Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry最新文献

Aim: Children and adolescents get fewer than the recommended hours of sleep. The Child and Adolescent Sleep Checklist for parents (CASC-P) was designed to identify sleep habits and screen for sleep problems in junior high school students in Japan. This study aimed to validate the Japanese version of the CASC-P for junior high school students and determine its internal consistency.

Methods: We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach's α to validate the scale and examine reliability. The analysis involved 218 parents of students aged 12-15 years.

Results: Cronbach's α for the overall scale was 0.771. The prevalence of sleep problems was 15.6%. Factorial construct validity was assessed using the four-factor model used in the original CASC-P. Almost all items loaded meaningfully on their designated factors, and standardized factor-loading values ranged from 0.278 to 0.878 (except for items 1, 2, 9, 16, and 21).

Conclusion: : The CASC-P is a suitable questionnaire for assessing parents' perspectives on adolescent sleep behavior.

Materialism, a value system that places the pursuit of possessions at the core of happiness and life meaning, is a dominant cultural force in modern societies. While its associations with individual well-being are well-documented, its intergenerational implications remain understudied. This study conceptualizes materialism as a potential family stressor contributing to the intergenerational transmission of stress. An intergenerational crossover model of materialism was tested using data from 1,996 parent-child pairs in Zhengzhou, China. Results indicate that higher parental materialism is associated with stronger materialistic values in children, weaker family relationships, and more frequent parental comparisons, each of which is linked to greater psychological distress in youth. These patterns suggest that materialism may contribute to intergenerational patterns of vulnerability. The study highlights the cultural dimensions of mental health and provides a theoretical tool for further research on how materialism, as modernity's "default value", relates to health inequalities.

School absenteeism across the globe has risen dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature indicates that children and youth of all ages are struggling to attend school regularly, leading to problematic outcomes both concurrently and across time. As well, research demonstrates that children and youth who experience mental health challenges are at greater risk of increased school absenteeism rates. The present study investigated the school attendance patterns of Canadian children and youth and the longitudinal and bidirectional links with mental health challenges within the COVID-19 pandemic context. The study sample consisted of 72 children and youth, using parent reports. Parents were asked to complete an online questionnaire which included questions about the demographic characteristics of themselves and their child, their child's school attendance patterns, and their child's mental health challenges. Preliminary descriptive statistics were run in relation to school absenteeism. Two separate path analyses were conducted to determine the longitudinal links between school absenteeism and mental health (split into externalizing and internalizing behaviours) across two timepoints (Time 1 [T1]: Fall 2022, Time 2 [T2]: Spring 2023). These analyses indicated concurrent links between mental health difficulties and school absenteeism. Importantly, path analyses also showed that absenteeism at T1 predicted poorer mental health at T2, indicating that school absenteeism may be one of the driving factors in the causal relationship. A bidirectional effect was found between externalizing behaviours at T1 and absenteeism rates at T2. The reasons for school absenteeism were examined across each time point and for both the externalizing and internalizing groups separately. The present study highlights the complex interplay between mental health and school absenteeism in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides avenues for effective intervention to better support children and youth struggling with mental health and school absenteeism.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2023.1156407.].

Scurvy, a condition caused by a deficiency in ascorbic acid, is often considered an outdated, textbook disease, largely forgotten in the 21st century. However, recent reports indicate a rise in cases, particularly among individuals with risk factors for nutritional deficiencies or those with specific dietary habits. These cases are frequently misdiagnosed, leading to a series of unnecessary tests that could be avoided with a thorough assessment of dietary intake. In this report, we present the case of a 10-year-old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a selective eating pattern, who presented with a limping gait, tenderness in the right calf, and significant weight loss. A skin examination revealed multiple perifollicular hemorrhages with corkscrew-shaped hair, as well as localized erythematous and hypertrophic gingiva in all four quadrants. Based on clinical findings, scurvy was suspected, and vitamin C supplementation was initiated both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The diagnosis was confirmed when serum vitamin C levels were found to be critically low (5 µmol/L, normal range: 28-120 µmol/L). The patient's response to vitamin C was impressive, with complete gingival healing and noticeable weight gain within three weeks. Although scurvy is often thought of as an ancient disease, it has seen a resurgence, posing diagnostic challenges due to its diverse clinical manifestations. Early diagnosis, along with appropriate intervention and dietary changes, can lead to an excellent prognosis for individuals with scurvy.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe loss of life and increased anxiety as well as fear worldwide. This study explored whether pre-pandemic exposure to varying levels of perinatal maternal adversity coupled with pandemic-related experiences are related to youth distress levels.

