This assignment requires comparing treatment plans for adults and children/adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia and analyzing the legal and ethical issues surrounding forcibly medicating children with schizophrenia. Students must compare at least two evidence-based treatment plans for adults and children/adolescents with schizophrenia. They must also explain the legal and ethical issues of forcibly medicating children with schizophrenia and how a PMHNP could address these issues. The assignment should be two pages and include a title page, introduction, summary, and references using at least three of the sources provided.

1. Assignment: Early Onset Schizophrenia
Children and adolescents with schizophrenia have more
difficulty functioning in academic or work settings, and
significant impairment usually persists into adulthood. They
may have speech or language disorders and in some cases
borderline intellectual functioning. These individuals are more
likely to complete suicide attempts or die from other accidental
causes. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive and negative
symptoms. Positive symptoms include hallucinations, delusions,
and behavior disturbance. Negative symptoms include blunted
affect and attention, apathy, and lack of motivation and social
interest.
In this Assignment, you compare treatment plans for adults
diagnosed with schizophrenia with treatment plans for children
and adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia
. You also consider the legal and ethical issues involved in
medicating children diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Compare evidence-based treatment plans for adults versus
children and adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia
Analyze legal and ethical issues surrounding the forceful
administration of medication to children diagnosed with
schizophrenia
Analyze the role of the PMHNP in addressing issues related

2. to the forceful administration of medication to children
diagnosed with schizophrenia
To Prepare for this Assignment:
Review the Learning Resources concerning early-onset
schizophrenia.
The Assignment (2 pages):
Compare at least two evidence-based treatment plans for
adults diagnosed with schizophrenia with evidence-based
treatment plans for children and adolescents diagnosed with
schizophrenia.
Explain the legal and ethical issues involved with forcing
children diagnosed with schizophrenia to take medication for
the disorder and how a PMHNP may address those issues.
Note:
The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted
include a title page, introduction, summary, and references.
Required Readings ( Need 3 references).
American Nurses Association. (2014).
Psychiatric-mental health nursing: Scope and standards of
practice (2nd ed.)
. Washington, DC: Author.
· Standard 10 “Quality of Practice” (pages 73-74)

3. American Psychiatric Association. (2013).
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
(5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
· “Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders”
Giles, L. L., & Martini, D. R. (2016). Challenges and promises
of pediatric psychopharmacology.
Academic Pediatrics, 16
(6), 508-518. doi:10.1016/j.acap.2016.03.011
Hargrave, T. M., & Arthur, M. E. (2015). Teaching child
psychiatric assessment skills: Using pediatric mental health
screening tools.
International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 50
(1), 60-72.
McClellan, J., & Stock, S. (2013). Practice parameter for the
assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with
schizophrenia.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry
,
52
(9), 976–990. Retrieved from
http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(13)00112-3/pdf
Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2014).
Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral
sciences/clinical psychiatry
(11th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.
· Chapter 31, “Child Psychiatry” (pp. 1268–1283)
Stahl, S. M. (2014).

4. Prescriber’s Guide: Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology
(5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.