assessment of child anxiety, diagnostic dilemmas in child anxiety assessment from previous DSM editions that remain unresolved in DSM-5, and areas in which DSM-5 may have actually introduced new problems into the assessment of child anxiety. We organize our review and commentary around five of the meaningful changes in DSM-5 with implications for the assessment of anxious youth: (1) the new classification of selective mutism as an anxiety disorder; (2) the removal of the social anxiety disorder “generalized” specifier and the new addition of a “performance-only” specifier; (3) the revised operationalization of agoraphobia and the decoupling of agoraphobia from panic disorder; (4) the creation of a new category—disruptive mood dysregulation disorder—for diagnosing youth presenting with chronic irritability and severe temper outbursts; and (5) the revised classification of anxiety disorders not otherwise specified in the DSM. We then turn our attention to discuss four areas of noted diagnostic dilemmas in the assessment of child anxiety from DSM-IV that remain unresolved in the new DSM-5: (1) the phenomenological overlap between the OCD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) definitions; (2) the phenomenological overlap between GAD and major depressive disorder (MDD) definitions; (3) differential diagnostic utility across the separation anxiety disorder symptoms; and (4) the extent to which youth presenting with multiple marked and persistent fears should be assigned multiple distinct diagnoses of specific phobia.

Objective Remote technologies are increasingly being leveraged to expand the reach of supported care, but applications to early child-behavior problems have been limited. This is the first controlled trial examining video-teleconferencing to remotely deliver behavioral parent training to the home setting with a live therapist. Method Racially/ethnically diverse children ages 3-5 years with disruptive behavior disorders, and their caregiver(s), using webcams and parent-worn Bluetooth earpieces, participated in a randomized trial comparing Internet-delivered parent-child interaction therapy (I-PCIT) versus standard clinic-based PCIT (N = 40). Major assessments were conducted at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Linear regressions and hierarchical linear modeling using maximum-likelihood estimation were used to analyze treatment satisfaction, diagnoses, symptoms, functioning, and burden to parents across conditions. Results Intent-to-treat analyses found 70% and 55% of children treated with I-PCIT and clinic-based PCIT, respectively, showed "treatment response" after treatment, and 55% and 40% of children treated with I-PCIT and clinic-based PCIT, respectively, continued to show "treatment response" at 6-month follow-up. Both treatments had significant effects on children's symptoms and burden to parents, and many effects were very large in magnitude. Most outcomes were comparable across conditions, except that the rate of posttreatment "excellent response" was significantly higher in I-PCIT than in clinic-based PCIT, and I-PCIT was associated with significantly fewer parent-perceived barriers to treatment than clinic-based PCIT. Both treatments were associated with positive engagement, treatment retention, and very high treatment satisfaction. Conclusion Findings build on the small but growing literature supporting the promising role of new technologies for expanding the delivery of behavioral parent training. (PsycINFO Database Record

Children’s mental health problems are highly prevalent and impose enormous burdens at the individual, family, and societal level. Fortunately, the past few decades have witnessed tremendous advances in the development and evaluation of developmentally sensitive cognitive behavioral procedures with demonstrated success in treating a considerable share of mental health problems presenting in youth. In this chapter, we provide a brief overview of the cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) model for youth mental health problems, followed by a discussion of key developmental considerations and distinguishing attributes of CBT when targeting mental health problems in youth. We then turn attention to how CBT differentially addresses specific domains of child mental health problems and review major advances and innovations in recent years that hold great promise for meaningfully expanding the reach and quality of CBT for an even a larger proportion of affected children and adolescents. These innovations include the development of transdiagnostic, modular, and intensive CBT formats, as well as the promising role of technology for improving the accessibility of CBT for traditionally underserved child populations. We conclude by highlighting areas in need of continued empirical attention and lay out an agenda for future research seeking to optimize the public health impact of CBT procedures for redressing children’s mental health problems.

Background Social networking services (SNS) have rapidly become a central platform for adolescents’ social interactions and media consumption patterns. The present study examined a representative sample of publicly accessible content related to deliberate self-injurious cutting across three SNS platforms: Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. Methods Data collection simulated searches for publicly available deliberate self-injury content on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. Over a six-month period at randomly generated time points, data were obtained by searching “#cutting” on each SNS platform and collecting the first 10 posts generated. Independent evaluators coded posts for presence of the following: (a) graphic content, (b) negative self-evaluations, (c) references to mental health terms, (d) discouragement of deliberate self-injury, and (e) recovery-oriented resources. Differences across platforms were examined. Results Data collection yielded a sample of 1,155 public posts (770 of which were related to mental health). Roughly 60% of sampled posts depicted graphic content, almost half included negative self-evaluations, only 9.5% discouraged self-injury, and

