Children Who are Anxious in Silence: A Review on Selective Mutism, the New Anxiety Disorder in DSM-5

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review

Volumn 18, Issue 2, 2015, Pages 151-169

  Muris, Peter ^a,b   Ollendick, Thomas H ^c  

^a MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY   (Netherlands)

^b STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

^c VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Anxiety disorder; Etiology; Phenomenology; Selective mutism; Treatment

Indexed keywords

ANXIETY DISORDERS; CHILD; DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS; HUMAN; MUTISM; PSYCHOLOGY;

ANXIETY DISORDERS; CHILD; DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS; HUMANS; MUTISM;

EID: 84939970082     PISSN: 10964037     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10567-015-0181-y     Document Type: Review

References (109)

1. Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
2. Alyanak, B., Kilinçaslan, A., Harmanci, H. S., Demirkaya, S. K., Yurtbay, T., & Vehid, H. E. (2013). Parental adjustment, parenting attitudes, and emotional and behavioral problems in children with selective mutism. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,27, 9–15.
3. American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, third edition-revised. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
4. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
5. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
6. Andersson, C. B., & Thomsen, P. H. (1998). Electively mute children: An analysis of 37 Danish cases. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 231–238.
7. Anstedig, K. D. (1998). Selective mutism: A review of the treatment literature by modality from 1980-1996. Psychotherapy,35, 381–391.
8. Anstedig, K. D. (1999). Is selective mutism an anxiety disorder? Rethinking its DSM-IV classification. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,13, 417–434.
9. Arie, M., Henkin, Y., Lamy, D., Tetin-Schneider, S., Apter, A., Sadeh, A., & Bar-Haim, Y. (2007). Reduced auditory processing capacity during vocalization in children with selective mutism. Biological Psychiatry,61, 419–421.
10. Bar-Yaim, Y., Henkin, Y., Ari-Even Roth, D., Tetin-Schneider, S., Hildesheimer, M., & Muchnik, C. (2004). Reduced auditory efferent activity in childhood selective mutism. Biological Psychiatry,55, 1061–1068.
11. Beidas, R. S., Suarez, L., Simpson, D., Read, K., Wei, C., Conolly, S., & Kendall, P. C. (2012). Contextual factors and anxiety in minority and European American youth presenting for treatment across two urban university clinics. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,26, 544–554.
12. Bergman, R. L. (2012). Treatment for children with selective mutism: An integrated approach. New York: Oxford University Press.
13. Bergman, R. L., Gonzalez, A., Piacentini, J., & Keller, M. L. (2013). Integrated behavior therapy for selective mutism: A randomized controlled pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy,51, 680–689.
14. Bergman, R. L., Keller, M. L., Piacentini, J., & Bergman, A. J. (2008). The development and psychometric properties of the selective mutism questionnaire. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,37, 456–464.
15. Bergman, R. L., Piacentini, J., & McCracken, J. T. (2002). Prevalence and description of selective mutism in a school-based sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,41, 938–946.
16. Black, B., & Uhde, T. W. (1992). Elective mutism as a variant of social phobia. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,31, 1090–1094.
17. Black, B., & Uhde, T. W. (1994). Treatment of elective mutism with fluoxetine: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,33, 1000–1006.
18. Black, B., & Uhde, T. W. (1995). Psychiatric characteristics of children with selective mutism: A pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,34, 847–856.
19. Bögels, S. M., Alden, L., Beidel, D. C., Clark, L. A., Pine, D. S., Stein, M. B., & Voncken, M. (2010). Social anxiety disorder: Questions and answers for the DSM-V. Depression and Anxiety,27, 168–189.
20. Boon, F. (1994). The selective mutism controversy (continued). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,33, 283.
21. Bubier, J. L., & Drabick, D. A. G. (2009). Co-occurring anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders: The roles of anxious symptoms, reactive aggression, and shared risk processes. Clinical Psychology Review,29, 658–669.
22. Buss, A. H., & Plomin, R. (1984). Temperament: Early developing personality traits. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23. Carbone, D., Schmidt, L. A., Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., Edison, S., Pierre, J. S., & Boyle, M. H. (2010). Behavioral and socio-emotional functioning in children with selective mutism: A comparison with anxious and typically developing children across multiple informants. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,38, 1057–1067.
24. Carlson, J. S., Kratochwill, T. R., & Johnston, H. (1994). Prevalence and treatment of selective mutism in clinical practice: A survey of child and adolescent psychiatrists. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology,4, 281–291.
25. Carlson, J. S., Mitchell, A. D., & Segool, N. (2008). The current state of empirical support for the pharmacological treatment of selective mutism. School Psychology Quarterly,23, 354–372.
