Encephale
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Since depressive disorders in children and adolescents have not been widely studied in the context of gene-ral medicine, we conducted an epidemiological survey among general practitioners (GP's) consulted by young subjects aged 7 to 17 years for various reasons. ⋯ No particular characteristic of depressed children consulting GP's could be established. These findings underline the importance of training GP's in the screening of depressive disorders in children and adolescents. A better knowledge that young general practice attenders have high rates of depressive disorders may facilitate more rapid referral for psychiatric assessment and treatment.
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Poor medication adherence in subjects with psychosis has a high prevalence and a negative impact on clinical outcome. Several studies have reported that a poor level of insight was a strong predictor of poor medi-cation adherence. However, few studies have investigated whether insight was associated with medication adherence, independently from other clinical and treatment characteristics. ⋯ The study demonstrates that medication adherence is associated with the level of insight, independently from other patient's demographic and clinical characteristics. The association between low level of insight and poor medication adherence should be confirmed using prospective studies carried out in ambulatory patients. These findings suggest that psycho-educational programs aimed at improving insight should be developed in order to improve medication adherence.
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According to the DSM IV, pica is a trouble of alimentary behavior, which is characterized by the ingestion of non-nutriment substances during at least on the month. The main objective of this study conducted at the Clermont-de-l'Oise Interdepartmental Medical Center is to evaluate pica's prevalence for hospitalized patients. Secondary objectives are to describe clinical characteristics, complications and outcome upon the different therapeutic approaches. ⋯ Indeed, pica could be considered as an acquired behavior, which could benefit from cognitive and behavioral therapies. Institutional management including supportive and compassionate care, restoration of self-confidence is interesting for these patients. Some authors even suggest that pica might be considered as a good indicator of the institution's care quality.
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Sidney Blatt, considering as being insufficient the categorical-symptomatic approach of depression, has worked out a theory of depression and psychopathology that integrates the contributions of psychoanalysis as well as cognitive and developmental psychology. Within a broad psychoanalytic framework, Blatt's formulation focus on the quality of interpersonal relationship, the nature of object representation and early life experiences. Personality development is viewed as the consequence of the interaction of 2 basic developmental tasks: the establishment of the capacity to form stable, enduring, mutually satisfying interpersonal relationships and the achievement of a differentiated, realistic, essentially positive identity. ⋯ Consistency and external validity were adequate for all 3 factors of DEQ and DEQ-A. Anaclitism and self-criticism dimensions of DEQ and DEQ-A correlate positively with measures of depression (DSM-IV, Beck Depression Inventory), consistently with the results obtained by Blatt. Differently from this author, anaclitism appears to be less differentiated in males than in females, suggesting that the concept of dependence could assume different relevance for men and women.
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Since the 1950's and even still today, the concomitance between headaches and psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression) is the subject of considerable research. Even so, headaches still pose a problem of difficult diagnosis related to their multiform aspect. Their understanding may be regarded as neurological, psychological or musculo-articular. This complexity explains the lack of effectiveness of anti-migraine treatments in certain cases. This situation encourages recourse to complementary procedures such as those used in physiotherapy. The questions that could be posed regarding physiotherapeutic treatment are: Is the treatment effective? How does it act on the level of pain? and How does it act at the psychological level? It is to answer these questions that the work, which is the basis of this article, has been carried out. ⋯ Treatment by relaxation allows for a perceived increase in control of symptoms by the sufferer. Consequently, it reduces anxiety, improves the quality of life and the behavioural responses to stress. In turn, the treatment improves the long-term prognosis for the headaches as well as the health of the sufferer in general. The treatment described here addresses 3 types of people: 1. Sufferers with difficult headaches which do not respond well to medical treatment. 2. People for whom anxiety and coping strategies are very much modified by the headaches. 3. People who abuse medication for the treatment of their headaches.