Adolescent Mental Health Assessments Research Articles

Association between Dairy Consumption and Psychological Symptoms: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study of College Students in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China.

Assessing the dairy consumption and psychological symptoms of Chinese college students as a reference for the mental health of Chinese college students. A three-stage stratified whole-group sampling method was used to investigate dairy consumption and psychological symptoms among 5904 (2554 male students, accounting for 43.3% of the sample) college students in the Yangtze River Delta region. The mean age of the subjects was 20.13 ± 1.24 years. Psychological symptoms were surveyed using the Brief Questionnaire for the Assessment of Adolescent Mental Health. The detection rates of emotional problems, behavioral symptoms, social adaptation difficulties and psychological symptoms among college students with different dairy consumption habits were analyzed using chi-square tests. The association between dairy consumption and psychological symptoms was assessed using a logistic regression model. College students from the "Yangtze River Delta" region of China participated in the study, of which 1022 (17.31%) had psychological symptoms. The proportions of participants with dairy consumption of ≤2 times/week, 3-5 times/week, and ≥6 times/week were 25.68%, 42.09%, and 32.23%, respectively. Using dairy consumption ≥6 times/week as a reference, multifactor logistic regression analysis showed that college students with dairy consumption ≤2 times/week (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.71) were at higher risk of psychological symptoms (p < 0.001). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese college students with lower dairy consumption exhibited higher detection rates of psychological symptoms. Dairy consumption was negatively associated with the occurrence of psychological symptoms. Our study provides a basis for mental health education and increasing knowledge about nutrition among Chinese college students.

Development of a novel continuous measure of adolescent mental health inspired by the dual-factor model.

BackgroundAccording to the Dual-factor Model, mental health is comprised of two related constructs: subjective well-being and psychopathology. Combining these constructs can provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of adolescent mental health than considering either on its own. The model suggests the need to group mental health into four distinct categories, which does not recognize its potential continuum and adds statistical complexity. In this study, we developed a continuous measure inspired by, and as a complement to, the Dual-factor Model. Our goal was to demonstrate a novel approach to developing a valid measure for use in public health research that captures varying mental health states more accurately than traditional approaches and has advantages over the categorical version.MethodsSelf-report data are from the 2014 Canadian Health Behavior in School-aged Children study (n = 21,993). Subjective well-being was measured by combining indicators of life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Internalized and externalized symptoms scales were combined to measure psychopathology. The continuous dual-factor measure was created by subtracting standardized psychopathology scores from standardized subjective well-being scores. Construct validity was assessed using multivariable linear regression by examining associations between factors known to be associated with adolescent mental health status (demographic characteristics, social and academic functioning, and specific indicators of mental health) and average mental health scores.ResultsThe average age was 14.0 (SD = 1.41) years. The continuous mental health score ranged from 5 to 67 [Mean (SD): 50.1 (9.8)], with higher scores indicating better overall mental health. The nature and direction of the associations examined supported construct validity. Being from a more affluent family, and having more supportive relationships with family, peers, teachers, and classmates was associated with greater mental health (Cohen’s d: 0.65 to 1.63). Higher average marks were also associated with better mental health. Average mental health scores were much lower if students reported feeling hopeless or rated their health as fair or poor.ConclusionA continuous measure of mental health based on the Dual-factor Model appears to be a comprehensive and valid measure with applications for research aimed at increasing our understanding of adolescent mental health.

Development of a dual-factor measure of adolescent mental health: an analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2014 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study

IntroductionStudies of adolescent mental health require valid measures that are supported by evidence-based theories. An established theory is the dual-factor model, which argues that mental health status is only fully...

