Project description:BackgroundThere is substantial variation in patient symptoms following psychological therapy for depression and anxiety. However, reliance on endpoint outcomes ignores additional interindividual variation during therapy. Knowing a patient's likely symptom trajectories could guide clinical decisions. We aimed to identify latent classes of patients with similar symptom trajectories over the course of psychological therapy and explore associations between baseline variables and trajectory class.MethodsPatients received high-intensity psychological treatment for common mental health problems at National Health Service Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services in South London (N = 16 258). To identify trajectories, we performed growth mixture modelling of depression and anxiety symptoms over 11 sessions. We then ran multinomial regressions to identify baseline variables associated with trajectory class membership.ResultsTrajectories of depression and anxiety symptoms were highly similar and best modelled by four classes. Three classes started with moderate-severe symptoms and showed (1) no change, (2) gradual improvement, and (3) fast improvement. A final class (4) showed initially mild symptoms and minimal improvement. Within the moderate-severe baseline symptom classes, patients in the two showing improvement as opposed to no change tended not to be prescribed psychotropic medication or report a disability and were in employment. Patients showing fast improvement additionally reported lower baseline functional impairment on average.ConclusionsMultiple trajectory classes of depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with baseline characteristics. Identifying the most likely trajectory for a patient at the start of treatment could inform decisions about the suitability and continuation of therapy, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Insomnia in adolescents is common, persistent, and associated with poor mental health including anxiety and depression. Insomnia in adolescents attending child mental health services is seldom directly treated, and the effects of digital cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia (CBTi) on the mental health of adolescents with significant mental health problems are unknown. OBJECTIVE:This open study aimed to assess the feasibility of adding supported Web-based CBT for insomnia to the usual care of young people aged 14 to 17 years attending specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). METHODS:A total of 39 adolescents with insomnia aged 14 to 17 years attending specialist CAMHS were assessed and offered digital CBTi. The digital intervention was Sleepio, an evidence-based, self-directed, fully automated CBTi that has proven effective in multiple randomized controlled trials with adults. Self-report assessments of sleep (Sleep Condition Indicator [SCI], Insomnia Severity Scale, and Web- or app-based sleep diaries), anxiety (Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale [RCADS]), and depression (Mood and Feelings Questionnaire [MFQ]) were completed at baseline and post intervention. Postuse interviews assessed satisfaction with digital CBTi. RESULTS:Average baseline sleep efficiency was very poor (53%), with participants spending an average of 9.6 hours in bed but only 5.1 hours asleep. All participants scored less than 17 on the SCI, with 92% (36/39) participants scoring 15 or greater on the Insomnia Severity Scale, suggesting clinical insomnia. Of the 39 participants, 36 (92%) scored 27 or greater on the MFQ for major depression and 20 (51%) had clinically elevated symptoms of anxiety. The majority of participants (38/49, 78%) were not having any treatment for their insomnia, with the remaining 25% (12/49) receiving medication. Sleepio was acceptable, with 77% (30/39) of the participants activating their account and 54% (21/39) completing the program. Satisfaction was high, with 84% (16/19) of the participants finding Sleepio helpful, 95% (18/19) indicating that they would recommend it to a friend, and 37% (7/19) expressing a definite preference for a digital intervention. Statistically significant pre-post improvements were found in weekly diaries of sleep efficiency (P=.005) and sleep quality (P=.001) and on measures of sleep (SCI: P=.001 and Insomnia Severity Index: P=.001), low mood (MFQ: P=.03), and anxiety (RCADS: P=.005). CONCLUSIONS:Our study has a number of methodological limitations, particularly the small sample size, absence of a comparison group and no follow-up assessment. Nonetheless, our findings are encouraging and suggest that digital CBTi for young people with mental health problems might offer an acceptable and an effective way to improve both sleep and mental health. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID):RR2-10.2196/11324.
Project description:BackgroundSchool-based mental health promotion aims to strengthen mental health and reduce stress. Results on the effectiveness of such programs are heterogeneous. This study realized a school-based mental health promotion program (StresSOS) for all students and aimed to identify moderators (mental health status, gender, grade level) of pre- to post-changes in stress symptoms and knowledge.MethodsParticipants were N = 510 adolescents (from 29 classes; 46.7% female) aged 12-18 years (M = 13.88, SD = 1.00; grade levels 7-10). They were without mental health problems (65.9%), at risk for mental health problems (21.6%), or with mental health problems (12.5%) and participated in a 90 min per week face-to-face training with 8 sessions in class at school. Demographic variables, mental health status, stress symptoms, and knowledge about stress and mental health were collected at baseline. Program acceptance, stress symptoms, and knowledge were collected post-intervention. Multilevel mixed effects models were conducted with the fixed effects time (within factor), mental health status, gender, and grade level (between factors). Random effects for students within classes were included.ResultsIn the pre-post comparison, mental health status moderated the changes on psychological stress symptoms (p < 0.05). In adolescents with mental health problems the largest reduction in stress symptoms was observed between pre- and post-assessment. Gender and grade level were less relevant. For all adolescents knowledge gains were revealed (p < 0.001). Program acceptance was moderated by mental health status and grade level (p < 0.01). Mentally healthy adolescents and within the group of adolescents at-risk or with mental health problems, especially younger students (7th/8th grade), rated program acceptance higher.ConclusionPsychological stress symptoms decreased among adolescents with mental health problems and not among adolescents at risk for or without mental health problems. Mental health-related knowledge increased for all adolescents. The results add to knowledge on school-based mental health intervention research and practice. Its implications for different prevention strategies (universal, selective or a combination of both) are discussed.
