Child & Youth Care Forum

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic can have a serious impact on children and adolescents' mental health. We focused on studies exploring its traumatic effects on young people in the first 18 months after that the pandemic was declared, distinguishing them also according to the type of informants (self-report and other-report instruments). Objective: We applied a meta-analytic approach to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychological distress among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the moderating role of kind of disorder and/or symptom, type of instrument, and continent...

Background: Preschool is a crucial period for developing motor skills. Objective: This study evaluated factors associated with motor competence in preschoolers from a Brazilian urban area. Methods: A total of 211 preschoolers (51.2% girls and 48.8% boys) were evaluated. Body mass index was calculated; the Brazilian Economic Research Criterion, the Mini-Mental Scale (MMC) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale®, Revised (ECERS-R™) were applied; the Habitual Physical Activity time was recorded; the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) was performed...

Background: Parent-only psychological interventions can be effective treatments for child anxiety. Involving parents in treatment may be beneficial for children, ensuring that interventions are delivered effectively in a supportive environment. Few studies have investigated the feasibility and acceptability of parent-only interventions for child anxiety. Objective: In this study, we report on feasibility, acceptability and preliminary clinical outcomes of a brief cognitive behavioural group intervention for parents of children (4- to 10-years-olds) experiencing anxiety in the absence of a diagnosed anxiety disorder...

Background: Technology and its use within mental health services has advanced dramatically over recent years. Opportunities for mental health services to utilise technology to introduce novel, effective, and more efficient means of delivering assessment, and treatment are increasing. Objective: The current rapid-evidence paper reviews evidence regarding the introduction of novel technology to support young people's mental health and psychological well-being. Methods: A rapid evidence review was conducted...

Background: Italy was one of the first European countries to be affected by Covid-19. Due to the severity of the pandemic, the Italian government imposed a nationwide lockdown which had a great impact on the population, especially adolescents. Distance-learning, moving restrictions and pandemic-related concerns, resulted in a particularly stressful situation. Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to analyse substance consumption and its associated factors during the Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the Italian government...

Background: In recent years, the penetration rate of smartphones among Korean teenagers has increased, making it critical to clarify the influence of these devices on adolescents' lives. Objective: This study investigated the effects of smartphone dependence on peer relationships and life satisfaction among Korean adolescents. Methods: Using the middle school panel of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), longitudinal data of 2,250 participants (53...

Background: Teachers are important gatekeepers in suicide prevention for children and youth, yet little is known about factors that contribute to suicide prevention training effectiveness and the influence of student suicidality on teachers' role as gatekeepers. Objective: This study examined teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy in suicide prevention including an examination of suicide prevention training and exposure to student suicidality. Researchers examined incremental prediction of the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and outcome values following prevention training...

Background: Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, mental health care has largely transferred its services to online platforms, using videoconferencing (VC) or teletherapy. Within the field of family therapy, however, there is little evidence on the feasibility of using VC, especially when working with whole families at the edge of care. Objective: This study investigated the feasibility of remote Functional Family Therapy (FFT), using a mixed-method approach. Method: Study 1 consisted of semi-structured interviews with 23 FFT professionals (18 female) about their experience of providing remote FFT during the COVID-19 pandemic...

BACKGROUND: Research finds center-based child care typically benefits children of low socio-economic status (SES) but few studies have examined if it also reduces inequalities in developmental disadvantage. OBJECTIVE: I test if the length of time in center-based care between ages one and three years associates with child development scores at age three years, focusing on the impact for groups of children in the lower tercile of child development scores and in the lower SES tercile...

Background: Adolescence is associated with a rise in the incidence of mental health issues. Thus, the factors, processes, and contexts that protect and promote positive mental health in adolescence are of key interest to policymakers. Objective: Our aim was twofold: First, to explore the coping strategies and sources of support that adolescents identify as protective (or not) in the face of difficulty over a three-year period; second, to examine how and why this may vary in line with the levels of adversity that they report experiencing in life...

