Latest Research

Device use by infants during the COVID-19 pandemic was related to both maternal device use and maternal mental health. Efforts to address the former issue need to take into account the latter factors. Pedrotti, B. G., Mallmann, M. Y., Almeida, C. R. S., Marques, F. M., Vescovi, G., Riter, H. D. S., ... & Frizzo, G. B. (2021). Infants’ and toddlers’ digital media use and mothers’ mental health: A comparative study before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Infant Mental Health Journ...

Similar to many other parts of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in the number of Canadian young people developing anorexia nervosa and its severity.  Agostino, H., Burstein, B., Moubayed, D., Taddeo, D., Grady, R., Vyver, E., ... & Coelho, J. S. (2021). Trends in the incidence of new-onset anorexia nervosa and atypical anorexia nervosa among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. JAMA network open, 4(12), e2137395-e2137395. https://jamanetwork....

Agomelatine is a new medication that, in conjunction with psychosocial counselling, appears to be effective at treating childhood depression. Arango, C., Buitelaar, J. K., Fegert, J. M., Olivier, V., Pénélaud, P. F., Marx, U., ... & Wolańczyk, T. (2021). Safety and efficacy of agomelatine in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder receiving psychosocial counselling: a double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial in nine countries. The Lancet Psychiatry. https...

Young people who self-harm or make suicide attempts may be at long-term risk of developing substance use and behaviour problems, not just anxiety and mood problems.  Bjureberg, J., Kuja‐Halkola, R., Ohlis, A., Lichtenstein, P., D’Onofrio, B. M., Hellner, C., & Cederlöf, M. (2021). Adverse clinical outcomes among youths with nonsuicidal self‐injury and suicide attempts: a longitudinal cohort study. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.co...

Despite the lack of specificity of treatment modality, early intervention for young people with borderline personality disorder appears to be useful for improving psychosocial functioning. Chanen AM, Betts JK, Jackson H, et al. Effect of 3 Forms of Early Intervention for Young People With Borderline Personality Disorder: The MOBY Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 15. pii: 2787195. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.3637 https://www.evidencealerts.com/Articles/AlertedArti...

Although useful for identifying ADHD as part of multi-modal clinical assessment, none of the existing screening tools is sufficiently robust for population-based screening. Mulraney, M., Arrondo, G., Musullulu, H., Iturmendi-Sabater, I., Cortese, S., Westwood, S. J., ... & Coghill, D. (2021). Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Screening Tools for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

The PANNS-6 can be used to gauge early response from antipsychotics such as aripipriazole and quetiapine and accelerate change to alternative forms of medication.  Pagsberg, A. K., Krogmann, A., Jeppesen, P., von Hardenberg, L., Klauber, D. G., Jensen, K. G., ... & Galling, B. (2022). Early Antipsychotic Non-response as a Predictor of Non-response and Non-remission in Adolescents With Psychosis Treated With Aripiprazole or Quetiapine: Results From the TEA Trial. Journal of the American ...

School-based interventions were more effective at addressing physical than sexual violence among adolescents. Piolanti A, Foran HM. Efficacy of Interventions to Prevent Physical and Sexual Dating Violence Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online November 29, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4829 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2786460?guestAccessKey=494ca8e8-6e2e-4a17-a87d-a99b3c9a2ff6&utm_s...

A range of evidence-based early interventions may be useful for supporting autistic children. Rojas-Torres, L. P., Alonso-Esteban, Y., & Alcantud-Marín, F. (2020). Early intervention with parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a review of programs. Children, 7(12), 294. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/294/htm

Information and communication technologies may be useful for early screening to identify and offer timely support to autistic children. Desideri, L., Pérez-Fuster, P., & Herrera, G. (2021). Information and Communication Technologies to Support Early Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. Children, 8(2), 93. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/93/htm