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Background: Nonheterosexual individuals have higher risk of psychiatric morbidity. Together with growing evidence for sexual orientation‐related brain differences, this raises the concern that sexual orientation may be an important factor to control for in neuroimaging studies of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Methods: We studied sexual orientation in adult psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or ADHD in a large clinical cohort (N = 154). We compared cortical brain structure in exclusively heterosexual women (HEW, n = 29) with that of nonexclusively heterosexual women (nHEW, n = 37) using surface‐based reconstruction techniques provided by FreeSurfer.

Results: The prevalence of nonheterosexual sexual orientation was tentatively higher than reported in general population samples. Consistent with previously reported cross‐sex shifted brain patterns among homosexual individuals, nHEW patients showed significantly larger cortical volumes than HEW in medial occipital brain regions.

Conclusion: We found evidence for a sex‐reversed difference in cortical volume among nonheterosexual female patients, which provides insights into the neurobiology of sexual orientation, and may provide the first clues toward a better neurobiological understanding of the association between sexual orientation and mental health. We also suggest that sexual orientation is an important factor to consider in future neuroimaging studies of populations with certain mental health disorders.

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives Despite devastating psychopathology after childhood trauma, no evidence-based prevention has been identified. After the Islamic State (IS) war in Iraq and Syria, a group intervention program is provided to the internally displaced and refugee children, in attempt to prevent posttraumatic psychopathology, and to identify children whoneed special care.Methods A Crisis Intervention Program for Children and Adolescents is developed by the author. Three instruments (Crisis Expression Guidelines, Crisis Screening Instrument, and Modified Family Map) are delivered through Training of Trainers (ToT) to help the displaced and refugee children (6-11 and 12-18 years) within a one-hour group session (10-30 children) express thoughts and emotions related to the war crises, and to screen for further care.Results In a pilot project, 37 professionals working with children applied to the ToT course and 300 IDP teachers completed training to provide CIPCA to the Internally Displaced People (IDP) and refugee children in the temporary camps in the region. In a pilot project, 315 children received the CIPCA, and a further 67500 school children are waiting for the intervention when the schools start in the IDP camps. Screening revealed 15.2% of theparticipating children need individual assessment.Conclusion CIPCA is applicable as a cost and time effective crisis intervention to IDP and refugee children of IS war. Further expansion of the program is planned. Follow-up will evaluate the preventive effect of CIPCA.

Background Child mental health and child and adolescent psychiatry is increasinglybecoming an indicator for any modern society to bring up child perspectives preparing forprosperous future. This field was lacking as an own medical speciality in the Middle Eastuntil the establishment of the Department of Child Mental Health at the College of Medicine,University of Duhok in 20 September 2001.

Objectives To build up local competence in Child Mental Health, and to introduce Child andAdolescent Psychiatry as a modern subject in the curriculums at the College of Medicine,University of Duhok, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Methods The Department of Child Mental Health (CMH) was established at the College ofMedicine, University of Duhok, in collaboration with the Department of Neuroscience, Childand Adolescent Psychiatry at the Uppsala University in Sweden. Education programs aredelivered from the Uppsala University in Sweden to the College of Medicine, University ofDuhok in Iraqi Kurdistan, at three levels; community-based education, undergraduate medicaleducation, and postgraduate education to achieve High Diploma (Master) degree, adjusted tothe local system in Kurdistan.

Results The CMH is a unit belonged to the pediatrics at the College of Medicine, and havinglinks to the Directorates of Health, Education and Social Care in Duhok. Lectures in Childand Adolescent Psychiatry are delivered to the fifth year medicine students one week inautumn to be followed by another week of teaching in clinical case discussions in springevery year. The final examination consisting of the means of scores collected during the firsttheory and the second clinical courses compose 20% of the final pediatric examination. Thepostgraduate program consists of two-year education, after one-year pediatric residency, toobtain specialist competence in the subject.

Conclusions Transferring up-to-date knowledge on modern subjects from advancedinternational universities to the universities in Iraq is necessary and possible if modernteaching methods are effectively utilized. The CMH is proved to be a good example ofsuccessful collaboration, making the College of Medicine at the University of Duhok as thefirst school of medicine in the Middle East having Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as anobligatory teaching subject.

