Epidemiological data indicate that 30% to 50% of young people contact the child psychiatrist for behavioral disorders problems. Protective factors research that reduce the risk of conduct disorders are just as important as the research of risk factors. The aim of this work is to introduce the preventive factors in the reduction of conduct disorders, including 4 domains: individual, family, school and community. The emphasis is placed on preventive factors at the community level, which are covered by the national, state and local policies that support programs oriented towards children and young people. Good infrastructural community support enable young people to participate in activities where they have opportunities to make choices, make decisions and share responsibility. These experiences help young people to develop new skills, increase their self-confidence and make the difference, while such programs help adults to create a basis for understanding and working together with young and engaged people.

The interest in the behavior of young people and their perspective creates a culture of care for young people instead of a culture of ignoring or even marking behavior among young people as deviant and antagonistic, which has a significant preventive effect on the development of behavior disorder.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Stress is an integral part of parenting. The stress of parenting is especially increased at parents of children with developmental disabilities, which can have negative effects on the health of the parents, the relationship with the child and total parental behavior. The objective of this work is to assess the level of stress of parenting among parents of children with developmental disabilities. Parents were involved in workshops support within a regional project. The workshops were conducted twice a month, in the duration of two hours, during the one-year period. The workshops were led by experts in various fields, and work with parents was psycho-educational and supportive. The assessment was made using the questionnaire Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, within the two time frames, at the beginning of the project and after 12 months. The results showed that nearly two-thirds of parents of children with disabilities were under clinically significant stress at the beginning of the service. By retesting after twelve months, it was found that parental stress decreased, and the decrease is particularly evident in the parental competence experience. Although stress is reduced to some extent by the way the parent is experiencing emotional exchange with the child, its level still remains high.

Our experience shows that supportive workshops, which we participated in significantly, but insufficiently contributed to the stress reduction among parents. This paper discusses other possible interventions, which would specifically be aimed at developing strategies for reductions of clinically high level of parental stress.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Cognitive and behavioural problems usually accompany isolated clefts of the lip and/or the palate (ICLP) [1].

To investigate cognitive, emotional and personal features of children with ICLP in comparison with non-cleft children from complete families and non-cleft orphans.

The ICLP group consisted of 29 children (age 14.2 ± 0.7). The first comparison group (1CG) consisted of 34 non-cleft children (age 14.1 ± 0.5). The second comparison group (2CG) consisted of 30 non-cleft orphans (age 13.8 ± 0.8). Drawing tests “House-Tree-Person” have been selected to evaluate the level of children's development, emotional and personal features in all three groups. M. Luscher Color test was chosen to figure out the children's psychological state, regardless of education level.

The most characteristic features of the ICLP children and 2CG were similar. They included infantilism (69%; 43.3%), low self-control (65.5%; 56.7%), demonstrative demeanor (62%; 36.7%), escape from reality into fantasy (93%; 76.7%), anxiety (69%; 63.3%). ICLP children compared with the 1CG has shown significantly higher level of aggression (79.3% vs. 4.2%), increased self-esteem (59.6 vs. 4.2%), impulsiveness (51.7% vs. 16.7%), the importance of other people's opinions (59.6% vs. 29.2%). Contrary, the feelings of lack of emotional warmth, the need for protection were observed in 1CG more frequently–70.8% vs 55.2% in ICLP and 60% in 2CG.

Psychological correction in children with ICLP should be aimed at increasing the adaptive functions, facilitating communication with peers, search the area for self-realization.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are complex psychiatric disorders, with both genetic and environmental factors implicated in their etiology. Recent studies suggest the prenatal and early postnatal genesis of ASD, therefore, understanding the effect of environmental risk factors could be important for prevention and treatment of ASD.

The aim of this study was to determine the association of prenatal factors and perinatal complications with ASD.

Our study included 102 subjects with ASD (80% boys) aged 9.35 ± 5.85, and 107 age and sex matched healthy controls (77% boys). For the diagnosis of ASD, we used the ICD-10 criteria and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). A questionnaire regarding prenatal and perinatal factors/complications was administered to all subjects.

