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Pediatric Trichotillomania

  • ANXIETY DISORDERS (DJ STEIN, SECTION EDITOR)
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Abstract

Trichotillomania (TTM) is an impulse control disorder characterized by chronic hair-pulling, distress, and impairment. Although the negative effects of TTM are documented and often readily evident, there remains a paucity of psychopathology and treatment research on this disorder, particularly in pediatric populations. In an effort to improve assessment of pediatric TTM, several TTM-specific instruments for youth have now been developed to reliably identify symptoms and examine related phenomenology. Instrument development has now yielded instruments to evaluate TTM and related symptoms in the context of clinical trials of youth, and the first randomized controlled trial of any treatment for pediatric TTM was recently published. Using the initial pediatric TTM studies as building blocks, future research is now needed to create a stronger body of knowledge about the relative and combined efficacy of potential interventions for TTM in youth, as well as to examine the effects of TTM phenomenology and comorbidity on treatment outcome. Dissemination efforts must also be heightened for this knowledge to best reach these vulnerable populations.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Franklin has received grant support from the NIMH (nos. R01 MH079377, R01 MH077197, R01 MH55126, and R21 MH61457) and the Tourette Syndrome Association.

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Correspondence to J. P. Harrison.

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Harrison, J.P., Franklin, M.E. Pediatric Trichotillomania. Curr Psychiatry Rep 14, 188–196 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0269-8

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