Elena Predescu

By Elena Predescu and Roxana Şipoş

In latest years the concept of quality of life (QoL) has been acknowledged as an important outcome in psychiatric pathology fields. Most researchers consider that social indicators and the perception of personal wellbeing also, should be considered when measuring the quality of life. Our purpose was to investigate the QoLof the families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to determine whether in this population, the potential mediators (irrational cognitions, negative automatic thoughts, coping strategies) relate significantly with the emotional distress reported. We also aimed to assess the parents’ irrational cognitions and negative automatic thoughts as mediators in the relationship between the overall assessment of family QoLand their emotional distress. We found significant correlations between the emotional distress reported by the parents and their automatic negative thoughts, irrational cognitions, and different coping strategies. The relationship between the overall assessment of family QoLand the parents’ emotional distress was partially explained by their negative automatic thoughts and irrational cognitions. In this view, the specialised services should include also interventions for the parents of children with developmental disorders (ASD, ADHD) in order to improve their overall assessment of familyQoL.

Part of the book: Autism

By Elena Predescu, Anna Boglarka Asztalos and Roxana Șipoș

The prevalence of anxiety disorders is known to be increasing among children and adolescents and often co-exist with another psychiatric disorder. There is some evidence that anxiety disorders in nonwestern countries have the same comorbidity patterns as in other world regions and may have similar predictors including age and gender. However, more evidence from different countries is needed. The major goal of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety disorders in a clinical setting and to describe the comorbidity patterns and predictors. We conducted a retrospective study on the admitted patients in the Clinic of Pediatric Psychiatry from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between January 2017 and December 2017. A clinical sample of 2471 patients aged between 3 and 18 years with psychiatric disorders, assessed and/or treated in the clinic, was included into the study. About 9.88% patients (N = 244) of the clinical sample were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as a primary diagnosis. About 79.5% of the selected sample had a comorbid disorder and 34.4% had an anxiety or mood comorbidity. Preference in treatment was nonpharmachological and, according to the degree of severity, SSRI medication. Our results underline the significant prevalence of anxiety disorders and the high rate of comorbidities.

Part of the book: Psychopathology