This is a case aboout a 12-year-old girl, lives with her mother, father and younger brother. Parents originally from Peru, the patient was born in Spain.

She started follow-up by Mental Health in May 2022 due to low self-esteem after school bullying. The parents report that she has always been a shy child with many insecurities; she has always been insecure and suspicious in her relationships with peers, but during the last school year she was more nervous and insecure with everything that had happened to her; this situation was the reason for requesting a consultation at an Infant-Juvenile Mental Health Center when the school year was about to end.

In October she went to the emergency department accompanied by her parents because she seemed different in the last few days. A few days ago, while the patient was returning on the school bus, the patient began to write to her mother commenting that her classmates were imitating her, and that she noticed strangers not only in her classmates but also in her teachers, and in her own parents, thinking that they were imitating her. She had not slept well for several days.

In the interview alone with the patient, she was distrustful, hypervigilant, referring that the therapists were imitating her. She verbalized delusional ideation of harm and auditory hallucinations with high distress and emotional repercussions. She also presented slightly disorganized speech and formal thought disorders. In the last few days she had also been aggressive towards her younger brother and mother.

She had presented a febrile condition two weeks ago that subsided with antibiotics.

As a family history, she has a father’s aunt diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Due to the seriousness of the situation and the impossibility of performing an outpatient approach, it was decided to perform an urgent admission to the Infanto-Juvenile Brief Inpatient Unit with the objectives of performing a diagnostic affiliation, organic screening and evolutionary follow-up.

Due to the febrile picture that had presented two weeks ago, and the recent onset of symptomatology, it was decided to request the following tests: abdominal ultrasound, cranial MRI and electroencephalogram. All tests were normal.

Due to the normality of the complementary tests requested, it was diagnosed as F29 Non-organic psychosis without specification. Treatment with Risperidone was started.

Two months later, the patient has had a good evolution, but still continues to present psychotic symptoms, such as auditory hallucinations and delusional ideation of harm, but with less impact than at the beginning.

The evolution of the case points to a possible diagnosis of Schizophreniform Disorder, due to the persistence of psychotic symptoms, less than 6 months after the debut.

Due to the age of the patient, we would be facing a diagnosis of VEOS (Very Early Onset Schizophrenia).

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Depression, anxiety and suicide are serious psychiatric conditions that affect Mexican youth (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, IHME, 2022), with depression showing a prevalence greater than 16%. Suicide ranks as the second most important cause of deathin this age group, (6/100,000 deaths), the first being violent deaths by firearms (15/100,000 deaths;IHME, 2022).

To identify factors related to age of onset of pediatric depression.

A cross-sectional study was carried out during 2018-2020 in two Children’s Psychiatric Hospitals in Mexico City. Data were collected using a survey method. All participants signed an informed consent form. We applied Cox hazard analysis, with the hazard event being the onset of psychiatric symptoms.

Data from 400 patients were analyzed, 148 girls (37%) and 252 boys (63%). Mean patient age was 12 years, and mean age of symptom onset was 8 years. The most common diagnoses were hyperkinetic disorder (51%), depression (34%), and anxiety (7.8%). Age of depression onset was significantly reduced in association with male sex (HR=1.46), family history of psychiatric disorder (familial depression HR=2.34; hyperkinetic disorder HR=2.67; psychoactive substance abuse HR=5.09), and certain medical comorbidities (asthma HR=6.41; enuresis HR=3.03). These same covariates were not associated with age of onset of hyperkinetic disorder or anxiety.

These analyses indicate that a subgroup of pediatric depression has an early onset and is associated with familial hyperkinetic disorder and depression, the male sex, and certain medical comorbidities.

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Traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviors represent a serious problem in our schools with deterious effects on youths.

The aim of our study is to determine the relationship between school bullying and cyberbullying among tunisian adolescents.

Adolescents enrolled in middle and high schools in Tunis, Tunisia were surveyed about their experiences of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. This study was developed by the Child Psychiatry Department of Mongi Slim Hospital, (Tunis,Tunisia). Approval of the ethic commitee of the Hospital was obtained.

The total number of participants in our study was 935 adolescents. The average age was 14.2 years with a slight female predominance (54%) and a sex-ratio of 0.85.

