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A depression rating scale for children
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Selected Abstracts from Pediatrics
methylphenidate (Ritalin) on attention. Measures included rating scales completed by teachers and parents and a vigilance task. All measures reflected significant changes during the period of investigation. Attention and behavior were significantly improved under drug conditions and significantly worsened when methylphenidate was discontinued. However, only performance on the objective measure returned to predrug levels; final off-drug parent and teacher ratings remained improved over initial reports. Parent ratings of behavior, and specifically of children's ability to attend, were unrelated to equivalent teacher ratings. Teachers' ratings of attention correlated significantly with performance on the vigilance task, discriminated between on-drug and off-drug conditions, and discriminated between children who obtained normal or near-normal predrug scores on the objective measure and those who performed poorly on this measure. Methylphenidate improved attentional performance for children who had poor predrug scores on the vigilance task, but did not produce a statistically significant change on the scores of children with normal predrug performance. Elva O. Poznanski, Stephen C. Cook, and Bernard J. Carroll, A depression rating scale for children (64:442-450, 1979) A rating scale is needed for clinical and research studies of depression in childhood. A Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) was devised and tested on 30 inpatient children in a medical hospital. A high correlation was found between the global ratings by two psychiatrists of' the severity of depression and the scores on the CDRS. The items on the CDRS which had the highest correlation with a global rating of depression were social withdrawal, capacity for fun, irritability, schoolwork, expressive communication, general somatic features, hypoactivity, and depressed mood. The syndrome of depression in childhood can be characterized and rated primarily by observed behaviors. John A. Wolfer and Madelon A. Visintainer, Prehospital psychological preparation for tonsillectomy patients: effects on children's and parents' adjustment (64:646-655, 1979) This experiment tested the stress-reducing effects of written and illustrated materials which were designed to prepare children for hospitalization for minor surgery. The preparatory materials incorporated information and procedures used successfully in previous studies to prepare children and parents in the hospital. One hundred sixty-three children 3 to 12 years of age and hospitalized for tonsillectomies were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups or a control group. The experimental groups consisted of combinations of home preparation with different types of in-hospital preparation and supportive care. Children's hospital adjustment was measured by blind ratings of behavioral upset and cooperation during the blood test, medication injection, transport to surgery, induction, and postoperative fluid intake. Recovery room medications and time to first voiding were also used as indications of upset. Posthospitalization adjustment was assessed by the Vernon et al. Posthospital Adjustment Inventory. Parent outcome measures included self-ratings for anxiety and satisfaction with information and care. The results indicated that children who used the home-preparatory materials alone or in combination with in-hospital preparation showed better adjustment than children in the control group. In-hospital preparation was as effective as home preparation alone or in combination with hospital preparation. Parents reported more satisfaction and less anxiety when they received some in-hospital preparation than with home preparation alone. Differences in children and parents who chose to use the preparatory materials at home from those who did not use them were noted. The overall results provide further evidence for the stress-reducing effects of systematic psychological preparation for hospitalization and surgery. Barbara Faye Ferguson, Preparing young children for hospitalization: a comparison of two methods (64:656-664, 1979) This study examined two methods of preparing children aged 3 to 7 years for hospitaliza-
Selected Abstracts from Pediatrics
methylphenidate (Ritalin) on attention. Measures included rating scales completed by teachers and parents and a vigilance task. All measures reflected significant changes during the period of investigation. Attention and behavior were significantly improved under drug conditions and significantly worsened when methylphenidate was discontinued. However, only performance on the objective measure returned to predrug levels; final off-drug parent and teacher ratings remained improved over initial reports. Parent ratings of behavior, and specifically of children's ability to attend, were unrelated to equivalent teacher ratings. Teachers' ratings of attention correlated significantly with performance on the vigilance task, discriminated between on-drug and off-drug conditions, and discriminated between children who obtained normal or near-normal predrug scores on the objective measure and those who performed poorly on this measure. Methylphenidate improved attentional performance for children who had poor predrug scores on the vigilance task, but did not produce a statistically significant change on the scores of children with normal predrug performance. Elva O. Poznanski, Stephen C. Cook, and Bernard J. Carroll, A depression rating scale for children (64:442-450, 1979) A rating scale is needed for clinical and research studies of depression in childhood. A Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) was devised and tested on 30 inpatient children in a medical hospital. A high correlation was found between the global ratings by two psychiatrists of' the severity of depression and the scores on the CDRS. The items on the CDRS which had the highest correlation with a global rating of depression were social withdrawal, capacity for fun, irritability, schoolwork, expressive communication, general somatic features, hypoactivity, and depressed mood. The syndrome of depression in childhood can be characterized and rated primarily by observed behaviors. John A. Wolfer and Madelon A. Visintainer, Prehospital psychological preparation for tonsillectomy patients: effects on children's and parents' adjustment (64:646-655, 1979) This experiment tested the stress-reducing effects of written and illustrated materials which were designed to prepare children for hospitalization for minor surgery. The preparatory materials incorporated information and procedures used successfully in previous studies to prepare children and parents in the hospital. One hundred sixty-three children 3 to 12 years of age and hospitalized for tonsillectomies were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups or a control group. The experimental groups consisted of combinations of home preparation with different types of in-hospital preparation and supportive care. Children's hospital adjustment was measured by blind ratings of behavioral upset and cooperation during the blood test, medication injection, transport to surgery, induction, and postoperative fluid intake. Recovery room medications and time to first voiding were also used as indications of upset. Posthospitalization adjustment was assessed by the Vernon et al. Posthospital Adjustment Inventory. Parent outcome measures included self-ratings for anxiety and satisfaction with information and care. The results indicated that children who used the home-preparatory materials alone or in combination with in-hospital preparation showed better adjustment than children in the control group. In-hospital preparation was as effective as home preparation alone or in combination with hospital preparation. Parents reported more satisfaction and less anxiety when they received some in-hospital preparation than with home preparation alone. Differences in children and parents who chose to use the preparatory materials at home from those who did not use them were noted. The overall results provide further evidence for the stress-reducing effects of systematic psychological preparation for hospitalization and surgery. Barbara Faye Ferguson, Preparing young children for hospitalization: a comparison of two methods (64:656-664, 1979) This study examined two methods of preparing children aged 3 to 7 years for hospitaliza-