Low quality of life can have an enormous impact on someone’s mental health. It can also withhold people with mental problems to recover. The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in...Show moreLow quality of life can have an enormous impact on someone’s mental health. It can also withhold people with mental problems to recover. The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in social and psychological wellbeing between adolescents with and without selective mutism. Furthermore, the relationship between speaking behavior and the two wellbeing variables are investigated. Twenty-nine adolescents with selective mutism (f = 23, m= 6, mean age = 12,78) and 45 typical developing adolescents (f = 24, m= 21, mean age = 13.31) participated in this study. All the adolescents in the selective mutism group had a parent-reported diagnosis which presence was confirmed with the SMQ. Adolescents who were in (partial) remission were excluded. An online survey was send to the participants to collect the data for this study. The online survey consisted items from original questionnaires and items with questions about background information. Social- and psychological wellbeing is measured with the KIDSSCREEN-52 and speaking behavior is measured using the SMQ. Results showed that adolescents (10 – 18 years old) with selective mutism have lower psychological and social wellbeing than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, the presence of comorbid ASS above a diagnosis of selective mutism has a more negative impact on social wellbeing, but not psychological wellbeing, in comparison to adolescents with a single diagnosis selective mutism. Results have also shown that there is a positive relationship between the amount of difficulties in speaking behavior and social wellbeing but not for psychological wellbeing. These results implicate that adolescents with selective mutism have not only problems with expressing themselves in a verbal way but also experience a lower psychological and social quality of life than their typical developing peers. National Mental Health services should therefore not only pay attention to reducing the anxious behavior itself, but also look for ways to improve the psychological and social wellbeing of adolescents with selective mutism.Show less
Selective mutism is relatively uncharted territory when it comes to research, especially when it comes to selective mutism in adolescents. Only a few studies have dived deeper into the nature of...Show moreSelective mutism is relatively uncharted territory when it comes to research, especially when it comes to selective mutism in adolescents. Only a few studies have dived deeper into the nature of this anxiety disorder that holds children and adolescents back from speaking. The aim of the current study was to get more clarity on the psychological wellbeing of adolescents with selective mutism, and whether age and gender moderate the relation between selective mutism and psychological wellbeing. Twenty-nine adolescents with selective mutism and 45 typically developing adolescents from the Netherlands and Flanders filled in the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire. In line with the hypothesis, results showed that adolescents with selective mutism report a lower psychological wellbeing than typically developing adolescents, which emphasizes the need to diagnose and treat this disorder in time. Contrary to the hypothesis, age and gender turned out to have no moderating effect on this relation. The current study is one of the first studies on selective mutism in adolescents and paves the way for recognition and treatment of the disorder. Future research is needed to obtain more information on the effects selective mutism has on psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents. In conclusion, the current study confirms the hypothesis that adolescents with selective mutism report a lower psychological wellbeing than typically developing adolescents.Show less
Research shows that maladaptive coping is an important factor in the development of psychopathology. Selective mutism has recently been classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM-V. From this...Show moreResearch shows that maladaptive coping is an important factor in the development of psychopathology. Selective mutism has recently been classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM-V. From this perspective, it is relevant to explore coping in adolescents because little is known about the use of coping strategies of adolescents with SM when they are anxious. Insight in coping will also provide information on the non-speaking behavior of this group. Research on this subject is scarce. In total 79 adolescents from the Netherlands and Belgium participated in this explorative research study. The sample consisted of 34 adolescents with SM and 45 adolescents without psychopathology, in the age 9 to 18. The aim of the present study is to examine which coping strategies are used by adolescents with SM when anxious, and how this differs from adolescents without psychopathology. The Feel-KJ, a self-report questionnaire, was used to research this question. The effect of age was included as a covariate. The results show that adolescents with SM use less adaptive coping strategies and more maladaptive coping strategies, with the exception of aggression, compared to their peers without psychopathology. Age also has an effect on the use of maladaptive coping strategies, but this effect is small. This knowledge contributes to the existing research in which evidence has been found for a link between the use of maladaptive coping strategies and psychopathology. It is important to conduct further (experimental) research to confirm these findings and to examine a possible causal relationship. The present study gives insight in how adolescents with SM cope with fear in comparison to adolescents without psychopathology. Information about adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies can be implemented in interventions and treatments so that adolescents with SM can learn to adaptively cope with fear.Show less
