Prevalence of Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviours in Children and Adolescents with Mental Disorders.

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, such as sleep problems, low physical activity, poor diet, and excessive screen time, are common among children and adolescents. Lifestyle has a significant impact on children's physical and mental health. This study examined the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle habits in children and adolescents in psychiatric care, and how they vary by age, gender, and diagnosis.

Post-traumatic stress disorder rates in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: updated three-level meta-analysis.

Background: In the past decade, no meta-analytical estimates of the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents have been published, despite a host of new prevalence studies and updated DSM-5 criteria.

Aims: We set out to estimate the prevalence rates of PTSD in trauma-exposed children and adolescents on the basis of DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria, and investigate differences in prevalence across trauma type, gender, time since exposure, type of informant and diagnostic measures.

Method: Studies identified in a previous meta-analysis were combined with more recent studies retrieved in a new systematic literature search, resulting in a total of 95 studies describing 64 independent samples ( = 6745 for DSM-IV, = 12 644 for DSM-5) over a 30-year period.

Short- and Long-Term Effectiveness of Brief Intensive Trauma Treatment for Adolescents With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Their Caregivers: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Childhood trauma is pervasive, with approximately 50% of adolescents experiencing at least one potentially traumatic event before adulthood. Eight percent to 33% of potentially traumatic event-exposed adolescents develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can cause extreme suffering and coincides with numerous comorbid illnesses and high-risk behaviors. PTSD can be effectively treated in adolescents through weekly sessions of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing or trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.

[Autism diagnosis at an early or late age: need for more objective assessment].

Autism is classified based on the behavior and development of a child or adult. Subjective assessment plays a significant role during the diagnostic process. Recently, various methods have been developed to enhance diagnostic procedures with more objective instruments.

The relationship between sleep difficulties and externalizing and internalizing problems in children and adolescents with mental illness.

Sleep difficulties are presumably a transdiagnostic factor in the complex aetiology of psychiatric disorders in youth. This study assessed the prevalence of sleep difficulties in children and adolescents seeking specialized psychiatric care, examined the relationships of internalizing and externalizing problems, and considered the moderating role of sex and age on these relationships. Parent-reported data on difficulties initiating sleep, difficulties maintaining sleep, early morning awakenings and daytime fatigue from a large sample of children and adolescents referred for specialized psychiatric care (n = 4638; < 18 years) were used to estimate prevalence rates.

Changes in child and adolescent mental health across the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2023): Insights from general population and clinical samples in the Netherlands.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected child and adolescent mental health and at the end of the pandemic (April 2022) child mental health had not returned to pre-pandemic levels. We investigated whether this observed increase in mental health problems has continued, halted, or reversed after the end of the pandemic in children from the general population and in children in psychiatric care.

Methods: We collected parent-reported and child-reported data at two additional post-pandemic time points (November/December 2022 and March/April 2023) in children (8-18 years) from two general population samples ( = 818-1056 per measurement) and one clinical sample receiving psychiatric care ( = 320-370) and compared these with data from before the pandemic.

Bringing the autistic lifeworld to supportive technology design: an enactive approach.

Supportive technologies for autistic individuals are promising in principle, yet their uptake remains limited. Critics argue that in current designs of supportive technologies, autism is mostly framed as a 'disorder' whose limitations can be pragmatically compensated for. To increase uptake, designers should get a better handle on how to incorporate the full richness of the autistic experience into the design process.

Study Protocol: Pegasus: psychotherapy incorporating horses for 'therapy-resistant' adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, a study with series of randomised, baseline controlled n-of-1 trials.

Background: For people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), daily life can be highly stressful with many unpredictable events that can evoke emotion dysregulation (ED): a strong difficulty with appropriately negative affect regulation. For some of the patients with ASD, treatment as usual does not prove to be effective for ED. They may be at risk of life-long impairment, development of other disorders and loss of motivation for most regular forms of therapy.

Effectiveness of a positive psychology and mindfulness-based app on mental health for parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder: study protocol of a pragmatic international randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) experience more stress than parents of typically developing children. In a cocreation process with experts and parents, a low-threshold application that uses exercises based on the principles of positive psychology and mindfulness was developed. This application, called "Adappt," aims at enhancing the ability to adapt of the parents and caregivers of children with NDDs and at supporting their mental health.

Childhood adversity in a youth psychiatric population: prevalence and associated mental health problems.

Childhood adversity can have lasting negative effects on physical and mental health. This study contributes to the existing literature by describing the prevalence rates and mental health outcomes related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among adolescents registered for mental health care. Participants in this cross-sectional study were youths (aged 12-18 years) who were referred to outpatient psychiatric departments in the Netherlands.

The effects of COVID-19 on child mental health: Biannual assessments up to April 2022 in a clinical and two general population samples.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an acute impact on child mental and social health, but long-term effects are still unclear. We examined how child mental health has developed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic up to 2 years into the pandemic (April 2022).

Methods: We included children (age 8-18) from two general population samples ( = 222-1333 per measurement and  = 2401-13,362 for pre-covid data) and one clinical sample receiving psychiatric care ( = 334-748).

Treatment of multiple traumatized adolescents by enhancing regulation skills and reducing trauma related symptoms: rationale, study design, and methods of randomized controlled trial (the Mars-study).

Background: There is ongoing debate regarding the treatment of severe and multiple traumatized children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many clinicians favor a phase-based treatment approach (i.e.