The results revealed that 32 % of the students were victims of both cyber and traditional bullying, while 26 % of the students bullied others in both cyber and physical environments. Compared to female students, male students were more likely to be bullies and victims in both physical and cyber-environments.

Cyberbullying and traditional bullying may not be two separate phenomena, but rather two sides of the same coin. Reducing bullying is an important issue to deal with, wheatear it happens online or offline.

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The first definition of PAS, enunciated by Richard Gardner in 1985, refers to a disorder originating in the context of legal conflicts related to child custody. Its main characteristic would be a smear campaign by the child towards a parent, in the absence of plausible arguments. In this context, the child would experience an oppositional and dichotomous feeling towards his or her parents. In recent years, the presence of PAS has become increasingly important, both in the legal and health fields, largely due to the controversy and debate surrounding its approval and recognition, and there is currently no consensus on the matter.

The main objective of this work is to examine the current state of PAS in depth in the different fields in which it is emerging: the medical-scientific and legal spheres. The current controversies and debate, both scientific and legal, will be developed. Research will be carried out on the origin of the concept and its evolution, its symptomatic presentation, the neuropsychological consequences in minors, the role and legal value of expert reports, as well as the existing evaluation methods for the assessment of PAS.

An extensive literature review was carried out on the subject in question, extracting information mainly from scientific articles, but also from legislative documents, manuals and books.

There are currently no specific laws regulating PAS in European countries. According to Article 10.2 of the Spanish Constitution, norms related to fundamental rights shall be interpreted according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a direct consequence of the chronic psychological stresses experienced by children, adaptive disorders may appear, often characterised by symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, a multitude of neuropsychological consequences have been observed not only in the affected child, but also in the adult he or she will become.

Currently, there is a fervent debate about the validity and recognition of PAS as a diagnostic entity, spanning different disciplines, ranging from health to social and legal. In Europe, professionals in the scientific field have not reached an agreement regarding the approval of PAS. On the one hand, there are those for whom PAS is a verified phenomenon; on the other hand, there are those who flatly reject the existence of this phenomenon. The latter consider PAS an unscientific construct, referring to it as “court syndrome” or “patriarchal alienation syndrome”.

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Pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) was described in 2010 not related to streptococcus infection (as PANDAS is), and with a clinically distinct presentation, defined as: I) Abrupt, dramatic onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder or severely restricted food intake; II) Concurrent presence of additional neuropsychiatric symptoms; III) Symptoms are not better explained by a known neurologic or medical disorder.

To describe the clinical features in a scholar boy who suffered an abrupt obsessive-compulsive disorder and highlight the need of an specific medical and psychiatric assessment and management from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Clinical case: A 7-year-old boy brought to the emergency department due to his repetitive and hyperactive behavior. After the admission in the hospital a clinical history was identified with PANS diagnostic criteria. He presented repetitive language and ritualized behavior, emotional lability and hyperactivity that has begun in an abrupt manner in the last 5 days. Family history, medical history and physical examination, infectious disease evaluation, neurological assessment and child psychiatric assessment were carried out during hospitalization. Coordination between neuropediatric consultant and child psychiatry was necessary.

Combinated treatment, psychofarmacologic and psychotherapeutic, was effective and the symptoms disapeared gradually in about three months.

In all school-age child presenting with abrupt obsessive-compulsive disorder or eating disorders a possible link to PANS should be evaluated and rule out. It is important a Liaison Child Psychiatry program for a complete multidisciplinary evaluation and management of these patients.

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In a new era where, more and more children are standing up against governments concerning important subjects like climate change that will impact their physical health in a near future, it is time to question ourselves on all the other decisions that are being taken and that could have a sustainably high impact on some of our children’s development and mental health. Unfortunately, many of those children are forced to remain silent - unable to express themselves - or are just not being heard – unable to gain international medias’ attention - because of their social condition, cultural background, age or religion. But more sadly, most of them remain silent because they are just unaware of the consequences their living conditions or hardships might have on their future mental health, due to lack of information or education.

Therefore, it is our responsibility as childhood experts and professionals to speak for those children who cannot, to stand up for themselves and promote the importance of putting their interest first no matter what.

