The Personality Inventory for Children-Revised (PIC-R) is a parent-report measure of social-emotional adjustment for children 3 to 16 years of age. The present study examined the clinical value of the PIC-R by exploring the impact of age and developmental status on PIC-R profiles, particularly on the Psychosis (PSY) scale, within a sample of preschool and school-age children referred for assessment of suspected cognitive impairment and learning problems. Compared to school-age children, significantly more preschoolers obtained elevated scores on the Psychosis scale; those preschoolers with cognitive impairments were even more likely to obtain significantly elevated Psychosis scale scores, despite the absence of diagnosed childhood psychosis. No significant relationship was found between Psychosis scale elevations and cognitive impairment in the school-age group. The PIC-R was moderately accurate in identifying cognitively impaired preschoolers but only minimally accurate in identifying cognitively impaired school-age children.
A Monozygotic twin pair had febrile seizures, only one was treated with phenobarbital from 17-30 months of age. Standard intellectual and behavioral assessments were conducted during Treatment (30 months of age), and Post-Treatment (32, 41, 48, 66 months of age). Both twins showed normal global intelligence at all assessments, however, the phenobarbital twin scored lower at all assessments. Differences in specific abilities were also seen during Post-Treatment. When phenobarbital was withdrawn, the treated twin's behavior showed immediate improvement. This experience suggests that early phenobarbital treatment may affect global intelligence through the preschool period, but that the effect is not severe. Phenobarbital also may adversely affect behavior, although the effect disappears with termination of the drug.
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