Project description:Outdoor therapy and family-based therapy are suggested to be promising interventions for the treatment of mental health problems. The aim of the present scoping review was to systematically map the concept, content, and outcome of combining family- and outdoor-based therapy for children and adolescents with mental health problems. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA guidelines were applied. Eligible qualitative and quantitative studies were screened, included, and extracted for data. Seven studies were included. Findings from these studies indicated that family-based outdoor therapy programs have a positive impact on family- and peer relationships, adolescent behavior, mental health, self-perceptions (self-concept), school success, social engagement, and delinquency rates. However, participant characteristics, study design, and content and mode of delivery of the interventions varied substantially, hence preventing detailed comparison of outcomes across studies. In addition, most of the studies included few participants and lacked population diversity and comparable control groups. Although important ethical concerns were raised, such as non-voluntary participation in some of the programs, there was a lack of reporting on safety. This review indicates that a combination of family- and outdoor-based therapy may benefit mental health among children and adolescents, but due to the limited number of studies eligible for inclusion and high levels of heterogeneity, it was difficult to draw firm conclusions. Thus, future theory-based studies using robust designs are warranted.
Project description:Mental health problems among children and adolescents are increasingly reported amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In this umbrella review, we aimed to synthesize global evidence on the epidemiologic burden and correlates of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) problems during this pandemic from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Adopting the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology, we evaluated 422 citations and identified 17 eligible reviews with medium to high methodological quality. Most of the reviews reported a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, suicidal behavior, stress-related disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health problems. Also, factors associated with CAMH such as age, gender, place of residence, educational attainment, household income, sedentary lifestyle, social media and internet use, comorbidities, family relationships, parents' psychosocial conditions, COVID-19 related experiences, closure of schools, online learning, and social support were reported across reviews. As most studies were cross-sectional and used nonrepresentative samples, future research on representative samples adopting longitudinal and intervention designs is needed. Lastly, multipronged psychosocial care services, policies, and programs are needed to alleviate the burden of CAMH problems during and after this pandemic.
Project description:A minority of children and adolescents with mental health problems access treatment. The reasons for poor rates of treatment access are not well understood. As parents are a key gatekeeper to treatment access, it is important to establish parents' views of barriers/facilitators to accessing treatment. The aims of this study are to synthesise findings from qualitative and quantitative studies that report parents' perceptions of barriers/facilitators to accessing treatment for mental health problems in children/adolescents. A systematic review and narrative synthesis were conducted. Forty-four studies were included in the review and were assessed in detail. Parental perceived barriers/facilitators relating to (1) systemic/structural issues; (2) views and attitudes towards services and treatment; (3) knowledge and understanding of mental health problems and the help-seeking process; and (4) family circumstances were identified. Findings highlight avenues for improving access to child mental health services, including increased provision that is free to service users and flexible to their needs, with opportunities to develop trusting, supportive relationships with professionals. Furthermore, interventions are required to improve parents' identification of mental health problems, reduce stigma for parents, and increase awareness of how to access services.
Project description:BackgroundChild maltreatment poses high risks to the mental health and cognitive functioning of children not only in childhood but also in later life. However, it remains unclear whether child maltreatment is directly associated with impaired cognitive functioning or whether this link is mediated by mental health problems. Our study aimed at examining this research question among children and adolescents in Uganda.MethodsA sample of 232 school-going children and adolescents with a mean age of 14.03 (SD = 3.25) was assessed on multiple forms of maltreatment using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure-Pediatric Version (pediMACE). Executive functions were assessed by the Tower of London task and working memory by the Corsi Block Tapping task, while mental health problems were assessed using the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for PTSD and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC).ResultsIn total, 232 (100%) of the participant reported to have experienced at least one type of maltreatment in their lifetime including emotional, physical, and sexual violence as well as neglect. We found a negative association between child maltreatment and executive functions (β = - 0.487, p < 0.001) and working memory (β = - 0.242, p = 0.001). Mental health problems did not mediate this relationship.ConclusionsChild maltreatment seems to be related to lower working memory and executive functioning of affected children and adolescents even after controlling for potential cofounders. Our study indicates that child maltreatment the affects children's cognitive functionality beyond health and well-being.