We have chosen six different studies led in different contexts of struggle for children all around the world to illustrate the consequences on their development and mental health.

We will communicate on the situations of children living in refugee camps, children living with their mothers in prison cells, children being forcibly separated from their mothers returning from Daesh territories in France or children being forcibly separated from their migrant mothers at the US border, we will describe the hardships but also the effective support provided to unaccompanied minors in Canada, and especially discuss with our cochair expertise how the issue is or could be different for them according to government policies and legislations.

By describing these different contexts of unstable living conditions or traumatic experiences orchestrated by government legislation regarding children care, we want to highlight the responsibility that every government legislation must consider when it comes to child care and how it should become an absolute priority.

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Current level of mental health in children and adolescents is alarming, the precursors of it disorders can appear at an early age.

The phenomenological and prognostic features of children’s anxiety and phobic states were studied.

The study conducted in 2022-2023 included 95 children of preschool age (among them 35 children under 3 years) with autistic disorders. For comparison, we used data from a follow-up study of 50 children lasting 15 years who had anxiety-phobic and autistic disorders at an early age. The control group included 30 children from the general population Assessment of the condition was carried out by clinical methods and original scales. PANSS scales were used in follow-up.

At an early age, these were fears of a protopathic nature, horror during sleep or during short-term sleepy states, the so-called “night terror”. Infants showed fears of touch, fear of manipulation: cutting hair, nails, pouring water while bathing in the shower, etc., due to a violation of sensory sensitivity. Also (among toddlers) frilly fears were found - water flowing into the bath, animalistic toys, along with autistic symptoms. In the catamnesis, there was an increase in symptoms. There were differentiated affective anxiety-phobic disorders, fragmentary phenomena and extended symptoms of a procedural nature (the total score on the PANSS scale exceeded 60 points, in 15 it reached 80). In the control group, normal development took place without psychopathology.

A direct relationship was found between the age of onset, the severity of early ontogenesis, and the phenomenological features of the disorders. In the premorbid of unfavorable forms of the course of schizophrenia, phobias were noted, comorbid outposts to symptoms of psychotic disorders resembling delusion, depersonalization symptoms.

The findings suggest that phobic anxiety disorders in early childhood may be a precursor to mental illness later in life.

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Attachment, as an interpersonal motivational system, is the relational ground that allows emotions to be regulated through action on the Autonomic Nervous System resulting in better psychological outcomes during middle childhood. Emotion dysregulation and autonomic function are often connected to psychiatric symptoms observed in adolescence (e.g. borderline personality disorder traits) and thus middle childhood becomes a critical age for psychopathological trajectories.

Examine the relationship between child’s attachment and both psychological and physiological emotional regulation.

20 children (Mage = 10.7, SD = 1.25; 65% males) were recruited from general population. Attachment was measured through the Child Attachment Interview (CAI), while emotional regulation was assessed with a multimethod approach, using questionnaires i.e. How I Feel (HIF) and Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS), and physiological measurements i.e. Heart Rate Variability (ratio between High Frequency and Low Frequency, HF/LF, labeled as the child’s sympathovagal balance) and Heart Rate (Beats Per Minute, BPM, as an index of physiological reactivity).

Statistically significant correlations emerged between the HIF-Control scale and the Mother and Father Dismissal CAI scale, the PANAS-Negative Affect scale and the Mother and Father Preoccupied Anger CAI scale. Moreover, there was a non-significant but moderate effect (rs > .30) between HF/LF and the Emotional Openness and the Resolution scales of the CAI, and between BPM and the Emotional Openness scale.

Despite the small sample size, more secure children are able to connect with their emotions and properly use them in solving relational problems. Consequently, they are likely to succeed in understanding and regulating emotions as they manage to find more adaptive strategies their own. On the contrary, the presence of dismissal or anger (insecure attachment) towards parents would appear to lead to higher levels of psycho-physiological dysregulation, a core feature of Borderline Personality Disorder dimensions starting to emerge later in adolescence. Future studies should consider physiological dysregulation as an additional factor linked to psychopathological developmental trajectories.

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Many studies linked expression and regulation of emotions as transdiagnostic variables involved in the emergence of psychopathological disorders. However, few studies investigated such processes during middle childhood, a critical period of life defined by significant psychological, physical, and social changes.

