Trichotillomania (TTM) is characterized as an impulse control disorder in which individuals fail to resist urges to pull out their own hair, and is associated with significant functional impairment and psychiatric comorbidity across the developmental spectrum. Onset in childhood or adolescence appears to be the norm, yet the research literature involving pediatric samples is particularly sparse. Efficacious treatments have been developed, in particular cognitive–behavioral interventions involving procedures collectively known as habit reversal training, yet relapse in adults appears to be common. Recent developments in pharmacotherapies for TTM and in combining cognitive–behavioral therapy approaches with medication hold promise, and efforts to examine their relative and combined efficacy are needed. Dissemination of information about TTM and its treatment is a critical next step in the field, since many affected individuals and families cannot find local treatment providers with sufficient knowledge to deliver interventions known to reduce hair pulling behavior.

Synopsis Youth affected by obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and by chronic tic disorders (CTDs) often experience significant distress, functional impairment, and psychiatric comorbidity which collectively compromise quality of life and achievement of developmental milestones. We review the extant literature on the phenomenology and treatment of these conditions in youth, and summarize the state of the treatment literature, focusing particularly on the application of psychosocial interventions that have yielded substantial symptom improvements. Comorbidity of OCD and CTDs is common, and we provide clinical recommendations for managing patients when both disorders are present. We conclude with a brief discussion of clinical controversies, particularly the central role ascribed to habituation as the mechanism by which these treatments' effects are realized.

Contrast information could be useful for verb learning, but few studies have examined children’s ability to use this type of information. Contrast may be useful when children are told explicitly that different verbs apply, or when they hear two different verbs in a single context. Three studies examine children’s attention to different types of contrast as they learn new verbs. Study 1 shows that 3 ½-year-olds can use both implicit contrast (“I’m meeking it. I’m koobing it.”) and explicit contrast (“I’m meeking it. I’m not meeking it.”) when learning a new verb, while a control group’s responses did not differ from chance. Study 2 shows that even though children at this age who hear explicit contrast statements differ from a control group, they do not reliably extend a newly learned verb to events with new objects. In Study 3, children in three age groups were given both comparison and contrast information, not in blocks of trials as in past studies, but in a procedure that interleaved both cues. Results show that while 2 ½-year-olds were unable to use these cues when asked to compare and contrast, by 3 ½, children are beginning to be able to process these cues and use them to influence their verb extensions, and by 4 ½ years, children are proficient at integrating multiple cues when learning and extending new verbs. Together these studies examine children’s use of contrast in verb learning, a potentially important source of information that has been rarely studied.

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