Biomedical subjects

M H Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to M H Schmidt.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

[Role of the father in the development of school-age children. Results of an epidemiologic study].

As part of an epidemiological follow-up study, data collected from 356 children at ages 8 and 13 and from their parents were analyzed to examine the relationship of parental child-rearing behavior and parents' psychological problems to the intellectual, emotional and social development of the offspring. The results revealed that while children are growing up father and child influence each other in specific ways. The fathers were particularly active in developing their children's cognitive abilities and had a strong influence especially on the development of their sons. At both age 8 and age 13, children whose parents had psychiatric disturbances, regardless of which parent was affected, were much more likely than those with normal parents to have psychiatric disorders themselves. Significant parental gender effects were found, however, when the form of the child's disorder was considered: At age 13, the children were at a higher risk for a conduct disorder if the father had a problem than if the mother did. In further analyses, children who had lost their fathers were compared with those in intact families. Significantly higher rates of psychiatric disorders were found for the fatherless boys, whereas no such effect could be detected for the fatherless girls.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

[Determinants of the utilization of child psychiatric/psychological treatment and its success].

Factors determining utilization of child psychiatric/psychological treatment facilities by children aged 8 to 13 were investigated as part of a longitudinal epidemiological study. Severity of psychiatric disorder proved to be the variable with the best predictive value. Conduct disorders, along with male sex, low IQ, learning disorders, adverse family circumstances, low social class and the loss of a biological parent were all factors leading to increased utilization of services. In contrast to severity of disorder, however, these variables explain only a relatively small amount of the variance in utilization. A comparison of treated children and a control group matched for age, sex, psychiatric diagnosis and severity of disorder revealed no significant differences in psychiatric status 5 years later. Even when duration and intensity of treatment were considered, there were no significant differences. It was found that although the treated children had experienced about the same number of life events as the control subjects, they perceived them as much more stressful; thus they apparently had less effective coping mechanisms. The results underscore the predictive significance of the psychiatric disorders themselves as well as the fact that nontreatment should not be equated with a negative course of illness or with irresponsible parents or guardians.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

[How voluntary can treatment of adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa be?].

Patients with anorexia nervosa often refuse therapy and deny their organic and psychological state of disease. In doing so they are often supported by their parents who as well assume an ambivalent attitude towards therapy. If the family still refuses assenting to therapy after having been confronted with the severe consequences of this disease, the therapist has to decide by himself whether he initiates inpatient treatment even against the patient's will - so far as his life is in danger. According to Crisp (1980) anorectic patients have the right to intense and even compulsory treatment, as their refusal has to seen as part of their psychopathology. In 5 out of 85 inpatients we started therapy against the patients' and partly even the parents' will. All these cases had a prehistory of several therapy attempts and dropouts. Despite our compulsory measures it was possible to enter into an alliance with the patient and to initiate a positive course of illness. In any case, compulsory treatment has to be carefully considered. None the less, if the patient is in a life-threatening condition the therapist has to be aware of his responsibility without expecting therapy motivation from patients who are not able to meat this expectation because of their somatic and psychological symptomatology.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

[Child and adolescent psychiatric classification in an unselected sample--a comparison of MAS and DSM-III].

As part of an epidemiological study, the diagnoses of children with psychiatric disorders at age 13 were determined according to the criteria of both the ICD-9-oriented Multi-Axial Classification Scheme (MAS) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 3rd ed. (DSM-III). A comparison of the diagnosis pairs showed that in most cases (76%) comparable diagnostic categories had been selected. Discrepancies were found mainly in the use of the diagnoses "conduct disorder" (ICD, DSM-III: 312) and "age-specific emotional disorder" (ICD, DSM-III: 313). Severity of disorder had little impact on the extent of agreement between the two classification procedures. In an additional analysis the comparability of the threshold values used in the case definition criteria in the two systems was examined. The DSM-III criteria yielded 11 more cases of psychiatric disorder than the MAS criteria, 10 of these with the diagnosis of "attentional deficit" (ICD, DSM-III: 314).

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

[Significance of pregnancy and labor complications for the genesis of brain function disorders. Results of an epidemiologic study of 8-year-old children].

An epidemiological and a clinical study were conducted to examine the importance of pregnancy and delivery complications in the genesis of cerebral dysfunction, the studies comprising a total of 495 children of 8 years of age. In the case definition of cerebral dysfunction, methodic improvements were used that had been demanded by those who had been critical of the clinical procedure. The results showed that clinical dysfunction is a risk factor for diseases in child psychiatry. There were no signs pointing to uniform psychopathological patterns (on the lines of a hyperkinetic syndrome) in children with cerebral dysfunction. There was no enhanced incidence of other diseases in the anamnesis of children with cerebral dysfunction. On the whole, the concept of cerebral dysfunction cannot be upheld at least to the extent presumed so far. A comparison between field study random samples and clinical study random samples showed that the classical postulates of the concept apply at most to a negligible minority only.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗

PubMed1985

[Is there a subgroup of hyperkinetic children with emotional disorders? Results of a pilot study].

Child psychiatric classification systems make no provision for a regular association between the Hyperkinetic Syndrome and emotional disorders. However, such an association could be demonstrated in 9.3% of 464 in- and outpatients seen at our child psychiatric unit for treatment of hyperkinesis. Based on the differences found between the subjects with both the Hyperkinetic Syndrome and emotional problems and those without emotional problems, four pathogenetic models were discussed. An experimental design is proposed for hypothesis testing.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1985

[Points of reference for home treatment].

Home treatment has been heralded as a viable alternative to other more conventional treatment approaches. It seems to fulfill legal (and ethical) requirements in that it imposes relatively few restrictions on the patient. Considering that it is clearly in line with contemporary views, e.g. that problems are best treated where they occur, and has thus found wide acceptance, it is surprising that this type of intervention has so rarely been the treatment of choice. Based on a review of the literature and our own experience, we propose tentative criteria for successful home treatment with the goal of encouraging its use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

[Brain function disorders in 8-year-old children--from a field and consultation population].

The concept of "cerebral dysfunction" was investigated in a several years' epidemiological study involving eight-year-olds in a general population and those seen in a child guidance clinic. Some of the findings differed markedly from what is commonly asserted. The yielded results indicate that brain dysfunctions do not form a single uniform syndrome, that the afflicted children do not show a specific psychopathology and that the disorders can not be traced back to a uniform etiology. The relevance of brain dysfunctions for the child psychiatric morbidity could be proved.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗

PubMed1984

[Visual evoked potentials in 8-year-old children. Normal values and applications in pediatric neurology].

In the framework of a research program on the prevalence and incidence of cerebral dysfunction and child psychiatric disorder, EEG and flash-evoked responses were recorded in more than 300 8-year-old children. Automatic determination of the following parameters: latencies and amplitudes of N1, P2, N2, N3, N4; area of the complex N1P2N2, average absolute amplitude, asymmetry coefficients and Pearson correlation between the responses of both hemispheres. Normative data for these parameters obtained from a randomized sample (N = 148), mean values and intersextile ranges are reported. The random sample was compared with two other groups of children (8 years old): children with minimal brain dysfunction (N = 55) and/or psychiatric disorder (N = 82). Both groups showed significantly longer latencies in comparison to the random normative sample.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

PubMed1984