{"title":"Debate: Where to next for universal school-based mental health interventions? Addressing the mental health crisis among young people in low- and middle-income countries","authors":"Bronwyne Coetzee, Maria Loades","doi":"10.1111/camh.12752","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12752","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In their paper, Birrell et al. (<i>Child and Adolescent Mental Health</i>, 2025) are rightly concerned about the future of universal school-based mental health interventions. They highlight the successes and failings of these interventions and demonstrate that there is still much to learn about their potential in preventing or mitigating the onset of common mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, trauma and substance use. But encouragingly, and thanks in part to the potential these interventions hold for addressing the mental health gap in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), the authors advise that we as researchers need to take a step back in order to take a better step forward. They suggest that instead of abandoning ship altogether, we should critically examine the shortcomings of these interventions in their current format and work more closely with young people themselves to design and deliver interventions, which have long-term benefits for their communities. In this paper, we want to emphasise the urgency with which these interventions, developed in this way, are needed in LMIC. We emphasise the need to co-develop, adapt, test and evaluate school-based interventions, and the potential they hold for reducing the burden of mental health care in resource-constrained settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"30 1","pages":"105-107"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11754709/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142792605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The moderation effect of mental health services use on the relationship between exposures to adverse childhood experiences and mental health outcomes among US adolescents","authors":"Lyoung Hee Kim, Seung Joo Lee, So Young Ahn","doi":"10.1111/camh.12745","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12745","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The prevailing exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among youth is associated with adolescents' mental health. However, few studies have examined whether receiving help from mental health services affects mental health outcomes among adolescents with ACEs. Therefore, this study examines the moderated effects of mental health services use on the relationship between exposures to ACEs and mental health outcomes among US adolescents.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The sample was restricted to adolescents aged 11–17 using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2019, 2021, and 2022. Multivariate logistic regressions and descriptive analyses were performed to estimate the moderation effect of mental health services use.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Using mental health services buffered the associations between ACEs and severe anxiety and depressive symptoms. Receiving counseling/therapy moderated the impact of ever living with an individual who had severe anxiety (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR: 0.58, <i>p</i> < .05) and depressive symptoms (AOR: 0.38, <i>p</i> < .01) among adolescents. Furthermore, counseling/therapy moderated the effect of ever living with an individual with a history of alcohol or drug abuse on severe depressive symptoms (AOR: 0.49, <i>p</i> < .05) and the effect of being a victim or witness of violence on severe anxiety symptoms (AOR: 0.45, <i>p</i> < .01). In addition, taking prescription medication moderated the effect of the experience of incarcerated family members on severe anxiety symptoms (AOR: 0.41, <i>p</i> < .05).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our findings suggest that policy and practice need to encourage access to mental health care for vulnerable adolescents with ACEs to reduce the detrimental effect of their experiences on their mental health problems.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"30 1","pages":"13-20"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142787426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Letter to the editor: ‘To seclude or not to seclude, is that the question?’ A commentary on Yurtbasi et al. (2024)","authors":"Chaim Huijser, Nick Goddard","doi":"10.1111/camh.12741","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12741","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"30 1","pages":"110-111"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142717342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Advancing equity, diversity and inclusion through culturally sensitive collaboration and training","authors":"Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo","doi":"10.1111/camh.12734","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12734","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Welcome to the November 2024 issue of <i>Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH)</i> Journal.</p><p><i>Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH)</i> is committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, and improving the mental health of children and young people living in challenging circumstances. The CAMH 2024 Special Issue ‘Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Child and Adolescent Mental Health’, included a variety of papers on this topic such as the intergenerational consequences of racism (Simela et al., <span>2024</span>), the effect of socioeconomic inequalities (Pearce et al., <span>2024</span>) and the impact of youth disadvantages and vulnerability on social inclusion (Renner, Rowland, Hutchinson, & Toumbourou, <span>2024</span>).</p><p>To further advance knowledge on this field, the current issue includes papers evaluating other vulnerable populations, such as children and adolescents exposed to substance misuse, or suffering from substance use disorders (Carrasco-Garrido et al., <span>2024</span>), and children and adolescents who are transgender or ‘gender diverse’ (Whittle, Moore, & Stallard, <span>2024</span>). In the first study, Carrasco-Garrido et al. (<span>2024</span>) found that the nonmedical use of prescription opioids, novel psychoactive substances and other illicit psychoactive drugs was a risk factor for nonmedical use of benzodiazepines and Z-hypnotics in male and female adolescents; while the use of cannabis predicted the nonmedical use of benzodiazepines and Z-hypnotics in female adolescents only. The second study (Whittle et al., <span>2024</span>) found that being transgender or ‘gender diverse’ was associated with higher rates of self-harm, poorer peer relationships, less prosocial behaviour and greater interference with friendships and leisure activities, and adverse impact in the classroom.