Characteristics of cognitive disengagement syndrome in children diagnosed with tic disorder

The study aimed to examine the characteristics of cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) in children diagnosed with tic disorders and to compare them with healthy controls. Seventy-one children (35 with tic disorder, 36 healthy controls) and adolescents were assessed using the Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale (PDSS), the Child and Adolescent Behavior Inventory Slow Cognitive Tempo Scale (CABI-SCT), Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-CV), Conners’s Parent Rating Scale-Revised Short form (CPRS-RS), and Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS). The tic disorder group was compared with the healthy control group, and differences were found in the PDSS, CABI-SCT, RCADS-CV, and CPRS-RS scores (p < .05). Additionally, the YGTSS and the RCADS-CV total anxiety and depression scores were correlated, as well as the Conners ADHD index (p < .05). The findings indicate that CDS symptoms are more prominent in children and adolescents with tic disorder and are accompanied by increased emotional symptoms, behavioral difficulties, and daytime sleepiness. To our knowledge, this study contributes to the literature by being the first to investigate the relationship between tic disorder and CDS symptoms.