scholarly journals Cognition, Behaviour, and Mental Health in Struggling Learners: A Spotlight on Girls

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacalyn Guy ◽  
Silvana Mareva ◽  
Grace Franckel ◽  
the CALM Team ◽  
Joni Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Learning Difficulties ◽  
Diagnostic Systems ◽  
Cognitive Assessments ◽  
Struggling Learners ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Externalising Problems ◽  
Cognition And Learning

Objectives: Fewer girls than boys are identified as struggling at school. The objectives of this study were to: i) identify dimensions of cognition, behaviour and mental health in a unique transdiagnostic sample of struggling learners; ii) test whether these constructs were equivalent for boys and girls, and; iii) compare their performance across the dimensions. Methods: 805 school-aged children, identified by practitioners as experiencing problems in cognition and learning, completed cognitive assessments, and parents/carers rated their behaviour and mental health problems. Results: Three cognitive, three behavioural, and two mental health dimensions distinguished the sample. Dimensions were structurally comparable between boys and girls, but differences in severity were present: girls had greater cognitive impairments; boys had more severe externalising problems. Conclusions: Gender biases to stereotypically male behaviours are prevalent among practitioners, even when the focus is on identifying cognitive and learning difficulties. This underscores the need to include cognitive and female-representative criteria in diagnostic systems to identify girls whose difficulties could go easily undetected.

scholarly journals Neuroscience and the future for mental health?

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Diagnostic Systems ◽  
Social Adversity ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Brain

Psychiatry is in one of its regular crises. It is a crisis of its diagnostic systems despite – perhaps because – of the recurrent claims about the extent of diagnosable ‘brain disorders’. It is a crisis of its explanatory systems despite – perhaps because – of its current wager on the brain as the ultimate locus for explanations of mental disorders. It is a crisis of its therapeutic capacities despite – perhaps because – more and more people are making use of its primary mode of intervention focussed on the brain – psychiatric drugs. In this editorial, I will suggest that this triple crisis of diagnosis, explanation and therapeutics arises from the dominant reductionist approaches to the role of neurobiology in psychiatry that priorities the analysis of brain mechanisms, at the expense of an understanding of the whole living organism in its milieu, and the processes which social experience shapes neurobiology from the moment of conception if not before. I shall suggest a different approach that starts from the experience of persons coping with adversity in their forms of life. This approach does not require giving up on our search for plausible explanations of mental health problems that engage neurobiological mechanisms, but it begins from a commitment to understanding, and hence intervening in, the ways in which social adversity shapes and blights the lives of so many of our fellow citizens.

scholarly journals Investigating the genetic and environmental aetiologies of non-suicidal and suicidal self-harm: a twin study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Kai Xiang Lim ◽  
Georgina Krebs ◽  
Kaili Rimfeld ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Pingault ◽  
Frühling Vesta Rijsdijk
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Externalising Problems ◽  
Self Harm

Abstract Background Self-harm is a major health concern, not only as a signal of distress but also as a strong predictor of later suicide. Self-harm can be further refined into suicidal self-harm (SSH, i.e. suicide attempt) and non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH). Understanding the aetiologies of NSSH and SSH can help inform suicide prevention strategies. Using a twin design, we investigated the phenotypic and aetiological relationships between NSSH and SSH, and their aetiological overlap with mental health problems. Methods We analysed data from the Twins Early Development Study using structural equation modelling. At age 21 years, 9063 twins (62.4% female) answered questions related to self-harm. At age 16 years, 19 self- or parent-reported mental health measures were administered, including measures of internalising and externalising problems, psychotic-like experiences and substance abuse. Results Prevalences for NSSH and SSH were 21.9% and 10.5%, respectively. Additive genetic factors explained half of the variance in NSSH (55%) and SSH (50%), with the rest explained by non-shared environmental factors. Phenotypically, NSSH and SSH were strongly correlated (r = 0.87) with their correlation explained by genetic (57%) and non-shared environmental (43%) factors. We found no evidence that NSSH and SSH differed in their phenotypic and aetiological relationships with mental health measures. Conclusion Our findings suggest no aetiological difference between NSSH and SSH. NSSH and SSH should be regarded as two different ends of a continuum, rather than as two distinct categories.

scholarly journals Mental health and use of health care services in opioid-exposed school-aged children compared to foster children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Sarfi ◽  
Marie Eikemo ◽  
Gabrielle K. Welle-Strand ◽  
Ashley Elizabeth Muller ◽  
Stine Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Prenatal Exposure ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
Reactive Attachment Disorder ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
School Aged Children

AbstractGiven the concerns raised regarding the effects of prenatal exposure to methadone and buprenorphine on the developmental outcomes of the children, this study assessed mental health and use of services in a national sample of school-aged children (N = 78) born to women enrolled in opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy, compared with a group of foster children (N = 140). The majority of the opioid-exposed children lived with their birth parent(s) at the time of assessment (N = 62), while 16 lived in foster homes. Caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Reactive Attachment Disorder scale. Teachers completed the SDQ. Three kinds of services were included in measuring service use: school-based education services, child mental health services, and hospital-based habilitation services. The main finding of the study is that children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine living with their family of origin had significantly better mental health status than their foster-placed counterparts and that of the comparison group of foster children. In addition, the exposed children living at home had less child welfare involvement, and only half of them were using any of the three services measured. The odds for using services increased significantly in accordance with increasing mental health problems, independent of group affiliation, indicating a need-based access to services. In line with other studies, we found that the odds for using one or more services was 2.3 times greater for boys than for girls. Our results contribute to a more-nuanced understanding of the developmental outcomes of prenatal exposure to methadone and buprenorphine, and factors associated with increased service use in groups of at-risk children.