Explore the relationship between child’s emotion regulation – both emotional subjective experience and physiological reactivity – and child’s psychological difficulties.

20 children (Mage=10.7, SD=1.25; 65% males) and their mothers were recruited from general population. Emotion regulation was assessed with (1) How I Feel (HIF) and Positive and Negative Affect questionnaires (PANAS) and (2) Heart Rate (i.e., Beats Per Minute, BPM) and Heart Rate Variability (i.e., High Frequency and Low Frequency ratio, LF/HF). Child’s psychological difficulties were measured with the parent report Child Behavioral Checklist 6-18 (CBCL-6/18).

Statistically significant correlations emerged between the HIF-Positive emotions scale and both externalizing (rs = -.51) and internalizing (rs = -.46) difficulties; the HIF-Negative emotions scale and internalizing difficulties (rs = .49); LF/HF and internalizing difficulties (rs = -.58). Finally, a non-significant but moderate effect was found between the HIF-Negative emotions scale and externalizing difficulties (rs = .33).

Although the limited number of participants, data suggest an interesting role played by both child’s emotional experience and physiological reactivity on internalizing and externalizing difficulties as reported by mothers. More specifically, child’s experience of positive emotions is associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing difficulties, while child’s experience of negative emotions illustrates an opposite relationship, implying the relevance of looking at child’s emotional subjective experience in understanding psychological difficulties. Moreover, LF/HF ratio – labeled as the child’s sympathovagal balance – seems like it might be higher in children with less internalizing difficulties. Although doubts about LF/HF interpretation, several studies share this view showing a decrease in autonomic reactivity in internalizing problems, such as depression, in adults. Overall, our preliminary results underline the importance of studying the emergence of psychopathological outcomes in middle childhood connected to both psychological and physiological emotional processes.

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Impulsive personality Traits have been highly associated with both alcohol abuse and drug addiction, but have been accorded little attention in the context of food addiction.

To study the relationship between impulsivity and food addiction in school-aged adolescents.

It is a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical survey, conducted in a sample of secondary school students, randomly collected in 6 schools in the region of Sfax during February 2022. A pre established form of 33 questions, including socio- demographic and family information was used. Impulsivity was evaluated by the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11; Patton et al., 1995). The BIS is a 30-item questionnaire that measures impulsivity along the following dimensions: cognitive, motor, and non-planning. The validated arabic version was used. *

The 25-item Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), validated in Arabic, was used to assess food addiction in adolescents.

Our sample consisted of 360 adolescents, with an average age of 16.62 years, being male in 52.2% and with a low to medium socio-economic level in 72.7% of them.

A total of 20% of the adolescents showed a tendency to impulsivity, 23.6% had impulse control disorder.

The food addiction score of our sample ranged from 0 to 56 with an average of 16.37 ± 12.380.

The average food addiction score for adolescents with impulse control disorder was 20.21 ±14.819 while the average food addiction score for adolescents without impulse control disorder was 15.18 ± 11.291.

Food addiction was strongly associated with impulsivity (p < 0.001).In particularly, Non-planning impulsivity was most strongly correlated with food addiction (p < 0.001, r ꞊ 0.252)

Impulsivity, commonly related to addictive substance use behaviors, may be a significant risk factor for food addiction. Early monitoring of impulse control disorder may help to reduce addictive food consumption.

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Gambling disorders have increased over time due to the easy availability of online games.

The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of internet gambling disorder in an adolescent population and to identify associated factors.

It was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, conducted among a sample of high school students, randomly collected in 6 schools in the region of Sfax during the month of February 2022. A pre-established form of 33 questions, including socio-demographic and family information was used.

The Arabic version of the Internet Gaming Disorder-20 (IGD-20) questionnaire was used to assess online gaming activity. It is a 20-item questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 (strongly disagree to strongly agree). A respondent’s score was obtained by aggregating the 20 items. The higher the score, the more severe the gambling disorder. The cut-off score for the IGD-20 is 70. A score below 50 indicates occasional use; a score between 50 and 70 indicates problematic use; and a score above 70 indicates an online gambling disorder.

We collected 360 adolescents, 52.2% of whom were male. The mean age of our patients was 16.62 years.

