Research digest

  • Psychotic Experiences: what they are and why we care about them?

    Over the past 20 years, findings from the field of psychosis research have shed new light on the prevalence of PEs among children and adolescents, revealing that about 17% of children and 8% of adolescents report experiences of these phenomena.

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  • The association between anxiety and poor school attendance

    School plays a key role in children’s development, and frequent absence from school increases the likelihood of a range of adverse outcomes in childhood and later life. This includes poor academic performance, social isolation, economic deprivation and unemployment in adulthood. There are many risk factors for frequent school absence, including factors related to the child and their family, school and community.

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  • A theory of youth mental health recovery

    Mental health disorders have a negative impact on the individual, society and global economy. The prevalence of mental disorders is increasing in young people, and if unaddressed, research has shown that they may develop into severe and chronic illnesses. Despite this, research into youth mental health recovery is limited.

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  • The experiences of healthcare transitions between child and adult services for young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a review of evidence

    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. It affects around 5% of children, and can be a long term condition, with research showing that up to two thirds of young people with ADHD will continue to experience symptoms into adulthood. However, many young people with ongoing healthcare needs do not make the necessary transition from child to adult mental health services.

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  • Reporting of depression symptoms in children with ADHD: do parents know best?

    ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by hyperactive-impulsiveness and inattention. ADHD often co-occurs with emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. Depression in particular is prominent amongst adolescents with ADHD, and can be difficult to identify as it can have similar features both to ADHD itself and to some of the side effects of ADHD medication.

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  • Social connectedness and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents

    Suicide is a major public health concern claiming over 44,000 lives annually and ranking within the top 10 causes of death for the general population and the 2nd leading cause of death for those aged 15-24 years of age (though there is variation in this when examining causes by racial groups). 

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  • Children’s Understanding of Depression

    Depression is a mental illness that affects children and especially adolescents, however little is known about how children and adolescents understand depression. Gaining an understanding of how children perceive illness can facilitate effective communication with health professionals and children’s active involvement in decision-making about their health.

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  • Continued family dysfunction accounts for the association between childhood adversity and adolescent self-harm

    Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is any deliberate attempt at inflicting physical self-harm in the absence of suicidal intent. NSSI peaks during adolescence, with roughly 17% of adolescents reporting having engaged in it at least once.

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  • Autism Spectrum Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder edition

    This edition of ‘The Bridge’ focusses on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Both of these can resemble each other with the over-focus, special interests and anxieties seen in ASD resembling the obsessions of OCD, and the routines, rituals and need for order and sameness that can be seen in ASD resembling the compulsions in OCD.

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  • Connecting the senses: an area of difficulty in infants later diagnosed with autism?

    Autism Spectrum Disorder, or autism for short, can be diagnosed from around 2-3 years in most cases (although in practice, it is often done much later – for various reasons). It is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning that in order to understand it we need to understand the underlying developmental processes, in both brain and behaviour.

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