Novel Insights into Somatic Comorbidities in Children and Adolescents Across Psychiatric Diagnoses: An Explorative Study.

Many children with psychiatric disorders display somatic symptoms, although these are frequently overlooked. As somatic morbidity early in life negatively influences long-term outcomes, it is relevant to assess comorbidity. However, studies of simultaneous psychiatric and somatic assessment in children are lacking.

The short and long-term effects of a lifestyle intervention in children with mental illnesses: a randomized controlled trial (Movementss study).

Background: A lifestyle including poor diet, physical inactivity, excessive gaming and inadequate sleep hygiene is frequently seen among Dutch children. These lifestyle behaviors can cause long-term health problems later in life. Unhealthy lifestyle and poor physical health are even more prevalent among children with mental illness (MI) such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and anxiety.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in adolescents with autism; Efficacy on ASD symptoms and stress.

Introduction: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a well-established and thoroughly researched treatment method for posttraumatic stress symptoms. When patients with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are treated with EMDR for their Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), they sometimes report a decrease in the core symptoms of ASD. This explorative pre-post-follow up design study is designed to investigate whether EMDR with a focus on daily experienced stress, is effective in reducing ASD symptoms and stress in adolescents with ASD.

Muva physical activity intervention to improve social functioning in people with a severe mental illness: study protocol of a pragmatic stepped wedge cluster randomized trial.

Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) often suffer from long-lasting symptoms that negatively influence their social functioning, their ability to live a meaningful life, and participation in society. Interventions aimed at increasing physical activity can improve social functioning, but people with SMI experience multiple barriers to becoming physically active. Besides, the implementation of physical activity interventions in day-to-day practice is difficult.

Vitamin D status in children with a psychiatric diagnosis, autism spectrum disorders, or internalizing disorders.

Background And Objective: Multiple studies suggest that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have significantly lower vitamin D3 levels than typically developing children. However, whether vitamin D3 deficiency is more common in children with ASD than in children with other psychiatric disorders remains unclear. This study was conducted to explore the prevalence of vitamin D3 in children with a psychiatric diagnosis including children with ASD or with internalizing disorders (mood and anxiety disorders).

Internalizing problems before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in independent samples of Dutch children and adolescents with and without pre-existing mental health problems.

The aim of the study was to assess internalizing problems before and during the pandemic with data from Dutch consortium Child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, consisting of two Dutch general population samples (GS) and two clinical samples (CS) referred to youth/psychiatric care. Measures of internalizing problems were obtained from ongoing data collections pre-pandemic (N = 35,357; N = 4487) and twice during the pandemic, in Apr-May 2020 (N = 3938; clinical: N = 1008) and in Nov-Dec 2020 (N = 1489; N = 1536), in children and adolescents (8-18 years) with parent (Brief Problem Monitor) and/or child reports (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System). Results show that, in the general population, internalizing problems were higher during the first peak of the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic based on both child and parent reports.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) parent group training for young children with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is a promising intervention addressing core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with parent involvement as key component. Parent group-delivered PRT may be an effective treatment model, but currently the evidence is limited. Also, little attention has been paid to therapeutic involvement of multiple important contexts (e.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) - Parent Group Training for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study on Perspectives of Parents.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is considered to be an empirically supported parent-mediated treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but research on parental experiences is lacking. This qualitative study examined the perspectives of parents of young children with ASD who participated in a 14-week PRT with parent group training (PRT-PG). Semi-structured interviews (n = 12) were carried out, based on Grounded Theory principles.

[International Consensus Statement for the Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Adolescents with Concurrent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Substance Use Disorder].

International Consensus Statement for the Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Adolescents with Concurrent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Substance Use Disorder Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for substance misuse and substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescence and (early) adulthood. ADHD and SUD also frequently co-occur in treatment-seeking adolescents, which complicates diagnosis and treatment and is associated with poor treatment outcomes. Research on the effect of treatment of childhood ADHD on the prevention of adolescent SUD is inconclusive, and studies on the diagnosis and treatment of adolescents with ADHD and SUD are scarce.

Mental and Social Health of Children and Adolescents With Pre-existing Mental or Somatic Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.

The COVID-19 lockdown increases psychological problems in children and adolescents from the general population. Here we investigate the mental and social health during the COVID-19 lockdown in children and adolescents with pre-existing mental or somatic problems. We included participants (8-18 years) from a psychiatric ( = 249) and pediatric ( = 90) sample, and compared them to a general population sample ( = 844).

Pivotal Response Treatment with and without robot-assistance for children with autism: a randomized controlled trial.

Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is a promising intervention focused on improving social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Since robots potentially appeal to children with ASD and may contribute to their motivation for social interaction, this exploratory randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted comparing PRT (PRT and robot-assisted PRT) with treatment-as-usual (TAU). Seventy-three children (PRT: n = 25; PRT + robot: n = 25; TAU: n = 23) with ASD, aged 3-8 years were assessed at baseline, after 10 and 20 weeks of intervention, and at 3-month follow-up.

Pivotal Response Treatment for School-Aged Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is promising for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but more methodologically robust designed studies are needed. In this randomized controlled trial, forty-four children with ASD, aged 9-15 years, were randomly allocated to PRT (n = 22) or treatment-as-usual (TAU; n = 22). Measurements were obtained after 12- and 20-weeks treatment, and 2-month follow-up.