Pub Date : 2025-10-13eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1682129
Alice Newton, Aidan Flinn, James Downs, Laura Richmond
Self-identification of neurodivergence is increasingly common, yet remains contentious in psychiatric, medical, and public discourse. While concerns have been raised about the reliability and potential impact on clinical services, these discussions often neglect the systemic barriers and personal experiences that can lead to self-identification in the first place. This article explores why individuals might self-identify, highlighting inequities in diagnostic access and clinician biases, as well as individual experiences and beliefs around clinical diagnosis. We argue that while self-identification can be a personal preference, it is often a survival strategy in the face of inaccessible, exclusionary, and sometimes harmful diagnostic systems. Drawing on theories of epistemic justice, we critique medical gatekeeping that delegitimises self-identification and propose a shift towards neurodiversity-affirming care. Rather than policing self-identification, we suggest that efforts should be made to address structural failures that render it necessary. Until access to clinical diagnosis become equitable, self-identification will remain an essential and legitimate means of understanding neurodivergence.
{"title":"Rethinking self-identification in neurodivergent communities: barriers, harms, and the need for change.","authors":"Alice Newton, Aidan Flinn, James Downs, Laura Richmond","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1682129","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1682129","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Self-identification of neurodivergence is increasingly common, yet remains contentious in psychiatric, medical, and public discourse. While concerns have been raised about the reliability and potential impact on clinical services, these discussions often neglect the systemic barriers and personal experiences that can lead to self-identification in the first place. This article explores why individuals might self-identify, highlighting inequities in diagnostic access and clinician biases, as well as individual experiences and beliefs around clinical diagnosis. We argue that while self-identification can be a personal preference, it is often a survival strategy in the face of inaccessible, exclusionary, and sometimes harmful diagnostic systems. Drawing on theories of epistemic justice, we critique medical gatekeeping that delegitimises self-identification and propose a shift towards neurodiversity-affirming care. Rather than policing self-identification, we suggest that efforts should be made to address structural failures that render it necessary. Until access to clinical diagnosis become equitable, self-identification will remain an essential and legitimate means of understanding neurodivergence.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1682129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12554567/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145395814","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}
Pub Date : 2025-10-07eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1587146
Christopher J Greenwood, Primrose Letcher, Delyse M Hutchinson, Jacqui A Macdonald, Jasmin Grigg, Joseph M Boden, John W Toumbourou, Craig A Olsson
Aims: To examine pre-pandemic predictors of parent substance use during COVID-19 in Australia, where some of the longest periods of public health restrictions in the world occurred.
Methods: We used data from the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 Study on 560 parents (59% female) who completed COVID-19 specific surveys (2020/2021), including assessment of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substance use. Comprehensive pre-pandemic assessments were conducted during the postpartum period when offspring turned 1-year of age (2012-2018), including 33 indicators spanning parent and child factors (individual, relational, and contextual).
Results: During the pandemic, 39% of parents reported drinking alcohol 3-to-4 days per week or more, 12% used tobacco, and 6% used illicit substances. In Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression models, a variety of pre-pandemic predictors [k] were identified across alcohol (AUC = 0.72, k = 2; OR = 0.92-2.03), tobacco (AUC = 0.96, k = 10; OR = 0.61-4.21), and illicit substance use (AUC = 0.78, k = 2; OR = 1.44-1.60). The strongest predictors were pre-pandemic use of the same substance (OR = 1.60-4.21). While few other predictors were identified for alcohol and illicit substance use, several family characteristics predicted tobacco use.
Conclusions: Results indicated that parents engaging in alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use in our cohort reported strong continuity of use from before, to during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This highlights the importance of public health initiatives that provide accessible substance use support and treatment options to parents during periods of public health emergencies. Further, enriched population interventions targeted across socioeconomic and family contexts may be important in identifying risk, particularly for tobacco use.