Logistic regression model of having autism vs. being a control subject included gender, age, maternal and paternal age at birth, pregnancy order, smoking in pregnancy, number of medication during pregnancy (mostly tocolytics, antihypertensives, antiarrhythmics), and early postnatal complications (mostly prematurity, low birth weight, hyperbilirubinaemia). The model was significant, explaining about the third of variance, with number of medication during pregnancy and having an early postnatal complication as significant predictors.

Our study has shown a significant association of specific prenatal and perinatal factors and ASD, even after controlling for other potential confounding variables. Identifying specific risk factors is important for prevention of ASD. It is also the first step in defining basis of the gene–environment interaction mechanism, which might enable development of an individualised therapeutic approach for this group of disorders.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Sensory processing is the individual's ability to receive, process and integrate sensory information from the environment and body movement in the central nervous system, in order to produce adaptive responses. Sensory processing disorders (SPD) are associated to difficulties in regulating emotions and behaviours as well as motor abilities in response to sensory stimulation that lead to impairment in development and functioning. It is estimated that SPD affect 5–16% of school-aged children. Although these diseases constitute a primary diagnostic category in the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Development Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: DC0-3, they have not yet been validated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-DSM. In the latest edition of DSM, SPD were only included as one of the diagnostic criteria of autism-spectrum disorders. However, several studies have suggested that SPD may present themselves solely or coexist with other clinical conditions.

The aim of this study was to review systematically the relationship between SPD and psychopathology.

Articles indexed in the Pubmed database were analyzed.

Although sensory processing problems are well known to occur in association with autism, their relationship with other mental disorders is not a well studied area. Some studies have related them with ADHD, behavioural disorders and learning disorders. Some studies also comproved that SPD are a valid diagnosis and that there are individuals with SPD who do not meet the criteria for other known disorder. One study found an abnormal white matter microstructure in children with SPD. Despite these findings SPD need to be further studied.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

In industrialised countries, the age of puberty onset has substantially diminished over the last 150 years. Several factors, like improved nutrition and health care have contributed to this, but there are concerns about other factors, like obesity, levels of divorce and chemicals. There is an association between early puberty and externalizing disorders in both girls and boys.

To describe trends in advanced puberty timing and adolescence-onset conduct disorder (CD), analyse if an association exists between both and evaluate which measures can be taken to prevent youth from antisocial activities during adolescence.

A systematic literature review using Medline, Embase and Psycinfo Databases.

Family break-up and increased stress are risk factors for adolescence-onset conduct disorder. Obesity is associated with low SES families, so prevention campaigns giving advice on healthy nutrition may be beneficial. On the general level, there is no clear positive correlation between adolescence-onset CD and early puberty over the last decades as numbers of CD are decreasing.

Potential mental health gains can be obtained to focus on children with multiple risk factors for early puberty. More research is needed to assess, which interventions (diet, advice on body changes, social expectations, etc.) are most useful.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

There is a lack of epidemiological evidence on the prevalence and incidence of mental health disorders in adolescence in Croatia. Depressive disorder and paranoid symptoms have been demonstrated to be closely related in adult community samples or patients with adult depression. The present study used a cross-sectional design to evaluate a sample of Croatian adolescents.

Examine the prevalence of paranoid symptoms in adolescents attending grammar school as a preliminary study of clinical characteristic of depression in adolescence.

A sample of 450 individuals, average age 15.7 (SD = 0.45); female 232 (51.6%), male 218 (48.4%). The screening was followed by the use of a structured psychiatric interview (HAMD-21), which was administered to confirm the presence or absence of depression disorder. Item paranoid symptoms were administered to evaluate the level OD symptoms (0–none; 1–suspicious; 2–ideas of reference; 3–delusions of reference and persecutions).