A total of 4.7% of the adolescents had an online gambling disorder, 26.9% had problematic use, while 68.3% were occasional users.

The analytical study revealed that online video game addiction was associated with male gender (p ꞊0.003), the presence of relationship problems with parents (p ꞊0.000), and low academic achievement (p ꞊0.000).

We draw attention to the necessary debate between sensible and problematic use of new technologies and the need for longitudinal prevention in schools.

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Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) is a rare autosomal recessive disease usually associated with neonatal seizures that are sensitive to pyridoxine (vitamin B6). This disease can have a significant impact on family functioning, with significant psychological distress in parents. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety are the most common psychiatric outcomes in parents of children with PDE.

To investigate the prevalence of significant symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in parents of children with PDE.

The study consisted of a survey of parents accompanying their children diagnosed with PDE. The diagnosis was already confirmed by objectifying a homozygous or a compound heterozygous mutation in the ALDH7A1 gene in all siblings with heterozygous carrier parents. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to assess parental post-traumatic stress, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to screen for parental depression and anxiety.

Our study included eight unrelated families with one infant presenting a confirmed PDE disease. The average age of the children with epilepsy was 4.18 years (8 months to 12 years) with equal representation of both sexes.

Half of parents surveyed had depressive symptoms and about two thirds reported anxious symptomatology. These troubles are mainly related to the uncertain prognosis of the disease, even with vitamin B6 supplementation, and the high risk of recurrence in siblings, which led some parents to not have other children. A higher anxiety scores was reported in parents who claimed to have difficulties in providing the necessary vitamin supplements to their affected children on a regular basis. PTSD was diagnosed in three parents: most parents reported difficulties in dealing with stress, specifically in relation to the unpredictability of seizures and the unavailability of medical care for their child, which taxed their financial resources and made it difficult for them to perform their roles effectively.

Besides, being an autosomal recessive transmission disease, the notion of responsibility/guilt was not reported by either parent, and both parents are equally involved in the care of their child.

A significant proportion of children’s parents with pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy are suffering from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. A deeper understanding of the clinical expressions of these troubles could help practitioners to develop prevention and intervention strategies for these parents.

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Congenital muscular dystrophies (CMDs) represent a heterogeneous group of early-onset muscle disorders presenting primarily with hypotonia and delayed motor development. Several genes are known to be responsible for CMDs, including the LAMA2 gene, involved in merosin-deficient type 1A (MDC1A), and the FKRP gene involved in muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type B5 (MDDGB5). These two forms of CMD are autosomal recessive and are each characterized by the presence of a mutation with a founder effect in South Tunisia. Cognitive development associated with the founder mutation in the LAMA2 gene (c.8007delT) is often conserved, whereas in the founder mutation of the FKRP gene (c.1364 C>A), motor impairment is associated with intellectual disability (ID).

To compare the psychological impact of motor impairment in children presenting these two forms of CMD and their families.

The study consisted of a survey of parents of children with a confirmed diagnosis of MDC1A (5 from 3 unrelated families) or MDDGB5 (3 from 3 unrelated families). The correspondent founder mutation was already identified in the homozygous state by targeted sequencing. Participants’ parents completed the Parent Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a behavioral screening tool designed for children aged from 2 to 17 years. The SDQ assesses emotional symptoms, behavior problems, hyperactivity, and peer relationships; The SDQ Impact Supplement assesses the impact of all these children’s difficulties on their families.

The average age of the children was 4.95±3.92 with two children who were not assessable by the SDQ (age< 2 years). Unlike children with MDC1A, ID has been reported in all children with MDDGB5. The mean SDQ total score for children with MDC1A was 11, whereas the mean score for children with MDDGB5 was 14.875, reflecting greater difficulty for children with MDDGB5. The family impact score was higher in families with children with MDDGB5 than in children with MDC1A (10,5 vs 7), which may be due to the burden of management of the ID associated with the motor impairment. The more pronounced difficulties associated with MDDGB5 are likely to be related to the associated ID. Whereas in MDC1A, the difficulties observed are related to the direct impact of the motor impairment. The presence of cognitive disorders associated with a motor deficit aggravates behavioral adaptation and makes the management of these children more difficult.

