Parents Of Adolescents Research Articles

Associations between Social Experiences and Psychological Health for Autistic Youth with Low IQ.

Social experiences are consistently associated with psychological health among autistic individuals. However, most extant studies on this topic exclude individuals with autism who have lower IQ or are otherwise unable to self-report. The current study addresses this gap by examining associations of negative peer experiences and social participation with psychological health among autistic youth with low IQ. An online survey was collected from 268 parents of autistic adolescents and adults ages 15-25. Negative peer experiences included measures of peer victimization and being ignored. Social participation was assessed by the amount of participation and parents' perceptions of whether their youth felt the amount of participation was meeting their needs. Psychological health was assessed by parents' report of their youth's psychological quality of life, as well as whether they felt their son/daughter was currently depressed. Results suggested low rates of social participation in this sample, with relatively high rates of being ignored. Regression analysis found that lower rates of peer victimization and more activities in which parents perceived that the amount of time was meeting their youth's needs was associated with higher psychological quality of life and lower likelihood that parents felt their son/daughter was depressed. Though youth with autism and low IQ are often excluded from interventions aimed at improving social experiences, these findings suggest that promoting positive social experiences and ameliorating negative ones might be an avenue to improving psychological health in this group.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDREN AND PARENTS IN ADOLESCENCE

This article provides feedback and insights into the psychological analysis of adolescent child and parent relationships. The relationship between teenage children and their parents is often portrayed as turbulent, filled with misunderstandings, and marked by conflict. While this stereotype holds some truth, it oversimplifies the complex and dynamic nature of these relationships. Psychological analysis reveals that the parent-teen relationship is a critical aspect of adolescent development, influenced by various factors, including communication styles, emotional regulation, and social influences.

Enablers and barriers to primary health care access for Indigenous adolescents: a systematic review and meta-aggregation of studies across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and USA

BackgroundIndigenous adolescents access primary health care services at lower rates, despite their greater health needs and experience of disadvantage. This systematic review identifies the enablers and barriers to primary health care access for Indigenous adolescents to inform service and policy improvements.MethodsWe systematically searched databases for publications reporting enablers or barriers to primary health care access for Indigenous adolescents from the perspective of adolescents, their parents and health care providers, and included studies focused on Indigenous adolescents aged 10–24 years from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and United States of America. Results were analyzed against the WHO Global standards for quality health-care services for adolescents. An additional ninth standard was added which focused on cultural safety.ResultsA total of 41 studies were included. More barriers were identified than enablers, and against the WHO Global standards most enablers and barriers related to supply factors – providers’ competencies, appropriate package of services, and cultural safety. Providers who built trust, respect, and relationships; appropriate package of service; and culturally safe environments and care were enablers to care reported by adolescents, and health care providers and parents. Embarrassment, shame, or fear; a lack of culturally appropriate services; and privacy and confidentiality were common barriers identified by both adolescent and health care providers and parents. Cultural safety was identified as a key issue among Indigenous adolescents. Enablers and barriers related to cultural safety included culturally appropriate services, culturally safe environment and care, traditional and cultural practices, cultural protocols, Indigenous health care providers, cultural training for health care providers, and colonization, intergenerational trauma, and racism. Nine recommendations were identified which aim to address the enablers and barriers associated with primary health care access for Indigenous adolescents.ConclusionThis review provides important evidence to inform how services, organizations and governments can create accessible primary health care services that specifically meet the needs of Indigenous adolescents. We identify nine recommendations for improving the accessibility of primary health care services for Indigenous adolescents.

Non‐violent resistance treatment for parenting stress and parent–child interaction in parents of adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A pilot study

AbstractParenting a child with anorexia nervosa (AN) is highly stressful, and the struggles around eating have a large impact on family functioning. Parents get involved in conflicts with their child and/or accommodate to the eating disorder symptoms. Non‐violent resistance (NVR) offers an additional treatment option for these families. NVR aims at helping parents effectively deal with their child's (self‐)destructive behaviour and their own helplessness, by non‐violent and non‐escalating means. In our pilot, we examined whether NVR was helpful in reducing stress and improve parent–child interaction. In six parents, it was found that parenting stress was significantly reduced at post‐assessment and at 3‐month follow‐up. For parent–child interaction, a non‐significant trend was found for improvement. Change in body mass index of the adolescents was not associated with the decrease in parenting stress. Although preliminary, the results of this pilot suggest that NVR can be a feasible treatment alternative for families of adolescents with AN.

Parental experience and distress: the protective role of self-care and employment flexibility on parenting practices in parents of adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to identify whether the coping strategy of active self-care, and the coping resource of employment flexibility were moderators of the relationships between parental distress and parenting practices, and parental experience and parenting practices, in parents of adolescents. Method This research was part of a larger study conducted by the Parenting Research Centre who surveyed a representative sample of 2600 Victorian parents on their parental concerns, approaches, and experiences using computer-assisted telephone interviews. Results Results demonstrated that employment flexibility and active self-care significantly moderated the relationship between a demanding parental experience and autonomy-supportive parent-child communication, and that active self-care moderated the relationship between the belief parenting comes naturally and negative parenting. It was concluded that both coping indicators had protective effects on parenting practices, through interacting with parental experience. Conclusions Practical implications of this research include enhancement of parental interventions by lending evidence that both self-care and employment flexibility promote parent-child communication and protect against more aversive parenting behaviours.