26. Chavira, D. A., Shipon-Blum, E., Hitchcock, C., Cohan, S., & Stein, M. B. (2007). Selective mutism and social anxiety disorder: All in the family? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,46, 1464–1472.
27. Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. J. (1995). Developmental psychopathology. New York: Wiley.
28. Clauss, J. A., & Blackford, J. U. (2012). Behavioral inhibition and risk for developing social anxiety disorder: A meta-analytic study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,51, 1066–1075.
29. Cohan, S. L., Chavira, D. A., Shipon-Blum, E., Hitchcock, C., Roesch, S. C., & Stein, M. B. (2008). Refining the classification of children with selective mutism: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,37, 770–784.
30. Cohan, S. L., Chavira, D. A., & Stein, M. B. (2006a). Psychosocial interventions for children with selective mutism: A critical evaluation of the literature from 1990-2005. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,47, 1085–1097.
31. Cohan, S. L., Price, J. M., & Stein, M. B. (2006b). Suffering in silence: Why a developmental psychopathology perspective on selective mutism is needed. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics,27, 341–355.
32. Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., & Boyle, M. H. (2006). Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,15, 245–255.
33. Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., Boyle, M. H., & Patel, S. (2004). Behavioral and emotional adjustment, family functioning, academic performance, and social relationships in children with selective mutism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,45, 1363–1372.
34. Dekker, M. C., & Koot, H. M. (2003). DSM-IV disorders in children with borderline to moderate intellectual disability. I: Prevalence and impact. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,42, 915–922.
35. Dow, S. P., Sonies, B. C., Scheib, D., Moss, S. E., & Leonard, H. L. (1995). Practical guidelines for the assessment and treatment of selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,34, 836–846.
36. Drabick, D. A. G., Ollendick, T. H., & Bubier, J. L. (2010). Co-occurrence of ODD and anxiety: Shared risk processes and evidence for a dual-pathway model. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice,17, 307–318.
37. Dummit, E. S., Klein, R. G., Tancer, N. K., Asche, B., & Martin, J. (1996). Fluoxetine treatment of children with selective mutism: An open trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,35, 615–621.
38. Dummit, E. S., Klein, R. G., Tancer, N. K., Asche, B., Martin, J., & Fairbanks, J. A. (1997). Systematic assessment of 50 children with selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,36, 653–660.
39. Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Peabody picture vocabulary test III-revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Services.
40. Edison, S. C., Evans, M. A., McHolm, A. E., Cunningham, C. E., Nowakowski, M. E., Boyle, M., & Schmidt, L. A. (2011). An investigation of control among parents of selectively mute, anxious, and non-anxious children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development,42, 270–290.
41. Elizur, Y., & Perednik, R. (2003). Prevalence and description of selective mutism in immigrant and native families: A controlled study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,42, 1451–1459.
42. First, M. B. (2014). DSM-5 handbook of differential diagnosis. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
43. Ford, M. A., Sladeczek, I. E., Carlson, J., & Kratochwill, T. R. (1998). Selective mutism: Phenomenological characteristics. School Psychology Quarterly,13, 192–227.
44. Garcia-Coll, C., Kagan, J., & Reznick, J. S. (1984). Behavioral inhibition in young children. Child Development,55, 1005–1019.
45. Golwyn, D. H., & Sevlie, C. P. (1999). Phenelzine treatment of yin four prepubertal children. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology,9, 109–113.
46. Hayden, T. L. (1980). Classification of elective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry,19, 118–133.
47. Hesselman, S. (1983). Elective mutism in children 1877-1981: A literary summary. Acta Paedopsychiatrica,49, 297–310.
48. Hirshfeld-Becker, D. R., Micco, J., Henin, A., Bloomfield, A., Biederman, J., & Rosenbaum, J. (2008). Behavioral inhibition. Depression and Anxiety,25, 357–367.
49. Kaakeh, Y., & Stumpf, J. L. (2008). Treatment of selective mutism: Focus on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Pharmacotherapy,28, 214–224.
50. Kagan, J. (1994). Galen’s prophecy. Temperament in human nature. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
51. Kaufman, J., Birmaher, B., Brent, D., Rao, U., Flynn, C., Moreci, P., et al. (1997). Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-age children–present and life time version (K-SADS-PL): Initial reliability and validity data. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,36, 980–988.
52. Kazdin, A. E. (1982). Single case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. New York: Oxford University Press.
53. Kearney, C. A. (2008). School absenteeism and school refusal behavior in youth: A contemporary review. Clinical Psychology Review,28, 451–471.
54. Keeton, C., & Crosby Budinger, M. (2012). Social phobia and selective mutism. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America,21, 621–641.
