Petra Hampel

Direct and Relational Bullying Among Children and Adolescents: Coping and Psychological Adjustment

Previous research highlighted that pupils actively involved in bullying and victimization are prone to develop diverse psychological problems. The overall aim of our study was to investigate effects of different forms of bullying and victimization on coping with interpersonal stressors and psychological adjustment among children and adolescents. Moreover, the additional contribution of coping in the prediction of effects of direct and relational bullying on psychological adjustment was examined. Four hundred and nine 6th to 9th graders (aged 10—16 years) completed self-report measures, which assessed experiences with bullying and victimization, coping strategies and psychological problems. All forms of victimization were characterized by an increased maladaptive coping as well as heightened emotional and behavioural problems with the most unfavourable pattern among pupils confronted with direct as well as relational victimization. Direct aggressors only and pupils bullying others directionally and relationally showed enhanced externalizing problems. Regression analyses indicated that the adverse effects of direct and, to a lesser degree, relational bullying and victimization on psychological adjustment were primarily enhanced by maladaptive coping among girls and boys. By applying preventive interventions, which are tailored to special needs of the groups actively involved in bullying and victimization, the risk for the development of psychological problems may be effectively diminished.

Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung (ADHS)

Bei ADHS liegt eine lebenslange psychische Erkrankung vor, die durch multimodale Vorgehensweisen erfolgreich zu behandeln ist. Entwicklungs- und neuropsychologische Grundlagen besitzen vor allem im Bereich der Ursachendiskussion und psychologischen Diagnostik eine grose Bedeutung.

Deficit in Response Inhibition in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Impact of Motivation?

To date, neuropsychological and psycho-physiological studies have revealed inconsistent results regarding an executive or motivational deficit explaining the response inhibition deficit in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Research on differentiating neuropsychological processes in ADHD subtypes is still scarce. Therefore, the motivational impact on response inhibition among boys with ADHD was examined in this study. In the first study, 19 boys with ADHD-combined type (ADHD-C) and 19 age-matched healthy control subjects performed a modified Go/No-Go task with the following experimental conditions: neutral, auditory feedback, reward, response cost, and reward/response cost. Performance and physiological data (heart rate and skin conductance responses) were recorded. In a second study with the modified Go/No-Go task, data for six children with ADHD-C, six with ADHD-inattentive subtype (ADHD-I), and six healthy control subjects were compared. Neither of the two studies revealed group by condition interactions. In study 1, boys with ADHD-C generally made more commissions and omissions compared to the control group. However, feedback significantly improved the response inhibition in all children. The heart rate of all children was increased in the two conditions of reward and reward/response cost. Study 2 revealed that children with ADHD-I responded more slowly and showed increased reaction time variability compared to both other groups. The present study supports an executive rather than a motivational deficit in the response inhibition among children with ADHD-C, though further results also indicate the role of auditory feedback on response inhibition. Additionally, the findings support the differentiation of ADHD-C and ADHD-I, suggesting that ADHD-I children are characterized by a sluggish cognitive tempo.

Coping among children and adolescents with chronic illness

The present study was aimed to investigate age and gender effects on coping with everyday stressors among children and adolescents with chronic illness and healthy controls. Patients (8–13 years of age) with asthma (n=47), atopic dermatitis (n=52), and cancer (n=57) were compared to healthy controls (n=158) matched by age, gender, and grade. Self-report data on coping with academic and interpersonal stressors were collected. The primary results indicated that coping with everyday stressors was improved in children and adolescents with chronic illness compared to healthy controls. Thus, patients reported less passive avoidance on cross-situational coping and tended to show more situation-specific coping with social and school-related stressors than healthy controls. Additionally, among the clinical groups, patients with atopic dermatitis and cancer scored higher on positive self-instructions than patients with asthma. Conclusively, the results suggest that coping with a chronic illness may lead to more effective coping with everyday stressors. Implications for evaluating coping styles in patients with chronic illness are discussed.

Exekutive Funktionen bei Jungen mit Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung im Kindesalter

Die Studie ging der Frage nach, ob die uneinheitlichen Befunde zu einem globalen Defizit in exekutiven Funktionen bei Kindern mit Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitatsstorung (ADHS) durch Altersunterschiede erklart werden konnen. Es wurde ein zweifaktorieller Versuchsplan mit den Faktoren „Gruppe“ (n = 45 Jungen mit ADHS vom Mischtyp vs. n = 45 gesunde, nach Alter und Intelligenz parallelisierte Jungen) und „Alter“ (8 – 9 vs. 10 – 12 Jahre) untersucht. Insgesamt zeigten die Jungen mit ADHS in allen exekutiven Komponenten signifikant schlechtere Leistungen als die gesunden Jungen. Auserdem wiesen die jungeren Jungen schlechtere exekutive Leistungen auf als die alteren Jungen. Demnach sprechen unsere Befunde fur ein globales Defizit in den exekutiven Funktionen und fur die Annahme einer Entwicklungsabweichung bei Jungen mit ADHS.

