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Biomedical subjects

J H Beitchman

Publications and source records attributed to J H Beitchman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

A review of the short-term effects of child sexual abuse.

This is the first of a two-part report that critically evaluates empirical studies on the short- and long-term effects of child sexual abuse. With the exception of sexualized behavior, the majority of short-term effects noted in the literature are symptoms that characterize child clinical samples in general. Among adolescents, commonly reported sequelae include sexual dissatisfaction, promiscuity, homosexuality, and an increased risk for revictimization. Depression and suicidal ideation or behavior also appear to be more common among victims of sexual abuse compared to normal and psychiatric nonabused controls. Frequency and duration of abuse, abuse involving penetration, force, or violence, and a close relationship to the perpetrator appear to be the most harmful in terms of long-lasting effects on the child. The high prevalence of marital breakdown and psychopathology among parents of children who are sexually abused makes it difficult to determine the specific impact of sexual abuse over and above the effects of a disturbed home environment. Given the broad range of outcome among sexual abuse victims, as well as the methodological weaknesses present in many of the studies reviewed, it is not possible at this time to postulate the existence of a "post-sexual-abuse-syndrome" with a specific course or outcome.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

The continuum of linguistic dysfunction from pervasive developmental disorders to dyslexia.

This article examines speech and language impairment in relation to several common childhood psychiatric disorders. Similarities among disorders can be found in the associated language impairments, family histories, and certain language outcomes. The article describes prevalence surveys of speech and language disorders and the correlates of language impairment, such as IQ, socioeconomic status, and birth order. The association between language impairment and childhood psychiatric disorders (i.e., hyperactivity, autism) is investigated, and the outcomes of language impairment are discussed. Finally, the hypothesis that a common underlying neurolinguistic diathesis may be present for certain subgroups of psychiatrically disordered children is presented. In some groups, psychiatric disorder (i.e., hyperactivity) and linguistic impairment may develop in parallel as a function of an underlying neurodevelopmental immaturity. The relation between the linguistic impairment and neurodevelopmental immaturity requires clarification so as to disentangle their specific associations with the various disorders discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1990

Psychiatric risk in children with speech and language disorders.

Based on an initial community sample of 1,655 5-year-old children, this report utilized the risk statistic to estimate a child's risk for developing a psychiatric disturbance depending on his or her status as speech/language-impaired. Results showed that risk estimates varied as a function of gender and source of information (teacher, parent, psychiatric reports). Overall, speech- and language-impaired children had a higher risk for developing a psychiatric disturbance compared with normal language controls, with speech/language-impaired girls being at greater risk than boys.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Empirical classification of speech/language impairment in children. I. Identification of speech/language categories.

Cluster analysis was employed to classify speech/language impairment in a sample of 347 children 5 years of age. Based on scores on a variety of speech and language tests, four groups of children with similar linguistic profiles were identified. These groups were labeled high overall, low overall, poor auditory comprehension, and poor articulation. Differences among these groups according to cognitive, developmental, demographic, and audiometry variables were examined. The low overall group was most disadvantaged on all measures, the high overall group was most advantaged, and the poor articulation and poor auditory comprehension groups were intermediate. The implications of these findings for the development of a theory of the relationship between speech/language and psychiatric disorders are discussed.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Empirical classification of speech/language impairment in children. II. Behavioral characteristics.

Behavioral symptomatology in 188 children, 5 years of age, classified according to four different speech/language profiles, is described. Information was collected from the teacher, parent, child self-report, and psychiatric interview. The results indicated that risk for psychiatric disorder, particularly ADHD, is greatest among children with general linguistic impairment. Specific deficits such as poor auditory comprehension or articulation problems were not consistently associated with behavioral disturbance. It is postulated that neurodevelopmental immaturity may be the common underlying antecedent of both linguistic impairment and psychiatric disorder.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1989

The children's self-report questionnaire: factor score age trends and gender differences.

Age trends and gender differences in a normative sample of 1,676 children (6- to 13-years) were explored with the use of scores obtained from the Children's Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ). Several interesting trends emerged. Boys scored higher than girls on Conduct Problems, and girls scored higher than boys on dimensions labeled Worry and Sensitive-Emotional. Scores on other SRQ factors exhibited orderly increases or decreases across age groups. These trends are discussed in an attempt to clarify behavioral cognitive and affective age appropriate norms and are cautiously interpreted within a developmental framework. The identification of age and gender trends are a necessary step in the development of a diagnostic instrument intended for use with children. The age and gender trends observed lend additional support to the validity of the SRQ.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1989

Diagnostic interviewing with children: the use and reliability of the diagnostic coding form.

