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This study found that an online-delivered parenting intervention for young children with disruptive behaviour problems was non-inferior to a staff-delivered parenting intervention, suggesting there may be more efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver traditionally time-consuming and expensive parenting programmes. Prinz, R. J., Metzler, C. W., Sanders, M. R., Rusby, J. C., & Cai, C. (2021). Online‐delivered parenting intervention for young children with disruptive behavior problems:...

Despite enthusiasm for the prospect of treatment being guided by pharmacogenomics rather than clinical judgement, this randomised controlled trial showed that there was no clinical benefit from this new approach. Whether this is related to current pharmacogenomic techniques or other reasons remains to be confirmed. Voort, J. L. V., Orth, S. S., Shekunov, J., Romanowicz, M., Geske, J. R., Ward, J. A., ... & Croarkin, P. E. (2021). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Combinatorial Pharmacogene...

This randomised controlled trial shows that therapist-assisted internet delivered cognitive therapy is more effective at reducing social anxiety than internet-delivered supportive therapy. Nordh M, Wahlund T, Jolstedt M, et al. Therapist-Guided Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Internet-Delivered Supportive Therapy for Children and Adolescents With Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online May 12, 2021.  htt...

Wraparound services are commonly used for coordinating the care of children and young people with serious emotional disorders. However, as this systematic review shows, they may only have small effects on mental health symptoms and functioning. Olson, J. R., Benjamin, P. H., Azman, A. A., Kellogg, M. A., Pullmann, M. D., Suter, J. C., & Bruns, E. J. (2021). Systematic review and meta-analysis: Effectiveness of wraparound care coordination for children and adolescents. Journal of the ...

The new diagnosis of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) was partly developed in an effort to mitigate the over-diagnosis and pharmacotherapy of Juvenile Bipolar Disorder (BPD).  Unfortunately, as this paper shows, a higher number of children have been diagnosed with DMDD than BPD (7.677 vs 6480), received more medication (81.9% vs 69.4%) and been hospitalised (45% vs 33%). Findling, R. L., Zhou, X., George, P., & Chappell, P. B. (2021). Diagnostic Trends and Prescript...

This review of 28 apps for eating disorders found that they commonly focussed on cognitive restructuring, activity scheduling and self-monitoring over problem-solving, exposure and relapse prevention. Although these apps might have a role in the treatment of eating disorders, they may not fully replace the need for face-to-face therapy at this stage. Wasil AR, Patel R, Cho JY, Shingleton RM, Weisz JR, DeRubeis RJ. Smartphone apps for eating disorders: A systematic review of evidence-based con...

This systematic review and meta-analysis of second-generation antipsychotics in young people with bipolar disorder found that lurisadone and a combination of olanzapine and fluoxetine were more effective than quetiapine. There was insufficient evidence regarding other antipsychotics. DelBello, M. P., Kadakia, M. A., Heller, M. V., Singh, M. R., Hagi, K., Nosaka, M. T., & Loebel, A. (2021). Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis: Second-Generation Antipsychotics in Youth With Bipolar ...

This systematic review found that treatment with long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic medication was less likely to lead to hospitalisation and relapse than treatment with oral antipsychotics (relative risk 0.88), suggesting that they should be more proactively offered to young people with psychosis. Kishimoto, T., Hagi, K., Kurokawa, S., Kane, J. M., & Correll, C. U. (2021). Long-acting injectable versus oral antipsychotics for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia: a systemat...

Winstanley, M., Webb, R. T., & Conti‐Ramsden, G. (2021). Developmental language disorders and risk of recidivism among young offenders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(4), 396-403. This study of 145 young offenders found that developmental learning disorder (DLD) was the most significant predictor of re-offending (62% of those with DLD vs only 25% of those without DLD). This study suggests assessment of DLD should be part of routine care for these young people. https...

O’Farrelly C, Watt H, Babalis D, et al. A Brief Home-Based Parenting Intervention to Reduce Behavior Problems in Young Children: A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. Published online March 15, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.6834 This pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a brief  6-session online, Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) demonstrated significant improvements in the behavio...