目的:研究澳大利亚COVID-19期间父母物质使用的大流行前预测因素,澳大利亚是世界上公共卫生限制时间最长的国家之一。方法:我们使用了澳大利亚气质项目第三代研究的数据,对560名父母(59%为女性)完成了2019冠状病毒病专项调查(2020/2021),包括对酒精、烟草和非法药物使用的评估。在子女满1岁的产后期间(2012-2018年)进行了全面的大流行前评估,包括33个指标,涵盖父母和儿童因素(个人、关系和环境)。结果:在大流行期间,39%的父母报告每周饮酒3至4天或更长时间,12%使用烟草,6%使用非法药物。在最小绝对收缩和选择算子(LASSO)逻辑回归模型中,确定了多种流行病前预测因子[k],包括酒精(AUC = 0.72, k = 2; OR = 0.92-2.03)、烟草(AUC = 0.96, k = 10; OR = 0.61-4.21)和非法药物使用(AUC = 0.78, k = 2; OR = 1.44-1.60)。最强的预测因子是大流行前使用同一物质(OR = 1.60-4.21)。虽然没有确定酒精和非法药物使用的其他预测因素,但一些家庭特征可以预测烟草使用。结论:结果表明,在我们的队列中,从事酒精、烟草和非法药物使用的父母报告说,从澳大利亚COVID-19大流行之前到期间,他们的使用具有很强的连续性。这突出了在突发公共卫生事件期间向父母提供可获得的药物使用支持和治疗选择的公共卫生举措的重要性。此外,针对社会经济和家庭背景的丰富人口干预措施可能对确定风险,特别是烟草使用风险很重要。
{"title":"Pre-pandemic predictors of parental substance use during COVID-19.","authors":"Christopher J Greenwood, Primrose Letcher, Delyse M Hutchinson, Jacqui A Macdonald, Jasmin Grigg, Joseph M Boden, John W Toumbourou, Craig A Olsson","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1587146","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1587146","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>To examine pre-pandemic predictors of parent substance use during COVID-19 in Australia, where some of the longest periods of public health restrictions in the world occurred.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used data from the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 Study on 560 parents (59% female) who completed COVID-19 specific surveys (2020/2021), including assessment of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substance use. Comprehensive pre-pandemic assessments were conducted during the postpartum period when offspring turned 1-year of age (2012-2018), including 33 indicators spanning parent and child factors (individual, relational, and contextual).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the pandemic, 39% of parents reported drinking alcohol 3-to-4 days per week or more, 12% used tobacco, and 6% used illicit substances. In Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) logistic regression models, a variety of pre-pandemic predictors [k] were identified across alcohol (AUC = 0.72, k = 2; OR = 0.92-2.03), tobacco (AUC = 0.96, k = 10; OR = 0.61-4.21), and illicit substance use (AUC = 0.78, k = 2; OR = 1.44-1.60). The strongest predictors were pre-pandemic use of the same substance (OR = 1.60-4.21). While few other predictors were identified for alcohol and illicit substance use, several family characteristics predicted tobacco use.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Results indicated that parents engaging in alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use in our cohort reported strong continuity of use from before, to during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This highlights the importance of public health initiatives that provide accessible substance use support and treatment options to parents during periods of public health emergencies. Further, enriched population interventions targeted across socioeconomic and family contexts may be important in identifying risk, particularly for tobacco use.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1587146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12537729/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145350180","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-29eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1567649
Mar Alvarez-Segura, Ines Fernández, Yousra El Kasmy, Esther Francisco, Sonsoles Gallo Martínez, Eva Maria Ortiz Jiménez, Anna Butjosa
Parallels may exist between consequences of underage pornography use and the post-traumatic symptoms of child sexual abuse. Could pornography alter child and adolescent development and become a trauma in itself? Child victims of these images could face a conflict similar to witnesses of domestic violence, but instead of impacting mainly on the bonding system, it would affect the sexual system. Victims faced with the erotisation of violence are subjected to contradictory, incomprehensible, and sometimes inexplicable forces, which can lead to a traumatised sexuality with negative consequences in interpersonal relationships. The inability to explain something, or to make sense of it, activates the three classic pathways of trauma. One response to trauma is flight, which can lead to distancing from oneself and from others. This isolation, moreover, reinforces the consumption of pornography. Another response is the struggle to overcome the impact through self-control and aggression. Sexual coercion may appear as an attempt to modulate one's own contradictory emotions, as a form of self-protection and avoidance of the dreaded humiliation. Finally, there may be a dissociation response in the re-victimisation that appears in affected children. Unable to find a way to integrate the scenes, these minors may end up learning to adopt a posture of absolute surrender. The reconceptualisation of pornography in underage consumers as something potentially traumatic would help to better our understanding of its effects and the differing susceptibility of the victims, so that we may develop real and effective legislation and more appropriate therapeutic interventions.