Involving adolescents in the development of research tools for adolescent mental health in China: a qualitative research study

BackgroundThe research tools for the assessment of adolescent mental health are mostly developed for high-income settings, and are used elsewhere without linguistic or cultural modification. Youth involvement in the development of research aimed at young people is recommended by WHO, but few studies have involved young people in the design of mental health tools. In this study we aimed to develop a self-completion questionnaire to assess adolescent mental health based on perceptions of Chinese adolescents. MethodsWe did a literature search to initially identify 11 scales suitable for assessing adolescent mental health and influencing factors and help-seeking behaviour. Students from rural and urban areas, and from public and private schools in Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, and Jiangsu provinces, China, were invited to work with researchers to develop a questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were students aged 13–20 years who were willing to be involved in the study. Students initially independently completed the draft questionnaire, and provided detailed feedback in one-to-one interviews with researchers and in focus group sessions. Researchers recorded student inputs. Analysis involved inductive summarisation and factor extraction. Ethical approval was obtained from the Medical Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University. We obtained verbal consent from the volunteers and from the parents of those younger than 18 years. FindingsFrom Feb 9, 2019, to May 16, 2019, 46 student volunteers (30 male and 16 female; mean age 16 years, SD 13–20) were recruited into our study. We finalised a self-completion questionnaire with 99 items including three psychological scales. With youth involvement, we found that standard Chinese translations of widely-used scales were not understandable. Students felt that some items would not be answered honestly, and so they were changed or removed. The students were very eager to include sensitive topics, such as suicide and self-harm, and some suggested more attention should be paid to this. At their request, questions about academic pressure were expanded, with questions on social media added, including specific questions on posting modified pictures and sharing of personal problems online. InterpretationAdolescent participation in questionnaire design improves the structure and content of tools assessing mental health, making such research tools more acceptable and understandable. FundingGlobal Health Centre of Zhejiang University.

Building a case for accessing service provision in child and adolescent mental health assessments

In everyday conversations, people put forward versions of events and provide supporting evidence to build a credible case. In environments where there are potentially competing versions, case-build...

The use of why questions in child and adolescent mental health assessments

Questions form the basis of mental health assessments and yet there is limited empirical evidence about the linguistic structure of question formats in these clinical environments. While many types of questions are used, the focus of this research was on why-prefaced questions asked to children. Interaction analysis was employed to interrogate the data, paying specific attention to the interactional organisation of how ‘why-prefaced’ questions were asked and responded to. Analysis demonstrated that when three core components were present in the question, then it was usual for a reason/ explanation to be provided in response, and when one or more components were missing, it rarely elicited a reason or explanation in response. The three components were; the sequential position of the question, how the question was indexically tied to the child’s prior statement, and the epistemic domain of the question. Implications for therapeutic communication and training were discussed.

Reflecting on what 'you said' as a way of reintroducing difficult topics in child mental health assessments.

In child and adolescent mental health assessments, questions are integral to the process. There has been limited research focused on the assessment process, or on how questions are constructed within this clinical environment. We examined 28 naturally occurring initial assessments, with particular attention to how practitioners used questions in their communication with children and young people. We utilised conversation analysis to examine the data. Analysis revealed a particular type of question preface used to reintroduce a prior topic. This was achieved through the use of 'you said x' as a foundation for asking a follow-up question and demonstrated active listening. Arguably, this approach is a useful way of gathering assessment-relevant information in a child-centred way.

Weight perceptions, disordered eating behaviors, and emotional self-efficacy among high school adolescents

Although emotional disorders and disordered eating behaviors are known to be related, the relationship between emotional self-efficacy (ESE) and disordered eating is unknown. This study examined the relationship between ESE and disordered eating in a statewide sample of public high school adolescents (n=2566). The Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey and an adolescent ESE scale were utilized. Logistic regression adjusted for key covariates explored the relationship between low ESE and disordered eating among selected race and gender groups. Self-perceived weight as underweight or overweight; and dieting, vomiting or taking laxatives, taking diet pills, and fasting to lose weight were each associated (p<.05) with lower levels of ESE for certain race/gender groups. Findings provide increased justification for tailoring disordered eating interventions and treatments to accommodate the highest risk groups. Measures of ESE should be considered for adolescent mental health assessments in fieldwork, research, and evaluation efforts.

