Objective: Selective mutism is a relatively rare and multidimensional childhood disorder that typically affects school age children. It is characterized by the persistent failure to speak in some selected social settings despite possessing the ability to speak comfortably in more familiar settings. Selective mutism is associated with a number of comorbid disorders that complicate the child’s clinical presentation. Around 70% of the parents of the cases with selective mutism show characteristics of social phobia or avoidant personality trait. In this study, we aimed to investigate several sociodemographic and clinical correlates of the patients with selective mutism, such as the co-occurring psychiatric disorders, parental psychiatric history, and the medication used. Methods: We retrospectively examined the hospital files of the cases with the diagnosis of selective mutism, which admitted to Marmara University Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic between May 2011-May 2013. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS 18.0 for Windows.
Results: The sample was composed of 10 children. Sixty percent (n=6) were male. The mean age was 8.10±1.8 years. The most common comorbid psychiatric diagnosis was social phobia (n=9), followed by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n=5), generalized anxiety disorder (n=3), depression (n=3), and obsessive compulsive disorder (n=1). As for the parental psychiatric history, only one mother had a history of Major Depression. Among fathers 4 had avoidant personality traits,and 1 had a history of major depression. Majority of the children were on şuoxetine treatment (n=8).
Conclusion: In our series of selective mutism all of the cases had at least one comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. However, for a great number of cases establishment of the comorbid conditions can be challenging, due to the scarceness of verbal communication. In our opinion, a thorough evaluation is necessary during the assessment of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses.