Assessing Environmental Consequences of Ticcing in Youth with Chronic Tic Disorders: The Tic Accommodation and...

Tics associated with Tourette syndrome and other chronic tic disorders (CTDs) often draw social reactions and disrupt ongoing behavior. In some cases, such tic-related consequences may function to alter moment-to-moment and future tic severity. These observations have been incorporated into contemporary biopsychosocial models of CTD phenomenology, but systematic research detailing the nature of the relationship between environmental consequences and ticcing remains scarce. This study describes the development of the Tic Accommodation and Reactions Scale (TARS), a measure of the number and frequency of immediate consequences for ticcing experienced by youth with CTDs. Thirty eight youth with CTDs and their parents completed the TARS as part of a broader assessment of CTD symptoms and psychosocial functioning. The TARS demonstrated good psychometric properties (i.e., internal consistency, parent-child agreement, convergent validity, discriminant validity). Differences between parent-reported and child-reported data indicated that children may provide more valid reports of tic-contingent consequences than parents. Although preliminary, results of this study suggest that the TARS is a psychometrically sound measure of tic-related consequences suited for future research in youth with CTDs.