Youth Self-Report Total Scores Research Articles

Substance use confounds associations between peer victimization and aggression in adolescence with mental disorders in adulthood: A prospective birth cohort study.

Peer victimization and aggression in adolescence are associated with later mental health morbidity. However, studies examining this association have not controlled for adolescent substance use. We aimed to study the associations between peer victimization, peer aggression, and mental disorders in adulthood, adjusting for substance use in adolescence. Participants were from the prospective Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Data were available for 6682 individuals (70.8% of the original sample). Peer victimization and peer aggression were assessed with items from the Achenbach Youth Self Report at ages 15-16 years. Outcomes were nonorganic psychosis, anxiety disorder, mood disorder, substance use disorder, and any mental disorder (a none-vs-any indicator) at age 33 years collected from nationwide health care, insurance, and pension registers. Family structure, alcohol intoxication frequency, daily smoking, illicit drug use, and baseline psychopathology using Youth Self-Report total score, and parental mental disorders were considered as confounding factors. In multivariable analyses, the association between peer victimization and psychosis (Hazard ratio[HR]: 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-6.9, p = .020) and mood disorder (HR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4, p = .012) in females remained significant after adjusting for confounders. Other associations between female and male peer victimization or aggression and the studied outcomes attenuated after adjustments. Some associations between peer victimization and aggression and later mental health morbidity are explained by adolescent substance use. For females, substance use does not account for the increased risk of psychosis and mood disorder in those who experience peer victimization.

Effectiveness of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents under routine care conditions on behavioral and emotional problems rated by parents and patients: an observational study.

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered in routine care settings for children and adolescents with mental disorders. This observational study examined changes in behavioral and emotional problems of adolescents with mental disorders during routine outpatient CBT delivered at a university outpatient clinic and compared them with a historical control group of youths who received academic tutoring of comparable length and intensity. Assessments were made at the start and end of treatment (pre- and post-assessment) using parent ratings of the German versions of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and self-ratings of the Youth Self-Report (YSR) scale. For the main analysis, 677 adolescents aged 11‒21years had complete data. Changes from pre- to post-assessment showed significant reductions in mental health problems on both parent- and self-ratings. Pre- to post-effect sizes (Cohen's d) were small-to-medium for the total sample (d=0.23 to d=0.62) and medium-to-large for those adolescents rated in the clinical range on each (sub)scale at the start of treatment (d=0.65 to d=1.48). We obtained medium net effect sizes (d=0.69) for the CBCL and YSR total scores when patients in the clinical range were compared to historical controls. However, a substantial part of the sample remained in the clinical range at treatment end. The results suggest that CBT is effective for adolescents with mental disorders when administered under routine care conditions but must be interpreted conservatively due to the lack of a direct control condition.

Ergenler için Ruhsal Sorunlar Tarama Ölçeği’nin (ERST) geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik çalışması / The reliability and validity study of Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA)

The reliability and validity study of Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA) Objective: We have aimed to conduct reliability and validity study of Psychological Screening Test for Adolescents (PSTA). The scale was developed in order to investigate the psychological conditions and urgent psychological needs of juvenile delinquents by screening for most crucial factors. Method: For this study, interviews were carried out with a sample of 90 male delinquent adolescents in three different juvenile penal institutions in Turkey. For each subject, PSTA and Youth Self Report (YSR) scale were filled out. The interviews were performed by psychologists and social workers in psychological service departments of these institutions. Results: The statistical investigations have shown that PSTA has an interrater reliability of r=0.89 and a high internal reliability (α=0.79). There is a high level of positive correlation between YSR total score and PSTA total score (r=0.60). Also, based on the scores received from attention deficit and hyperactivity, psychosis and depression-anxiety sub-sections of PSTA, tha sample was divided into high and low score groups for each sub-section. Those groups were compared based on the scores of corresponding sub-sections of YSR. The high score groups of each sub-section of PSTA had significantly higher scores on YSR, showing that the scale has high criterion validity. The factor analysis shows that sub-sections of PSTA were grouped under two factors, which explained 50.35% of the variance. Discussion: Based on the analyses, it has been found that PSTA is a reliable and valid screening tool, which can be used for investigating psychological conditions and the need for further assessment of juvenile delinquents upon admission to penal institutions. Conclusion: In penal institutions, where effective and reliable screening devices are needed to be applied in a short amount of time; the short application time and length of PSTA would be an advantage, beside the fact that it is a reliable and valid psychological screening device for adolescents. It is suggested that the scale needs to be applied to a sample including both genders and the general population of adolescents in further studies.

The prevalence of alexithymia and its relationship with Youth Self-Report problem scales among Finnish adolescents

This study investigated the relationship between alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and Youth Self-Report (YSR) self-image profiles among 13 to 18-year-old adolescents (n = 7087) attending school in Kuopio, Finland. The final sample consisted of 3936 adolescents (1801 boys, 2135 girls) who completed structured self-rating questionnaires (Toronto Alexithymia Scale [TAS] 20, Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], and YSR) during class periods at school. The overall prevalence of alexithymia was 7.3%. However, girls in all age groups were more frequently alexithymic than boys. Regardless of sex, alexithymic youths reported more depressive symptoms as well as internalizing and externalizing problems than the others. A YSR total score of more than 70 was recorded among 33.4% of alexithymic compared with 3.7% of nonalexithymic adolescents. The TAS-20 correlated significantly with the BDI score, YSR total score, and with internalizing problems. This study revealed alexithymia among adolescents to be associated with various complications such as depressive symptoms, high scores in YSR problem scales, and difficulties in social relationships. Our findings indicate that these adolescents are at high risk of mental disorders and require treatment interventions.

Aggression and psychopathology in adolescents with a preference for violent electronic games

AbstractAssociations between a preference for violent electronic games and adolescents’ self‐perceptions of problem behaviors and emotions were examined. It was predicted that a preference for violent games would be associated with negative externalizing characteristics, in particular aggressive emotions and behaviors, on the Youth Self‐Report (YSR), a standardized self‐report measure of adolescent problem behaviors. Thirty‐two 11‐ through 15‐year‐olds (17 girls) listed and categorized favorite electronic games into one of six predetermined categories and completed the YSR. MANOVA revealed significant relationships between a preference for violent games and the Thought Problems subscale (P < .01) and YSR Total Score (P < .05), with trends noted for the Internalizing (P < .06) and Anxious‐Depressed (P < .08) subscales. Expected relationships with externalizing behaviors, including aggression, were not found. However, across all YSR subscales, children with higher preference for violent games had more clinically significant elevations than those with low preference for violent games. On the Total Problems subscale, of the eight children receiving scores in the clinically significant range, six were in the High preference group (three boys and three girls). The failure to find the expected relationships between a preference for violent games and aggressive, externalizing behaviors is puzzling. It is possible that individuals with a preference for violent games may have high exposure to all forms of media violence. Their perceptions of their own behavior, in comparison, may not seem sufficiently aggressive to justify endorsement of problems in this area. Or, playing violent electronic games may promote a disconnection between the emotions normally associated with violence and violent acts. These explanations are consistent with a desensitization model where exposure to media violence decreases sensitivity to aggression. Aggr. Behav. 28:134–144, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.