Objective: In April 2012, the Turkish national education system was modified, and the compulsory school age of entry (first grade) was redefined as a minimum of 60 months and a maximum of 66 months (replacing the former minimum criterion of 72 months). In this study, we hypothesized that students starting school before 72 months (the previous age standard for the first grade) may experience (1) a greater number of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and (2) lower functioning in social, behavioral, and academic domains. Method: We performed a cross-sectional community-based study in the first and second grades of all primary schools (4356 students) located in the Kadıköy county of Istanbul, Turkey. Teachers completed Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham version IV and Conners' Teacher's report forms for symptoms of ADHD, the Perceived Competence Scale for functioning, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: Among first graders, the group that began primary school before the age of 72 months had a higher ADHD prevalence than both of the groups that began primary school between the ages of 72 to 77 months and 78 to 83 months (p < .001 for both groups). ADHD symptoms diminished and academic, social, and behavioral functioning improved with age for the first and second grade students. Conclusion: The probability of displaying ADHD symptoms (and caseness) is greater among the “earlier” beginners, whereas the “conventional” classmates exhibited better academic, social, and behavioral functioning.

Approximately half of the children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to meet diagnostic criteria in adulthood. The prevalence of adult ADHD is reported between 2.5% and 4.4% and is associated with significant impairment in quality of life and increased psychiatric comorbidity. ADHD in adults remains mostly undiagnosed and/or untreated despite the availability of effective treatments. Majority of people who do not receive necessary treatment are in the non-clinical, or non-psychiatric clinical population. Screening is an important step for diagnosing adults with ADHD. Yet there are no valid and reliable screening questionnaires calibrated for DSM-5 in Turkish. We aimed to test the reliability and the validity of the ASRS-5 screening questionnaire designed according to DSM-5 in the Turkish population. Methodological and cross-sectional study Methods: The translation was carried on according to the WHO-CIDI translation guide using a linguistic adaptation approach. We used a convenience sampling method to recruit an adult ADHD group (n=68) and a control group (n=68). The participants completed a sociodemographic form, six items ASRS-5 and a previous version 18 items ASRS v1.1 for the concurrent validity analysis. For the diagnostic validity clinical diagnosis made by psychiatrists according to DSM-5 criteria was used. Internal consistency and item-total correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analyses, correlation with ASRS v1.1 and ROC curve analysis were conducted. The internal consistency measured by Cronbach alpha was 0.869. Item-total correlation coefficients were calculated to be between 0.602 and 0.717 and the correlations were statistically significant (p<0.0001). The ASRS-5 showed to have a unidimensional factor structure explaining the 60.54% of the variance. The correlation between ASRS-5 and ASRS v1.1 total score was calculated as 0.992 (p<0.0001), between ASRS-5 and ASRS v1.1 attention deficit sub-dimension as 0.868 (p<0.0001). In the ROC analysis of ASRS-5, the area under the curve was found to be 0.916. The cut-off score was calculated as 9/10 with a sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity as 89.7%. Our data suggests that ASRS-5 is a valid and reliable self-report measure to assess and screen ADHD in Turkish population. It may be useful for both clinical and population studies.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,Malocclusion,Behavior,Orthodontics

OBJECTIVE: Children and adolescents facing difficult life circumstances due to social, economic and cultural adversity, form a disadvantaged group in terms of social functioning and healthy psycho-social development. The goal of this study was to evaluate the psychological resilience of high school students in Muş City – which was ranked last in the general life index among 81 provinces according to 2015 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute – and to examine different dimensions of psychological resilience in relation to a variety of variables including adverse life events and demographic characteristics. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 1025 students from the 10th and 11th grades of five different high schools operating in the city centre of Muş. Participants were asked to fill in a socio-demographic questionnaire, the List of Adverse Life Events and the 59-item Resilience and Youth Development Module (RYDM). A series of correlational and descriptive analyses were then performed. RESULTS: Correlational analyses revealed that among the demographic factors, low economic status, a criminal record and poor academic performance were associated with poor psychological resilience, while among adverse life events, the deterioration of parental economic status, frequent arguments between parents as well as a history of mental illness and alcohol/substance abuse in the family were also linked to low levels of psychological resilience. It was also determined that girls had higher scores on internal assets of RYDM (empathy, problem solving, self efficacy, communication and cooperation, goals, self awareness and educational aspirations), while exposure to a larger number of adverse life events negatively affected internal resilience assets. Finally, trauma exposure, just as the low RYDM scores, seems to be associated with frequent arguments between parents, alcohol/substance abuse in the family, male gender and a criminal record. However, there was no significant relationship between psychological resilience and trauma alone. CONCLUSION: Interventions to improve psychological resilience, which is a dynamic process, need to be comprehensive and multi-dimensional. In this context, it is crucial to elucidate the factors associated with the psychological resilience of children and adolescents exposed to a specific risk factor, such as adverse living conditions. In order to improve our understanding of psychological resilience and youth development in Turkey and to determine specific needs for interventions, future studies on various risk groups in different pilot cities – as in the example of Muş – are needed.