Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry最新文献

{"title":"\"Rise amid the global uncertainty and chaos\" socio-environmental threats risk towards quality of life, mental health and psychological well-being of young adults in Malaysia.","authors":"Siti Khadijah Zainal Badri, Khalif Farhan Abdul Mutallib","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1854310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/frcha.2026.1854310","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>This study examines the impact of socio-environmental threats on various aspects of young adults' well-being in Malaysia. It focuses on understanding the odds posed by different threats in relation to broader global challenges to this population's quality of life, mental health, and psychological well-being.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional quantitative design with a sample of 508 young adults was used in this study. Data were analysed using logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings reveal that key threats to well-being, namely economic instability, career uncertainty, and family pressures, significantly impact the quality of life, mental health, and psychological well-being of young adults in Malaysia. Additionally, the threat of war is perceived to increase the odds of poor personal development. Global and environmental threats, along with societal expectations, were associated with greater odds of positive behaviour. Interestingly, concerns about unemployment were associated with stronger social bonding, suggesting varied responses to different threats.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study highlights the socio-environmental factors influencing young adults' well-being in Malaysia through an explorative lens. Future research could delve deeper into the specific sentiments of young adults and explore these threats and uncertainties from more focused perspectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1854310"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13469011/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148765507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strong feelings, small bites: investigating emotional undereating in children's picky eating and food neophobia within the family context.","authors":"Juliette Taquet, Lien Goossens, Ellen Moens, Sandra Verbeken","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1730322","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1730322","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Food neophobia and picky eating in young children are important barriers to developing healthy eating patterns. Given the crucial role that families, especially parents, play in shaping children's eating behavior, we aimed to examine emotional undereating underlying children's food neophobia and picky eating within the family context.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Parents (<i>N</i> = 170) of children aged 3-8 years (<i>M</i> = 5.45, <i>SD</i> = 1.69; 51.8% boys) reported on their child's food neophobia, picky eating, and emotional undereating. Parents also reported on their own food refusal behavior (modeling), pressure to eat (feeding practices), and emotional acceptance of the child (parenting style).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mediation analyses showed that emotional undereating mediated the association between parental acceptance of the child and both food neophobia and picky eating. In contrast, parents' own food refusal behaviors and pressure to eat were directly associated with children's food refusal behavior. These associations were not mediated by emotional undereating.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The findings underscore the role of the parent-child relationship quality and emotion regulation in explaining children's food refusal behavior. Longitudinal research is needed to replicate and extend these results and further examine how family context variables and emotion regulation strategies contribute to the development and maintenance of children's food avoidance.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1730322"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13461584/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148725123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Borderline personality traits in early adolescence: the role of attachment and reflective functioning.","authors":"Iouliani Koullourou, Christos Mantas, Thomas Hyphantis, Evangelia Karagiannopoulou, Carla Sharp, Giovanni Abrahão Salum, Konstantinos Kotsis","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1898910","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1898910","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objective: </strong>Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental health condition typically identified in adolescence. Insecure attachment has been linked to BPD, with adult studies suggesting that reflective functioning might represent a mechanism linking attachment patterns to BPD. However, this interplay remains insufficiently explored in early adolescence-a developmental phase associated with reorganization of attachment and social cognitive function. The aim of this study is to explore the association between attachment styles and borderline personality traits (BPTs) in early adolescence and to test whether reflective functioning explains the association between attachment and borderline traits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 112 adolescents aged 11-14 years attending a community outpatient child and adolescent mental health service completed the Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQC), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) and the Greek modified Borderline Personality Features Scale - Children (BPFS-C). Mediation analysis was conducted using secure attachment as the reference category.