{"title":"Impact of pornography consumption on children and adolescents: a trauma-informed approach.","authors":"Mar Alvarez-Segura, Ines Fernández, Yousra El Kasmy, Esther Francisco, Sonsoles Gallo Martínez, Eva Maria Ortiz Jiménez, Anna Butjosa","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1567649","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1567649","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parallels may exist between consequences of underage pornography use and the post-traumatic symptoms of child sexual abuse. Could pornography alter child and adolescent development and become a trauma in itself? Child victims of these images could face a conflict similar to witnesses of domestic violence, but instead of impacting mainly on the bonding system, it would affect the sexual system. Victims faced with the erotisation of violence are subjected to contradictory, incomprehensible, and sometimes inexplicable forces, which can lead to a traumatised sexuality with negative consequences in interpersonal relationships. The inability to explain something, or to make sense of it, activates the three classic pathways of trauma. One response to trauma is flight, which can lead to distancing from oneself and from others. This isolation, moreover, reinforces the consumption of pornography. Another response is the struggle to overcome the impact through self-control and aggression. Sexual coercion may appear as an attempt to modulate one's own contradictory emotions, as a form of self-protection and avoidance of the dreaded humiliation. Finally, there may be a dissociation response in the re-victimisation that appears in affected children. Unable to find a way to integrate the scenes, these minors may end up learning to adopt a posture of absolute surrender. The reconceptualisation of pornography in underage consumers as something potentially traumatic would help to better our understanding of its effects and the differing susceptibility of the victims, so that we may develop real and effective legislation and more appropriate therapeutic interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1567649"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12515835/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145294635","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-16eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1697025
Bethany Oakley, Roberto Canitano, Miguel López-Zamora, Noemi Mazzoni
{"title":"Editorial: Advancing interventions and therapeutic outcomes for autistic youth: a multidisciplinary perspective.","authors":"Bethany Oakley, Roberto Canitano, Miguel López-Zamora, Noemi Mazzoni","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1697025","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1697025","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1697025"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12479248/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145208501","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-15eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1653288
Valerie M Volkert, Collen T Lukens, Alan H Silverman, Laura Johnson, William G Sharp
Expert consensus previously established a framework for characterizing patients with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) through a multidisciplinary case report form (CRF) methodology. Field testing of the PFD CRF and creation of a shared patient database represented next steps in the development of this clinical tool. The current study assessed the acceptability and feasibility of the PFD CRF through data collection across three feeding programs involved in the initial development of the CRF. A total of 80 patients completed multidisciplinary team evaluations and contributed data to the current evaluation of clinical implementation. Data analysis and feedback from end users (i.e., multidisciplinary care teams) subsequently guided CRF revisions. Results suggests the PFD CRF represents a feasible and practical method of common data collection across institutions, while also providing important insights into future research and dissemination efforts.
