Department of Psychology
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Department of Psychology by Subject "adolescents"
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Child, parent, and service predictors of psychotropic polypharmacy among adolescents and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers, 2014-11) Lake, Johanna K.; Weiss, Jonathan; Dergal, J.; Lunsky, YonaObjectives: This study examined the child, parent, and service factors associated with polypharmacy in adolescents and young adults with ASD. Methods: As part of an online survey examining health service utilization patterns among individuals with ASD, parents provided demographic and clinical information pertaining to their child. This included information on current medication use, as well as information on clinical services received, clinical history, and parent wellbeing. Analyses examined the bivariate association between individual child, parent, and service variables and polypharmacy. Variables significantly associated with polypharmacy were included in a multiple variable logistic regression. Results: Of the 363 participants sampled, approximately one quarter were receiving two or more psychotropic drugs concurrently. The child’s psychiatric co-morbidity, history of hurting others, therapy use, and parent burden were predictors of polypharmacy. Conclusion: Adolescents and young adults with ASD are a highly medicated population with multiple factors associated with psychotropic polypharmacy. While there may be circumstances where polypharmacy is necessary, a richer understanding of what predicts polypharmacy may lead to targeted interventions to better support these individuals and their families. Findings also highlight the need to support families of children with ASD prescribed multiple psychotropic medications.Item Open Access Cognitive and school functioning in children and adolescents with chronic pain: A critical review.(Pain and Research Management, 2010) Dick, Bruce; Pillai Riddell, RebeccaCognitive function is a critical factor related to a child’s overall developmental trajectory. There is increasing evidence that chronic pain disrupts cognitive function in adults. Little is known about the nature or impact of cognitive disruption in children and adolescents with chronic pain. The present review examines the current literature related to cognitive function in children and adolescents with chronic pain, implications of these findings and future research directions. Nine studies on this topic were found, with a relatively recent increase in publications related to school attendance and subjective studies of school performance. The studies that were found on this topic suggested that chronic pain affects cognitive function in children but the scope of these effects on children’s function and developmental trajectories is not yet clear. While methodological issues surely make it difficult to study cognitive function in children with chronic pain, the potential gains from such research warrant a pursuit of such work. Much remains to be studied on this important topic.Item Restricted Correlates of self-reported medicinal cannabis use for physical health, mental health, and sleep-related conditions in a population-based survey of Canadian youth(2022-07-19) Wardell, Jeffrey D.Objective: Medicinal cannabis use (MCU) among youth is correlated with frequent cannabis use and several substance use and health-related indicators. This study examined whether correlates of self-reported MCU among youth varied as a function of the primary health condition for which cannabis is used. Method: Data came from the 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs Survey. Youth (ages 15-24) who reported past year cannabis use were included in analyses. Regression analyses (controlling for age and sex) compared youth reporting only non-medicinal cannabis use (NMCU-only, n=2082) to youth reporting MCU primarily for physical health conditions (n=227), mental health conditions (n=271), or insomnia (n=98). Results: Relative to youth reporting NMCU-only, youth reporting MCU for physical or mental health conditions had greater odds of reporting daily cannabis use, cannabis problems, vaporization and oral ingestion of cannabis, and tobacco use. Youth reporting MCU for physical health reasons also had greater odds of both illicit drug use and prescription pain medication use, whereas youth reporting MCU for mental health reasons had greater odds of prescription sedative use. Youth reporting MCU for insomnia only had greater odds of cannabis problems relative to youth in the NMCU-only group. Youth in both the physical health and mental health MCU groups reported poorer health and mental health compared with the NMCU-only group. Some, but not all, differences were accounted for by greater frequency of cannabis use among youth reporting MCU. Conclusions: Findings provide new insight into the correlates of MCU among youth in the general population, suggesting that these correlates vary as a function of the primary reason for MCU.Item Open Access Development and Preliminary Validation of the Child Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale in a Community Sample(Oxford University Press, 2010) Pagé, M. Gabrielle; Fuss, Samantha; Martin, Andrea L.; Escobar, E. Manolo Romero; Katz, JoelObjective To develop, and provide initial validation of, a 20-item Child Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (CPASS), a modified version of the adult 20-item Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale. Methods A community sample of children and adolescents (N = 959) aged 8–18 years completed the CPASS and measures of pain catastrophizing, anxiety sensitivity, and general anxiety. Factor structure was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA). Results EFA yielded a one- and a three-factor solution using 17 items of the CPASS. CFA supported a hierarchical model for both a 20-item four-factor solution (based on the adult literature) and a 20-item slightly modified four-factor solution. The CPASS showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .903) and good construct, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Conclusions This study provides support for the relevance of pain anxiety in a community sample of