</p><p>Mental health services need to be accessible, culturally competent and responsive to the diverse needs of all young people (McGorry et al., <span>2022</span>). While significant progress has been made in understanding the mental health challenges faced by some populations of vulnerable young people, there remains a pressing need for further research and open discussions about the barriers to accessing mental health services and care. These barriers can manifest as practical challenges, including financial constraints, travel difficulties or childcare responsibilities but can also be due to systemic and structural factors. Such challenges are especially significant for those living in poverty, those with vulnerable family circumstances, individuals impacted by racism and discrimination, and those children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions or learning disabilities. Research should focus on addressing these systemic barriers, with a view to developing solutions that make mental health services more accessible to all young people.</p><p>Clinical work and research should be integrated within ","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"331-332"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12734","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142511459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinical research updates","authors":"Marinos Kyriakopoulos, Polyvios Christofi, Katerina Tselika, Asimina Paleologou","doi":"10.1111/camh.12739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12739","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Polyvios Christofi</p><p>National and Kapodistrian University of Athens</p><p>Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are prevalent, lifelong neurodevelopmental disorders associated with significant behavioural, academic, emotional, and adaptive challenges. These conditions are more common in males, exhibit high heritability, and have a complex aetiology. Furthermore, they frequently co-occur with estimates of 30–50% of individuals with ASD having ADHD symptoms, and two-thirds of individuals with ADHD having ASD symptoms. This suggests shared developmental pathways and risk factors that have not been adequately explored as most research addresses these conditions separately.</p><p>Lebeña and colleagues (2024) aimed to identify pre- and perinatal risk factors and, for the first time, consider early environmental psychosocial exposures associated with ADHD, ASD, and their co-occurrence. Data were collected from the ABIS-study (All Babies in Southeast Sweden) cohort, which included 16,365 children born between 1997 and 1999, with a 22-year follow-up period. Diagnoses were obtained from the Swedish National Diagnosis Register. The study found cumulative incidences of 4.6% for ADHD, 1.7% for ASD and 1.1% for their co-occurrence. Being male was a significant predictor for all three outcomes with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1 for both ADHD and ASD, compared to 3:1 reported in previous studies. ADHD showed significant associations with a family history of autoimmune diseases, preterm birth, lower birth weight, younger parental age, low-parental education, single-parent households, low-household income, maternal smoking and tobacco exposure at one year of age. There were significant associations with serious life events during pregnancy, and shorter breastfeeding duration compared to both control and ASD groups. Statistically independent ADHD predictors were being male, lower household income, lower maternal education, younger mother, maternal smoking, serious life events during pregnancy, lower paternal education and short breastfeeding duration. ASD was associated with maternal disease, infections during pregnancy, vaginal delivery compared to caesarean section, maternal age over 36 years, low-maternal education and low-household income. Statistically independent ASD predictors were being male, lower household income, and lower maternal education together with paternal Swedish nationality. The co-occurrence group was associated with higher prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the family, preterm births, low-parental education, single parent, low-household income, lack of support during pregnancy, lack of security for mother and child, maternal smoking and serious life events at 1 year of age. Statistically independent predictors of the co-occurrence were being male, lower household income and family history of autoimmune disorders.</p><p>The study's strengths included its large, population-based sample and l","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"404-406"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12739","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142555365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Debate: Bridging the gap – role of nonspecialists in child and adolescent mental health care","authors":"Aisha Sanober Chachar, Ayesha I. Mian","doi":"10.1111/camh.12736","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12736","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The first point of contact for patients and families seeking professional help for health problems is often in nonspecialist community healthcare settings that vary widely across the countries in funding sources, resources and support from specialist services. They typically involve general practitioners, family physicians, general and community paediatricians, and nonphysician health workers such as nurses, social workers and public health professionals. This article discusses the role of nonspecialists in addressing the challenges of limited resources in <i>Child and Adolescent Mental Health</i> (<i>CAMH</i>) care services as healthcare systems struggle to meet the high demand. Stakeholders and decision-makers need to reconsider traditional healthcare models and service delivery. Integrating nonspecialist community care can be a potential solution but is beset with ethical, geopolitical, practical and economic challenges. The urgency and complexity of the issue are highlighted, emphasising the need for global discussion around CAMH care.</p>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"399-401"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142401746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-harm, suicidal ideation, depression and peer relationships in transgender and gender diverse adolescents accessing specialist mental health services","authors":"Kathryn Whittle, Emma Moore, Paul Stallard","doi":"10.1111/camh.12738","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12738","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>There are an estimated 25 million transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals worldwide, with 1.2%–2.7% of this population being under the age of 18. Community studies describe increased rates of mental health difficulties such as depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation and difficulties with peer relationships for TGD youth over cisgender peers. However, comparatively little is known about the mental health symptomatology of TGD youth attending specialist mental health services (CAMHS) in the UK.