Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by executive dysfunction occasioning symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and developmentally-inappropriate.
Conduct disorder (CD) is a mental disorder diagnosed in childhood or adolescence that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that includes theft, lies, physical violence that may lead to destruction, and reckless breaking of rules, in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated. These behaviors are often referred to as "antisocial behaviors", and is often seen as the precursor to antisocial personality disorder; however, the latter, by definition, cannot be diagnosed until the individual is 18 years old. Conduct disorder may result from parental rejection and neglect and can be treated with family therapy, as well as behavioral modifications and pharmacotherapy. Conduct disorder is estimated to affect 51.1 million people globally as of 2013.
Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the persistence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) into adulthood. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder, meaning impairing symptoms must have been present in childhood, except for when ADHD occurs after traumatic brain injury. Specifically, multiple symptoms must be present before the age of 12, according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. The cutoff age of 12 is a change from the previous requirement of symptom onset, which was before the age of 7 in the DSM-IV. This was done to add flexibility in the diagnosis of adults. ADHD was previously thought to be a childhood disorder that improved with age, but recent research has disproved this. Approximately two-thirds of childhood cases of ADHD continue into adulthood, with varying degrees of symptom severity that change over time and continue to affect individuals with symptoms ranging from minor inconveniences to impairments in daily functioning.
Child psychopathology refers to the scientific study of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder are examples of psychopathology that are typically first diagnosed during childhood. Mental health providers who work with children and adolescents are informed by research in developmental psychology, clinical child psychology, and family systems. Lists of child and adult mental disorders can be found in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Edition (ICD-10), published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). In addition, the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood is used in assessing mental health and developmental disorders in children up to age five.
Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) is a syndrome characterized by developmentally-inappropriate, impairing and persistent levels of decoupled attentional processing from the ongoing external context and resultant hypoactivity. Symptoms often manifest in difficulties with staring, mind blanking, withdrawal, mental confusion and maladaptive mind wandering alongside delayed, sedentary or slow motor movements. To scientists in the field, it has reached the threshold of evidence and recognition as a distinct syndrome.
Despite the scientifically well-established nature of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), its diagnosis, and its treatment, each of these has been controversial since the 1970s. The controversies involve clinicians, teachers, policymakers, parents, and the media. Positions range from the view that ADHD is within the normal range of behavior to the hypothesis that ADHD is a genetic condition. Other areas of controversy include the use of stimulant medications in children, the method of diagnosis, and the possibility of overdiagnosis. In 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, while acknowledging the controversy, stated that the current treatments and methods of diagnosis are based on the dominant view of the academic literature.
Bipolar disorder in children, or pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), is a rare mental disorder in children and adolescents. The diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children has been heavily debated for many reasons including the potential harmful effects of adult bipolar medication use for children. PBD is similar to bipolar disorder (BD) in adults, and has been proposed as an explanation for periods of extreme shifts in mood called mood episodes. These shifts alternate between periods of depressed or irritable moods and periods of abnormally elevated moods called manic or hypomanic episodes. Mixed mood episodes can occur when a child or adolescent with PBD experiences depressive and manic symptoms simultaneously. Mood episodes of children and adolescents with PBD are different from general shifts in mood experienced by children and adolescents because mood episodes last for long periods of time and cause severe disruptions to an individual's life. There are three known forms of PBD: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and Bipolar Not Otherwise Specified (NOS). The average age of onset of PBD remains unclear, but reported age of onset ranges from 5 years of age to 19 years of age. PBD is typically more severe and has a poorer prognosis than bipolar disorder with onset in late-adolescence or adulthood.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder management options are evidence-based practices with established treatment efficacy for ADHD. Approaches that have been evaluated in the management of ADHD symptoms include FDA-approved pharmacologic treatment and other pharmaceutical agents, psychological or behavioral approaches, combined pharmacological and behavioral approaches, cognitive training, neurofeedback, neurostimulation, physical exercise, nutrition and supplements, integrative medicine, parent support, and school interventions. Based on two 2024 systematic reviews of the literature, FDA-approved medications and to a lesser extent psychosocial interventions have been shown to improve core ADHD symptoms compared to control groups.
Child and adolescent psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial factors that influence the development and course of psychiatric disorders and treatment responses to various interventions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists primarily use psychotherapy and/or medication to treat mental disorders in the pediatric population.