{"title":"An updated framework for characterizing patients with pediatric feeding disorder.","authors":"Valerie M Volkert, Collen T Lukens, Alan H Silverman, Laura Johnson, William G Sharp","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1653288","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1653288","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Expert consensus previously established a framework for characterizing patients with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) through a multidisciplinary case report form (CRF) methodology. Field testing of the PFD CRF and creation of a shared patient database represented next steps in the development of this clinical tool. The current study assessed the acceptability and feasibility of the PFD CRF through data collection across three feeding programs involved in the initial development of the CRF. A total of 80 patients completed multidisciplinary team evaluations and contributed data to the current evaluation of clinical implementation. Data analysis and feedback from end users (i.e., multidisciplinary care teams) subsequently guided CRF revisions. Results suggests the PFD CRF represents a feasible and practical method of common data collection across institutions, while also providing important insights into future research and dissemination efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1653288"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12477044/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145202015","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-15eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1568829
Eric R Larson, Alexandra B Moussa-Tooks, Krista M Wisner
Threat exposure and resource scarcity increase psychopathology risk throughout childhood and adolescence. However, it remains unclear whether these dimensions of early life adversity interact to impact psychopathology, whether different indicators of resource scarcity perform similarly in such interactions, and whether these relationships are similar between males and females. This analysis used a cross-sectional, multi-informant approach to investigate interactions between threat exposure and different indicators of resource scarcity (achievement-based, financial-based) for three major dimensions of psychopathology. Data are from 236 community-based non-help seeking youth aged 8-17 (M = 11.58, SD = 2.74) enrolled in the census-matched Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample. Linear models were used to estimate interactions between threat exposure, and achievement-based scarcity (caregiver education and occupation) vs. financial-based scarcity (income-to-needs ratio), for major dimensions of psychopathology (internalizing, externalizing, thought disturbance). Linear models showed increasing threat exposure was associated with elevated internalizing and externalizing psychopathology symptoms, but not thought disturbance symptoms, when controlling for resource scarcity indicators. Achievement-based scarcity, but not financial-based scarcity, moderated these relationships, such that the impact of threat exposure on psychopathology depended on the level of caregiver achievement moreso than on the amount of familial financial resources. These patterns were similar in males (N = 132) and females (N = 104) when examined separately. Caregiver achievement may protect against symptoms of psychopathology in youth exposed to threat, suggesting that policies geared towards increasing education accessibility and job opportunities may have considerable downstream impact for child and adolescent well-being. Future work should explore interactions between adversity dimensions in population-based samples with greater variability in systems-level factors (e.g., neighborhood advantage).
{"title":"Indicators of resource scarcity differentially moderate the impact of threat exposure on psychopathology in a cross-sectional community sample of youth.","authors":"Eric R Larson, Alexandra B Moussa-Tooks, Krista M Wisner","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1568829","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1568829","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Threat exposure and resource scarcity increase psychopathology risk throughout childhood and adolescence. However, it remains unclear whether these dimensions of early life adversity interact to impact psychopathology, whether different indicators of resource scarcity perform similarly in such interactions, and whether these relationships are similar between males and females. This analysis used a cross-sectional, multi-informant approach to investigate interactions between threat exposure and different indicators of resource scarcity (achievement-based, financial-based) for three major dimensions of psychopathology. Data are from 236 community-based non-help seeking youth aged 8-17 (M = 11.58, SD = 2.74) enrolled in the census-matched Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample. Linear models were used to estimate interactions between threat exposure, and achievement-based scarcity (caregiver education and occupation) vs. financial-based scarcity (income-to-needs ratio), for major dimensions of psychopathology (internalizing, externalizing, thought disturbance). Linear models showed increasing threat exposure was associated with elevated internalizing and externalizing psychopathology symptoms, but not thought disturbance symptoms, when controlling for resource scarcity indicators. Achievement-based scarcity, but not financial-based scarcity, moderated these relationships, such that the impact of threat exposure on psychopathology depended on the level of caregiver achievement moreso than on the amount of familial financial resources. These patterns were similar in males (<i>N</i> = 132) and females (<i>N</i> = 104) when examined separately. Caregiver achievement may protect against symptoms of psychopathology in youth exposed to threat, suggesting that policies geared towards increasing education accessibility and job opportunities may have considerable downstream impact for child and adolescent well-being. Future work should explore interactions between adversity dimensions in population-based samples with greater variability in systems-level factors (e.g., neighborhood advantage).</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1568829"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12477182/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145202023","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-12eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1650799
Iryna Culpin, Rebecca M Pearson, Nicky Wright, Alan Stein, Marc H Bornstein, Henning Tiemeier, Eivor Fredriksen, Jonathan Evans, Tina Miller, Esther Dermott, Jon Heron, Hannah M Sallis, Gemma Hammerton
Introduction: Paternal postnatal depression (PND) and its likely adverse impact on child development are receiving increased attention. However, research that examines processes transmitting risks of paternal PND to adverse child outcomes remains limited.
Methods: This study examines pathways from paternal PND (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; 8 months) to child emotional and behavioral development (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; 7 years) through paternal parenting confidence, warmth, and father-child conflict (birth-4 years) in a UK-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 9,628). Analyses were adjusted for socioeconomic, familial, parental, and child characteristics, including maternal PND during early postnatal period.