In the absence of a comparable study in the literature, the present is conducting future studies on the behavioral profile of children with CMD to obtain a better understanding of their difficulties in everyday life and to develop interventions adapted to their families

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Children in labor are highly vulnerable to intentional maltreatment in the workplace and home environment, particularly in South Asian countries. Since it adversely affects their emotional and cognitive health, it is considered to be a major public health concern. However, the emotional and behavioral consequences of child labor maltreatment are still overlooked.

The study investigated the construct validity of a PSC tool for child laborers and the relationship between different maltreatment forms and child laborers’ psychosocial impairments.

In total, 114 parents of child laborers were recruited using the snowball sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was developed based on three items of the ICAST-P and the parent’s version of the PSC tool. This study performed a factor analysis and a multivariate analysis using SPSS. The data were collected between April and June 2022.

A three-factor model consisting of internalizing, externalizing, and attention problems of child laborers has been partially fitted to the data. The PSC appears to be primarily concerned with internalized psychological difficulties among child laborers, followed by externalized and attention-associated emotional and behavioral difficulties. A mean estimate of the prevalence of maltreatment indicates that child laborers are primarily subjected to psychological maltreatment, followed by physical maltreatment and neglect. The study observed that physically and psychologically maltreated child laborers are significantly screened for psychosocial impairments associated with internalized problems and attention deficits. Psycho-social constructs are not significantly influenced by neglect. There was no significant relationship between maltreatment and externalized psychosocial difficulties among child laborers.

The estimated findings would aid prospective researchers in examining the possible factors associated with the emotional and behavioral problems of maltreated child laborers. In addition, clinicians can gain insight into diagnosing psychometric symptoms in this population of children.

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EMDR therapy is a brief form of trauma-focused therapy for PTSD. This therapeutic technique was first used by Francine Shapiro in the United States in 1987. EMDR combines exposure imagination, cognitive and psychoanalytical techniques. Designed to treat psychological trauma, emotional shock and grief, EMDR can also be used to treat neurotic problems such as phobias, anxiety and depression.

EMDR therapy can be used at any age and can be adapted to children, adolescents, adults and the elderly unless contraindicated.

In the pediatric population, several studies have shown that EMDR therapy has a remarkable effectiveness on several pathologies and particularly on PTSD.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

EMDR therapy is a brief form of trauma-focused therapy for PTSD. This therapeutic technique was first used by Francine Shapiro in the United States in 1987. EMDR combines exposure imagination, cognitive and psychoanalytical techniques. Designed to treat psychological trauma, emotional shock and grief, EMDR can also be used to treat neurotic problems such as phobias, anxiety and depression. EMDR therapy can be used at any age and can be adapted to children, adolescents, adults and the elderly unless contraindicated.In the pediatric population, several studies have shown that EMDR therapy has a remarkable effectiveness on several pathologies and particularly on PTSD. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Present the indications of EMDR therapy in children and demonstrated its effectiveness in the management of psychiatric disorders in this population.

This is a systematic review of the literature. The databases used are “PubMed” and “Google Scholar”. No language restrictions were applied.

The following keywords were entered: EMDR, Child. Recent articles published in English or “systematic reviews, meta-analyses or reviews” were included.

From this review of the literature, we note that:

EMDR is a psychotherapy that has been shown to be effective in improving the symptoms of various pathologies in children, including PTSD, major depressive disorders, intellectual disability, anxiety disorders, as well as behavioral disorders

However, the studies are still few in number and also have methodological limitations: they were exploratory studies of relatively small samples.

EMDR therapy is mentioned in the described guidelines as “promising”, as the fact that it yields positive results in a short period of time and that these results continue in follow-up studies has increased the interest in using EMDR in children.

Nevertheless, larger sample sizes are recommended in future studies to better establish the effectiveness of EMDR therapy in children.

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Autistic traits that are continuously distributed in the population are characterized by difficulties in interpreting social information, deficits in understanding what others are thinking and feeling, difficulties in communicating ideas and emotions.

Otistic traits may elevate the risk for interpersonal victimization for those who exhibit them across the life course. In this study, the relationship between autistic traits, dating violence and anxiety levels were investigated in adolescents.