A total of 450 participants were screened, using HAMD-21, paranoid symptoms occurred (44.9%). Depressed adolescents: moderate, severe and very severe, defined as more than 14 points in HAMD-21 presented paranoid symptoms 68.1%, and non-depressed 32.2%.

The depressive group displayed more frequent and intense paranoid symptoms than the control group (P < 0.001). Among non-depressed the incidence of paranoid symptoms is a surprisingly high. This could be the consequences of the war in Croatia, transition, as well as the influence of social networks on adolescent communication. This requires future studies.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

In order to provide evidence-based intervention for autism from this approach in practice.

In reference to a longitudinal approach, an intervention program was designed and implemented to serve 40 children with ASD, who were treated for one (1) year at the Victory BRT Institute in Florida, US. The behaviors targeted for reduction (excess behavioral), are the following: physical aggression, self-aggression and non-compliance. The program began with a baseline (12 consecutive days) with observations at home and others different natural contexts. The last three (3) months of the year consisted of monthly follow-up sessions to monitor the treatment implemented. The results were analyzed by repeated measures, ANOVA Sig (P = 0.003) (F = 8). Analyses show that the critical level associated with the effect of time-content interaction is strong, so the treatment generated a positive effect by reducing the behaviors targeted in time.

These results provide evidence that interventions from applied behavior analysis are effective.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Publications and studies have shown that the existence of serious mental disorders in parents is a risk in the development of children and is more common the existence of mental illness in them than in the general pediatric population. This work aims to reflect in depth on the study of the influence of psychotic parents on child development through a review of a clinical study. We present the case of 14 years old adolescent who is being treated in a mental health center, whose parents suffers from a severe mental illness. We also defend the importance of a preventive approach or treatment that impinges on the child and family environment.

A way of community work, in coordination with the different teams (social services, educational services, etc.) allows more efficient and appropriate treatment, using various resources. When risk factors for developing mental health problems in childhood, family history and especially the existence of one or both parents of mentally pathology type schizophrenia or other psychoses are studied become important. It seems essential to address as a priority to the social group have called “high-risk group of psychosis’, and in particular to the” sons of patients diagnosed with psychosis”, both for its size and the severity and chronicity of psychopathology if developing means for early psychosocial care does not occur.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The determination of IQ is essential in the assessment and diagnosis of children. There are multitude of tests, one of the most used are the Wechsler Scales.

Hypothesis: Assessment of IQ is equivalent using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISCr) and Kaufman inteligence brief test (KBIT).

Subjects Children undergoing treatment at Unit Child and Adolescent Mental Health of Talavera with determination IQ at some point in the intervention: 39 pairings determination of IQ subjects atended: 20 males and 19 females, aged between 4 and 14 years.

Subjects are evaluated with KBIT and WISCr tests.

Design: Quasi-experimental with two conditions.

Independent variables: IQ Total WISCr and age management KBIT (for eight years application of the full test, under this age not full test).

Dependent variable: IQ KBIT.

Calculation of correlation between IQ by non-parametric test. Comparison between groups using non-parametric test for dependent data (sign test). Rejecting null hypothesis for alpha significance P < 0.05.

Partial KBIT; 21 comments, 11 males, 10 females; Spearman r = .714 (P < .001); average estimate of 12.71 points higher in KBIT, Dt 18.07, sign test Z = –2.012 (P < .041).

18 observations, 9 males, 9 females; Spearman r = .739 (P < .001); lower average estimate of 3.44 points in KBIT, Dt 12.43, sign test Z = –.236 (P < .815).

The results support high validity regardless of age management KBIT, although IQ scores obtained before 8 years should be considered with caution. The KBIT has the advantage of its shorter evaluation, however the information obtained from WISCr is wider.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Although prenatal maternal smoking is an established risk factor for offspring's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the studies of association between paternal smoking and childhood ADHD have produced inconsistent results.

The objective of the present study was to determine whether paternal smoking during early developmental period is associated with an increased risk of offspring's ADHD.