Results: Adjusted models revealed evidence of total associations between paternal PND, child emotional symptoms, peer problems, and hyperactivity (albeit with wide 95% CIs), but not conduct problems. Indirect effects emerged from paternal PND to child emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, and peer problems through the combination of all paternal parenting factors, with no evidence of direct effects. Specificity analyses revealed indirect effects through paternal parenting confidence and father-child conflict in the associations between paternal PND and child emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, and peer problems (albeit with wide 95% CIs).
Conclusions: Targeted intervention to increase paternal parenting confidence and decrease father-child conflict may improve outcomes in children whose fathers experience postnatal depression.
{"title":"Paternal postnatal depression and child development at age 7 years in a UK-birth cohort: the mediating roles of paternal parenting confidence, warmth, and conflict.","authors":"Iryna Culpin, Rebecca M Pearson, Nicky Wright, Alan Stein, Marc H Bornstein, Henning Tiemeier, Eivor Fredriksen, Jonathan Evans, Tina Miller, Esther Dermott, Jon Heron, Hannah M Sallis, Gemma Hammerton","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1650799","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1650799","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Paternal postnatal depression (PND) and its likely adverse impact on child development are receiving increased attention. However, research that examines processes transmitting risks of paternal PND to adverse child outcomes remains limited.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study examines pathways from paternal PND (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; 8 months) to child emotional and behavioral development (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; 7 years) through paternal parenting confidence, warmth, and father-child conflict (birth-4 years) in a UK-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (<i>N</i> = 9,628). Analyses were adjusted for socioeconomic, familial, parental, and child characteristics, including maternal PND during early postnatal period.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adjusted models revealed evidence of total associations between paternal PND, child emotional symptoms, peer problems, and hyperactivity (albeit with wide 95% CIs), but not conduct problems. Indirect effects emerged from paternal PND to child emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, and peer problems through the combination of all paternal parenting factors, with no evidence of direct effects. Specificity analyses revealed indirect effects through paternal parenting confidence and father-child conflict in the associations between paternal PND and child emotional symptoms, hyperactivity, and peer problems (albeit with wide 95% CIs).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Targeted intervention to increase paternal parenting confidence and decrease father-child conflict may improve outcomes in children whose fathers experience postnatal depression.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1650799"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12463979/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145187516","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}
Background: There is increased interest in adolescent wellbeing and the factors that increase or decrease the risk of mental health difficulties during adolescence. Extensive research exists for risk and protective factors, but few qualitative studies have been conducted in this area. Analysis of qualitative data can add insights into adolescents' perceptions and provide an opportunity to observe patterns in their subjective experiences.
Objectives: The aim of this research was to explore patterns in adolescent-reported risk and protective factors in relation to the outcomes of mental wellbeing and mental health.
Methods: The data for this study were drawn from interviews across five sites in England, conducted as part of the 5-year national evaluation of the HeadStart Programme. The sample comprised 63 adolescents aged 11-12 years from the first annual wave of qualitative data collection in 2017. Ideal-type analysis was used to construct a qualitative typology to delineate patterns in adolescents' experiences of risk and protective factors.
Findings: Three distinct "types" or patterns of risk and protective factors in relation to adolescents' mental wellbeing and mental health were identified across the sample: the adolescent with "Uncertain Sources of Support," the adolescent with "Self-Initiated Forms of Support," and the adolescent with "Multiple Sources of Support."
Conclusions: Findings illustrate that distinct patterns exist in terms of adolescents' profiles of perceived risk and protective factors, with adolescents having clear differences in the levels of support that they perceived around them and the extent to which they felt that they could initiate, access, or find support to manage reported risk and stressors. These profiles may offer insight into the varied pathways through which adolescents attempt to navigate and manage threats to their mental wellbeing.
