The family history of children with elective mutism: a research report

Steinhausen, Hans-Christoph; Adamek, R. J.

doi:10.1007/bf00566673

Cited by 43 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…Also other signs of developmental delay were found in a substantial proportion of the children (see Table 2). These results are in line with several reports in the literature (Kolvin & Fundudis1981;Goll 1979;Steinhausen & Adamek 1997;Kristensen 2000) and demonstrated that in the etiology of elective mutism two components play an important role: developmental delays and family psychopathology.…”

Section: Discussion S Limitation Of the Studysupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Some studies have found that mutism is present in other family members in approximately 50 % of the cases (Lorand 1960; Popella 1960). Taciturnity of father or mother could also be found in several studies up to 50 % (Funke et al 1978;Misch 1952;Steinhausen & Adamek 1997). Only a few studies have looked carefully at the psychopathological disorders of the parents.…”

Section: Communication Deficits and Psychiatric Disorders In The Familymentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Those who did so found a high rate of depression in one of the parents, a psychiatrically disturbed father (21 %, Kolvin & Fundudis 1981) or a psychiatrically disturbed mother (17 %, Kolvin & Fundudis 1981). In a recent study Steinhausen and Adamek (1997) found a significant, higher frequency of taciturnity in the first-, second-and third-degree relatives of children with elective mutism in comparison to a matched control group of children with the combination of an emotional disorder and a developmental disorder of articulation or expressive language. The family as a whole is very often described as isolated and shy (Funke et al 1978;Rösler 1981;Wergeland 1979).…”

Section: Communication Deficits and Psychiatric Disorders In The Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A follow-up study of 45 patients with elective mutism

Remschmidt

Poller

Herpertz‐Dahlmann

et al. 2001

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

143

123

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Forty five patients (23 boys and 22 girls) with elective mutism (8.7 +/- 3.6 years old), who were referred to a university department and a child guidance clinic within a 15-year-period, were followed up on average 12 years later. For 41 of them, sufficient information could be obtained at follow-up, and 31 patients could be investigated personally. At follow-up, an interview and a standardized psychopathological examination were carried out as well as two standardized biographic inventories. The main results were: 1) a high load of individual and family psychopathology was characteristic of the patients. The disorder started already at age 3 to 4 and referral age was 8 years on average. 2) In 16 out of 41 patients (39%), a complete remission could be observed. All other patients still revealed some communication problems. 3) The formerly mute patients described themselves as less independent, less motivated with regard to school achievement, less self-confident and less mature and healthy in comparison to a normal reference group. 4) A poor outcome could be best predicted by the variable "mutism within the core family"at the time of referral.

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Section: Discussion S Limitation Of the Studysupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Communication Deficits and Psychiatric Disorders In The Familymentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Communication Deficits and Psychiatric Disorders In The Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A follow-up study of 45 patients with elective mutism

Remschmidt

Poller

Herpertz‐Dahlmann

et al. 2001

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

143

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is already some evidence to suggest that certain familial, biological and environmental factors are differentially associated with specific SM profiles. For example, existing family history data indicate high rates of anxiety and communication problems in the relatives of children with SM (Andersson & Thomsen, 1998; Kristensen & Torgersen, 2001; Steinhausen & Adamek, 1997). Separate investigations into the etiologies of social anxiety and developmental language delays (Tilfors, 2004; Smith, 2007) suggest that these are also heritable conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining the Classification of Children with Selective Mutism: A Latent Profile Analysis

Cohan

Chavira

Shipon-Blum³

et al. 2008

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

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The goal of this study was to develop an empirically derived classification system for selective mutism (SM) using parent-report measures of social anxiety, behavior problems, and communication delays. The sample consisted of parents of 130 children (ages 5-12) with SM. Results from latent profile analysis supported a 3-class solution made up of an anxious-mildly oppositional group, an anxious-communication delayed group, and an exclusively anxious group. Follow-up tests indicated significant group differences on measures of SM symptom severity, externalizing problems, and expressive/receptive language abilities. These results suggest that, although social anxiety is typically a prominent feature of SM, children with the disorder are also likely to present with communication delays and/or mild behavior problems.

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“…SM has been found to co-occur with other anxiety diagnoses (particularly social phobia) and with neurodevelopmental disorders [7–12]. SM is also reported to run in families, and a family history study of 38 children with SM reported a clear excess of the personality trait of taciturnity in 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-degree relatives, underlining the importance of the familial background for outcome studies [13]. Support for a familial relationship between social phobia and SM was found in parents to children with SM [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of selective mutism: a 5-year follow-up study

Oerbeck

Øvergaard

Stein

et al. 2018

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Selective mutism (SM) has been defined as an anxiety disorder in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the recommended approach for SM, but prospective long-term outcome studies are lacking. Reports from the children themselves, and the use of more global quality of life measures, are also missing in the literature. We have developed a school-based CBT intervention previously found to increase speech in a pilot efficacy study and a randomized controlled treatment study. Continued progress was found in our 1-year follow-up studies, where older age and more severe SM had a significant negative effect upon outcome. In the present study, we provide 5-year outcome data for 30 of these 32 children with SM who completed the same CBT for mean 21 weeks (sd 5, range 8–24) at mean age 6 years (10 boys). Mean age at the 5-year follow-up was 11 years (range 8–14). Outcome measures were diagnostic status, the teacher- and parent-rated selective mutism questionnaires, and child rated quality of life and speaking behavior. At the 5-year follow-up, 21 children were in full remission, five were in partial remission and four fulfilled diagnostic criteria for SM. Seven children (23%) fulfilled criteria for social phobia, and separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia and/or enuresis nocturna were found in a total of five children (17%). Older age and severity at baseline and familial SM were significant negative predictors of outcome. Treatment gains were maintained on the teacher- and parent questionnaires. The children rated their overall quality of life as good. Although most of them talked outside of home, 50% still experienced it as somewhat challenging. These results point to the long-term effectiveness of CBT for SM, but also highlight the need to develop more effective interventions for the subset of children with persistent symptoms.Clinical trials registration NCT01002196

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The family history of children with elective mutism: a research report

Cited by 43 publications

References 8 publications

A follow-up study of 45 patients with elective mutism

A follow-up study of 45 patients with elective mutism

Refining the Classification of Children with Selective Mutism: A Latent Profile Analysis

Treatment of selective mutism: a 5-year follow-up study

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