Objective Despite advances in supported treatments for early onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), progress has been constrained by regionally limited expertise in pediatric OCD. Videoteleconferencing (VTC) methods have proved useful for extending the reach of services for older individuals, but no randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have evaluated VTC for treating early onset OCD. Method RCT comparing VTC-delivered family based cognitive-behavioral therapy (FB-CBT) versus clinic-based FB-CBT in the treatment of children ages 4-8 with OCD (N = 22). Pretreatment, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up assessments included mother-/therapist-reports and independent evaluations masked to treatment condition. Primary analyses focused on treatment retention, engagement and satisfaction. Hierarchical linear modeling preliminarily evaluated the effects of time, treatment condition, and their interactions. "Excellent response" was defined as a 1 or 2 on the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale. Results Treatment retention, engagement, alliance and satisfaction were high across conditions. Symptom trajectories and family accommodation across both conditions showed outcomes improving from baseline to posttreatment, and continuing through follow-up. At posttreatment, 72.7% of Internet cases and 60% of Clinic cases showed "excellent response," and at follow-up 80% of Internet cases and 66.7% of Clinic cases showed "excellent response." Significant condition differences were not found across outcomes. Conclusions VTC methods may offer solutions to overcoming traditional barriers to care for early onset OCD by extending the reach of real-time expert services regardless of children's geographic proximity to quality care. (PsycINFO Database Record

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a dispositional negative orientation toward uncertainty and its consequences, has been studied in adults, but research has only recently examined IU in youth. Despite some advances, little is known about the factor structure of measures of IU in youth. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the structure of IU as measured by the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children (IUSC; Comer et al., 2009) in a sample of youth (N=368) 9-18 years of age (Mage=12.47) with and without anxiety disorders and their mothers. Findings demonstrated multiple acceptable factor structures: a correlated factors 2-factor structure and a bifactor model where a general factor underlies all items. While the bifactor model provides better fit and reliability to the data, multivariate analyses indicated that the 2-factor structure distinguishes apprehensive anxiety regarding future events (prospective IU) from present-focused inhibition of behavior due to uncertainty and negative reactions to the presence of uncertainty (inhibitory IU); a total IU score predicted all anxiety domains for self- and parent-reports except for parent-report harm avoidance. Findings are discussed in terms of consistency of IU across adult and youth samples, and how results can inform treatment efforts and etiologic models of IU and anxiety.

Patients with severe mental illnesses manifest substantial deficits in self-assessment of the abilities that impact everyday functioning. This study compares patients with schizophrenia to healthy individuals on their social cognitive performance, their assessment of that performance, and the convergence between performance and indicators of effort in solving tasks. Patients with schizophrenia ( n = 57) and healthy controls (HC; n = 47) completed the Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test (BLERT), a psychometrically sound assessment of emotion recognition. Participants rated their confidence in the accuracy of their responses after each item. Participants were instructed to respond as rapidly as possible without sacrificing accuracy; the time to complete each item was recorded. Patients with schizophrenia performed less accurately on the BLERT than HC. Both patients and HC were more confident on items that they correctly answered than for items with errors, with patients being less confident overall; there was no significant interaction for confidence between group and accuracy. HC demonstrated a more substantial adjustment of response time to task difficulty by taking considerably longer to solve items that they got wrong, whereas patients showed only a minimal adjustment. These results expand knowledge about both self-assessment of social cognitive performance and the ability to appraise difficulty and adjust effort to social cognitive task demands in patients with schizophrenia.

A large body of work documents the heavy mental health burden of youth exposure to disasters, but the majority of this research has focused on posttraumatic stress and internalizing symptoms. Less is known about associations between disaster exposure and children's conduct problems (CPs), or variables that may moderate such relationships. Given well-documented links between CPs and children's exposure to community violence, youth with greater prior community violence exposure through residence in high-crime areas may be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of disaster exposure on CPs. We surveyed Boston-area caregivers (N = 460) in the first 6 months following the 2013 Marathon bombing on their children's event-related exposures, as well as CPs. To estimate prior violent crime exposure, children's neighborhoods were assigned corresponding violent crime rates obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's uniform crime reporting statistics. Almost 1 in 6 Boston-area children assessed in this convenience sample showed clinically elevated CPs in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent manhunt. Prior violent crime exposure significantly moderated the link between children's manhunt exposure (but not bombing exposure) and child CPs. Manhunt exposure was related to increased CPs among children living in areas with high and medium (but not low) levels of prior violent crime. Children living in neighborhoods characterized by violent crime may be at particularly increased risk for developing CPs after violent manmade disasters. As most postdisaster child intervention efforts focus on posttraumatic stress, efforts are needed to develop programs targeting child CPs, particularly for youth dwelling in violent neighborhoods.