55. Kolvin, I., & Fundudis, T. (1981). Elective mute children: Psychological development and background factors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,22, 219–232.
56. Kopp, S., & Gillberg, C. (1997). Selective mutism: A population-based study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,38, 257–262.
57. Kristensen, H. (2000). Selective mutism and comorbidity with developmental disorder/delay, anxiety disorder, and elimination disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,39, 249–256.
58. Kristensen, H., & Torgersen, S. (2001). MCMI-II personality traits and symptom traits in parents of children with selective mutism: A case-control study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology,110, 648–652.
59. Kristensen, H., & Torgersen, S. (2002). A case-control study of EAS child and parental temperaments in selectively mute children with an without a comorbid communication disorder. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry,56, 347–353.
60. Kumpulainen, K., Räsänen, E., Raaska, H., & Somppi, V. (1998). Selective mutism among second-graders in elementary school. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,7, 24–29.
61. Kussmaul, A. (1877). Die störungen der sprache (The disturbances of speech). Basel, Switzerland: Benno Schwabe.
62. La Greca, A. M., & Stone, W. L. (1993). The social anxiety scale for children-revised: Factor structure and concurrent validity. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology,22, 17–27.
63. Letamendi, A. M., Chavira, D. A., Hitchcock, C. A., Roesch, S. C., Shipon-Blum, E., & Stein, M. B. (2008). Selective Mutism Questionnaire: Measurement structure and validity. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,47, 1197–1204.
64. Levin-Decanini, T., Connolly, S. D., Simpson, D., Suarez, L., & Jacob, S. (2013). Comparison of behavioral profiles for anxiety-related comorbidities including ADHD and selective mutism in children. Depression and Anxiety,30, 857–864.
65. Manassis, K., Fung, D., Tannock, R., Sloman, L., Fiksenbaum, L., & McInnes, A. (2003). Characterizing selective mutism: Is it more than social anxiety? Depression and Anxiety,18, 153–161.
66. Manassis, K., Tannock, R., Garland, J., Minde, K., McInnes, A., & Clark, S. (2007). The sounds of silence: Language, cognition, and anxiety in selective mutism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,46, 1187–1195.
67. McInnes, A., Fung, D., Manassis, K., Fiksenbaum, L., & Tannock, R. (2004). Narrative skills in children with selective mutism: An exploratory study. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology,13, 304–315.
68. McLeod, B. D., Wood, J. J., & Weisz, J. R. (2007). Examining the association between parenting and childhood anxiety: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review,27, 155–172.
69. Moldan, M. B. (2005). Selective mutism and self-regulation. Clinical Social Work Journal,33, 291–307.
70. Mowrer, O. H. (1960). Learning theory and behavior. New York: Wiley.
71. Muchnik, C., Ari-Even Roth, D., Hildesheimer, M., Arie, M., Bar-Haim, Y., & Henkin, Y. (2013). Abnormalities in auditory efferent activities in children with selective mutism. Audiology and Neurotology,18, 353–361.
72. Mulligan, C.A. (2012). Selective mutism: Identification of subtypes and influence on treatment. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Psychology Dissertations, Paper 210.
73. Muris, P. (2007). Normal and abnormal fear and anxiety in children and adolescents. Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
74. Muris, P. (2012). Treatment of childhood anxiety disorders: What is the place for antidepressants? Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy,13, 43–64.
75. Muris, P., Steerneman, P., Merckelbach, H., Holdrinet, I., & Meesters, C. (1998). Comorbid anxiety symptoms in children with pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,12, 387–393.
76. Murray, D. C. (1971). Talk, silence, and anxiety. Psychological Bulletin,75, 244–260.
77. National Institute of Mental Health. (1991). Diagnostic interview schedule for children. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
78. Nowakowski, M. E., Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., Evans, M. A., Edison, S., Pierre, J. S., et al. (2009). Language and academic abilities in children with selective mutism. Infant and Child Development,18, 271–290.
79. Nowakowski, M. E., Tasker, S. L., Cunningham, C. E., McHolm, A. E., Edison, S., Pierre, J. S., et al. (2011). Joint attention in parent-child dyads involving children with selective mutism: A comparison between anxious and typically developing children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development,42, 78–92.
80. Oerbeck, B., Stein, M. B., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Langrud, Ø., & Kristensen, H. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of a home and school-based intervention for selective mutism: Defocused communication and behavioral techniques. Child and Adolescent Mental Health,19, 192–198.
81. Ollendick, T. H., & Benoit, K. (2012). A parent-child interactional model of social anxiety disorder in youth. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review,15, 81–91.
82. Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J. (2012). Evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents: Issues and controversies. In P. C. Kendall (Ed.), Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures (pp. 499–519). New York: Guilford Publications Inc.
83. Omdal, H., & Galloway, D. (2008). Could selective mutism be re-conceptualised as a specific phobia of expressive speech? An exploratory post hoc study. Child and Adolescent Mental Health,13, 74–81.
84. Ooi, Y. P., Raja, M., Sung, S. C., Fung, D. S. S., & Koh, J. B. K. (2012). Application of a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy programme for the treatment of selective mutism in Singapore: A case series study. Singapore Medical Journal,53, 446–450.
85. Pionek Stone, B., Kratochwill, T. R., Sladezcek, I., & Serlin, R. C. (2002). Treatment of selective mutism: A best-evidence synthesis. School Psychology Quarterly,17, 168–190.
86. Powell, S., & Dalley, M. (1995). When to intervene in selective mutism: The multimodal treatment of a case of persistent selective mutism. Psychology in the Schools,32, 114–123.
87. Rapee, R. M., Schniering, C. A., & Hudson, J. L. (2009). Anxiety disorders during childhood and adolescence: Origins and treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology,5, 311–341.
88. Remschmidt, H., Poller, M., Herpertz-Dahlmann, B., Hennighausen, K., & Gutenbrunner, C. (2001). A follow-up study of 45 patients with elective mutism. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience,251, 284–296.
89. Rice, T. K. (2008). Familial resemblance and heritability. Advances in Genetics,60, 35–49.
90. Russo, M. F., & Beidel, D. C. (1994). Comorbidity of childhood anxiety and externalizing disorders: Prevalence, associated characteristics, and validation issues. Clinical Psychology Review,14, 199–221.
91. Scott, S., & Beidel, D. C. (2011). Selective mutism: An update and suggestions for future research. Current Psychiatry Reports,13, 251–257.
92. Segal, N. L. (2003). ‘Two’ quiet: Monozygotic female twins with selective mutism. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry,8, 473–488.
93. Sharkey, L., McNicholas, F., Barry, E., Begley, M., & Ahern, S. (2008). Group therapy for selective mutism: A parents’ and children’s treatment group. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry,39, 538–545.
94. Sharp, W. G., Sherman, C., & Gross, A. M. (2007). Selective mutism and anxiety: A review of the current conceptualization of the disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders,21, 568–579.
95. Silverman, W. K., & Albano, A. M. (1996). The anxiety disorders interview schedule for children and parents (ADIS-C/P). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
96. Stein, M. B., Yang, B. Z., Chavira, D. A., Hitchcock, C. A., Sung, S. C., Shipon-Blum, E., & Gelernter, J. (2011). A common genetic variant in the neurexin superfamily member CNTNAP2 is associated with increased risk for selective mutism and social anxiety-related traits. Biological Psychiatry,69, 825–831.
97. Steinhausen, H. C., & Juzi, C. (1996). Elective mutism: An analysis of 100 cases. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,35, 606–614.
98. Steinhausen, H. C., Wachter, M., Laimböck, K., & Winkler Metzke, C. (2006). A long-term outcome study of selective mutism in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,47, 751–756.
99. Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and development. New York, NY: Brunner/Mazel.
100. Tramer, M. (1934). Elektiver Mutismus bei Kindern (Selective mutism in children). Zeitschrift für Kinderpsychiatrie,1, 30–35.
101. Vecchio, J. L., & Kearney, C. A. (2005). Selective mutism in children: Comparison to youths with and without anxiety disorders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment,27, 31–37.
102. Vecchio, J. L., & Kearney, C. A. (2009). Treating youths with selective mutism with an alternating design of exposure-based practice and contingency management. Behavior Therapy,40, 380–392.
103. Viana, A. G., Beidel, D. C., & Rabian, B. (2009). Selective mutism: A review and integration of the last 15 years. Clinical Psychology Review,29, 57–67.
104. White, S. W., Oswald, D., Ollendick, T. H., & Scahill, L. (2009). Anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Clinical Psychology Review,29, 216–229.
105. Whiteside, S. P., & Ollendick, T. H. (2009). Developmental perspectives on anxiety classification. In D. McKay, J. S. Abramowitz, S. Taylor, & G. J. G. Asmundson (Eds.), Current perspectives on the anxiety disorders: Implications for DSM-V and beyond (pp. 303–325). New York: Springer.
106. Wright, H. H., Cuccaro, M. L., Leonardt, T. V., Kendall, D. F., & Anderson, J. H. (1995). Case study: Fluoxetine in the multimodal treatment of a preschool child with selective mutism. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,34, 857–862.
107. Yeganeh, R., Beidel, D. C., & Turner, S. M. (2006). Selective mutism: More than social anxiety? Depression and Anxiety,23, 117–123.
108. Yeganeh, R., Beidel, D. C., Turner, S. M., Pina, A. A., & Silverman, W. K. (2003). Clinical distinctions between selective mutism and social phobia: An investigation of childhood psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,42, 1069–1075.
109. Young, B. J., Bunnell, B. E., & Beidel, D. C. (2012). Evaluation of children with selective mutism and social phobia: A comparison of psychological and psychophysiological arousal. Behavior Modification,36, 525–544.