We conducted hospital-based case-control study with 107 medically diagnosed ADHD cases and 205 controls (aged 6–12 years). The diagnoses of ADHD were assessed with DSM-IV based semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Paternal smoking behavior was assessed with spouse-report questionnaire. The association between exposure to paternal smoking and ADHD were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The primary outcome of interest was an odds ratio (ORs) reflecting the risk of offspring's ADHD incidence associated with father's smoking during the index pregnancy, up to one year after birth, and current smoking status. Control variables in our regression model were age, sex, financial status, parents’ education levels, low birth weight, and premature birth.

Our final regression model revealed that paternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.03–2.76) and up to one year after birth (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.04–2.77) were significantly related to their offspring's ADHD.

The current results suggest that exposure to paternal smoking during the fetal and newborn period is associated with increased risk of ADHD. This study warrants public health policies to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke and their risk of ADHD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The association between parental severe mental illness (SMI) and depression in offspring may be due to genetic liability or adverse environments. We investigated the effect of parental SMI, SES, and adversity on depression in a sample of youth enriched for familial risk of mental illness.

We assessed 217 youth (mean age 11.95, SD 4.14, range 6–24), including 167 (77%) offspring of parents with SMI. We measured exposure to childhood maltreatment and bullying with the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) and Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse (CECA) interview.

In total, 13.36% participants reported significant bullying and 40.76% had a history of childhood maltreatment. Rates of bullying and maltreatment were similar in offspring of parents with and without SMI. Maltreatment likelihood increased with decreasing socioeconomic status. Exposure to bullying (OR = 3.11, 95%CI 1.08–8.88, P = 0.03) predicted depression in offspring more strongly than family history of SMI in parents.

Adversity, such as maltreatment and bullying, has a stronger impact on the risk of developing depression than family history of mental illness in parents. These adverse experiences are associated with socioeconomic status rather than parental mental illness.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

In the last years, there has been a paradigm shift in the educational system of young people with disabilities. Regular schools associated with specific support plans have become the destination of choice for these adolescents, instead of schools with special education. This integrated teaching seeks to reduce stigma and to promote tolerance but frequently these students become easy targets of psychological and physical violence or discrimination.

To evaluate the integration of adolescents with disabilities in mainstream education compared to special teaching.

Analysis of 32 patients with disabilities from the adolescence consultation of the psychiatry service of hospital de Santa Maria, between January 2015 and September 2016.

About 30% of the adolescents with disabilities who attend regular schools with special support complains of poor adjustment associated with some kind of mistreatment by peers.

Violence among students in school is a current problem very difficult to fight. Young people with disabilities often find themselves in a significant minority presenting less efficient defense mechanisms. If unprotected, they may easily develop school phobia or refusal. These situations must be identified and avoided to prevent the associated suffering.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Irritability is the most frequently reported symptom in child and adolescent depression. The association of both has been linked with high rates of chronicity, comorbility and impairment.

To study the association between irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.

We have studied 857 participants recruited from the only child and adolescent mental health clinic in a catchment area of 122,968 people under 18 (2004–2010). A sample of 857 participants (112 controls and 745 patients) was included to carry out a cross-sectional study. Irritability was measured by a Visual Analog Scale (VAS irritability)–scored from 0 to 10–, and depressive symptoms by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The participants were categorized into controls and patients, and according to their irritability (≤ 4 [I], 5 [II] and ≥ 6 [III]). The mean of CDI score was calculated for each of the groups, adjusted by sex and age, and analyzed by ANCOVA.

The following means were obtained from the controls: 13,71 (group I), 9,82 (group II) and 17,45 (group III). Regarding to the patients: 13,92 (group I), 11,54 (group II) and 15,64 (group III). A quadratic association (P < 0.0015) was found between VAS irritability score and CDI score.

There is not a linear association between irritability and depressive symptoms in children and adolescent. High rates of depressive symptoms were associated both with high and low rates of irritability. Several questions remain unexplained about the status of irritability in psychiatry, as Stringaris group has been pointed out.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.