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Insecure attachment styles were significantly associated with higher odds of elevated BPTs. Reflective functioning significantly explained a significant amount of variance in the association between ambivalent attachment and high BPTs [OR = 2.92, 95% BCa CI (1.14, 10.17)], whereas avoidant attachment demonstrated a smaller but marginally statistically significant indirect effect through reflective functioning [OR = 1.77, 95% BCa CI (1.00, 3.95)] alongside a strong direct effect [OR = 4.34, 95% BCa CI (1.36, 12.53)].</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Avoidant and ambivalent attachment appear to be strongly linked to BPTs in early adolescence through partially distinct pathways, highlighting the need for early targeted interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1898910"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13447502/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148690333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toward the automation of family semantic grids: a pilot exploration of text mining for evidence-informed systemic-relational psychotherapy.","authors":"Eleonora Florio, Simone Rota Biasetti, Ilenia Piazzalunga","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1800848","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1800848","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Retracing the theme of what can legitimately be considered \"evidence\" in psychotherapy, the present work shows the application of an <i>ad hoc</i>, rule-based text mining program specifically designed to analyze therapy session transcripts. Developed within a systemic-relational framework, and grounded in Semantic Polarities Theory, the program works through a hybrid human-in-the-loop approach and provides data for subsequent descriptive and inferential analyses on meaning transformation starting from consultation sessions.</p><p><strong>Participants: </strong>The present study examines the clinical case of an adolescent girl with untreated past non-suicidal self-injury (<i>N</i>SSI) and suicidal ideation. Before moving to the joint family work phase, family therapy consultation was conducted in separate sessions within an alternating parent-adolescent format.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Overall semantic activity was compared across events with Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. In categorical comparisons<b>,</b> data were analyzed using chi-square tests, with df-scaled Cramer's <i>V</i> to measure effect sizes and Monte Carlo <i>p</i>-values. Initial subjects' positioning profile across Family Semantic Grids (FSGs) was described using semantic heatmaps and main polarities use. Linear Mixed-Effects (LME) models were implemented to track longitudinal changes in the subjects' positioning, specifically investigating the therapist's influence.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results indicated that the therapist introduced a significantly lower proportion of new meanings across all comparisons during the consultation phase. LME models showed significant intensity shifts toward positive-valued meanings, supported by <i>ICC</i>, <math><msubsup><mi>R</mi> <mi>m</mi> <mn>2</mn></msubsup> </math> and <math><msubsup><mi>R</mi> <mi>c</mi> <mn>2</mn></msubsup> </math> values, and inform on the significant specific use of Narrated Semantic Polarities (NSP) and Interactive Semantic Polarities (ISP) across participants.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Overall, the study supports the feasibility of a semi-automated process for coding and for subsequent analyses of family semantic polarities. In fact, performed analyses demonstrate how therapist positioning and meaning management through re-expression and semantic shifts significantly influenced family members' change in positioning, an effect especially evident for the identified patient. In conclusion, rule-based text mining can yield process indicators that remain clinically legible. Read as \"semantography,\" results provide a compact, data-grounded map of coupling and early change while staying parsimonious on case disclosure. Limits and future directions of the present pilot study are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1800848"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13443033/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maternal psychopathic traits prospectively predict youth callous-unemotional traits.","authors":"Nicholas D Thomson, Jessica J James","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1894994","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1894994","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Callous-unemotional (CU) traits identify a subgroup of youth with conduct disorder (CD) at heightened risk for persistent antisocial behavior and poor long-term outcomes. Although parental psychopathic traits have been associated with offspring CU traits, less is known about whether specific psychopathic facets uniquely predict adolescent CU trajectories beyond baseline CU traits, particularly among youth diagnosed with CD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The present study examined whether maternal psychopathic traits were prospectively associated with higher youth CU traits over a 12-month period in a sample of adolescents diagnosed with CD. The sample included 99 youth-caregiver dyads (<i>N</i> = 198 individuals). Youth were between 13 and 17 years of age (<i>M</i> = 15.52, <i>SD</i> = 1.31). Maternal psychopathic traits were assessed using the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Short Form (SRP-SF), including total psychopathy and interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial facets. Youth CU traits were assessed using the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) at baseline and at 12-month follow-up. Analyses controlled for baseline CU traits, youth age, sex, race, and maternal age.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Baseline CU traits were associated with higher CU traits at 12-month follow-up (<i>r</i> = .39). Maternal affective psychopathic traits were prospectively associated with higher adolescent CU traits, whereas interpersonal, lifestyle, and antisocial psychopathic traits were not significant predictors. Associations between maternal affective psychopathic traits and adolescent CU traits were stronger among girls than boys.