The study included 61 adolescents aged 13-15 years and their parents who applied to the outpatient clinic for the first time and volunteered. Parents were asked to fill in the adolescent autism spectrum quotient (AQ) for their children, and the adolescent was asked to fill in the dating violence and screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED) scales. It was hypothesized that adolescents that have higher AQ total scores have higher levels of dating violence and anxiety.

A total of 60 adolescents (44 girls and 16 boys) with a mean age of 14,6 were included in the study. A positive and significant correlation was found between autistic trait level and anxiety (r =.766, p = .00)and physical dating violence total scores (r =.259, p = .046). And also a positive and significant correlation was found between anxiety level and psychological (r =729, p = .00) and physical (r = .284, p = .028) dating violence total scores.

In our study higher autistic traits were found to be associated with higher levels of anxiety and physical dating violence. Autistic traits in adolescents contribute to children’s anxiety level. Deficits in emotional and social cognition, inability to identify inappropriate behavior and one’s own discomfort with inappropriate behavior increase the risk of psychological and physical dating violence. Validated screening tools should be developed in this population to support earlier reporting.

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Maternal stress experienced during pregnancy has potential lasting consequences on child development. One mechanism that can explain certain links between the activity of the maternal stress axis during pregnancy and the developmental trajectory of children is the maternal hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Nevertheless, further exploration is needed as there are methodological limits in the existing literature, such as the lack of longitudinal data.

To fill this gap, this DEVSTRESS research project was created with the aim of increasing our understanding of the mechanisms linking prenatal maternal stress to child development using longitudinal data from the EDEN cohort study.

In this sample, various bio-psycho-social data were collected: (1) maternal stress was measured during pregnancy via questionnaires assessing childhood adversity, major life events, work-related stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms; (2) children’s emotional and behavioural problems were reported at 3, 5, 8 and 11 years, and cognitive development was assessed by psychologists at 5 years of age; (3) maternal and child hair samples provided data on the level of cortisol in the hair, which were used as a biological marker of stress and were collected at birth for both mother and child, as well as 1, 3, and 5 years after birth from children.

Various statistical analyses have been conducted using this data to explore the longitudinal links between self-reported maternal prenatal stress and child outcomes.

This research project will be concluded in 2023, thus findings from the overall DEVSTRESS project and practical recommendations will be provided.

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The lack of valid and reliable screening tools is the one of the significant barriers to the extension of studies in child and adolescent mental health in Azerbaijan culture.

The aim of this study is to adapt the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 6-18) to Azerbaijan culture.

Study group of the research is consist of 1232 (630 female, 599 male) children and adolescents between the ages of 6-17 studying in classes 1 to 11 in Azerbaijan.The ability to explain the data obtained from Azerbaijani Version of CBCL by theoretical model was examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

The RMSEA index was calculated as .09 for the one-dimensional alternative model and Comparative Fit Index as .93 for CBCL Azerbaijani Version. It was concluded that the alternative one-dimensional model, where a series of indexes were evaluated together, has an acceptable fit.Internal consistency coefficients were calculated as .94 for Total Problems, .87 for Internalizationand .87 for Externatilazation. The internal consistency coefficients for the empirically based problem subtests varied between .62 and .86.Correlations with total score of total syndrome subtests of the checklist were calculated for female and male students and 6-11/12-17 ages, and a positive and significant correlation was found for female and male students and 6-11/12-17 age groups (p <.05). The correlations between the Total Problem and all syndrome subtests ranged from .68 to .88 for boys and .67 to .88 for girls. Furthermore, a strong correlation (r> .70) between Anxiety/Depression, Social Withdrawn/Depression and Internalizing Problems and between Aggressive Behavior, Delinquent Behaviour problem subtests and Externalizing Problems, was detected.It was found that Externalizing Problems and Aggressive Behavior subtests of boys has a significantly higher average than girls (p<.05).It was concluded that the scores of Social Withdrawn/Depression and Internalizing Problems of girls and Social Problems and Thought Problems of boys increases, and Social Withdrawn/Depression and Internalizing Problems scores of boys decreases as the age increases.

Considering that a row of indexes is evaluated together in examining model fit, it can be said that the model consisting of eight factors has an acceptable fit.