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a feeding or eating disorder in which individuals significantly limit the volume or variety of foods they consume, causing malnutrition, weight loss, and/or psychosocial problems. Unlike eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, body image disturbance is not a root cause. Individuals with ARFID may have trouble eating due to the sensory characteristics of food ; executive function disregulation; fears of choking or vomiting; low appetite; or a combination of these factors. While ARFID is most often associated with low weight, ARFID occurs across the whole weight spectrum.
Joseph Biederman was an American academic psychiatrist. He was Chief of the Clinical and Research Programs in Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to psychiatry:
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a mental disorder in children and adolescents characterized by a persistently irritable or angry mood and frequent temper outbursts that are disproportionate to the situation and significantly more severe than the typical reaction of same-aged peers. DMDD was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) as a type of depressive disorder diagnosis for youths. The symptoms of DMDD resemble many other disorders, thus a differential includes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), anxiety disorders, and childhood bipolar disorder, intermittent explosive disorder (IED), major depressive disorder (MDD), and conduct disorder.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty focusing attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Treatments generally involve behavioral therapy and/or medications. ADHD is estimated to affect about 6 to 7 percent of people aged 18 and under when diagnosed via the DSM-IV criteria. When diagnosed via the ICD-10 criteria, hyperkinetic disorder gives rates between 1 and 2 percent in this age group.
Psychiatry is, and has historically been, viewed as controversial by those under its care, as well as sociologists and psychiatrists themselves. There are a variety of reasons cited for this controversy, including the subjectivity of diagnosis, the use of diagnosis and treatment for social and political control including detaining citizens and treating them without consent, the side effects of treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy, antipsychotics and historical procedures like the lobotomy and other forms of psychosurgery or insulin shock therapy, and the history of racism within the profession in the United States.
The Child Mania Rating Scales (CMRS) is a 21-item diagnostic screening measure designed to identify symptoms of mania in children and adolescents aged 9–17 using diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV, developed by Pavuluri and colleagues. There is also a 10-item short form. The measure assesses the child's mood and behavior symptoms, asking parents or teachers to rate how often the symptoms have caused a problem for the youth in the past month. Clinical studies have found the CMRS to be reliable and valid when completed by parents in the assessment of children's bipolar symptoms. The CMRS also can differentiate cases of pediatric bipolar disorder from those with ADHD or no disorder, as well as delineating bipolar subtypes. A meta-analysis comparing the different rating scales available found that the CMRS was one of the best performing scales in terms of telling cases with bipolar disorder apart from other clinical diagnoses. The CMRS has also been found to provide a reliable and valid assessment of symptoms longitudinally over the course of treatment. The combination of showing good reliability and validity across multiple samples and clinical settings, along with being free and brief to score, make the CMRS a promising tool, especially since most other checklists available for youths do not assess manic symptoms.
Externalizing disorders are mental disorders characterized by externalizing behaviors, maladaptive behaviors directed toward an individual's environment, which cause impairment or interference in life functioning. In contrast to individuals with internalizing disorders who internalize their maladaptive emotions and cognitions, such feelings and thoughts are externalized in behavior in individuals with externalizing disorders. Externalizing disorders are often specifically referred to as disruptive behavior disorders or conduct problems which occur in childhood. Externalizing disorders, however, are also manifested in adulthood. For example, alcohol- and substance-related disorders and antisocial personality disorder are adult externalizing disorders. Externalizing psychopathology is associated with antisocial behavior, which is different from and often confused for asociality.
Sami Timimi is a British psychiatrist. He is a consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry, Director of medical education at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and a visiting professor of child psychiatry at the University of Lincoln.
Susan Shur-Fen Gau, also known as Susan Gau, Shur-Fen Gau, Gau Shur-Fen and in Chinese:高淑芬, is a Taiwanese psychiatrist and academic with specialized in psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, preventive medicine, occupational therapy, and brain and mind sciences.
Tamsin Jane FordCBE, FRCPsych, FMedSci is a British psychiatrist specialising in children's mental health. Since 2019 she has been based at the University of Cambridge where she is now Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Fellow of Hughes Hall. She has been heavily involved with the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme, created by Carolyn Webster-Stratton, which aims to raise and improve children's mental health in primary schools across Devon. Her work also ties in with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), created by UK psychiatrist, Robert Goodman.
