Editor’s Choice : Intellectual Disability and Psychiatric Diagnoses of Children and Adolescents with a History of Stressful Events and Social Deprivation in Brazil: Preliminary Results. IQ, Depression and Stress

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Intellectual Disability and Psychiatric Diagnoses of Children and Adolescents with a History of Stressful Events and Social Deprivation in Brazil: Preliminary Results. IQ, Depression and Stress
Pages 42-45
Paula Approbato de Oliveira, Carolina Fuentes Moreira, Sandra Scivoletto, Cristiana Castanho de Almeida Rocca, Daniel Fuentes and Paulo Jannuzzi Cunha
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2013.01.02.5

Published: 06 May 2014

 


Abstract: Background: Studies have shown that stressful events in childhood are associated with impairments in cognitive functions and intellectual disability.

Objective:Compare the intellectual functioning in groups of Brazilian children and adolescents with a history of stressful events with lifetime history of depression and without lifetime history of depression.

Method: 30 children and adolescents underwent psychiatric evaluation and neuropsychological assessment of estimated intellectual quotient (EIQ), verbal knowledge, and visuospatial skills.

Results: 15 patients (50%) had EIQ within the average and 6 had EIQ in the lower average (20%) for Brazilian standardized norms. The other part had at least some degree of intellectual disability and they were classified as: 2 mild mental retardation (6.7%) and 7 borderline (23.3%). Also, half of the sample had at least one lifetime depressive episode, and the performance in EIQ and visuospatial skills was worse in this group.

Conclusion: 50% of the children and adolescents with a history of early stressful events and social deprivation had at least some degree of intellectual disability. In addition, a subgroup with history of depressive episodes had worse EIQ performance when compared to those without depression, possibly due to a greater impairment in visuospatial skills. The specific role of impaired right cerebral hemisphere, corpus callosum, and prefrontal cortex associated with depressive disorders and maltreatment should be investigated in further studies.

Keywords: Stress, children, adolescent, IQ, depression, intellectual disability.
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