Abstract Background For children with congenital heart disease (CHD), subtle neuropsychological deficits have been reported. However, very little is known about executive functioning in their adulthood. Purpose To investigate the self- and informant-reported executive functioning in adults with CHD operated in childhood (<15 years old). Material and methods A cohort study of 194 patients (age 50 [46–54] years), operated in childhood between 1968 and 1980 for one of the following diagnosis: atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary stenosis (PS), tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) or transposition of the great arteries (TGA), were evaluated 40–53 years after surgery. The “Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions – Adult version” (BRIEF-A) questionnaire was used to assess self- and informant-reported executive functioning and compared to the general population. Results The CHD group did not show worse executive functioning compared to normative data. In addition, no significant difference was found between simple CHD (ASD, VSD and PS) and moderate/complex CHD (ToF and TGA). Higher education and NYHA class 1 were associated with better self-reported executive functioning, while male patients and patients taking psychiatric or cardiac medications reported worse executive functioning. Conclusions Overall, our findings suggest reassuring outcomes regarding executive functioning in adults with CHD. However, these findings should be confirmed with neuropsychological assessment studies. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Thorax Foundation
A substantial percentage of children with anxiety disorders do not respond adequately to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Examination of parental factors related to treatment outcome could contribute to a further understanding of treatment outcome responses. This study investigated the predictive value of paternal and maternal emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection, anxiety, and depression for CBT outcome in clinic-referred anxious children (ages 8–12). Levels of maternal emotional warmth, paternal rejection and anxiety, and depressive symptoms predicted treatment success and failure. A higher level of maternal emotional warmth was associated with a less favorable treatment outcome. Higher levels of paternal rejection, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were consistently associated with a less favorable treatment outcome.
This article is linked to Stapersma et al and Mikocka‐Walus and Knowles papers. To view these articles visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14865 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.14912 .
Maternal internalizing problems affect report- ing of child's problem behavior. This study addresses the relative effects of maternal depressive symptoms versus anxiety symptoms and the association with differential reporting of mother and child on child's internalizing problems. The study sample comprised a cohort of 1,986 10- to 12-year-old children and their mothers from the Dutch general population in a cross sectional setup. Children's internalizing problems were assessed with the DSM-IV anxiety and affective problem scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Current maternal internalizing problems were assessed with the depressive and anxiety symptom scales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), while the TRAILS Family History Interview (FHI) measured lifetime maternal depression and anxiety. Results show that current and lifetime maternal depressive symptoms were associ- ated with positive mother-child reporting discrepancies (i.e. mothers reporting more problems than their child). Considering the small amount of variance explained, we conclude that maternal depressive symptoms do not bias maternal reporting on child's internalizing problems to a serious degree. Studies concerning long term consequences of mother-child reporting discrepancies on child's inter- nalizing problems are few, but show a risk for adverse outcome. More prognostic research is needed.
Abstract Parenting a child with anorexia nervosa (AN) is highly stressful, and the struggles around eating have a large impact on family functioning. Parents get involved in conflicts with their child and/or accommodate to the eating disorder symptoms. Non‐violent resistance (NVR) offers an additional treatment option for these families. NVR aims at helping parents effectively deal with their child's (self‐)destructive behaviour and their own helplessness, by non‐violent and non‐escalating means. In our pilot, we examined whether NVR was helpful in reducing stress and improve parent–child interaction. In six parents, it was found that parenting stress was significantly reduced at post‐assessment and at 3‐month follow‐up. For parent–child interaction, a non‐significant trend was found for improvement. Change in body mass index of the adolescents was not associated with the decrease in parenting stress. Although preliminary, the results of this pilot suggest that NVR can be a feasible treatment alternative for families of adolescents with AN.
