High rates of psychiatric disorders in a sample of Brazilian children and adolescents living under social vulnerability - urgent public policies implications

Abstract

Cartas aos editores

Co-occurrence of communication disorder and psychiatric disorders in maltreated children and adolescents: relationship with global functioning

“…7,8 The percentage of CD in this study was higher than that found in the general population (2.3 to 24.6%). 31 However, no prior studies of CD (including language disorders, speech disorders, and pragmatic skill disorders) have been conducted in similar populations in our country.…”

“…4 Many individuals exposed to intense stressors, including childhood maltreatment, prosper and succeed despite these adversities. 4 Others may show several problems as a result of exposure to maltreatment: externalizing and internalizing problems, [5][6][7][8] lower intellectual functioning, 8 poor academic achievement, 9,10 and communication disorders (CD). [11][12][13] Following exposure to traumatic stress, individuals are primed to misperceive threat and present overly emotional and ineffective cognitive responsiveness, as well as disorganized or maladaptive behavioral responses to perceived threats.…”

Use of psychoactive substances by adolescents: current panorama

“…56 Other studies have found that religiosity 57,58 and effective parental monitoring [59][60][61][62] are important protective factors. Risk factors for drug experimentation include: drug use by parents and friends 63 ; unsatisfactory academic performance 64 ; bad relationship with parents 65 ; low self-esteem 66 ; depressive symptoms 67 ; history of stressful events 68 ; and early use of alcohol and cigarettes. 69 The onset of alcohol use has a strong positive correlation with family influence, since studies show that when teens have parents who also use alcohol, experimentation with legal substances in the family context is frequent.…”

“…The greater the number of comorbidities, the worse the prognosis for this population. 68 Outpatient treatment is the first therapeutic approach, especially when the teenager is still involved in productive educational, recreational, or social activities. In the outpatient setting, techniques for achieving abstinence and for conflict resolution are discussed, and the adolescent is encouraged to develop new activities unrelated to drug use without being removed from his Table 5 Aspects of the treatment of adolescents with substance use disorder* -Psychoeducation for patients and their parents about the different aspects of the disorder, such as relapses and the need for treatment -Improvement of communication within the family environment; motivating parents to become interested in all aspects of their children's development (e.g., their tastes and leisure activities) instead of focusing only on substance use -Identification of precipitating factors of drug use and early intervention -Improvement of self-control with cognitive-behavioral therapy -Group therapy and social skills training can be used -Contingencies management therapy -Outpatient/day hospital/therapeutic communities -Consider the need for inpatient treatment in more complex cases (aggression, suicidal behavior, risk of clinical complications, failure of outpatient treatment) -Medications may be used in the treatment of comorbid disorders or for key symptoms * Adapted from Stubbe.…”

Social skills and psychopathic traits in maltreated adolescents

“…Maltreated children and adolescents present cognitive impairments [2][3][4][5] and intellectual deficits [6] and show high rates of psychiatric disorders [7].…”