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Catatonia is a treatable but often undiagnosed condition in children and adolescents. The majority of Pediatric catatonia cases occur at a puberal ages. It is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. In these cases the diagnosis can be more difficult due to the overlap of symptoms.

Report the case of a 11- year - old girl who developed catatonia. She had a previous psychiatry history of intellectual disability, delayed speech and motor slowness. She had a positive Lorazepam challenge test with resolution of the most catatonic symptoms. More studies were completed and according to the clinical history the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder was made.

Genetic test revealed a Phelan Mc Dermid Syndrom.

A year 11-year-old girl presented to the pediatric emergency department with a 2- days history of worsening anxiety and rigidity, seeming lost and distant. The previous 4 months there was a history of progressive functional and social decline. Her speech was minimal and she required assistance with dressing and feeding. She displayed stereotypias and mannerism. All medical studies were unremarkable. A Lorazepam challenge test (2 mg IV) showed evidence of response. She recovered from catatonia and the basal situation was studied. She was diagnosed of autistic espectrum disorder attending the psychiatric and medical history. Apart from other medical studies, a genetic test showed a mutation in a gene called SHANK 3 according to a Phelan Mc Dermid Syndrom.

Pediatric catatonia is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autistic spectrum disorders. There is not always a clear identifiable cause and it is necessary to rule out possible organic causes of pediatric catatonia. The treatment is similar to adults. It is essential to do a complete medical and psychiatric history to an accurate diagnosis such as an autistic spectrum disorder. Genetic testing must be included. In this case, genetics showed a Phelan Mc Dermid Syndrom with a delayed diagnosis. This disorder can cause a wide range of symptoms varying in severity. These symptoms could include global developmental disorders, intellectual disability, delayed speech, autistic spectrum disorders and minor dysmorphic features.

It is crutial to emphasize the high incidence of catatonic symptoms in individuals with Phelan Mc Dermid Syndrome as catatonia often goes unrecognized or undertreated in individuals with developmental disabilities. Significant cognitive and behavioral regression beyond a baseline level of disability has been reported. This case also highlights the relevance of genetic testing in the work of individuals with intellectual disabilities and acute psychiatric illness or regression. Symptoms indicative of catatonia may occur in context of infections, hormonal status and stressful life events. Treatment is centered on the symptoms.

None Declared

Psychiatric symptoms of children and adolescents’ people whose families have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for various reasons, lived under the threat of terrorism in or outside Turkey, lost their parents or were separated for various reasons, are not clearly known.

This research aims to psychiatrically evaluate children and adolescents who are victims of various reasons due to their families joining the ISIS.

31 children and adolescents living with or without parents in Turkey, whose parents had joined ISIS, were included in the study. The sociodemographic data of the participants, the country they were in during their time in ISIS, the current situation of their parents, their exposure to terror attacks, their stay in prison were determined. Psychiatric diagnoses of the participants were determined according to DSM-5. Afterwards, the participants and caregivers were asked to fill out the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale Child and Parent Form (RCADS-C, RCADS-P), Child Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index Scale (CPTS-RI), Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) and Conners Parental Rating Scale Revised Short Form (CPRS-SF)

14 (45.2%) of the participants were boy and 17 (54.8%) were girl. The mean age of the participants was 10.55±3.79. The average age of the participants’ families at the time they joined ISIS was 4.81±3.37 years. The average age of the participants to return to our country was 8.87±3.99. All of the participants remained in Iraq. 25 (80.6%) of the participants stayed at home and 6 (19.4%) of them stayed in the camp. 19 (61.3%) of the participants were exposed to at least one conflict, 12 (38.7%) witnessed at least one terror attack, 5 (16.1%) were injured, 26 (83.9%) were not injured. It was found that 28 (90.3%) of the participants remained in prison and 3 (9.7%) did not. Participants’ RCADS-C scores were 23.42±15.96, RCADS-P total scores were 16.25±16.12, CPTS-RI scores 20.3±14.56. CYRM total scores were 46.65±9.04, and CPRS-SF total scores were 19.74±16.55.

It has been revealed that there are various psychiatric problems of varying severity in children and adolescents who are victims of ISIS in Turkey.

None Declared