Latest Research

Sarah Ann R. Anderson, Anna M. Oprescu, Diane Callelo, Andrew Monte, Peter S. Dayan, Yasmin L. Hurd, Alex F. Manini, on behalf of the ToxIC Investigators Pediatrics Jul 2019, e20182690; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-2690 This multi-site US study of adolescents presenting with acute cannabis-related toxicity found that synthetic cannabis use was associated with more frequent central nervous system depression (OR 3.89) and seizures (OR 3.42) than recreational cannabis use.  Users of both types...

Colm Healy (a1), Ross Brannigan (a1) (a2), Niamh Dooley (a1), Helen Coughlan (a1) ... Psychological Medicine. Volume 49, Issue 10 July 2019 , pp. 1589-1599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719000485 Psychotic experiences are common during childhood and adolescence, occurring in around 10% of individuals.  This systematic review of 14 studies found that they were associated with a four-fold risk of psychosis as well as a three-fold risk of other mental disorders, including affective...

Moore DA, Nunns M, Shaw L, et al. Health Technol Assess. 2019 May;23(22):1-164. doi: 10.3310/hta23220. (Systematic review) This systematic review of 25 randomised controlled trials found limited evidence for interventions to improve the mental health of children and young people with long-term physical conditions.  Echoing the findings of a recent Cochrane review, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)-based interventions were found to have the greatest effect.  These findings are limite...

Westling S, Daukantaite D, Liljedahl SI, et al.  JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Jun 5;2(6):e195463. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.5463. (Original study) There is currently debate regarding the value of brief admission (BA) to hospital following episodes of self-harm/attempted suicide, with the practice being standard in some countries such as the UK, but not in others such as New Zealand.  This adult study of 125 individuals found that although BA was associated with reduced use of compul...

Barker MM, Beresford B, Bland M, Fraser LK. JAMA Pediatr. Published online July 08, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1712 Individuals with life-limiting conditions are known to be at increased risk of a range of psychological issues.  This systematic of 37 studies quantifies the risk by finding that the pooled prevalence of anxiety is as high as 19.1% and depression as high as 14.3% (i.e. double what would be expected in those of a similar age).  These findings underscore the r...

O’Connell, C., Shafran, R., & Bennett, S. (2019). Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104519855415 Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are common, affecting between 4-20% of children and adolescents.  Despite the low quality of evidence, this systematic review of 18 studies found that systematically-oriented interventions were most effective for addressing MUS. Interventions targeting parental responses to illness and family communication appeared...

Dadds, Mark R.,Tully, Lucy A. American Psychologist, Feb 25 , 2019, No Pagination Specified This article examines the benefits and potential risks of the use of time-out, a strategy employed by most parent management training programmes, but eschewed by attachment theorists as potentially detrimental to relationships and even traumatic for children.     https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Famp0000449

Bennett, S. D., Cuijpers, P. , Ebert, D. D., McKenzie Smith, M. , Coughtrey, A. E., Heyman, I. , Manzotti, G. and Shafran, R. (2019). J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 60: 828-847. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13010 This systematic review of 50 studies found that both unguided and guided self-help interventions for common mental health disorders had moderate positive effect sizes compared with control interventions. No clear moderators of outcome were identified.   https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10...

Niederkrotenthaler T, Stack S, Till B, et al.  JAMA Psychiatry. Published online May 29, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0922 Proving that media can do both harm as well as good, this analysis of US suicide rates found that in the three months following the release of the Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’, suicide rates among 10-19 year olds significantly increased beyond national trends, particularly in females.  While reducing the shame and stigma about discussing suicide ...

Mori C, Temple JR, Browne D, Madigan S. JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 17, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1658 This systematic review of over 40,000 adolescents in 23 studies found that sexting (sending sex-related messages by text) was associated with increased rates of sexual activity, multiple partners, lack of contraceptive use, substance abuse, anxiety and depression. The authors recommend campaigns to educate youth about digital health and safety. https://jamanetwork.com/...