Ayşen Coşkun

Selective mutism. A school-based cross-sectional study from Turkey.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of selective mutism (SM) in Kocaeli, Turkey.MethodKindergarten, first, second and third grade students of all public/private schools within the city were included in the study. “SM screening forms” prepared on basis of DSM-IV were submitted to classroom teachers in all these schools asking whether they had any students meeting such symptoms.ResultsAbout 84.51% of the schools returned forms covering 64,103 children. Five hundred and twenty six of these children were thought to have symptoms of SM by their teachers. After their DSM-IV based clinical evaluation by a child and adolescent psychiatrist, only 21 children were diagnosed as SM. Among the SM group, three were in the kindergarten, 15 were in the first grade and three were in the second grade. Twelve of the children were male and nine were female (male: female ratio is 1.3:1). In this cross-sectional study, 0.83% of children were reported to have SM symptoms by their teachers. After the clinical evaluation of these children, the prevalence rate of SM was found to be 0.033%.

Non-suicidal self-injury behaviors` features and relationship with adolescents` daily life activities and mental status

Çimen İD, Coşkun A, Etiler N. Non-suicidal self-injury behaviors` features and relationship with adolescents` daily life activities and mental status. Turk J Pediatr 2017; 59: 113-121. This study investigated, characteristics of the non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors and behaviors` relationship with the sociodemographic characteristics, psychological problems and other features like daily life activities, between the ages of 12 and 17 years in the central district İzmit of Kocaeli; 555 students whose data included to study received a sociodemographic questionnaire (SQ) and Youth Self-Report (YSR). Students, who reported that they had NSSI, were additionally evaluated with the Inventory of Statements About Self-injury (ISAS). We found out a significant correlation between NSSI and the psychological problems, habits with addiction-forming potential, some daily life activities and making friends with negative characteristics. We concluded that prevention of the risk factors related to NSSI might be effective to avoid the development of this behavior. And diagnosing the behavior in the onset, might provide more effective and long-lasting results and enable the adolescent to get over this risky period with minimal harm.