children and adolescents and offers preliminary validity and reliability for the CPASS.Item Open Access Psychotropic medication use among adolescents and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder: Parent views about medication use and health care services(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers, 2015-04) Lake, Johanna K.; Vogan, Vanessa; Sawyer, Amanda; Weiss, Jonathan; Lunsky, YonaObjectives: Psychotropic medications are frequently used to treat mental health and behavioral issues in adolescents and adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although parents of individuals with ASD frequently take on medication management for their child, there is limited literature on parent perspectives of their child’s medication use or their views about the health care services they receive, particularly in adulthood. The current study examined and compared parents of adolescents and of young adults with ASD on their child’s psychotropic medication use and their views about health care services. Methods: One hundred parents of adolescents and young adults with ASD (ages 12-30 years) completed an online survey about their experience with their child’s health care services and medication use. Results: Parents of young adults were less likely to use non-pharmacological services before using a psychotropic medication compared to parents of adolescents. Parents of young adults were also less likely to believe their prescribing health care provider had adequate expertise in ASD and were less satisfied with how their prescriber monitored their child’s medication use. Conclusion: Findings highlight the need to build capacity among health care providers supporting individuals with ASD as they transition into adulthood. There is also a need for improved medication monitoring and increased awareness of the different mental health challenges individuals with ASD encounter as they age.Item Open Access Reliability and validity of the Child Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (CPASS) in a clinical sample of children and adolescents with acute postsurgical pain(Elsevier, 2011) Pagé, M. Gabrielle; Campbell, Fiona; Isaac, Lisa; Stinson, Jennifer; Martin-Pichora, Andrea L.; Katz, JoelPain anxiety refers to the cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioural reactions to the experience or anticipation of pain. The Child Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (CPASS) has recently been developed and validated in a pediatric community sample. The goal of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the CPASS in a sample of children and adolescents with acute postsurgical pain. Eighty-three children aged 8–18 years (mean 13.8 years, SD 2.4) completed measures of pain anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, and pain intensity and unpleasantness 48–72 hours after major surgery; and pain intensity and unpleasantness, pain anxiety, and functional disability approximately 2 weeks after discharge from the hospital. The CPASS showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.915). Stronger partial correlations of pain anxiety with anxiety sensitivity (r = 0.70) and pain catastrophizing (r = 0.73) compared to pain anxiety with anxiety (r = 0.53) and depression (r = 0.59) suggest excellent construct validity. Pain anxiety was significantly associated with pain intensity (r = 0.44) and unpleasantness (r = 0.32) 48–72 hours after surgery (concurrent validity) and with pain unpleasantness (r = 0.29) and functional disability (r = 0.50; but not pain intensity, r = 0.20) 2 weeks later (predictive validity). The CPASS showed adequate sensitivity to change over time (mean change = 9.52; effect size = 0.49) and good sensitivity and specificity. The results of the present study provide initial validity and reliability of the CPASS in a clinical sample of children and adolescents after major surgery.Item Open Access Services for Adults and Adolescents with ASD in Ontario—Parent and Professional Perspectives(Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities, 2010) White, Stacey E.; Weiss, JonathanThe present study aimed to examine the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Ontario, as perceived by parents and professionals in the field. Attendees at a 2008 Autism Ontario conference (N = 175) responded to a survey designed by the organization and rated each of these aspects for 11 specific services. Data analyses revealed a disparity in participants’ views of service availability among respondents from the Central region, and differences in views of accessibility and effectiveness among those in Southern Ontario. Possible explanations for these trends are discussed.Item Open Access Validation of the numerical rating scale for pain intensity and unpleasantness in pediatric acute postoperative pain: sensitivity to change over time(Elsevier, 2012) Pagé, M. Gabrielle; Katz, Joel; Stinson, Jennifer; Isaac, Lisa; Martin-Pichora, Andrea L.; Campbell, FionaThis study evaluates the construct validity (including sensitivity to change) of the numerical rating scale (NRS) for pain intensity (I) and unpleasantness (U) and participant pain scale preferences in children/adolescents with acute postoperative pain. Eighty-three children aged 8 to 18 years (mean = 13.8, SD = 2.4) completed 3 pain scales including NRS, Verbal Rating Scale (VRS), and faces scales (Faces Pain Scale-Revised [FPS-R] and Facial Affective Scale [FAS], respectively) for pain intensity (I) and unpleasantness (U) 48 to 72 hours after major surgery, and the NRS, VRS and Functional Disability Index (FDI) 2 weeks after surgery. As predicted, the NRSI correlated highly with the VRSI and FPS-R and the NRSU correlated highly with the VRSU and FAS 48 to 72 hours after surgery. The FDI correlated moderately with the NRS at both time points. Scores on the NRSI and NRSU at 48 to 72 hours were significantly higher than at 2 weeks after surgery. Children found the faces scales the easiest to use while the VRS was liked the least and was the hardest to use. The NRS has adequate evidence of construct validity including sensitivity for both pain intensity and unpleasantness. This study further supports the validity of the NRS as a tool to measure both intensity and unpleasantness of acute pain in children.