Project description:BackgroundMental health is an important component of overall health and wellbeing and crucial for a happy and meaningful life. The prevalence of mental health problems amongst children and adolescent is high; with estimates suggesting 10-20% suffer from mental health problems at any given time. These mental health problems include internalising (e.g. depression and social anxiety) and externalising behavioural problems (e.g. aggression and anti-social behaviour). Although social capital has been shown to be associated with mental health/behavioural problems in young people, attempts to consolidate the evidence in the form of a review have been limited. This integrative systematic review identified and synthesised international research findings on the role and impact of family and community social capital on mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents to provide a consolidated evidence base to inform future research and policy development.MethodsNine electronic databases were searched for relevant studies and this was followed by hand searching. Identified literature was screened using review-specific inclusion/exclusion criteria, the data were extracted from the included studies and study quality was assessed. Heterogeneity in study design and outcomes precluded meta-analysis/meta-synthesis, the results are therefore presented in narrative form.ResultsAfter screening, 55 studies were retained. The majority were cross-sectional surveys and were conducted in North America (n = 33); seven were conducted in the UK. Samples ranged in size from 29 to 98,340. The synthesised results demonstrate that family and community social capital are associated with mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents. Positive parent-child relations, extended family support, social support networks, religiosity, neighbourhood and school quality appear to be particularly important.ConclusionsTo date, this is the most comprehensive review of the evidence on the relationships that exist between social capital and mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents. It suggests that social capital generated and mobilised at the family and community level can influence mental health/problem behaviour outcomes in young people. In addition, it highlights key gaps in knowledge where future research could further illuminate the mechanisms through which social capital works to influence health and wellbeing and thus inform policy development.
Project description:The aim of the study was to assess internalizing problems before and during the pandemic with data from Dutch consortium Child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, consisting of two Dutch general population samples (GS) and two clinical samples (CS) referred to youth/psychiatric care. Measures of internalizing problems were obtained from ongoing data collections pre-pandemic (NGS = 35,357; NCS = 4487) and twice during the pandemic, in Apr-May 2020 (NGS = 3938; clinical: NCS = 1008) and in Nov-Dec 2020 (NGS = 1489; NCS = 1536), in children and adolescents (8-18 years) with parent (Brief Problem Monitor) and/or child reports (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System®). Results show that, in the general population, internalizing problems were higher during the first peak of the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic based on both child and parent reports. Yet, over the course of the pandemic, on both child and parent reports, similar or lower levels of internalizing problems were observed. Children in the clinical population reported more internalizing symptoms over the course of the pandemic while parents did not report differences in internalizing symptoms from pre-pandemic to the first peak of the pandemic nor over the course of the pandemic. Overall, the findings indicate that children and adolescents of both the general and clinical population were affected negatively by the pandemic in terms of their internalizing problems. Attention is therefore warranted to investigate long-term effects and to monitor if internalizing problems return to pre-pandemic levels or if they remain elevated post-pandemic.
Project description:BackgroundOver the past decades, the deficient provision of evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental health problems has become a global challenge across health care systems. In view of the ongoing diffusion of new media and mobile technologies into everyday life, Web-delivered electronic mental health (e-mental health) treatment services have been suggested to expand the access to professional help. However, the large-scale dissemination and adoption of innovative e-mental health services is progressing slowly. This discrepancy between potential and actual impact in public health makes it essential to explore public acceptability of e-mental health treatment services across health care systems.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to identify and evaluate recent empirical evidence for public acceptability, service preferences, and attitudes toward e-mental health treatments. On the basis of both frameworks for technology adoption and previous research, we defined (1) perceived helpfulness and (2) intentions to use e-mental health treatment services as indicators for public acceptability in the respective general population of reviewed studies. This mapping should reduce heterogeneity and help derive implications for systematic reviews and public health strategies.MethodsWe systematically searched electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Psyndex, PsycARTICLES, and Cochrane Library, using reference management software for parallel searches) to identify surveys published in English in peer-reviewed journals between January 2010 and December 2015, focusing on public perceptions about e-mental health treatments outside the context of clinical, psychosocial, or diagnostic interventions. Both indicators were obtained from previous review. Exclusion criteria further involved studies targeting specific groups or programs.ResultsThe simultaneous database search identified 76 nonduplicate records. Four articles from Europe and Australia were included in this scoping review. Sample sizes ranged from 217 to 2411 participants of ages 14-95 years. All included studies used cross-sectional designs and self-developed measures for outcomes related to both defined indicators of public acceptability. Three surveys used observational study designs, whereas one study was conducted as an experiment investigating the impact of brief educational information on attitudes. Taken together, the findings of included surveys suggested that e-mental health treatment services were perceived as less helpful than traditional face-to-face interventions. Additionally, intentions to future use e-mental health treatments were overall smaller in comparison to face-to-face services. Professional support was essential for help-seeking intentions in case of psychological distress. Therapist-assisted e-mental health services were preferred over unguided programs. Unexpectedly, assumed associations between familiarity with Web-based self-help for health purposes or "e-awareness" and intentions to use e-mental health services were weak or inconsistent.ConclusionsConsidering the marginal amount and heterogeneity of pilot studies focusing on public acceptability of e-mental health treatments, further research using theory-led approaches and validated measures is required to understand psychological facilitator and barriers for the implementation of innovative services into health care.