Research article summary (published 30 Jan 2007):

Psychosocial stress predicts future symptom severities in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
The goals of this prospective longitudinal study were to monitor levels of psychosocial stress in children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS) and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) compared to healthy control subjects and to examine the relationship between measures of psychosocial stress and fluctuations in tic, obsessive-compulsive (OC), and depressive symptom severity.

METHODS:
Consecutive ratings of tic, OC and depressive symptom severity were obtained for 45 cases and 41 matched healthy control subjects over a two-year period. Measures of psychosocial stress included youth self-report, parental report, and clinician ratings of long-term contextual threat. Structural equation modeling for unbalanced repeated measures was used to assess the temporal sequence of psychosocial stress with the severity of tic, OC and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS:
Subjects with TS and OCD experienced significantly more psychosocial stress than did the controls. Estimates of psychosocial stress were predictive of future depressive symptoms. Current levels of psychosocial stress were also a significant predictor of future OC symptom severity, but not vice versa. Current OC symptom severity was a predictor of future depressive symptom severity, but not vice versa. Current levels of psychosocial stress and depression were independent predictors of future tic severity, even after controlling for the effect of advancing chronological age.

CONCLUSIONS:
The impact of antecedent psychosocial adversity is greater on future depressive symptoms than for tic and/or OC symptoms. Worsening OC symptoms are also a predictor of future depressive symptoms. Advancing chronological age is robustly associated with reductions in tic severity.

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Author information

Author/s: Lin, Haiqun (H); Katsovich, Liliya (L); Ghebremichael, Musie (M); Findley, Diane B (DB); Grantz, Heidi (H); Lombroso, Paul J (PJ); King, Robert A (RA); Zhang, Heping (H); Leckman, James F (JF);

Affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-7900, USA.

Grants: DA017713 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; DA076750 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; MH014235 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH066187 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH493515 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; MH61940 (Agency:NIMH NIH HHS) ; RR00044 (Agency:NCRR NIH HHS) ; RR00125 (Agency:NCRR NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines (J Child Psychol Psychiatry), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Feb; vol 48 (issue 2) : pp 157-66

Dates: Created 2007/02/15; Completed 2007/03/29; Revised 2007/12/03;

PMID: 17300554, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Child Demography Female Humans Male Models, Psychological Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology Prospective Studies Psychology Severity of Illness Index Social Behavior Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; psychology Time Factors Tourette Syndrome - diagnosis; epidemiology; psychology

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