Latest Research

Flack F, Stahlschmidt L, Dobe M, et al. Pain. 2018 Jun 21. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001321.  (Original) PMID: 29939961 This randomised controlled trial investigated whether interoceptive exposure (IE) therapy enhanced reductions in fear of pain, pain intensity, pain-related disability, school absence and emotional characteristics (anxiety and catastrophising).  Overall, there was no difference between the treatment and control group (relaxation training) in any of these outcomes. Howev...

Kohut T, Štulhofer A. Plos One. Published: August 10, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202048 Despite concerns about the effect of pornography use on adolescent wellbeing, this study of two independent samples of Coratian adolescents (N=455, N=858) over time found no association between porngraphy use and subjective wellbeing.  Surprisingly, pornography use was associated with increased self-esteem and symptoms of anxiety and depression in females within one cohort. In the other c...

Linsell, L., Johnson, S., Wolke, D. et al. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1219-8 This longitudinal study of over 300 UK and Irish children born at less than 26 weeks gestation and assessed at 6, 11, 16 and 19 years found that children born prematurely had a much higher risk of difficulties at home and school at all study time-points. The commonest issues were  hyperactivity, inattention and peer-related problems.  Early signs of difficulty on a paren...

Errasti J, Amigo I and Villadangos M. Psychological Reports. Vol 120, Issue 6, pp. 997 – 1018. First Published June 12, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117713496 Over 500 Spanish adolescents took part in this study that showing that greater Facebook and Twitter use was associated with increased levels of empathy. Narcissism was greater in a subset of participants who used Twitter often and those who expressed their emotions more frequently on Facebook. http://journals.sagepub.com/d...

Ní Chobhthaigh S and Duffy F. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry.  Published online July 12, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518786339 This systematic review includes 19 studies and 15 psychological interventions for supporting adoptive parents.  Due to the variation in outcome measures, meta-analysis of data is limited.  However, some effective elements of therapy are identified. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1359104518786339#articleCitationDownloadContainer

Sourander, Andre et al. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Published online August 2018.  This large (4656) Finnish study screened families of young children and offered some internet and telephone assisted parent training for disruptive behaviour (232) or an educational control (232). Follow-up results at 24 months indicate that families that received the 11-week Strongest Families Smart Website (SFSW) intervention reported significant reduction in child b...

Goode AP, Coeytaux RR, Maslow GR, et al. Pediatrics. 2018 Jun;141(6). pii: peds.2018-0094. doi: 10.1542/peds.2018-0094. (Review) PMID: 29848556 Despite widespread popularity of non-pharmacologic treatments for ADHD such as neurofeedback, cognitive training, cognitive behavioural therapy, child or parent training, dietary omega fatty acid supplementation, and herbal and/or dietary approaches, there is limited evidence of their effectiveness. This systematic review summarises what is known a...

Fombonne, E. (2018), Editorial: J Child Psychol Psychiatr, 59: 717-720. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12941 Is the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders really increasing or is it just how we are measuring it? This thoughtful editorial explores the nuances of measurement and makes recommendations for improving future analyses. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.12941

Tozer L, Stedmon J and Dallos R. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Published online July 30, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518781922 This in-depth study of the experiences of ten children aged 10-18 years explored attachment, resilience and trauma experiences. Even children with secure attachment were found to have experienced significant trauma from living with a parent receiving treatment for cancer, demonstrating that the impact of adult illness on children should not be und...

Aron EJ et al., Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics , Published online August 2018. Aimed at child psychiatrists, this paper summaries effective postvention techniques and resources available to support schools following a student’s death by suicide. https://www.childpsych.theclinics.com/article/S1056-4993(18)30642-4/fulltext