Future Directions for Early Childhood Prevention of Mental Disorders: A Road Map to Mental Health, Earlier

Objective: We examined associations between developmental vulnerability profiles determined at the age of 5 years and subsequent childhood mental illness between ages 6 and 13 years in an Australian population cohort. Methods: Intergenerational records from New South Wales (NSW) Government Departments of Health and Child Protection spanning pre-birth to 13 years of age were linked with the 2009 Australian Early Development Census records for 86,668 children. Mental illness indices for children were extracted from health records between 2009 and 2016 (child’s age of 6–13 years). Associations between mental disorder diagnoses and membership of early childhood risk groups, including those with established ‘special needs’ (3777, 4.3%) at school entry, or putative risk classes delineated via latent class analysis of Australian Early Development Census subdomains – referred to as ‘pervasive risk’ ( N = 3479; 4.0%), ‘misconduct risk’ ( N = 5773; 6.7%) or ‘mild generalised risk’ ( N = 9542; 11%) – were estimated using multinomial logistic regression, relative to children showing ‘no risk’ ( N = 64,097; 74%). Poisson regression models estimated the relative risk of a greater number of days recorded with mental health service contacts among children in each Australian Early Development Census risk group. Adjusted models included child’s sex, socioeconomic disadvantage, child protection contacts and parental mental illness as covariates. Results: The crude odds of any mental disorder among children aged 6–13 years was increased approximately threefold in children showing pervasive risk or misconduct risk profiles at the age of 5 years, and approximately sevenfold in children with special needs, relative to children showing no risk; patterns of association largely remained after adjusting for covariates. Children with special needs and the misconduct risk class used mental health services over a greater number of days than the no risk class. Conclusion: Patterns of early childhood developmental vulnerability are associated with subsequent onset of mental disorders and have the potential to inform interventions to mitigate the risk for mental disorders in later childhood and adolescence.

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An evolutionary life history approach to understanding mental health

General Psychiatry ◽

10.1136/gpsych-2019-100113 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. e100113

Author(s):

Wen Han ◽

Bin-Bin Chen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Life History ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Research Methods ◽

Life History Theory ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Future Directions ◽

History Approach

In recent years, evolutionary life history theory has been used as a heuristic framework to understand mental health. This article reviews the life history theory and its integration with mental disorders and then introduces representative research methods and related empirical studies in the field of evolutionary psychopathology. In the end, this article concludes with future directions for further research examining and developing the evolutionary psychopathological framework.

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Theoretical and practical approaches to the organization of psychopreventive care in early childhood

Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health ◽

10.32364/2618-8430-2020-3-2-126-131 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 126-131

Author(s):

G.V. Kozlovskaya ◽

◽

L.F. Kremneva ◽

M.A. Kalinina ◽

M.V. Ivanov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Inclusive Education ◽

Genetic Disorders ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Mental Health Conditions ◽

Increased Risk

The growing prevalence of diagnosed mental health conditions in children is currently reported. Morbidity structure has changed over the last two decades as autism spectrum disorders including debilitating ones have come to the fore. Epidemiological study outcomes demonstrate an increased risk of mental disorders as compared with good mental health. Psychogenic factors are of crucial importance for the development of certain mental health conditions in children. Among them, the development of mother-child dyad is particularly important. This article reviews fundamental articles by domestic authors and describes in detail the development of optimal psychological component of gestational dominance that prepares a woman for maternity being one of the top priorities of early psychoprophylaxis. Toddlers who are at higher risk for mental disorders are categorized into groups depending on contributing factors, i.e., children with residual cerebral abnormalities due to the organic lesion of the central nervous system, children with manifestations of schizotypic diathesis or other genetic disorders, and deprived children. Major principles of the organization of primary, secondary, and corrective psychopreventive care in children are addressed. Specialized services for early psychopreventive care to support mental health and to reduce the prevalence of mental disorders and the severity of deprivation disorders in children are required. The paper also highlights the need for reopening of psychological medical social centers and harmonizing preschool and school education through the disaggregation of groups and classes. Finally, the authors declare that inclusive education is unreasonable.Keywords: mental disorders, early childhood, risk group, deprivation, schizotypic diathesis, psychoprophylaxis.For citation: Kozlovskaya G.V., Kremneva L.F., Kalinina M.A., Ivanov M.V. Theoretical and practical approaches to the organization of psychopreventive care in early childhood. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2020;3(2):126–131. DOI: 10.32364/2618-8430-2020-3-2-126-131.

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Broadening the scope of epidemiology in conflict-affected settings: opportunities for mental health prevention and promotion

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences ◽

10.1017/s2045796013000188 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 197-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

W. A. Tol ◽

S. J. Rees ◽

D. M. Silove

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Childhood ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Health Prevention ◽

Health Practice ◽

Mental Health Practice ◽

Methodological Rigor ◽

Multi Level

This editorial proposes a shift in emphasis in the field of mental health epidemiology in conflict-affected settings. After a brief summary of the nature of contemporary armed conflicts, we consider the current and potential roles that epidemiology can play with regard to: (1) establishing the burden of mental disorders; (2) identifying risk and protective factors; and (3) intervention research. We advocate for improved methodological rigor; more attention to mixed methods approaches and multi-level longitudinal research; inclusion of the determinants of mental health beyond conflict-related violence; and consideration of a wider array of mental health outcomes. We particularly highlight the importance of expanding interest to epidemiological research that advances prevention and promotion interventions (e.g., in the early childhood period), in order to fill the gap between epidemiology and mental health practice in conflict-affected settings.

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