Prevalence and description of selective mutism in immigrant and native families: A controlled study

Objective: To assess the incidence of selective mutism (SM) in West Jerusalem's state preschools and evaluate social anxiety/phobia disposition (SAP), social competence (SC), markers of neurodevelopmental delay/disorder (NDD), mothers' psychological adjustment, and marital conflict in immigrant and native children with SM and their matched controls. Method: Mothers of 9 immigrant and 10 native children with SM and their matched controls completed questionnaires evaluating themselves, their marriages, and their children. Results: A response rate of 30% (19/64) was obtained. The general prevalence of SM was 0.76%, while the rate among immigrants was 2.2%. Except for mothers' adjustment, all immigrant/native group effects were significant. There were significant interactions between the SM/control and immigrant/native groups for SAP, NDD, and SC. Immigrant children with SM had higher SAP and SC scores and lower NDD scores than native children with SM. Conclusions: This study distinguished between homogenous (socially anxious) and comorbid children with SM. In this sample, the disorder appeared to be associated with a combination of a specific diathesis (SAP) with intrinsic (NDD) and/or environmental (family immigration) vulnerabilities. Marital discord appeared to be a general risk factor for SM.