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Method</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This cross-sectional study explored data from 170 young people participating in the Beating Adolescent Self-Harm (BASH) trial. Baseline data about self-harm, depression, and impact on daily life was compared for those who identified as TGD (<i>n</i> = 18) with those who identified as cisgender (<i>n</i> = 152).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In the transgender group, 18 (100%) scored ≥27 on the MFQ suggesting severe depression and had total scores on the SDQ impact scale of ≥3, in the very high range. In comparison in the cisgender group, 140 (92.1%) scored ≥27 on the MFQ and 103 (67.8%) had total scores on the SDQ impact scale of ≥3. The TGD group reported higher rates of self-harm, poorer peer relationships, less prosocial behaviour and greater interference with friendships and leisure activities and impact in the classroom. Both groups reported similar symptoms of depression.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Whilst this exploratory study has limitations, these results suggest that TGD youth attending CAMHS may experience greater mental health problems than their cisgender peers.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"363-370"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12738","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142394702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Debate: How much should nonspecialists be involved in mental health care for children and young people when resources are limited? Working with police forces to improve mental health crisis care for young people","authors":"Amy McCulloch, Zarah Eve, Sarah Parry","doi":"10.1111/camh.12733","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12733","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The last few years have seen a mental health crisis for children and young people in the UK, with more young people presenting to services at crisis point. Young people have reported that there is a general lack of support before reaching the point of crisis and police forces in the UK have seen a rise in callouts related to youth mental health problems. We provide an overview of the evidence for joint responses from police and mental health services and highlight the importance of including people with lived experience in the development of crisis services. Most of the available data relates to interventions for adults, with very few studies including children and young people. We outline a new study in the UK aiming to evaluate a joint response for young people experiencing a mental health crisis. Whilst resources for children and young people's crisis services remain limited, joint response models with police forces can help to provide much needed intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"394-395"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12733","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142382155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Debate: How much should nonspecialists be involved in mental health care for children and young people when resources are limited?","authors":"Lina Gega","doi":"10.1111/camh.12737","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12737","url":null,"abstract":"<p>From the barber-surgeons of the Middle Ages to the digitally enabled clinical interventions of today, the role of nonspecialists in delivering accessible health care remains relevant and important. Their contribution in developing and supporting appropriate interventions and care pathways in the community can make a big difference for the overwhelming majority of children and young people with diagnosable mental health conditions who are not eligible for specialist treatment or do not seek help. Even if resources for specialist services were unlimited, there are independent benefits in involving nonspecialists in mental health care, albeit not without limitations and concerns. The natural shift over time in the boundaries of specialisms, the omnipresence and omnipotence of digital media in our lives and the vision of ‘no wrong door’ for service users, mean that it is not a question of <i>whether</i>, but of <i>how</i>, nonspecialists should be involved. We need to get past the point of considering them just as alternative providers of mental health interventions and services. Instead, they are best placed to protect children and young people's mental health through ubiquitous everyday actions, which counter the negative and maximise the positive elements in current practices, environments and interactions that influence families and communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"391-393"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12737","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142299468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Debate: How much should nonspecialists be involved in mental health care when resources are limited? A perspective from low- and middle-income countries","authors":"Cornelius Ani, Olayinka Omigbodun","doi":"10.1111/camh.12735","DOIUrl":"10.1111/camh.12735","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Millions of children and young people (CYP) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have no access to mental health care. This huge treatment gap is primarily due to limited availability of trained mental health professionals. We propose task-sharing as a scalable strategy to expand access to child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) interventions in LMICs. Task-sharing involves using the few mental health specialists in LMICs to train and supervise nonspecialists to provided CAMH interventions. There is strong evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness of task-shared mental health interventions for adults in LMICs and promising evidence for CYP. To succeed, task-shared programmes need to be embedded in a balanced system-wide care setting that includes stakeholder involvement. The existing mental health specialists may require additional training in leadership, supervision, mentoring, service design and evaluation in order to meet the additional expectations of managing task-sharing programmes. The nonspecialists to be trained would need assurances about workload, ongoing supervision, clinical back up for cases that exceed their expertise, certification for their training and career progression. CAMH task-sharing offers good promise for increasing CYP's access to mental health interventions in LMICs. However, planners need to be aware of the important practical, ethical and contextual considerations necessary for success and sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":49291,"journal":{"name":"Child and Adolescent Mental Health","volume":"29 4","pages":"396-398"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/camh.12735","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142299397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}