Citation

Masi G, Pisano S, Milone A, Muratori P. J. Affect. Disord. 2015; 186: 249-253.

Affiliation

IRCCS Stella Maris, Scientific Institute of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, Calambrone, Pisa, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2015.05.069

PMID

26254616

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) profile defined as Dysregulation Profile (DP) (scores 2 standard deviations or more in anxiety/depression, aggression, attention subscales) has been correlated to poor emotional and behavioral self-regulation. The clinical meaning and the prognostic implications of CBCL-DP are still debated, although it seems associated with severe psychopathology and poor adjustment.

METHOD: In the present study, we used the CBCL-DP score to examine the adolescent outcomes (psychiatric diagnosis, substance use, psychiatric hospitalization) in 80 referred children with disruptive behavior disorders -DBD- (Oppositional Defiant Disorder or conduct disorder), aged 8-9 years, 72 males (90%) and 8 females (10%), followed-up until the age of 14-15 years.

RESULTS: Children with higher score on the CBCL-DP profile were at increased risk for presenting ADHD and mood disorders in adolescence. While ADHD in adolescence was predicted also by an ADHD diagnosis during childhood, CBCL-DP score was the only significant predictor of a mood disorder at 14-15 years. On the contrary, CBCL-DP score was not associated with a higher risk of conduct disorder, substance use and hospitalizations in adolescence. A cost-effective and reliable diagnostic measure such as the CBCL may be a part of the diagnostic procedure aimed to capture these at-risk children, to monitor their natural history up to adolescence, and to prevent the risk of a full-blown mood disorder. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size and a selection bias of severe patients with DBD limit the generalization of the findings.

Language: en