Schizophrenia in children is a dangerous disease - nobody needs to be convinced about it. The symptoms of childhood schizophrenia - emotional withdrawal, avoidance of contact, and bizarre behavior are reminiscent of those of teenage rebellion. The sooner childhood schizophrenia is diagnosed, the greater the chances of obtaining the desired treatment effects. What is characterized by schizophrenia in children, and what should parents worry about?

Schizophrenia in childrenis relatively rare - childhood schizophrenia is about 5 percent of all cases, but it should be remembered that psychoses - although much less often, may appear in the group of the youngest . The diagnosis of schizophrenia often causes fear, both in the patient and in his or her immediate surroundings. It is known that patients suffering from this disease can experience significant difficulties in many aspects of life: be it family or professional.

According to statistics, schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 people.

Due to the age of onset of the disease symptoms, two types of childhood schizophrenia are distinguished:

  • early onset schizophrenia (EOS), in which the disease appears before reaching the age of majority
  • very early onset schizophrenia (VEOS), where the onset of the disease occurs even earlier, before the age of 13.

Child schizophrenia occurs almost twice as often in boys.

Schizophrenia in children: causes

As with many other mental illnesses, the specific causes of schizophrenia in children are unknown. Scientists analyzing the pathogenesis of the disease take into account genetic diseases, problems experienced by the child during the period of intrauterine life, as well as the influence of harmful environmental factors.

The involvement of genes in the occurrence of childhood schizophrenia may be evidenced by the fact that the disease appears more often in those children in whose families someone has experienced psychotic disorders before.

What may be of particular concern to adolescents: is mentioned as a risk factor for developing schizophreniaalso the use of psychoactive substances.

In the case of problems experienced before birth, intrauterine infections or the use of substances by the mother that can potentially have adverse effects on the fetus (such as various medications) are considered as possible causes of schizophrenia in children. In turn, environmental factors that may also contribute to the disease are, among others, parental neglect regarding the educational process or experiencing violence from other children.

Schizophrenia in children: symptoms

Schizophrenia in children does not have to begin with a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms. Initially, the disease may develop discreetly and the disturbances may gradually worsen. It happens that the child starts talking less, isolating himself or displaying strange behavior. Often, even parents may find it difficult to suspect that something wrong is happening with their child - the above-mentioned problems are sometimes encountered during the so-called youthful rebellion, when a young person begins to feel a strong need for independence.

As typical symptoms of schizophrenia - both the form of this disease occurring in children and adults - the following are listed:

  • psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations)
  • disorganization of thinking, and thus speech
  • occurrence of unusual, bizarre behavior
  • negative (defective) symptoms

20 percent children have mental problems. These could be future suicides, schizophrenics

20 percent children have mental problems, of which 8-9 percent. requires specialist assistance - the experts alarmed during the conference "Prevention of mental disorders in children and adolescents", addressed to, inter alia, to principals, teachers, educators, psychologists, school nurses, local government employees and parents.

- Mental disorders are common and affect both children and adults. Even up to 20 percent. children have ailments that meet the criteria of a mental disorder - says Dr. Barbara Remberk, national consultant in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry .¹

And it is to be even worse, because child psychiatry in Poland is experiencing a crisis: there is a shortage of doctors (there are only 400 child psychiatrists in the whole country), as well as beds in psychiatric wards for children and they are no longer able to accommodate small patients .

Psychotic symptoms in children with schizophrenia are difficult to capture. Children may experience a variety of hallucinations, the most common being visual and auditory hallucinations. However, it can be difficultwhat constitutes a pathology, and what is really an expression of a child's imagination or what results from ordinary play. Experiencing auditory hallucinations by a child can be extremely dangerous - for example, a child may hear voices prompting him to perform an action, and at the same time he may be afraid that if he does not comply with such "demands", something bad will happen to him or his loved ones.

In childhood schizophrenia, there may also be other psychotic symptoms, i.e. delusions. They consist in the occurrence of inconsistent beliefs in patients, the falsehood of which the patient cannot be convinced of. Delusions have various meanings: they can be related, for example, to the feeling that the child is being followed and someone wants to harm him (as in the case of persecutory delusions), or to the belief that someone is controlling the patient's actions (as in the course of delusions of possession) .

A child with schizophrenia may exhibit unusual behaviors, such as severe psychomotor slowing or extreme agitation. Patients may also assume unusual body positions and behave in a manner completely inappropriate to the situation - e.g. laugh when presented with a definitely unpleasant news.

Disorganized thinking related to schizophrenia in children can significantly hinder contacts with the environment. During the conversation, the child may only partially answer the questions asked, or else move a completely different topic in the conversation. It also happens that patients use completely new, invented words or construct sentences in a completely illogical way, which makes their speech completely incomprehensible to the environment.

Negative symptoms of childhood schizophrenia are problems related to the impoverishment of emotions and behavior. Children become lethargic and less willing to engage in activities. Their facial expressions can become very poor and their speech may become monotonous. There may be problems such as neglecting hygiene or completely isolating yourself from other people.

Schizophrenia in children: recognizing

In the diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia, it is important not only to conduct a psychiatric examination, but also to assess the child's general he alth. This is due to the fact that there is a need to exclude organic causes of the patient's symptoms - the presence of e.g. neurological diseases, hormonal disorders or the use of psychoactive substances in the child should be eliminated. After excluding the aforementioned, there is also a need to distinguish childhood schizophrenia from other problemspsychiatric disorders, which may be similar - we are talking here about, for example, autism or schizoaffective disorder.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia in children is made on the basis of similar criteria that are used to diagnose this disease in adults. It is important not only to identify the symptoms of childhood schizophrenia, but also to determine their duration - according to the classification criteria, schizophrenia can be diagnosed when patients' symptoms persist for at least 4 weeks.

Schizophrenia in children: treatment

Pharmacotherapy is of fundamental importance in the treatment of childhood schizophrenia. Patients are on chronic antipsychotics (neuroleptics), usually second generation (atypical) neuroleptics are the drugs of choice. Examples of such drugs are aripiprazole, quetiapine and olanzapine. In addition to pharmacological treatment, psychotherapy is also offered to children with schizophrenia (both in the form of individual and family therapy), as well as the so-called social skills training.

Schizophrenia in children: prognosis

The onset of schizophrenia at a young age unfortunately worsens the prognosis of patients - the earlier psychosis begins in a patient, the worse treatment results are usually achieved. Schizophrenia in children can be a serious problem, if only because it can result in poorer educational results and problems with establishing social contacts. This is why doctors emphasize the importance of rapid implementation of therapeutic measures in patients with schizophrenia - the earlier the disease is detected and its treatment is started, the greater the chances of success in its treatment.

Source: More and more children experience mental crises, https://zdrowie.pap.pl/psyche/coraz-wiecej-dzieci-doswiada-kryzysow-psychicznych

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of medicine at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychiatry