Lyse Turgeon

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in a French-Canadian sample.

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a French version of the Revised Childrens Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). A sample of 2,666 school-age French-Canadian children completed the questionnaire. With regard to factor structure, the 5-factor model found in U.S. normative samples was confirmed. The internal consistency of the 5 scales and of the 2 global scales was good to excellent. Test-retest reliabilities after a 6-month period were also similar to those of the original version. Finally, the concurrent validity, assessed by a correlation with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, was also found to be good. Results of the present study show that the French version of the RCMAS is a good instrument to assess anxiety in children.

Recollections of parent-child relationships in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia

Objective: In previous studies, patients with different psychiatric conditions, as compared with matched controls, have reported that their parents were more protective and less caring towards them when they were children. However, studies investigating associations between parental behaviours and anxiety disorders have yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to compare recalled parental behaviours in out‐patients with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD), in out‐patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA), and in non‐anxious controls.

Psychometric Properties Of The French Canadian Version Of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory For Children

The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a French version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). The STAIC was administered to 288 French Canadian children in Grades 4, 5, and 6. The three-factor model found in the original version was confirmed. The internal consistency coefficients of the State Anxiety and Trait Anxiety scales were excellent. Test-retest reliabilities after a 6-month period were also similar to those of the original version. Finally, concurrent validity, assessed by the correlation with the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, was also found to be good. In summary, results of the present study show that the French version of the STAIC is psychometrically sound.

`I'm Cured But….' Perceptions of Illness Following Treatment

The current qualitative research studied representations of illness posttreatment from a heart transplant group, a panic disorder group, and a tic disorder group. All three groups were preoccupied with perceptions about the impact of the illness, perception of self and the perception of how others view the ill person. The heart transplant group seem to adopt an active style of coping compared to the panic disorder group who presented a more passive, anticipatory mode of coping, and the tic group who were preoccupied with control over the perceptions of others. This qualitative information could help optimize adaptation strategies.

Childhood Experiences and Adult Beliefs in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Evaluating a Specific Etiological Model

Cognitive accounts of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) propose that an individual’s early experiences contribute to the development of different belief domains, which in turn represent fertile ground for the development of the disorder (e.g., Salkovskis, Shafran, Rachman, & Freeston, 1999). This study examined the proximal relationship between specific, narrowly defined childhood experiences (CEs) and distinct adult OCD-related beliefs (Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-87 [OBQ-87]) through the self-reports of 83 participants with OCD and 213 unselected student participants. CEs variables were operationalized via theoretical groupings of items on an early experience questionnaire (QEE) relevant to distinct OBQ belief domains. These proximal relationships were assessed according to predictions from both a specific and a nonspecific vulnerability hypothesis. Correlational analyses were supportive of both but mostly of a nonspecific vulnerability model. Results are discussed regarding the understanding of the possible multideterministic pathways to OCD development.

Comorbidity of ADHD and Anxiety Disorders in School-Age Children: Impact on Sleep and Response to a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment:

Objective: This exploratory study measured the impact of comorbid anxiety disorders on sleep in children with ADHD and tested the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on these measures. Method: Fifty-seven children (8-12 years old) were assessed with the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Four groups were formed: ADHD (n = 20), ADHD + Anxiety (n = 20), Anxiety (n = 8), and Healthy Controls (n = 9). A subgroup of 10 children with ADHD + Anxiety underwent CBT for anxiety. Results: The results showed that sleep difficulties were better associated with anxiety than with ADHD. CBT reduced sleep onset latency and marginally decreased the total amount of sleep problems. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that comorbid anxiety in ADHD children is linked with specific sleep disturbances and is sensitive to CBT aimed at reducing anxiety.

The moderating role of peer norms in the associations of social withdrawal and aggression with peer victimization

This study examined the moderating role of classroom injunctive norms salience regarding social withdrawal and regarding aggression in the longitudinal association between these behaviors and peer victimization. A total of 1,769 fourth through sixth graders (895 girls, M = 10.25 years, SD = 1.03) from 23 schools (67 classrooms) completed a peer nomination inventory in the fall (T1) and spring (T2) of the same academic year. Participants circled the name of each student who fit the description provided for social withdrawal, aggression, and peer victimization at T1 and T2. The salience of injunctive norms was sex-specific and operationalized by the extent to which children displaying the behavior were socially rewarded or sanctioned by their classmates. Generalized estimation equations (GEE) showed that the association between social withdrawal at T1 and peer victimization at T2 was moderated by injunctive norms. Social withdrawal at T1 was positively associated with peer victimization at T2 in classrooms where injunctive norms for this behavior were salient and unfavorable, as well as in classrooms where injunctive norms for aggression were salient and favorable, albeit for girls only. The association between aggression at T1 and peer victimization at T2 was also moderated by the injunctive norms regarding this behavior. Aggressive children were less likely to be victimized in classrooms where this behavior was rewarded. These results support bullying interventions that target factors related to the larger peer context, including social norms.