There have been few attempts to standardize assessment methods in Child Psychiatry. This paper describes a semi-structured approach to diagnostic interviewing of the child. Thirty-four children six to 13 years of age, and their parents, were interviewed two weeks apart by two different psychiatrists. A diagnostic coding form consisting of 29 clinical symptom items, eight summary items, and nine positive health ratings was used. Three diagnostic items were also included: "severity of clinical condition," "probability of disorder," and "adjustment status." Twelve of the Time 2 interviews with the child and parent were videotaped and rated by three different psychiatrists. Results indicated that summary items had higher reliability than individual symptom items and the three diagnostic items had the highest reliability, suggesting reliability is better for broad classes of behaviour. Interrater reliability was higher for the face-to-face rating than videotaped ratings. This suggests first that face-to-face interviews are reasonably stable over a two week period and second, since videotaped ratings had lowest reliability on items that depended on inferences about the child's feedlings, an important source of variance in assessment may be the clinician's ability to empathize with the child and draw inferences about internal feeling-states. It was concluded that this interview schedule can be a part of routine clinical practice. It ensures a reasonably standard, yet flexible and reliable approach to diagnostic interviewing.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Self-report measures for use with children: a review and comment.

This article underscores the need for self-report instruments for children to complement the teacher and parent questionnaires traditionally used to assess various aspects of children's psychological lives. Some of the problems inherent in using teachers, parents, and children as informants are delineated. Many self-report instruments, in particular those that are used to assess children's self-concept, anxiety, depression, and personality, are reviewed. The Children's Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ) was designed to assist in the diagnosis and detection of psychological deviance in 7- to 12-year-old children. The SRQ is easily administered, has broadly based norms, and has acceptable reliability and validity. The SRQ can be used as an aid to both research and clinical assessment and may provide insight into the inner world of the child.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Prevalence of speech and language disorders in 5-year-old kindergarten children in the Ottawa-Carleton region.

A representative sample of 5-year-old kindergarten children was assessed for speech and/or language disorder. Of the 1,655 children tested, 180 were identified as having speech or language impairment. It is estimated that within the total reference population, between 16.2% and 21.8% would show some impairment; for the boys, the rate would be 15.5% to 20.7% and for the girls, between 19.1% and 25.1%. Most of these children would show some language impairment as opposed to speech problems only. Approximately 36% of the identified boys and 30% of the girls would have speech problems only, the remainder having speech and language problems or language problems only. Followup studies of these children are needed to ascertain their outcome and language status in middle childhood.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1986

Disorders of language, communication, and behavior in mentally retarded children. Some ideas on their co-occurrence.

The thesis of this article is that deficits in language and communication contribute to behavior problems in childhood. Mentally retarded children show a range of deficits in language and communication compared with normals; they are also at increased risk for behavior problems. The evidence suggests that these deficits are quantitative rather than qualitative. In addition, these linguistic deficits may contribute independently to the development of behavior disorders insofar as the linguistic deficit interferes with the child's ability to make himself understood or to understand others.

Child↗
PubMed1985

Therapeutic considerations with the language impaired preschool child.

This paper examines the relevance of language impairment to the development of psychiatric disorders of childhood. The literature showing a relationship between language impairment and psychiatric disorders is briefly reviewed. Although deficiencies of both expressive and receptive language have been associated with psychiatric disorder, this discussion focuses on disturbances of "receptive language". Some cases are described which illustrate the connections between deficient receptive language and disturbances of development. These disturbances of development range from excessive temper tantrums, with defiant and oppositional behavior, to mannerisms, the insistence on sameness and frank autistic symptoms. These disorders are understood in a developmental context in which deficiencies of receptive language are seen to interfere with the normal unfolding of the child's developing individuation, autonomy and independence. Depending on the severity of the language disorder and the responsivity of the environment, this results in a continuum of behavioral problems with oppositional and defiant behaviour at one end, and mannerisms and autistic symptoms on the other end. The implications for therapy and long term development are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1985

Childhood schizophrenia. A review and comparison with adult-onset schizophrenia.

Childhood schizophrenia versus childhood autism and the phenomenology, epidemiology, and premorbid characteristics of childhood schizophrenia are reviewed, as well as pregnancy and birth complications, electroencephalographic studies, biochemistry, and genetic factors of this disorder. Treatment considerations and follow-up studies are outlined.

Adult↗