Risk factors
-
Digital Media, Peer Influence, and Teen Mental Health
Drawing on research from Professor Mitch Prinstein, this session will explore how social processes — including peer influence and popularity — interact with digital environments to shape young people’s emotional well-being.
- Event type
- Update session
- Location
- LIVE STREAM
-
Have You Seen Me Lately? – Revisiting Our Understanding of Youth Mental Health
We are delighted to announce the release of the 2026 Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry (JCPP) Annual Research Review ‘“Have you seen me lately” ‐ Revisiting our understanding of significant mental health disorders for children and adolescents’, edited by Daniel S. Shaw.
Read more -
Meet the Experts: Professor Caroline Bond and Jerricah Holder on Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
On 20 May 2026, ACAMH will host Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) in Practice: Evidence, Complexity, and Recovery-Oriented Approaches. We caught up with two of the presenters – Professor Caroline Bond (pic) and Jerricah Holder – to discuss the topic, their careers, and their hopes for the event.
Read more -
Maltreatment, Trauma-Related Disorders, and Their Interplay with Neurodivergence
Prof Helen Minnis leads a session about the trauma and stressor related disorders of childhood, known as Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED). These are disorders thought to be ‘caused’ by maltreatment (abuse and neglect). We aim to raise your awareness about RAD & DSED and to enable you with the skills to recognise associated behaviours in children and young people who you work.
- Event type
- Advanced session
-
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in Children and Young People: Current Evidence and Clinical Approaches
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in Children and Young People: Current Evidence and Clinical Approaches Short summary Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders, including Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), often begin in childhood or adolescence and can be associated with marked distress, impaired school functioning, family disruption, and increased risk of comorbidity and co-occurring symptoms.
Read more -
Identifying Mental Health Difficulties in Children Living in Care: Is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire enough?
This blog, by Dr. Eva Sprecher, shares new findings that suggest current UK practice may not be sufficient for identifying children in care struggling with their mental health – and we suggest what might help improve things.
Read more -
Understanding the nature and nurture of callous-unemotional traits: The role of anxiety
New research using the twin design reveals that anxiety levels in children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits can tell us something important about the origins of these traits.
Read more -
Intergenerational Consequences of Racism
Dr. Yasmin Ahmadzadeh leads a session to recognise how racism impacts families in the UK, understand how focus group discussions are used in research, and consider how public perspectives can help shape future research.
- Event type
- ACEs SIG Monthly seminars
- Location
- LIVE STREAM
-
Navigating Diagnostic Challenges in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
We’re delighted to offer you a chance to learn from the very best – Dr. Boris Birmaher. The goal of this presentation is to present the difficulties and differential diagnosis of pediatric Bipolar Disease and factors associated with its course.
- Event type
- Advanced session
- Location
- LIVE STREAM
-
Rethinking Reading Disorders: Language Foundations, Risk Pathways, and Protective Factors
Understanding how children learn to read requires a comprehensive understanding of language, phonology, cognition, and environmental factors. While phonological processing deficits have long been considered central to dyslexia (Snowling, 2000; Vellutino et al., 2004), growing evidence suggests that reading difficulties can emerge from multiple developmental pathways, influence by a diverse combination of risk and protective factors (Hulme & Snowling, 2016; Catts et al., 2017). These individual differences underscore why some children struggle primarily with decoding, others with comprehension, and many with both.
Read more