Background: Anxiety disorders are garnering increasing attention for their contribution to high-risk issues and functional impairment. Adolescents are typically admitted to partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) due to high-risk presentations. However, the frequency of anxiety disorders in PHPs is not well-established, in part because anxiety can be overlooked in acute settings due to limited lengths of stay and focus on stabilization. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the frequency and severity of anxiety disorders among a sample of adolescent PHP patients to assess the need for anxiety-specific assessment and interventions in higher acuity settings...

Background: Following disasters, children and adolescents can use coping strategies to feel better. A growing body of studies investigated the relation between them and maladjustment/adjustment, i.e., negative symptomatology/positive indicators of development. Yet, these constructs are studied separately. Objective: We conducted two meta-analyses to examine the mean correlation between disaster-related coping strategies and indicators of maladjustment/adjustment following natural disasters in children and adolescents, considering the role of some moderators...

Background: To support student mental health, school staff must have knowledge of evidence-based practices and the capacity to implement them. One approach used to address this challenge is a group-based telementoring model called Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO). In other applications (e.g., healthcare settings), ECHO has been shown to increase healthcare professionals' self-efficacy and knowledge of evidence-based practices leading to improved patient outcomes. Objectives: This study examined the potential for ECHO to be used as a method for increasing school staff engagement and knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices...

Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have implemented preventive measures towards reducing infections. These conditions can affect the mental health of children and adolescents; however, this has not yet been fully explored. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze changes in symptomatology and positive emotions in Argentine children and adolescents since the onset of isolation, based on parent/caregiver report. We analyzed differences based on gender, age, socioeconomic status (SS) and containment measure (and their interactions); their associations with symptomatology and positive affect of parents/caregivers; and the moderating effects of sociodemographic factors on these associations...

Background: Parent-child interactions are crucial for child development. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected mental health and increased parenting challenges impacting parent-child functioning. Objective: This study examined parent factors related to more and less enriching child activities during the pandemic through Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems framework. Methods: A convenience sample of parents ( N  = 708), primarily mothers ( n  = 610; 87...

Background: Community attachments are thought to promote adolescents' engagement in public health behaviors. To date, past research has exclusively examined the social benefits of community attachments among adolescents in the United States and less is known about these benefits among youth in low-income adolescent-dense countries such as Pakistan. Objective: The present study examined associations between Pakistani adolescents' community attachments and COVID-19 public health behaviors, including social distancing , disinfecting, hoarding, news monitoring...

Background: Several studies conducted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown its harmful effects on young people's mental health. In Québec and Canada, few studies have focussed on adolescents, and even fewer of these studies have examined this subject using a methodology that involved comparisons of data obtained before and during the pandemic, which is the purpose of this study. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety of secondary 1 and 2 students in Québec, using data obtained before and during the pandemic...

Background: Knowledge regarding barriers faced by Latina/o/x caregivers in accessing youth mental health services (MHS) have largely depended on resource intensive interview-based assessments. Objective: We evaluated a questionnaire for Latina/o/x caregivers of youths that presents a briefer and more feasible alternative. Method: We conducted a psychometric evaluation of the Barriers to Treatment Questionnaire - Latina/o/x Caregivers (BTQ-LC) with a sample of 598 Latina/o/x caregivers from across the United States...

BACKGROUND: Childcare programs serving preschool children are generally of poorer quality than publicly-funded preschools both in terms of their classroom processes and structural features. Research on childcare programs has typically collapsed them into a single group, yet these programs vary greatly in neighborhood disadvantage and organization as they are managed by for-profit chains, non-profit community organizations, faith-based organizations, or individual owners. Little is known about variations in childcare program quality and what factors are associated with quality...

Background: Youth in foster care may demonstrate high levels of aggression and thought problems. There is a growing trend to consider mental health symptoms of youth involved with the foster care system from a developmental trauma perspective. Objective: The aim of this study was to test if trauma, race, age, and gender predicted variability in thought problems and aggression for youth in foster care. Method: The sample ( n  = 303) included youth in out-of-home placements with a mean age of 14 years, a diverse racial demographic, and almost an equal percentage of males and females...