Methods: Data from 119 youth (aged 9-17) and their mothers were analyzed to assess the interactive effects of perinatal maternal adversity and pandemic-related objective hardship on youth psychological distress.

Results: Youth-reported hardship models consistently explained more variance in their psychological distress. Youth-reported hardship, specifically daily life changes, predicted psychological distress, including PTSD symptoms and peritraumatic experiences during the pandemic.

Discussion: Youths exposed to high perinatal maternal socio-environmental adversity demonstrated resilience when faced with pandemic disruptions, suggesting that alignment between early adversity and later stress can mitigate distress during crises.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/frcha.2025.1600101.].

Introduction: The increasing use of digital devices has led to growing concern over Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) among younger children. While several tools for the assessment of IGD have been developed, validated questionnaires have primarily been designed for children aged nine years and older, leaving a gap for early detection. This study developed and validated the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-9 Short Form Japanese version for Children (IGDS9-SF-JC), a self-reported screening tool tailored for lower elementary school children.

Methods: The IGDS9-SF-JC was developed in collaboration with pediatric neurologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and elementary school teachers. This study assessed 525 children aged 6-12 years studying at a public elementary school in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Results: The IGDS9-SF-JC demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.849). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a unidimensional structure with acceptable model fit indices (GFI = 0.942, CFI = 0.931, RMSEA = 0.085). In general, boys had significantly higher total scores than girls, and higher scores were associated with ownership of a gaming device and/or a smartphone, longer times spent gaming and video-watching, later bedtimes, and skipping breakfast. These results are consistent with previous findings of IGD and lifestyle factors in older children and adolescents.

Discussion: The IGDS9-SF-JC expands the applicability of IGD screening to younger children, providing a reliable and valid tool for the early identification and potential intervention of IGD. Further studies are required to refine the instrument and establish clinical cutoff scores using comparison with clinical populations.

Background: Behavioural activation, a brief psychological therapy for depression across the lifespan lends itself well for delivery in community settings (e.g., non-hospital health services, schools, charities). Ahead of a randomised controlled trial, we wanted to "road-test" our recruitment and assessment processes, intervention materials and data collection tools, and understand (1): how BA can be delivered in community settings and by whom, (2) whether young people will adopt and complete it, (3) whether there are any observed changes in depression and anxiety and (4) whether usual care would be a feasible comparator.

Methods: In three settings-one community-based child and adolescent mental health service, one school, one charity-we offered up to 8 sessions of behavioural activation to 12-18-year-olds with mild-to-moderate depression. Stakeholder consultations helped us develop our research materials and processes. Self-report questionnaires assessing depression, anxiety, quality-of-life and resource use were completed by participants at baseline and 8-weeks. Professionals completed an online questionnaire about usual care for young people with depression in different settings, including types of support and staff delivering it.

Results: Twenty young people (average age 15 years, 17 females) consented; of those, 19 attended behavioural activation sessions (M = 7.4, SD: 1.5) and all 20 completed baseline and follow-up measures. For three-quarters of participants there was a "positive" change in scores (defined as a drop of ≥1 on the RCADS) from baseline to follow-up across all measures. A Resource Use Questionnaire for Adolescents collecting information about use of hospital and community-based health and social care services was developed and tested during the study. Intervention costs were modest at £207 (SD: £79) per participant for just over 5 h (M = 286 min, SD = 63 min) of contact on average with a professional.

Conclusions: Excellent intervention uptake and adherence (implying robust recruitment and assessment processes), retention to follow-up and data completeness, and a positive direction of change across all outcome measures justify the need for a fully powered randomised controlled trial comparing community-based behavioural activation with usual care for adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression. Furthermore, usual care rarely included behavioural activation, which made it a suitable comparator for a future randomised controlled trial.

Trial registration: https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN30483950, identifier (ISRCTN, ISRCTN304839502).

Introduction: This Clinical Experimental Study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Cooperative Parent Mediated therapy (CPMT), a targeted parent-coaching program for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in Community Healthcare Service in Italy.

Methods: Forty children with ASD and their parents were randomly assigned to treatment conditions: the Control group received Individual Treatment As Usual (TAU Control group); while CPMT group received weekly parent-child sessions in addition to Individual TAU. Primary blinded outcomes were 6-months post-intervention change in parent-child interaction scores. Secondary outcomes included ASD symptom severity, adaptive functioning and parental stress levels. Baseline and post-treatment evaluations, at 6 months of follow up, were performed by an independent team.

Results: CPMT group showed significant add-on benefits on parent-child interactions, severity of autism symptoms, adaptive skills and parental stress level.

Discussion: This study provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of the CPMT model also in community services, representing a further step forward in research on the implementation of therapy for ASD in community healthcare service.