Risk Behaviors in Youth With and Without Tourette Syndrome

Reframing stigma in Tourette syndrome: an updated scoping review

Persistent tic disorders (PTD) such as Tourette's syndrome (TS) are common childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorders. Stigmatization of individuals with these disorders remains an ongoing problem. The purpose of this scoping review is to serve as an updated review of the research regarding stigmatization in youth with PTD since the publication of the original systematic review about this topic in 2016. The electronic databases Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched. Of the 4751 initial articles screened after removing duplications, 47 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies were examined under the social-ecological stigmatization model, which helps categorize stigmatization into individual, interpersonal, community, and structural levels and serves as a broader definition of stigmatization than the previous systematic review. On the individual level, youth with PTD had lower self-esteem than peers, often leading to fear of future stigmatization, avoidant behaviors, and self-stigmatization. They also experienced higher rates of bullying and other forms of abuse than peers at the interpersonal level. At the community level, youth with PTD faced discriminatory environments in school and work and limited availability of community services and healthcare access. At the structural level, knowledge about PTD was limited in the general population, often about the limited portrayals of PTD in the media. We hope that the broader scope of this review serves to help inform future efforts to decrease the stigmatization faced by this group.

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2022

This is the ninth yearly article in the Tourette Syndrome Research Highlights series, summarizing selected research reports from 2022 relevant to Tourette syndrome. The authors briefly summarize reports they consider most important or interesting.

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2022

This is the ninth yearly article in the Tourette Syndrome Research Highlights series, summarizing selected research reports from 2022 relevant to Tourette syndrome. The authors briefly summarize reports they consider most important or interesting.

Brief youth self-report screener for tics: Can a subscale of the Motor tic, Obsession and compulsion, and Vocal tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES) identify tic disorders in youth?

Tics are unwanted, repetitive movements and sounds that frequently present during childhood. They are typically brief and purposeless, but can create significant distress for individuals, and often co-occur with other neuropsychiatric conditions. Thus, early identification of tics is warranted. Unfortunately, tics are often misdiagnosed, and because tics may wax and wane, identification can be difficult, especially in the context of routine clinical visits. There are limited tools that can be used to reliably identify tics in clinical practice, especially in non-specialty settings. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the performance of the Motor tic, Obsession and compulsion, and Vocal tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES), a self-report scale with some support as a screening tool. In addition, the performance of a subset of questions (the MOVES-6) was evaluated for rapid screening. Participants were recruited across two study sites and included children and adolescents diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (n = 151) or another persistent tic disorder (n = 10) and community controls (n = 74). Results suggest both the MOVES and the MOVES-6 have high sensitivity (90% and 88%, respectively) and at least acceptable specificity (77% and 86%, respectively) compared with expert assessment of tic disorders, suggesting that both versions can identify tic disorders without high proportions of false negatives. Both versions were highly sensitive with acceptable specificity regardless of sex, race/ethnicity, and age. The MOVES and MOVES-6 show promise as a screener for tics or tic disorders, but additional research is needed, particularly in a general population setting.