Meta-analysis
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Which perinatal exposures confer a risk of offspring depression?
In December 2020, the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published a Research Review authored by Xiangfei Meng and colleagues Yingying Su and Carl D’Arcy on the developmental origins of depression.
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Do autistic girls have better communication and interaction skills than autistic boys?
There is ongoing debate as to whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differentially affects males and females. Several meta-analyses have found little difference between males and females with ASD in terms of social communication and interaction skills. However, such analyses have often relied on diagnostic instruments such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition 2 that may not be sensitive to how autism presents in females. What’s more, many have been based on global scores, that reflect overall social communication and interaction skills, which could miss subtler differences in specific domains.
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Can we prevent psychosis in high-risk adolescents?
Over the past two decades we’ve seen growing efforts to prevent psychosis developing in people with subtle signs and symptoms of the disorder, termed ‘Clinical High-Risk State for Psychosis’ (CHR-P).
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How effective is medication for ADHD symptoms in children with ASD?
Clinically significant attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are common and impairing in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).1 Moreover, ADHD is the most common co-occurring mental health diagnosis driving increased rates of medication use in children with ASD.
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Do children with social anxiety disorder benefit from social skills training?
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) in children can be difficult to treat, as evidenced by the varied outcomes reported post-treatment.1,2 Although childhood treatments for SAD commonly involve at least some social skills training,3 it isn’t clear whether children with SAD have particular difficulties with social skills. There is therefore a need to better establish whether social skills are an effective target for treating SAD.
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Interventions for reducing loneliness seem effective in young people
Meta-analyses of interventions aimed at reducing loneliness among young people are distinctly lacking in the field. Now, Alice Eccles and Pamela Qualter have addressed this gap by compiling a review for Child and Adolescent Mental Health on interventions to reduce loneliness in young people.
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Conflicts of interest are under-reported in autism early intervention research
Researchers in the USA have studied, for the first time, the types, prevalence and effects of conflicts of interest (COI) in autism early intervention research.
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Global development and injecting drug use in a new generation of adolescents
People who inject drugs tend to begin doing so in adolescence, and countries that have larger numbers of adolescents who inject drugs may be at risk of emerging epidemics of blood borne viruses unless they take urgent action.
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Supportive counselling is ineffective for managing PTSD in youth
More than half of children and young people are exposed to potentially traumatic events,and a significant minority of those exposed go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because PTSD can be chronic, it can have a notable impact on child development, as well as social, academic and occupational function – it is therefore imperative that effective treatments are identified and prioritized.
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Help yourself (but get some support): meta-analysis of self-help interventions for children
We know that poor mental health in childhood is associated with poorer quality of life, increased likelihood of having a mental health disorder in adulthood and poorer occupational and social outcomes. We also know that there are numerous effective interventions for mental health problems, with over 750 treatment protocols for evidence-based psychological treatments in children. However, demand for treatment outstrips supply.
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