Depression is common in children and young people, particularly in adolescence and among girls. On average, an episode of depression lasts for about eight months and often occurs alongside non-depressive conditions such as ADHD.
Depression
-
10
CAMHS around the Campfire – ‘Self‐reported sleep patterns and quality amongst adolescents: cross‐sectional and prospective associations with anxiety and depression’ Faith Orchard et al (2020)
A panel, comprising Dr. Faith Orchard, Professor Colin Espie, and a young person, will discuss the research and its implications. This discussion will be facilitated by Andre Tomlin who will also be posing the questions you post live online.
-
Insufficient sleep during adolescence might pose a risk for later depression and anxiety
A new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry has found that young people who have poor sleep quality and quantity might be at risk of poor mental health later in adolescence and early adulthood.
Read more -
Utilization of peer-supported youth hotlines is on the rise
New data suggest that there has been a significant increase in the use of a peer-supported youth hotline between 2010 (~8,000 annual contacts) and 2016 (>12,000 annual contacts). Berit Kerner and colleagues evaluated >67,000 contacts made to a hotline based in Los Angeles, USA.
Read more -
Depressed mothers and their offspring differ in terms of health risk profiles and allostatic load
Allostatic load is essentially the “wear and tear” that accumulates in the body in individuals exposed to chronic stress. Because some patients with psychiatric disorders have a shorter lifespan than their healthy counterparts,1 some researchers have suggested that there might be a link between disorders such as depression and increased allostatic load.
Read more -
PCIT-ED seems to improve parenting behaviour and affect towards children with depression
Data from a new study show that parenting behaviour and affect improved after completing a dyadic parent–child treatment for depression in young children (aged 3-6 years).
Read more -
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.
Read more -
Young people’s ‘neural fingerprints’ might permit a precision-medicine approach to depression
Precision medicine has been discussed in medical research since the late 1990’s. Only recently, however, has this concept aroused interest and inspired relevant research in psychiatry, particularly in adolescents.
Read more -
How accurate are teachers’ assessments of children’s mental health?
Frances Mathews, Tamsin Ford and colleagues have performed a secondary analysis of the 2004 British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey, to understand how accurately teacher concern predicts the presence of a mental disorder in school children.
Read more -
September 2020 – The Bridge
The month of September is a challenging time for young people, as they start a new school year. September 2020 will be particularly difficult for many, as they must also deal with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing, as well as the effects of increasing financial pressures on families.
Read more -
Depressed young people have lower vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels than their peers
Researchers in Turkey have studied serum folate, vitamin B12, homocysteine and 25-OH vitamin D levels in young people with and without depression.
Read more