week 13 response 1 and 2
Please respond to this post. Agree or disagree with her post.
Response 1
Hi Group 4,
Thank you for the well-researched and educative resources provided for this discussion on psychotic disorders in children and adolescents. Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder with an estimated worldwide prevalence of 0.46%. It is a pervasive, often devastating, neuropsychiatric disorder associated with severe deficits in cognition, behavior, and social functioning (Stevens et al., 2014). Its onset is generally between the ages of 14–35 years, with 50% of the cases diagnosed before the age of 25 years. The onset of schizophrenia between the ages of 13 and 18 years is referred to as early-onset schizophrenia or adolescent-onset schizophrenia. Schizophrenia diagnosed prior to the age of 13 years is variably referred to as very early-onset schizophrenia, prepubertal, or childhood-onset schizophrenia (Stevens et al., 2014). Psychosis is defined as an impairment in thought and behavior so severe that the ability to distinguish reality from nonreality is lost (Hua et al., 2021).
Psychotic symptoms include delusions, fixed and false beliefs, and hallucinations or false sensory perceptions that can be the result of a primary psychiatric disorder or can be the presenting symptom of an underlying somatic disease. It is important to discriminate between these origins because their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches differ substantially (Staal et al., 2019). Psychosis can develop gradually or suddenly. Children and youth may begin talking about strange fears and ideas. They may start to cling to their parents or say things that do not make sense. Others who used to enjoy relationships with peers may become shyer or withdrawn or seem to be in their own world (Mental Health America [MHA], 2022). Some of the early warning signs of psychosis in children include vivid and bizarre thoughts and ideas, sudden and bizarre changes in emotions, social withdrawal, eccentric or suspicious behavior, prominent difficulty in abstraction, auditory hallucinations, illogical thinking, confused thoughts, paranoid delusion, difficulty in making and keeping friends, and difficulty speaking; writing; focusing; or managing simple tasks (MHA, 2022; Stevens et al., 2014).
References
Hua, L. L., Alderman, E. M., Chung, R. J., Grubb, L. K., Lee, J., Powers, M. E., Upadhya, K. K., & Wallace, S. B. (2021). Collaborative care in the identification and management of psychosis in adolescents and young adults. Pediatrics, 147(6). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-051486
Mental Health America. (2022). Psychosis (Schizophrenia) in children and youth. https://www.mhanational.org/psychosis-schizophrenia-children-and-youth
Staal, M., Panis, B., & Schieveld, J.N.M. (2019). Early warning signs in misrecognized secondary pediatric psychotic disorders: A systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 1159-1167. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-018-1208-y
Stevens, J. R., Prince, J. B., Prager, L. M., & Stern, T. A. (2014). Psychotic disorders in children and adolescents: a primer on contemporary evaluation and management. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 16(2), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116281/
Response 2
Hi Group 4,Thanks for your comprehensive post. I want to respond to question 2. Psychosis can develop gradually or suddenly. What are some early warning signs of adolescent psychosis? Psychosis is characterized by a disturbance in a person’s thoughts and perceptions, making it difficult to differentiate between what is real and what is not. However, it is critical to understand that psychosis is a symptom, not a diagnosis. (Zhang et al., 2022).
Adolescent psychosis is a mental illness characterized by altered states of consciousness and changed behavior in young people. The adolescent and their family may feel a great deal of anxiety and bewilderment during this period. The early warning signs of adolescent psychosis include; withdrawal from friends and activities, a drop in grades or problems at school, unusual thoughts or ideas, suspicion or paranoia, unusual or overly intense emotions, hearing voices or seeing things that are not there, abnormal sleep patterns, changes in eating habits, and drug abuse. (Ben-David & Kealy, 2020). Others include, mood changes (e.g., depressed), changes in sleep patterns (e.g., difficulty sleeping or sleeping more than usual), changes in appetite (e.g., losing weight or overeating), changes in behavior (e.g., becoming more agitated or aggressive), and changes in thinking (e.g., having paranoid thoughts or delusions). (Meeder et al., 2022). If any of the above symptoms are observed in adolescents, the family should be encouraged to seek immediate treatment. The good news is that if detected and treated early, the ailment has a far better chance of recovery. (Zhang et al., 2022). Medication and psychotherapy are often used together in treatment. The teen’s mood and symptoms can be managed with medication. The teenager may benefit from therapy to better comprehend and manage their situation. The involvement of loved ones is vital during recovery. (Vita et al., 2022).
References:
Ben-David, S., & Kealy, D. (2020). Identity in the context of early psychosis: a review of recent research. Psychosis, 12(1), 68-78.
Meeder R, Adhikari S, Sierra-Cintron K, Aedma K. (2022). New-Onset Mania and Psychosis in Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19 Infection. Cureus. Apr 20;14(4):e24322. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24322. PMID: 35607548; PMCID: PMC9123385.
Vita, A., Barlati, S., Bellomo, A., Poli, P. F., Masi, G., Nobili, L., Serafini, G., Zuddas, A., & Vicari, S. (2022). Patterns of Care for Adolescent With Schizophrenia: A Delphi-Based Consensus Study. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 844098. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.844098
Zhang, T., Cui, H., Wei, Y., Tang, X., Xu, L., Hu, Y., … & Wang, J. (2022). Neurocognitive assessments are more important among adolescents than adults for predicting psychosis in clinical high risk. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 7(1), 56-65.