Assessment of adolescent mental health and behavioral problems in institutional care: discrepancies between staff-reported CBCL scores and adolescent-reported YSR scores.

For children residing in institutional settings, staff act as primary caregivers and often provide assessment of child psychopathology. Minimal research exists on how and when staff-caregivers are best positioned to report on youth mental health. This study examines differences between 60 staff-reported and 60 adolescent-reported Child Behavioral Checklist/Youth Self-Report (CBCL/YSR) scores in Jordanian care centers, and the associations between adolescent-staff agreement, demographic characteristics and child-caregiver relationship factors. Results indicated small to modest correlations between informant scores. Additionally, staff-caregivers who know the child over 1 year and have a high perceived fit are better able to approximate the adolescent's self-report of psychopathology.

Association Between Adolescent Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempts and Emotional Self-Efficacy

This cross-sectional study investigated relationships between suicide ideation, suicide behavior and emotional self-efficacy in a sample of high school adolescents in grades 9–12 with an age range of 12–18 (n = 3,836) in South Carolina. The hypothesis of the study proposed that low levels of emotional self-efficacy would be significantly associated with higher levels of suicide ideation and suicide attempts for study participants. A brief emotional self-efficacy scale was added to the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey to investigate associations with suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analysis and multivariate models constructed separately for sex and race were employed. Tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use; relationship violence; depressed mood; socioeconomic status; and weapon/gun access were included as covariates in the adjusted models. Nearly all suicide variables were significantly related to emotional self-efficacy in the unadjusted models for the four race/sex groups. In adjusted models, suicide ideation, planning a suicide attempt, attempting suicide and a suicide attempt resulting in injury were associated (α ≤ .05) with reduced emotional self-efficacy for black females. For white males, suicide ideation, attempting suicide and a suicide attempt resulting in injury were associated (α ≤ .05) with reduced emotional self-efficacy. Suicide ideation for black males was associated (α ≤ .05) with reduced emotional self-efficacy. No significant associations were established for white females. Results have implications for health services and suicide prevention programs for adolescents. Measures of emotional self-efficacy as a part of adolescent mental health assessments might be useful for field work, intervention, and program evaluation efforts.

Parent and child agreement on reports of problem behaviour obtained from a screening questionnaire, the SDQ

This study examined the level of agreement between parents and children on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a clinical sample in Sydney, Australia. Parent and child SDQ reports were collected from 379 parents-child pairs. Children were aged between 11 and 18 years and met criteria for at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Overall agreement between children and parents was low to modest. Sixty nine percent of parent-child pairs agreed that the child's problems were either clinically significant or not ("neither", "both"), while in 27% of pairs only the parents regarded the problems as clinically significant ("parent only"), and in 4% of pairs only the children regarded the problems as clinically significant. There was higher agreement for children with mood, anxiety or somatoform disorders. Children with mood disorders were over-represented in the "child only" group, and those with conduct disorders were more likely to be in the "parent only" group. Children with anxiety and somatoform disorders were more likely to be in the "neither" group. Age was not associated with rates of parent-child agreement, however more girls agreed with their parents that either they did not have a problem ("neither") or they did have a problem without parental endorsement ("child only"). This study highlights the limited agreement between parent and child reports of problem behaviour and the importance of integrating discrepant information into child and adolescent mental health assessments, formulations and treatments.

Use of the Mental Health Inventory with adolescents: A secondary analysis of the Rand Health Insurance Study.

Few instruments exist for the assessment of adolescent mental health. In order to examine the appropriateness of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI) for use with adolescents, secondary analyses were conducted of the large subsample (n = 953) of adolescents who participated in the community-based Rand Health Insurance Study. The reliability and readability of the MHI were confirmed. Subscales reflecting Psychological Well-Being and Psychological Distress were derived. The MHI, with its adolescent norms, is recommended for the assessment of adolescent mental health, particularly in studies in which comparison to a nonpsychiatric, normative adolescent population is indicated.