{"title":"Adolescents' experiences of risk and protective factors in relation to mental wellbeing and mental health: a typology developed using ideal-type analysis.","authors":"Mia Eisenstadt, Emily Stapley, Marisa Benedito, Amanda Junesing Chan, Athina-Marina Metaxa, Jessica Deighton","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1540343","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1540343","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There is increased interest in adolescent wellbeing and the factors that increase or decrease the risk of mental health difficulties during adolescence. Extensive research exists for risk and protective factors, but few qualitative studies have been conducted in this area. Analysis of qualitative data can add insights into adolescents' perceptions and provide an opportunity to observe patterns in their subjective experiences.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this research was to explore patterns in adolescent-reported risk and protective factors in relation to the outcomes of mental wellbeing and mental health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The data for this study were drawn from interviews across five sites in England, conducted as part of the 5-year national evaluation of the HeadStart Programme. The sample comprised 63 adolescents aged 11-12 years from the first annual wave of qualitative data collection in 2017. Ideal-type analysis was used to construct a qualitative typology to delineate patterns in adolescents' experiences of risk and protective factors.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Three distinct \"types\" or patterns of risk and protective factors in relation to adolescents' mental wellbeing and mental health were identified across the sample: the adolescent with \"Uncertain Sources of Support,\" the adolescent with \"Self-Initiated Forms of Support,\" and the adolescent with \"Multiple Sources of Support.\"</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Findings illustrate that distinct patterns exist in terms of adolescents' profiles of perceived risk and protective factors, with adolescents having clear differences in the levels of support that they perceived around them and the extent to which they felt that they could initiate, access, or find support to manage reported risk and stressors. These profiles may offer insight into the varied pathways through which adolescents attempt to navigate and manage threats to their mental wellbeing.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1540343"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12463594/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145187467","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1629877
U Neumann, V Just, L Henke, M Knollmann, S Zellmer, M Andzinski, S Schmidtendorf, M Noack, M Föcker, J Seitz, M Holtmann
Background: School refusal among children and adolescents with mental health issues carries long-term risks for their educational trajectories, future employment, mental health, and social participation. Despite the availability of multiple treatment approaches, a significant number of adolescents continue to experience difficulties with school attendance following inpatient therapy or partial hospitalization. To enhance reintegration into school, a rehabilitation project called "educational participation and integration for children and adolescents with mental illness through a seamless stepwise rehabilitation program" ("SchuTIng-stAR") was developed specifically for children and adolescents with severe and persistent school refusal associated with psychiatric disorders who are at risk of continued school attendance problems after psychiatric inpatient treatment or partial hospitalization.
Methods/study design: After describing the therapeutic rationale, the development, and the content of the program, the study protocol for its evaluation using both quantitative and qualitative methods is presented. The primary objectives of the evaluation are firstly to assess the effects of the treatment on psychological symptoms and school attendance, and secondly to identify factors that influence the participation and engagement of patients, parents, and other stakeholders involved (teachers, youth welfare services). The operationalization of outcomes, measurement methods and hypotheses regarding effectiveness are described. Measurements will be taken at three points in time: at the beginning of the rehabilitation intervention (T1), at the end of treatment (T2) for the main outcome and after a six-month follow-up period (T3) for follow-up assessment. Therefore, it is a one-group pretest-posttest design with follow-up period. Additionally, it is explained how interviews with families will be analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Discussion: The formative and summative evaluation of innovative treatment programs for children and adolescents, including the perspectives of relevant stakeholders, is essential to ensure their sustainability and their integration into already existing services provided by health and social care systems. As chronic school avoidance is a multifactorial and complex condition and its course is often characterized by relapses, it is important to develop sustainable treatment approaches and to closely examine treatment commitment using qualitative methods. The discussion focuses on the extent to which the rehabilitation intervention and the study produce the expected results, and what factors might contribute to divergent outcomes.