Schmerzchronifizierung bei Rückenschmerzpatienten in der stationären Rehabilitation

BACKGROUND Criterion-related validity of the Mainz Pain Staging System (MPSS) was examined. PATIENTS AND METHODS The effect of staging of pain on pain-related and psychosocial measures was investigated in a cross-sectional design among 478 patients with chronic low back pain in inpatient orthopedic rehabilitation (ICD-10 diagnoses: M45.4/M45.5, M54.4/M54.5). Pain-related measures were selected from the German Pain Questionnaire of the International Association for the Study of Pain (DGSS). The psychosocial measures depression (ADS), anxiety (HADS-D), somatization (SCL-90-R), quality of life (SF-12), functional capacity (FFbH-R), pain sensation (SES) as well as pain experience and strategies of coping with pain (FESV) were assessed. Furthermore, the frequency distribution of scores in the clinical range in pain-related and psychosocial measures depending on the staging of pain was examined. Finally, initial indications of the predictive validity of the MPSS were investigated among 116 inpatients. RESULTS Staging of pain had a significant impact both on levels of measures and proportion of clinically referred patients. Patients in stage III, but also those in stage II showed significantly impaired levels. Patients in stage III also showed more scores in the clinical range than expected in the lowest pain intensity, ADS depression, somatization of the SCL, functional capacity, and pain sensation. The MPSS before rehabilitation, together with mental health, seem to be a good predictor of depressive symptoms 6 months after rehabilitation. CONCLUSION The results support criterion validity of the MPSS, however, they also corroborate the concept that identification of medium and high grade pain by the MPSS has to be followed by a psychological diagnostic assessment. By this stepwise diagnostic process, therapy aims and treatment regimens can be designed more adequately.

Psychosoziale Situation bei Familien von Kindern mit ADHS

Erste Studien belegen, dass die Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitatsstorung (ADHS) nicht nur mit einer ungunstigen Entwicklung des erkrankten Kindes oder Jugendlichen verbunden ist, sondern auch Auswirkungen auf die psychosoziale Situation aller Familienmitglieder hat. Die Pilotstudie ging der Frage nach, ob sich die Lebensqualitat der Eltern von Kindern mit ADHS von der Lebensqualitat der Eltern gesunder Kinder unterscheidet. Auserdem war von Interesse, inwieweit das Ausmas des hyperkinetischen Verhaltens des erkrankten Kindes mit der psychosozialen Anpassung der gesunden Geschwister und der Lebensqualitat der Eltern verbunden ist. Insgesamt 48 Elternteile beurteilten das Ausmas hyperkinetischen Verhaltens der gesunden Geschwister sowie ihre eigene Lebensqualitat. Die Eltern mit einem an ADHS erkrankten Kind schatzten zusatzlich das Ausmas hyperkinetischen Verhaltens des erkrankten Kindes sowie die psychischen Auffalligkeiten der gesunden Geschwister ein. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das psychische...

Interpersonal Coping among Boys with ADHD.

Objective: The authors investigate self-reported coping with interpersonal stressors among boys with and without ADHD in two studies and provide initial evidence for effects of different subgroups of ADHD on coping in Study 2. Method: In Study 1, 20 Austrian adolescents with ADHD were compared to 20 healthy controls. In Study 2, 44 German children and adolescents with ADHD (35 without and 9 with conduct disorders) were compared to 44 healthy controls matched by age and grade level, respectively. Results: Increased maladaptive coping was found in both studies. Study 2 revealed heightened maladaptive coping among both subgroups of ADHD, but the subgroup of ADHD with conduct disorders was more affected compared to healthy controls than the subgroup with ADHD alone. Conclusion: Results suggest an impaired interpersonal coping style in ADHD and point to the potential benefit of stress management and social skills trainings for boys with ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 11(4) 427—436)

[Patients with chronic low back pain: the impact of psychosocial features].

BACKGROUND Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is often associated with clinical and subclinical levels of psychological problems. A higher stage of chronicity is associated with an increase in co-existing psychological disorders. Previous programmes of inpatient orthopaedic rehabilitation reveal little evidence of sustained rehabilitation effects, a finding which may be attributable to the absence of specific psychological treatment during the programme. PURPOSE Does cognitive-behavioural depression management training in patients with CLBP and depressive symptoms improve the inpatient orthopaedic rehabilitation success depending on the stage of chronicity? METHOD Effects of the new programme on psychological well-being (ADS depressive symptoms, HADS anxiety, SCL somatization and mental health of the SF-12) were investigated in n=75 patients with first and second stage of chronicity immediately after, six months after and 24 months after rehabilitation and were compared to standard rehabilitation without management of depressive symptoms. RESULTS All patients benefited from both treatments immediately after rehabilitation. However, six months after rehabilitation only patients of the intervention group showed significant beneficial effects with regard to depressive symptoms and mental health. The lowered depressive symptoms remained stable up to the 24-month follow-up assessment. Anxiety in the second stage of chronicity was reduced up to the 6-month follow-up and in the first stage up to the 24-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The new programme with a cognitive-behavioural depression management training revealed beneficial effects on mental health in the mid-term and on depressive symptoms in the long-term. However, the effects need to be further improved by after-care programmes.

Validierung des SPS-J an einer kinder- und jugendpsychiatrischen Inanspruchnahmepopulation

Zusammenfassung: Das Screening psychischer Storungen im Jugendalter (SPS-J) dient der orientierenden Diagnostik psychischer Storungen auf der Verhaltens- und emotionalen Ebene bei Jugendlichen. Die psychometrischen Eigenschaften des SPS-J wurden an 286 psychiatrisch auffalligen Patienten (Alter: M = 14.0 Jahre, SD = 2.0 Jahre; 44 % weiblich) untersucht. Die interne Konsistenz der Gesamtskala (α = .89) und der vier Subskalen war zufrieden stellend. Die Faktorenstruktur der angloamerikanischen Originalversion konnte weitgehend repliziert werden. Die Validierung am Elternurteil in der Child Behavior Checklist (r = .34) zeigte die erwartete moderate Ubereinstimmung. Verglichen mit der deutschen Normstichprobe wies die klinische Stichprobe nur geringfugig erhohte Mittelwerte in den Skalen des SPS-J auf, so dass die Sensitivitat des Fragebogens mit 0.31 unzureichend war. Die varianzanalytischen Ergebnisse mit drei Diagnosegruppen (internalisierende, externalisierende und kombinierte Storungen) stutzen die diskr...