Physical symptoms and self-image in a group of normal adolescents

Life skills training: Can it increases self esteem and reduces student anxiety?

Students are always required to have good self-esteem. Still, psychological problems, such as excessive anxiety, will cause discomfort and distress, avoid social situations, and interfere with daily life, made them feel worthless. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of self-esteem on anxiety through life skills training. The research subjects were 14 students divided into two groups, namely the experimental group and the control group. The measurement uses a self-esteem scale and an anxiety scale. Data analysis used non-parametric analysis, namely Mann Whitney, Wilcoxon, and Spearman's Rank Correlation Test. The results of this study indicate a significant decrease in anxiety with increased self-esteem using life skills training for students.

Psychopathological Symptoms, Social Skills, and Personality Traits: A Study with Adolescents

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (a) to study the concomitant relationships between psychopathological symptoms, cooperation, social skills, and other personality traits; and (b) to identify the predictive variables of psychopathological symptoms. The sample consists of 322 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years old. This study uses correlational methodology. In order to assess psychopathological symptoms, cooperation, social skills, and personality traits, the following scales are used: the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1983), the Cooperativeness Scale (CS; Rigby, Cox, & Black, 1997), the MESSY social skills scale (Matson, Rotatori, & Helsel, 1983), and the TPT Personality Test (Corral, Pamos, Pereña, & Seisdedos, 2002). Pearson coefficients suggest that adolescents with many psychopathological symptoms have low levels of cooperative behaviors and social skills. They also score high in inappropriate assertiveness, impulsiveness, overconfidence, and jealousy-withdrawal and have low levels of emotional stability, sociability, and responsibility. Through multiple regression analyses, the following variables were identified as predictors of psychopathological symptoms: jealousy-withdrawal, low social integration, impulsiveness, and low self-concept. The role played by intervention programs promoting socio-emotional development to prevent psychopathological symptoms and enhance mental health is discussed.

Postoperative satisfaction and the patient's body image, life satisfaction, and self-esteem: a retrospective study comparing adolescent girls and boys after cosmetic surgery

BACKGROUND

Cosmetic surgery procedures are more complex for adolescents than for adults because there are more factors affecting patient satisfaction, especially psychological factors. This study was designed to find answers to four main questions: (1) whether postoperative satisfaction rates differ statistically between males and females, (2) whether postoperative satisfaction correlates significantly with the self-esteem, body image, life satisfaction trilogy, (3) what the postoperative patient satisfaction and cosmetic procedure rates are among adolescents by years, and (4) whether a statistically significant relationship exists between postoperative satisfaction and a willingness of adolescents to undergo another cosmetic surgery.

METHODS

The study enrolled 86 of 165 patients who underwent surgery between January 2001 and June 2005. A simple poll consisting of 12 simple questions was used to collect data.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference was found in postoperative satisfaction rates between males and females. The findings show that postoperative satisfaction is significantly related to self-esteem, body image, and life satisfaction. The patient satisfaction rate was 93.83%, and there was no increase in adolescent cosmetic surgery rates over the years.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents are good candidates for cosmetic surgery, but patients must be evaluated carefully. Any suspicion about a patient's psychological status must result in a psychiatric consultation.

Psychosocial aspects and psychiatric disorders in children with thalassemia major

beta-thalassemia major (TM), a chronic, genetically determined hematological disorder, has received little investigation on the psychological aspects of the disease and the psychosocial adjustment of patients with this anemia. In the present study, the aim was to assess the mental capacity, self-image, hopelessness and anxiety displayed by children who suffered from TM, and to investigate the existence of psychiatric disorders in these children. Twenty-five children (16 boys and 9 girls) with TM, 12.0-19.6 years old, from the Hematology Unit of the Department of Pediatrics at the SSK Tepecik Teaching Hospital, were included in the study. Fifteen healthy cases matched for age, sex and socio-economic status were used as controls. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), Offer Self-Image Questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Trait Anxiety Inventory, Symptom Check List (revised) and the Family Assessment Device were performed on all patients. Then, the patients were evaluated for a psychiatric disorder by a psychiatrist (according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the American Psychiatric Association). The results for the patients and control cases were compared statistically using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Self-image was found to be significantly lower in patients with TM than in control cases (P < 0.01). Hopelessness and Trait-Anxiety scores were determined to be significantly higher in patients with TM than in control cases (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Eighty percent of the patients with TM have had at least one psychiatric disorder. As a result, the study showed that most of the patients with TM had severe psychosocial problems. Relying on these data, it was concluded that medical therapy of these patients should be supported with psychological aid and psychiatric treatment.

Cross-sectional and prospective relationships between physical morbidity and depression in older adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between major depressive disorder (MDD), physical morbidity (disease and injury), health-related reductions in activities, and functional impairment in adolescents.

METHOD

Data on depression and health-related variables were available for a sample of 1,410 adolescents (aged 14 to 18 years) at point of entry into the study and approximately 1 year later.

RESULTS

Girls were more likely to have been treated for a disease and to have a health-related reduction in activities, whereas boys were more likely to have been treated for an injury. The expected cross-sectional associations were found between disease, reductions in activities, functional impairment, and depression, but the association between injury and depression was not significant. Prospective analyses suggest that functional impairment and disease are risk factors for future MDD and that MDD is a risk factor for future functional impairment and disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The robust prospective associations between MDD and functional impairment suggest that the impact of disease on depression is particularly strong when it disrupts important behavior patterns. Clinically, the results emphasize the importance of assessing health-related variables in depressed adolescents and of assessing depression in those with functional impairment or disease.