背景:有心理健康问题的儿童和青少年拒学对他们的教育轨迹、未来就业、心理健康和社会参与具有长期风险。尽管有多种治疗方法,但相当数量的青少年在住院治疗或部分住院治疗后仍然难以上学。为了促进重返校园,制定了一项康复项目,名为“通过无缝分步康复方案,使患有精神疾病的儿童和青少年参与教育和融入社会” (" schutting - star "),专门针对患有与精神疾病有关的严重和持续性拒学的儿童和青少年,这些儿童和青少年在接受精神住院治疗或部分住院治疗后,有可能继续出现上学问题。方法/研究设计:在描述了治疗的基本原理、发展和项目的内容之后,提出了使用定量和定性方法进行评估的研究方案。评估的主要目标首先是评估治疗对心理症状和出勤率的影响,其次是确定影响患者、家长和其他有关利益攸关方(教师、青年福利服务机构)参与和参与的因素。描述了结果的操作化、测量方法和关于有效性的假设。测量将在三个时间点进行:在康复干预开始时(T1),在治疗结束时(T2)进行主要结果,并在六个月的随访期(T3)进行随访评估。因此,本研究为单组前测后测设计,并有随访期。此外,还解释了如何使用定性内容分析来分析与家庭的访谈。讨论:对儿童和青少年创新治疗方案进行形成性和总结性评估,包括相关利益攸关方的观点,对于确保其可持续性并将其纳入卫生和社会保健系统提供的现有服务至关重要。由于慢性学校回避是一种多因素和复杂的疾病,其病程往往以复发为特征,因此开发可持续的治疗方法并使用定性方法仔细检查治疗承诺是很重要的。讨论的重点是康复干预和研究产生预期结果的程度,以及哪些因素可能导致不同的结果。
{"title":"Fostering school reintegration after psychiatric inpatient treatment: description and study protocol of an evaluation study about a rehabilitation program for children and adolescents with chronic school refusal (SchuTIng-stAR).","authors":"U Neumann, V Just, L Henke, M Knollmann, S Zellmer, M Andzinski, S Schmidtendorf, M Noack, M Föcker, J Seitz, M Holtmann","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1629877","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1629877","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>School refusal among children and adolescents with mental health issues carries long-term risks for their educational trajectories, future employment, mental health, and social participation. Despite the availability of multiple treatment approaches, a significant number of adolescents continue to experience difficulties with school attendance following inpatient therapy or partial hospitalization. To enhance reintegration into school, a rehabilitation project called \"educational participation and integration for children and adolescents with mental illness through a seamless stepwise rehabilitation program\" (\"SchuTIng-stAR\") was developed specifically for children and adolescents with severe and persistent school refusal associated with psychiatric disorders who are at risk of continued school attendance problems after psychiatric inpatient treatment or partial hospitalization.</p><p><strong>Methods/study design: </strong>After describing the therapeutic rationale, the development, and the content of the program, the study protocol for its evaluation using both quantitative and qualitative methods is presented. The primary objectives of the evaluation are firstly to assess the effects of the treatment on psychological symptoms and school attendance, and secondly to identify factors that influence the participation and engagement of patients, parents, and other stakeholders involved (teachers, youth welfare services). The operationalization of outcomes, measurement methods and hypotheses regarding effectiveness are described. Measurements will be taken at three points in time: at the beginning of the rehabilitation intervention (T1), at the end of treatment (T2) for the main outcome and after a six-month follow-up period (T3) for follow-up assessment. Therefore, it is a one-group pretest-posttest design with follow-up period. Additionally, it is explained how interviews with families will be analyzed using qualitative content analysis.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The formative and summative evaluation of innovative treatment programs for children and adolescents, including the perspectives of relevant stakeholders, is essential to ensure their sustainability and their integration into already existing services provided by health and social care systems. As chronic school avoidance is a multifactorial and complex condition and its course is often characterized by relapses, it is important to develop sustainable treatment approaches and to closely examine treatment commitment using qualitative methods. The discussion focuses on the extent to which the rehabilitation intervention and the study produce the expected results, and what factors might contribute to divergent outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1629877"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12460343/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145187465","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}
Pub Date : 2025-09-04eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1647280
Baojian Hu, Qingxia Liang, Huiyi Jiang
Objective: To investigate the effects of exercise doses recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) on motor skills, social interaction, behavioral patterns, and verbal and non-verbal communication domains in children with autism.
Methods: A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, focusing on the effects of physical activity on children with autism. Randomized controlled trials comparing exercise interventions with no intervention were included, and changes in motor skills, social interaction, behavioral patterns,and communication domains were assessed using standardized mean differences (SMD), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and p-values (p < 0.05).Interventions were categorized based on high or low adherence to exercise prescriptions developed or recommended by ACSM.Studies in which ≥70% of components met ACSM criteria were classified as having high adherence, while those with <70% were classified as having low adherence, based on thresholds established in previous literature. A fixed-effects or random-effects model was applied for meta-analysis, and subgroup comparisons were conducted.