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Maternal affective psychopathic traits were prospectively associated with adolescent CU traits beyond baseline CU traits. These findings suggest that caregiver personality characteristics, particularly affective psychopathic traits, represent important familial risk markers associated with adolescent CU trajectories and highlight the value of examining caregiver personality characteristics in future developmental research.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1894994"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13437706/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148681364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pragmatic language disorders as predictors of psychopathological trajectories in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review.","authors":"Sergio Melogno, Paolo Stievano, Andrea Paglialunga","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1860959","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1860959","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pragmatic language competence, defined as the ability to use language appropriately in social contexts, is fundamental to adaptive development. Although pragmatic deficits are recognized across multiple neurodevelopmental conditions, their predictive validity for later psychopathology remains underexplored. This systematic review examines whether early pragmatic language impairments predict subsequent psychopathological outcomes in children and adolescents, thereby providing indirect, dimensional evidence relevant to the ongoing nosological debate surrounding Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder (SPCD), although no included study diagnosed SPCD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was conducted for longitudinal studies published between 1980 and 2025 that assessed pragmatic language skills in children aged 4 to 14 years and measured psychopathological outcomes after a minimum six-month follow-up. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), and the review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with eight rated as high quality, seven as moderate quality, and one as low quality. Findings suggest that pragmatic deficits may predict internalizing symptoms (anxiety, depression, suicidality), externalizing problems (hyperactivity, conduct difficulties), and persistent peer relationship difficulties. These associations appeared robust after controlling for structural language abilities and general cognitive functioning. Evidence for psychotic outcomes was less consistent.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Given the heterogeneity and methodological limitations of the evidence base, these findings should be regarded as convergent and suggestive rather than definitive. The results indicate that early pragmatic language impairments may serve as a transdiagnostic marker of vulnerability for diverse psychopathological trajectories, supporting dimensional models of psychopathology such as the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), an interpretation that the present evidence supports indirectly rather than confirms. Routine screening for pragmatic difficulties in early childhood may identify at-risk individuals and inform preventive interventions in child and adolescent mental health services. Future research should address cross-cultural generalizability, employ multimodal assessment approaches, and test bidirectional relationships between pragmatic development and psychopathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1860959"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13438378/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148681343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is fatigue associated with adolescents' mental health? A pre- vs. post-COVID-19 cross-sectional survey comparison.","authors":"Anne Abio, Andre Sourander, Omid Dadras, Susanna Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki, Sonja Gilbert, Olli Ruuskanen","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1745757","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1745757","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Fatigue is a common complaint reported by adolescents and adults; and one of the persistent symptoms of long COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of self-reported fatigue and associated factors among adolescents in Finland at two distinct time points, pre- (2018) and post-COVID (2023).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adolescents in two cities, Rovaniemi and Salo, Finland, in 2018 and 2023. All schools with students in the 7-9th grades in Rovaniemi (10) and Salo (4) cities were invited to participate in the survey, except special needs schools and classes. The Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) questionnaire was used to determine the severity of fatigue among adolescents. A total of 5,583 adolescents aged 13-17 years (<i>n</i> = 2,774, in 2018) and (<i>n</i> = 2,809, in 2023) were included in the analyses. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between fatigue, survey year and explanatory variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The prevalence of fatigue increased among females from 16.2% in 2018 to 24.3% in 2023 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), but not among males at 6.7% vs. 5.6% (<i>p</i> = 0.239) respectively. The mean fatigue score change among females was 29.1 vs. 32.2 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and males 24.6 vs. 25.2 (<i>p</i> = 0.081) in 2018 vs. 2023 respectively. The fatigue score was higher among females by 0.7 points in 2023 (<i>β</i> = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.07, 1.28), but not among males (<i>β</i> = 0.03; 95% CI: -0.56, 0.62). Internalizing problems were associated with fatigue among females (<i>β</i> = 5.00; 95% CI: 4.68, 5.32); and males (<i>β</i> = 3.74; 95% CI: 3.37, 4.11). Externalizing problems were associated with fatigue (<i>β</i> = 2.87; 95% CI: 2.53, 3.20) among females and (<i>β</i> = 2.19; 95% CI: 1.85, 2.53) males. Other factors associated with fatigue included living with one biological parent and being overweight among across both sexes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The notable increase in fatigue, among girls, post-COVID highlights the need for sustained attention to adolescent mental health and physical health, especially in relation to internalizing and externalizing problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1745757"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13438164/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148681331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial: Severe mental illnesses in children: unravelling developmental trajectories, neuropsychiatric impairments, and chronic pain.","authors":"Elena S Monarch, Piero Pavone","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1889961","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1889961","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1889961"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13433605/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148674676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing joint engagement in autism: considering toddler developmental abilities and caregiver stress.","authors":"Sydney Seese, Angelina Matar, Lily Mendes, Amanda Gulsrud, Connie Kasari","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1858019","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1858019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Play interactions between caregivers and their toddlers provide a critical context for the emergence of joint engagement, a state that supports early learning andsocial communication. Differences in toddler's developmental characteristics and caregiver experiences may influence how joint engagement is established during these interactions. This study examined whether toddler characteristics, including age, cognitive abilities, language abilities (expressive and receptive), and caregiver stress attenuated or amplified the association between caregiver strategy use and joint engagement in toddlers with autism.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants include 80 toddlers with autism (<i>M</i> age = 26.26 months) and their caregivers. Toddler cognitive and language abilities were assessed at baseline (prior to any intervention) using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, and caregiver stress was measured using the Parenting Stress Index. Caregiver strategies and child engagement were observationally coded during a 10-min caregiver-child free-play interaction.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results indicated that age, cognitive abilities, expressive and receptive language significantly moderated the association between caregiver strategy use and joint engagement. The positive association between higher quality caregiver strategies and joint engagement was stronger for toddlers who were older and had more advanced cognitive and language abilities. In contrast, caregiver stress attenuated this relationship, such that higher quality caregiver strategies were less predictive of joint engagement at higher levels of stress.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings suggest that the impact of caregiver strategies on engagement is shaped by both toddler developmental capacities and caregiver well-being, highlighting the importance of tailoring caregiver-mediated interventions to account for individual differences in the toddler - caregiver dyad to optimize joint engagement outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1858019"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13429639/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148671483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High prevalence and multilevel correlates of suicidal ideation Among Bahamian adolescents: findings from a national study.","authors":"Deogwoon Kim, Jessica Moszkowicz, Nikkiah Forbes, Marcellus Taylor, Chloee Deveaux, Karen MacDonell, Lynette Deveaux, Bo Wang","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1848813","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2026.1848813","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Suicide is among the leading causes of death among adolescents in the Caribbean, yet suicidal ideation among Bahamian adolescents remains understudied. Few studies have assessed the association between online risk behaviors, environmental factors, and suicidal ideation. This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal ideation among Bahamian adolescents and examined its multilevel correlates, including offline and online risk behaviors and environmental factors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Grade 9 students attending public schools participating in a nationwide implementation trial in The Bahamas completed a survey during 2023-2024. A total of 2,357 students participated. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed-effects models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately 46% of students reported lifetime suicidal ideation, and among those, 33% reported self-harm thoughts nearly every day in the past two weeks. Female gender, engagement in cyberbullying, sexting and certain offline risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms were associated with increased suicidal ideation, whereas parental monitoring was protective. Neighborhood risk was not associated with suicidal ideation.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings underscore the urgent need for multilevel suicide prevention strategies that address online and offline risk behaviors and strengthen targeted mental health support for adolescents in The Bahamas.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"5 ","pages":"1848813"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13422466/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148632937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}