Self-esteem and depressive symptomatology in children with somatoform disorders

This study investigated levels of self-esteem and self-reported depressive symptomatology in a sample of children diagnosed with somatoform disorder. The somatoform sample, a sample of children with depressive disorders, and a sample of children with no DSM-III-R diagnosis differed significantly on measures of depression and self-esteem. Specifically, the somatoform group consistently scored between the depressed and no-diagnosis groups, although most of the statistically significant differences occurred between the depressed and no-diagnosis groups. Significant differences between the somatoform group and the other groups were found for behavioral self-esteem.

Somatization in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To review the empirical literature on somatization in the pediatric age group, emphasizing prevalence, influence on health care utilization, issues in the development of somatization, comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, assessment, and treatment.

METHOD

One hundred nineteen studies and reports addressing medically unexplained somatic symptoms in children and adolescents were compiled via MEDLINE search and extensive cross-referencing. All available controlled studies were included, as were selected case reports and collections of cases. Selected citations from the adult literature were chosen for relevance to pediatric somatization.

RESULTS

Recurrent, medically unexplained physical symptoms are common in the pediatric age group, are often associated with other psychiatric symptoms, and may represent a common presentation of psychiatric disorder in the primary care setting. DSM-III-R-defined somatization disorder is rare, and pseudoneurological symptoms are unusual. Patients may be at risk for potentially dangerous, costly, and unnecessary medical investigations and treatments, and they may excessively utilize health care services.

CONCLUSION

Our current understanding of pediatric somatization and its consequences is limited. Collaboration between mental health professionals and primary health care providers is essential. Consistent terminology, developmentally appropriate classification, and systematic future research will be necessary for the development of successful prevention and treatment strategies.

Habitual somatic discomfort in a representative sample of adolescents

The study is concerned with relations between habitual somatic discomfort, assessed by means of a questionnaire, and indicators of psychosocial adjustment, in a representative sample of 15-16 yr-old Finnish girls (N = 179) and boys (N = 205). Symptom prevalence was associated with anxiety, negative relations with parents, modest plans for education, fear of the future, loneliness, smoking, and drinking. These associations were significant for the boys but not for the girls. High symptom scores also tended to be associated with difficult peer relations (fighting, being target of peers' verbal aggression), and with the use of aggressive and the lack of constructive coping strategies in conflict situations. Boys who often felt lonely and girls who had been involved in physical fights with peers had consistently high scores. Different symptom patterns and sex differences are discussed.

Relationships of somatic symptoms to behavioral and emotional risk in young adolescents

Junior high students (n = 1508) from a midwestern community completed a health behavioral questionnaire that asked the frequency of headache and abdominal pain and of a number of behavioral and emotional risk indicators. Headache (24%) and abdominal pain (13%) were frequently reported among these young adolescents, particularly among girls. Those reporting frequent somatic complaints also reported significantly more behavioral and emotional symptoms indicative of risk (p less than 0.001). Further, the interaction between somatic complaint and gender significantly affected risk status (p less than 0.01). This interaction was greater with behavioral risk: boys with both abdominal pain and headaches reported higher behavioral risk than all other groups (p less than 0.0001). Somatic symptoms continued to account for a significant amount of variance in behavioral risk after the effects of emotional risk and age were removed. This suggests that behavioral risk and emotional risk are independently associated with somatic complaints. The evaluation of persistent somatic complaints in adolescents, particularly in boys with abdominal symptoms, should include careful examination of emotional risk factors and other health-endangering behaviors such as substance use, early sexual activity, and delinquency.

The pediatrician's concept of the normal adolescent

Complete medical assessment of an adolescent requires understanding of the normal psychological state, including self-image. To determine the pediatrician's knowledge about the self-image of normal adolescents, 33 house staff and 36 attending pediatricians in a major teaching center completed the Offer Physician-Adolescent Questionnaire (OPAQ), a scale that measures adult perceptions of adolescent self-image. Forty-one male and 28 female pediatricians completed the 50-item questionnaire as they believed a "mentally healthy, well-adjusted adolescent" would. Pediatricians' responses did not differ by sex, age, or status as resident or attending. Percentage endorsements for each item were converted to standard scores for 11 scales. The scale scores were then compared with previously established norms for healthy adolescents and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Pediatricians accurately predicted the normal adolescent responses for only two scales: vocational and educational goals and superior adjustment. Pediatricians responded more positively than the adolescents to items on the idealism scale. For the remaining eight scales, the pediatricians responded more negatively than did normal adolescents and teens with cystic fibrosis. The pediatricians' view of normal adolescent self-image seems to be more pessimistic than what adolescents report.

Psychosomatic symptoms in adolescence

This article provides the physician with an efficient and comprehensive method for the evaluation and management of adolescent psychosomatic symptoms in the medical care setting. The physician should make a firm statement of the nonorganic nature of the psychosomatic symptom, identify significant stressors, and provide strong recommendations for immediate action. Appropriate referrals should be arranged, and a follow-up visit to assess progress several weeks after the evaluation should be scheduled.