scholarly journals Early Adolescent Substance Use and Mental Health Problems and Service Utilisation in a School-based Sample

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Brownlie ◽  
Joseph H. Beitchman ◽  
Gloria Chaim ◽  
David A. Wolfe ◽  
Brian Rush ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Adolescent Substance Use ◽  
Early Adolescent ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
Adolescent Substance ◽  
School Based ◽  
Externalising Problems

Objective: This paper reports on substance use, mental health problems, and mental health service utilisation in an early adolescent school-based sample. Method: Participants were 1,360 grade 7 and 8 students from 4 regions of Ontario, Canada. Students completed an in-class survey on mental health and substance use. The sampling strategy and survey items on demographics, substance use, service utilisation, and distress were adapted from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Internalising and externalising mental health problems were assessed using the Global Assessment of Individual Needs – Short Screener. Distress was defined as fair or poor self-rated mental health. Results: Rates of internalising and/or externalising problems above the threshold exceeded 30%; yet, fewer than half had received mental health services in the past 12 mo. Substance use was associated with increased odds of internalising and externalising problems above the threshold and distress. Youth using cannabis had 10-times the odds of exceeding the threshold for internalising or externalising problems. The use of substances other than alcohol or cannabis was associated with increased odds of fair or poor self-rated mental health among grade 8 students. Of the youth who confirmed at least a substance use problem, most also reported mental health problems; this association was stronger among girls than boys. Conclusions: Early adolescent substance use was associated with concurrent self-reported mental health problems in a non-clinical sample. The low levels of service utilisation reported highlight the need for improved access to early identification and intervention to prevent the development of concurrent disorders.

scholarly journals Parents' communication to primary school-aged children about mental health and ill-health: a grounded theory study

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Mueller ◽  
Margie M. Callanan ◽  
Kathryn Greenwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Parental Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Aged Children

Purpose – Stigma around mental health problems is known to emerge in middle childhood and persist into adulthood, yet almost nothing is known about the role of parents in this process. This paper aims to develop a model of parental communication to primary school-aged children around mental health and ill-health, to increase understanding about how stigma develops. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were performed with ten UK-based parents of children aged 7-11 years. Analysis followed an exploratory grounded theory approach, incorporating quality assurance checks. Findings – Parents’ communications are governed by the extent to which they view a particular issue as related to “Them” (mental ill-health) or to “Us” (mental health). In contrast to communication about “Us”, parental communication about mental “illness” is characterized by avoidance and contradiction, and driven by largely unconscious processes of taboo and stigma. Originality/value – This study was the first to explore parents’ communications to their 7-11 year old children about mental health and mental illness, and proposes a preliminary theoretical model that may offer insight into the development of stigma in childhood and the intergenerational transmission of stigmatized attitudes.

scholarly journals Rethinking Diagnostics for the Mental Health of Populations

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
M.G. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Community Psychiatry ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Careful Attention ◽  
Clinical Services ◽  
Diagnostic Systems

The DSM and ICD diagnostic systems have developed largely in response to clinical interests, though they are used for other purposes as well. Careful attention is also needed to consider the balance of ethical and commercial interests. Public health aims of representing the burden of disease and disorder help to mobilise resources globally, nationally and locally; and relevant diagnostics and assessments guide services and programmes for the mental health of patients and populations. Like other areas of public health, the scope of community mental health extends beyond the treatment orientation of clinical services and community psychiatry. Priorities also include reducing vulnerability to prevent mental health problems and enhancing resilience to promote mental health. As the next wave proceeds in revising our psychiatric systems of classification, advancing such an agenda will help ensure that efforts to achieve the mental health of populations are effective, as they become more responsive to current developments in public health-which have recently been characterised with reference to four revolutions.

scholarly journals Does the timing and duration of mental health problems during childhood and adolescence matter for labour market participation of young adults?

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-215994
Author(s):  
Samira de Groot ◽  
Karin Veldman ◽  
Benjamin C Amick III ◽  
Tineke A J Oldehinkel ◽  
Iris Arends ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Market Participation ◽  
Externalising Problems ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Internalising Problems

BackgroundLittle is known about the timing and duration of mental health problems (MHPs) on young adults’ labour market participation (LMP). This life-course study aims to examine whether and how the timing and duration of MHPs between childhood and young adulthood are associated with LMP in young adulthood.MethodsLogistic regression analyses were performed with data from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a Dutch prospective cohort study with 15-year follow-up (N=874). Internalising and externalising problems were measured by the Youth/Adult Self-Report at ages 11, 13, 16, 19 and 22. Labour market participation (having a paid job yes/no) was assessed at age 26.ResultsInternalising problems at all ages and externalising problems at age 13, 19 and 22 were associated with an increased risk of not having a paid job (internalising problems ORs ranging from 2.24, 95% CI 1.02 to 4.90 at age 11 to OR 6.58, CI 3.14 to 13.80 at age 22; externalising problems ORs from 2.84, CI 1.11 to 7.27 at age 13 to OR 6.36, CI 2.30 to 17.56 at age 22). Especially a long duration of internalising problems increased the risk of not having a paid job in young adulthood.ConclusionThe duration of MHPs during childhood and adolescence is strongly associated with not having paid work in young adulthood. This emphasises the necessity of applying a life-course perspective when investigating the effect of MHPs on LMP. Early monitoring, mental healthcare and the (early) provision of employment support may improve young adult’s participation in the labour market.

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