In the current economic climate in many countries across the world, the impact of socio-economic inequalities on mental health has become an important topic, not only in terms of supporting people, but in terms of planning a public health response to a rising concern. Poverty and low economic status is known to affect various aspects [read the full story…]
Do not use psychological debriefing when a child has been exposed to a traumatic event such as assault or a major car crash. And if you treat a child who has developed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to trauma, do not use pharmacotherapy either (that is, not as a first line treatment). Rather, apply the [read the full story…]
Disruptive behaviour problems (DPB) such as conduct problems or being oppositional and defiant affect a large proportion of young children. Many of these early behavioural problems predict negative outcomes such as underachieving at schools, future unemployment and criminal behaviour. Treatment of DPBs often begins during the school years once the condition is well-established, and when [read the full story…]
This USA based meta-analysis looked at the association between parenting and outcomes for children with developmental disabilities. The authors point out that despite there being an extensive literature supporting the positive relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there has been little work to analyse the literature specific to children with [read the full story…]
Conduct disorders are the most common reason why children are referred to mental health services and it’s estimated that around 5% of all UK children aged 5-16 have a diagnosis of the condition. Around half of the young people affected by conduct disorders go on to have a serious mental health problem as an adult. [read the full story…]
We don’t have accurate statistics on the numbers of children living with alcohol misusing parents. It’s estimated that 79,000 babies in England are living with a parent who is classified as a ‘problematic’ drinker (‘hazardous’ or ‘harmful’). The Office of the Children’s Commissioner has published a Rapid Evidence Assessment about the impact that alcohol misuse [read the full story…]
Any parent whose child has a chronic or life-threatening illness will attest to the fact that it can be a worrying, stressful and exhausting journey. Parents can struggle to juggle caring for their child with work, social and other commitments. This can lead to parents suffering from mental health problems themselves, in addition to the [read the full story…]
Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is a preventive programme for vulnerable first time young mothers. It offers intensive and structured home visiting, delivered by specially trained nurses, from early pregnancy until the child is two. The Department of Health has published 3 new reports that provide the results of further evaluative studies of the FNP programme. [read the full story…]
The broad aim of this review was to look at the literature that has assessed the role of parental influences in early childhood caries (ECC). The authors had 4 questions they were hoping to address. What parental variables have been studied within the context of dental caries development in young children aged 0–6 years? What [read the full story…]
Conduct problems in young children are common and costly, so there’s lots of interest in training programmes that can help parents and children cope better. This new review from the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group assesses the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting programmes for improving child conduct problems, parental [read the full story…]
