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Exploring the Impact of Chronic Tic Disorders on Youth: Results from the Tourette Syndrome Impact Survey

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Abstract

Prior research has demonstrated that chronic tic disorders (CTD) are associated with functional impairment across several domains. However, methodological limitations, such as data acquired by parental report, datasets aggregated across child and adult samples, and small treatment-seeking samples, curtail interpretation. The current study explored the functional impact of tics among youth in a large, “virtual” community sample. An Internet-based survey was completed by families with children who had CTD. The sample included 740 parents and 232 of their children (ages 10–17 years). The survey assessed impact across five functional domains: physical, social, familial, academic, and psychological. Health-related quality of life and perceptions of discrimination resulting from tics were also assessed. Results suggest that (1) youth with CTD experience mild to moderate functional impairment, (2) impairment is generally positively correlated with tic severity, (3) children with CTD plus one or more co-occurring psychiatric conditions tend to have greater functional impairment, and (4) a notable portion of youth with CTD experience discrimination due to tics. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the participants for their assistance. We would also like to thank the Tourette Syndrome Association for their support of this project and their help with recruitment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA

    Christine A. Conelea & Douglas W. Woods

  2. Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Samuel H. Zinner

  3. Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Samuel H. Zinner

  4. Movement Disorders Program in Psychiatry, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Cathy Budman

  5. Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Tanya Murphy

  6. Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Lawrence D. Scahill

  7. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Psychology: Social and Health Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Scott N. Compton

  8. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    John Walkup

Authors
  1. Christine A. Conelea
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  2. Douglas W. Woods
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  3. Samuel H. Zinner
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  4. Cathy Budman
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  5. Tanya Murphy
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  6. Lawrence D. Scahill
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  7. Scott N. Compton
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  8. John Walkup
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Douglas W. Woods.

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Conelea, C.A., Woods, D.W., Zinner, S.H. et al. Exploring the Impact of Chronic Tic Disorders on Youth: Results from the Tourette Syndrome Impact Survey. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42, 219–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0211-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0211-4

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