A situational analysis was conducted to evaluate challenges with the treatment regimen (a low protein diet and special supplemental formula) for children and adolescents with phenylketonuria (PKU) and their caregivers. A semistructured interview was administered to 19 caregivers and 11 children with PKU to describe formula and dietary problems and their frequency, difficulty, and affective intensity. Information was also gathered on attempted solutions to problems and their perceived effectiveness. Caregivers who rated dietary problems as less frequent, difficult, and emotionally upsetting and strategies as more effective for solving problems had children with significantly lower phenylalanine (Phe) levels, a biological indicator of adherence (i.e., better adherence; all p values <.05). Caregivers who reported using strategies coded as representing an authoritarian parenting style to solve dietary problems were significantly more likely to have lower household incomes and older children with higher Phe levels than were those who did not report such strategies (all p values <.05).

Studies have shown a high prevalence of autistic spectrum traits in both children and adults with psychiatric disorders; however the prevalence rate has not yet been investigated in young children with OCD. The aim of the current study was to 1.) determine whether ASD traits indicated by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) were elevated in young children with OCD who do not have a specific ASD diagnosis and 2.) determine if ASD traits were associated with OCD severity. Participants (N=127) were children ages 5 to 8 years enrolled in the Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment Study for Young Children (POTS Jr.). Results indicated that the SRS showed elevated autistic traits in the sample and was associated with OCD severity whereas the SCQ did not indicate heightened ASD symptoms. Implications of these results are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Family Check-up (FCU), a parent-focused brief motivational intervention, in families where parents were concerned about one adolescent’s alcohol or marijuana use and the referred adolescent also had a sibling close in age. The primary goal of the FCU was to provide individualized feedback on specific parenting skills, including monitoring and supervision, limit setting, and alcohol-related communication. A total of 92 adolescents (37 female) between the ages of 12–19 years of age along with a sibling (48 female) between the ages of 11–21 years old, were randomized to the FCU or a psychoeducation (PE) comparison condition. Findings indicated that the FCU did not produce better effects on alcohol and other drug use outcomes than the PE condition, in either the adolescent or sibling. Brief interventions addressing parenting behaviors may not be sufficient to reduce alcohol use in adolescent drinkers not referred due to an alcohol-related incident. Future research might be conducted to explore whether brief parent interventions, such as those in the present study, could be useful as a preventive intervention for parents whose teens report low levels of substance use.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to compare the preliminary efficacy of a computer-assisted intervention (CAI), in which a computer-delivered intervention was immediately followed up with a brief therapist review session, to a therapist-delivered intervention (TDI) for adolescent substance use. Design, Setting, and Participants: Both conditions were examined in a pilot randomized clinical trial. All participants were recruited from a family court in the northeast United States. The sample included a total of 36 adolescents court-referred for an adolescent substance-related offense.Measures: Measures included adolescent alcohol and marijuana-use frequency, quantity, and problems as well as self-efficacy to resist the urge to use.Findings: While no significant time-by-condition differences were noted between the CAI and TDI conditions, significant time effects were found for both the TDI and CAI indicating a decrease in the total number of alcohol- or marijuana-use days over the six-month follow-up period.Conclusions: Given that CAIs are inexpensive, require minimal training, can be implemented with a high degree of fidelity, and are portable when compared to some TDIs, their use for decreasing substance use and related problems, particularly among adolescents with low access to substance-use interventions, seems promising. A fully powered trial of CAI efficacy is indicated.