Results: A total of 27 studies (29 exercise interventions) involving 1,012 participants were included. In the motor skills domain,the pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) was 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.66,2.03]. Subgroup analysis revealed that the high-adherence group showed an SMD of 1.44, 95% CI [0.51,2.36], while the low-adherence group showed an SMD of 1.26, 95% CI [0.15,2.36]. For the social interaction domain,the overall SMD was -0.22, 95% CI [-0.54,0.99]. The high-adherence subgroup had an SMD of -0.41, 95% CI [-0.62,-0.21], whereas the low-adherence group had an SMD of 0.42, 95% CI [-0.50,1.33]. In the behavioral patterns domain, the overall SMD was -0.79, 95% CI [-1.26,-0.32]. Subgroup analysis indicated an SMD of -0.42, 95% CI [-0.73,-0.11] for the high-adherence group and -2.79, 95% CI [-5.63,0.06] for the low-adherence group.For the verbal and non-verbal communication domain, the overall SMD was 0.33, 95% CI [-0.31,0.97]. Subgroup SMD were 0.21,95% CI [-0.14,0.57] for the high-adherence group and 0.59, 95% CI [-1.67,2.84] for the low-adherence group.
Conclusion: Exercise interventions had a significant positive impact on motor skills and behavioral patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interventions with high adherence to ACSM-recommended exercise dosages were more effective in improving motor skills, social interaction,and behavioral patterns compared to low-adherence dosages.Future evidence-based exercise prescriptions may be established for children with ASD, optimizing motor-functional outcomes.
{"title":"Effects of exercise dosage on children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.","authors":"Baojian Hu, Qingxia Liang, Huiyi Jiang","doi":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1647280","DOIUrl":"10.3389/frcha.2025.1647280","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the effects of exercise doses recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) on motor skills, social interaction, behavioral patterns, and verbal and non-verbal communication domains in children with autism.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, focusing on the effects of physical activity on children with autism. Randomized controlled trials comparing exercise interventions with no intervention were included, and changes in motor skills, social interaction, behavioral patterns,and communication domains were assessed using standardized mean differences (SMD), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and p-values (<i>p</i> < 0.05).Interventions were categorized based on high or low adherence to exercise prescriptions developed or recommended by ACSM.Studies in which ≥70% of components met ACSM criteria were classified as having high adherence, while those with <70% were classified as having low adherence, based on thresholds established in previous literature. A fixed-effects or random-effects model was applied for meta-analysis, and subgroup comparisons were conducted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 27 studies (29 exercise interventions) involving 1,012 participants were included. In the motor skills domain,the pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) was 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.66,2.03]. Subgroup analysis revealed that the high-adherence group showed an SMD of 1.44, 95% CI [0.51,2.36], while the low-adherence group showed an SMD of 1.26, 95% CI [0.15,2.36]. For the social interaction domain,the overall SMD was -0.22, 95% CI [-0.54,0.99]. The high-adherence subgroup had an SMD of -0.41, 95% CI [-0.62,-0.21], whereas the low-adherence group had an SMD of 0.42, 95% CI [-0.50,1.33]. In the behavioral patterns domain, the overall SMD was -0.79, 95% CI [-1.26,-0.32]. Subgroup analysis indicated an SMD of -0.42, 95% CI [-0.73,-0.11] for the high-adherence group and -2.79, 95% CI [-5.63,0.06] for the low-adherence group.For the verbal and non-verbal communication domain, the overall SMD was 0.33, 95% CI [-0.31,0.97]. Subgroup SMD were 0.21,95% CI [-0.14,0.57] for the high-adherence group and 0.59, 95% CI [-1.67,2.84] for the low-adherence group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Exercise interventions had a significant positive impact on motor skills and behavioral patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interventions with high adherence to ACSM-recommended exercise dosages were more effective in improving motor skills, social interaction,and behavioral patterns compared to low-adherence dosages.Future evidence-based exercise prescriptions may be established for children with ASD, optimizing motor-functional outcomes.</p><p><strong>Systematic review registration: </strong>PROSPERO, identifier (CRD42024565241).</p>","PeriodicalId":73074,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry","volume":"4 ","pages":"1647280"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12444209/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145115306","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}