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. 1997 May;36(5):653-60.
doi: 10.1097/00004583-199705000-00016.

Systematic assessment of 50 children with selective mutism

E S Dummit 3rd  1 , R G Klein, N K Tancer, B Asche, J Martin, J A Fairbanks
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Free article

Systematic assessment of 50 children with selective mutism

E S Dummit 3rd et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 May.
Free article

Abstract

Objective: To clarify the diagnostic significance of selective mutism (elective mutism in DSM-III-R).

Method: Fifty children with selective mutism were evaluated systematically by means of semistructured clinical interviews and rating scales to obtain detailed diagnostic information.

Results: All 50 children met DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia or avoidant disorder and 24 (48%) had additional anxiety disorders. Clinical measures of anxiety and behavioral symptoms supported the presence of anxiety disorders as a characteristic of selectivity mute children. Only one case each of oppositional defiant disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder was found.

Conclusions: Persistent selective mutism typically presents in the context of anxiety disorders.

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