Aim: To identify a posttraumatic stress disorder profile for the Child Behaviour Checklist. Method: Checklist item scores for 806 school-aged children in Iraqi Kurdistan (201 randomly selected from the general population, 241 orphans, 199 primary medical care visitors and 165 hospital in-patients) were analysed against the Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Scale for Children (PTSS-C) scores, estimating not only stress diagnoses, but also nonstress-related, child-specific posttraumatic symptoms. Results: Twenty checklist items, which revealed significant correlations with the stress diagnoses, formed the checklist-stress profile with acceptable reliability and validity, and significant correlation to the PTSS-C estimates. Conclusion: A child-specific stress profile for the checklist is recommended for use as a screening instrument.

To identify child mental health problems in a mid-sized to large city in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Reporting Questionnaire for Children (RQC), followed by the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and the Post-traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist for Children (PTSS-C), were administered in interview form to the caregivers of 806 school-aged children. To cover different categories of children, four samples were randomly selected from among the general population (n = 201), orphans (n = 241), primary medical care patients (n = 199), and hospital patients (n = 165). The RQC revealed satisfactory validity against a deviant CBCL cut-off. The screening capacity of the RQC was further supported by its similarity to the CBCL in distribution of problem scores among the four samples and its positive correlation with the CBCL, but not with the trauma-related PTSS-C. Although the general population showed lower problem scores than the orphans and the two clinical samples, problem scores in all instruments were considerably higher than those reported from other societies. The RQC seems to be useful as a first-stage screening instrument for child mental health problems in Kurdistan.

The objective of the study was to examine the efficacy of EMDR treatment for children with post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) compared with untreated children in a waiting list control group (WLC) participating in a randomized controlled superiority trial (RCT). Thirty-three 6-16-year-old children with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD were randomly assigned to eight weekly EMDR sessions or the WLC group. The Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Scale for Children (PTSS-C scale) was used in interviews with children to evaluate their symptoms and outcome. Post-treatment scores of the EMDR group were significantly lower than the WLC indicating improvement in total PTSS-C scores, PTSD-related symptom scale, and the subscales re-experiencing and avoidance among subjects in the EMDR group, while untreated children improved in PTSD-non-related symptom scale. The improvement in re-experiencing symptoms proved to be the most significant between-group difference over time. The results of the present exploratory study including a limited number of children with PTSD are encouraging and warrant further controlled studies of larger samples of children suffering from PTSD.

BACKGROUND: This paper aims to compare orphans' development in two different care systems.

METHODS: Based on age, sex, psychological trauma scores, competence and psychological problem scores, two comparable samples were found representing orphans in the traditional foster care (n = 94) and the orphanages (n = 48) in a middle-large city in Iraqi Kurdistan. At an index interview, Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), Harvard-Uppsala Trauma Questionnaire for Children and Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms for Children (PTSS-C) were administered to the caregivers. After 1 year the CBCL, and after 2 years both the CBCL and the PTSS-C, were-re-administered, consecutively.

RESULTS: Although both samples revealed significant decrease in the means of total competence and problem scores over time, the improvement in activity scale, externalizing problem scores and post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms proved to be more significant in the foster care than in the orphanages. While the activity scale improved in the foster care, the school competence deteriorated in both samples, particularly among the girls in the orphanages. The improvement of boys' activity scores in the foster care, and deterioration of girls' school competence in the orphanages were the most significant gender differences between samples over time.

CONCLUSIONS: Even if the two orphan care systems showed more similarities than differences, the foster care revealed better outcomes over time. The results are discussed in relation to gender, age, socio-economic situation, cultural values and the characteristics of each care system.

 Five years after the military operation “Anfal” in Iraqi Kurdistan, 45 families were randomly selected among the survivors in two displacement camps. The Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms for Children (PTSS-C) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) were administered to the oldest child and the caregiver in each family, respectively. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was reported in 87% of children and 60% of their caregivers. While childhood PTSD was only significantly predicted by child trauma score and the duration of captivity, it was neither predicted by maternal PTSD nor did it disappear after the reunion with the PTSD-free father. However, the small sample size makes the results hypotheses rather than conclusive.

Objective To find out child-adjusted protocol for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Method Child-adjusted modification were made in the original adult-based protocol, and within- session measurements, when EMDR was used in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on thirty-three 6-16-year-old children with post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD). Results EMDR was applicable after certain modifications adjusted to the age and developmental level of the child. The average treatment effect size was largest on re-experiencing, and smallest on hyperarousal scale. The age of the child yielded no significant effects on the dependent variables in the study. Conclusions A child-adjusted protocol for EMDR is suggested after being applied in a RCT for PTSD among traumatized and psychosocially exposed children.

How are we to understand a child's development--both the potentiating and inhibiting factors? The past two decades have witnessed intensive research both on mental trauma and its possible effects on the child's developing brain, and on the importance of risk factors and protective factors in children's development and health. Research in these two fields has been conducted concurrently and has yielded new, important, and in many cases complementary, information. To promote the general availability and clinical applicability of these advances in our knowledge, it is necessary to modify our conceptual approach, basing it on the child's perspective instead.

The Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Children (PTSS-C) was developed as a cross-cultural semi-structured interview to diagnose posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to identify PTSD-non-related posttraumatic stress symptoms in children after various traumatic experiences. The psychometric properties were studied in two different child populations in Iraqi Kurdistan (the survivors of the military operation “Anfal”, and the orphans), in a sample of Kurdistanian refugee children in Sweden, and in a comparison sample of Swedish children. The instrument yielded satisfactory internal consistency, high interrater agreement, and excellent validity on cross-validation with the Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI) and the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).

The prevalence and correlates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed in random samples of school-aged Kurdistanian children and their parents in homeland and exile. Of the 376 eligible children at the two sites, 312 children and their parents (293 mothers and 248 fathers) completed the Harvard-Uppsala Trauma Questionnaire and Posttraumatic Stress Symptom interviews for children, and Harvard Trauma Questionnaire for parents. Unlike their children, fathers showed significantly higher PTSD frequencies in exile than in the homeland. The fathers' PTSD negatively correlated with the living standard and fathers' education, while child PTSD mostly correlated with maternal education and living in exile. Living in exile seems to have a negative impact on fathers' post-traumatic reactions, despite its positive influence on children. High drop-outs in exile limit the conclusions.

Background: Traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed in Kurdish children in their native country and in exile. Method: 312 randomly selected school-age children at two sites completed assessments of traumatic experiences and post-traumatic symptoms. Results: Although traumatic experiences showed more similarities than differences between the two samples, the PTSD frequencies and post-traumatic stress symptom scores were higher in Kurdistan than in exile. Living in exile showed negative correlation with PTSD frequencies and post-traumatic stress symptom scores. Conclusions: Living in exile seems to have trauma healing effect on children of Kurdistan.

Experiencing conflictual relations with one's parents while growing up has been linked to onset, recurrence, and worse treatment outcome of adolescent depression. While this suggests that significant problems in the parent-youth relationship make depressive disorders more relentless, it is not clear whether this effect lasts into adulthood. Our aim was to examine if major and minor conflict with parents while growing up predicts depression in adulthood in youth with and without a history of depression. We utilized data from the Uppsala Longitudinal Adolescent Depression Study. This community-based cohort was assessed with structured diagnostic interviews both at age 16-17 and at follow-up 15 years later. The analyses included 382 individuals (227 with a history of child or adolescent depression; 155 peers without such a history). Binary logistic regression was used, adjusting for sex, disruptive behavior disorders, and additional family-related adversities. Among individuals with adolescent depression, major conflict with parents was strongly associated with adult depression (adjusted OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.07-4.87). While major conflict with parents was rare among non-depressed controls, a non-significant association of similar magnitude was still observed. Minor conflict, on the other hand, was not significantly associated with adult depression. Overall, conflict with parents did not predict adult anxiety disorders, substance use, suicidal behavior, somatoform disorders, or psychotic disorders. In conclusion, major parent-youth conflict during upbringing seems to be linked with an increased risk of depression in adulthood. These findings underscore the need to consider contextual/familial factors in the prevention and clinical management of early-life depression.