Education of moral and volitional qualities of adolescents in sports activities

Relevance. The article deals with the problem related to the education of moral and volitional qualities in the educational and training process of adolescents engaged in sports. The contradiction arising in the practice of sports reserve training is connected with the fact that achievement of high sports results requires the manifestation and thus the formation of personal qualities of young athletes, which are perceived by the society as negative. The methods and techniques of educational influence used by sports teachers often cause disharmony in the personal development of their students. There is a need to develop and implement in the practice of sports training proven methods of development of personal qualities of children and adolescents that meet the requirements of social order.The purpose of the study is to substantiate the effectiveness of the methodology for the development of moral and volitional qualities of adolescents 12-13 years old engaged in track and field athletics.Methods and organization of research. To determine the level of development of moral and volitional qualities in adolescents, a specially designed system of five-point evaluation was used. The content of each personal quality was revealed in their main features, which were the main indicators of the level of manifestation of this quality. Each attribute is evaluated in one point. The total evaluation score of each attribute is within the scale from 1 to 5 points. Parents of adolescents, coaches, teachers and class teachers acted as experts. The participants of the forming experiment were adolescents 12-13 years old (boys and girls) engaged in track and field athletics. Two groups were created: control (n=20) and experimental (n=20). The control group was engaged in the standard programme of sports training. The work in the experimental group lasted for one year and provided for the implementation in the educational and training process of the methodology of education of moral and volitional qualities of adolescents.Conclusions. In the conditions of educational and training process, purposeful activity providing interaction of teachers of secondary school, coaches and parents of teenagers on realization of the offered technique allows to develop effectively moral and volitional qualities of teenagers engaged in track and field athletics.

Health Literacy of Children and Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Parents of IBD Patients-Coping and Information Needs.

The number of children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing. Many chronically ill children and adolescents have low health literacy. Patient empowerment (PE) enables positive changes and control over one's disease through specific activities, information, and counseling. The CEDNA (IBD Needs Assessment) Survey aimed to provide the necessary data to improve PE in pediatric IBD (PIBD). Questionnaires were distributed to adolescent IBD patients and parents of children and adolescents with IBD throughout Germany. The answers were given anonymously. Based on the available data, a subgroup analysis was conducted in relation to the age of the patients and the period since diagnosis. For the parents' responses, the same age groups were analyzed for comparison with the patients' responses. From October 2021 to April 2022, 2810 questionnaires were distributed and 1158 questionnaires were completed (n = 708 parents [61.1%], n = 450 patients [38.9%]). The results indicate that health literacy in children with IBD is low. Significant gaps in knowledge of important IBD topics were identified, and a comparison of responses regarding preferred methods and timing of obtaining information revealed differences between patient and parent preferences. The greatest need for knowledge on IBD topics was found in the group of 16-17-year-old patients on transition (n = 214, 31.8%) and in the group of patients diagnosed 1-2 years ago on the causes of IBD (n = 288, 17.4%). The willingness to seek advice was unexpectedly low. The analysis of all findings according to the patient's age structure and duration since diagnosis can be used to enable age-appropriate communication at certain stages of the disease. This tailored information should increase patients' health literacy, improve their management of the disease, and reduce the burden on their families.

Longitudinal associations between Latine parents' support and their adolescents' science motivation and STEM career expectations.

Parents' science support and adolescents' motivational beliefs are associated with adolescents' expectations for their future occupations; however, these associations have been mostly investigated among White, middle-class samples. Framed by situated expectancy-value theory, the current study investigated: (1) the associations between parents' science support in 9th grade and Latine adolescents' science intrinsic value, utility value, and STEM career expectations in 11th grade, and (2) whether these indicators and the relations among them differed by adolescents' gender and parents' education. Study participants included Latine adolescents (n = 3060; Mage = 14.4 years old; 49% female) in the United States from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Analyses revealed a significant, positive association between parents' science support and Latine adolescents' science utility value. Additionally, there was a significant, positive association between parents' science support and Latinas' science intrinsic value, but not for Latinos' science intrinsic value. Latine adolescents' science utility value, but not their science intrinsic value, predicted their concurrent STEM career expectations. Though there were no significant mean level differences in adolescents' science utility value or parents' science support based on adolescents' gender, the measure of adolescents' science intrinsic value varied across girls and boys. Finally, adolescents whose parents had a college degree received greater science support from parents compared to adolescents whose parents had less education than a college degree. Findings suggest parents' science support and adolescents' intrinsic and utility values have potential associations with Latine adolescents' STEM career expectations near the end of high school.

Screen media-based devices usage patterns: Comparison between digital immigrant parents and digital native adolescents

Smartphones are frequently the subject of digital screen media-based research due to their popularity. Other screen devices, such as computers, conventional TV, laptops, smart TV, and tablets, which have a significant impact on children’s and adolescents’ psychological behaviors, are rarely covered. Parents are considered the active agents who can regulate adolescents screen-based media use and control online risks. Parents of adolescents in developing countries are digital immigrants, and their consumption patterns of screen devices must be studied before exploring their media usage regulatory strategies for children and adolescents. To gather information on screen device usage patterns, including availability, usage, ownership, and screen time, a quantitative technique approach was used in the study. A statistical analysis was performed on survey data collected from 447 parent-adolescent dyadic samples (n=894). Results show a positive association between socio-economic status and the number of screen devices present in households. Parents and adolescents spend the same amount of screen time on conventional TV and smart TV as they do on smartphones. Tablets were the least used, but they had more screen time than laptops and computers. Screen time is associated with the intended use of the device. Screen time spent per device by digital immigrant parents is quite like that of their digital-native adolescents. Girls use smartphones often; boys spend more screen time with them. Parents’ screen-based media usage practices should also be regulated, as they highly influence their children’s screen time.

The relationship between gender, psychosocial factors, pain, health literacy and health-related quality of life in parents of Norwegian adolescents one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundStress impacts healthy behaviours and may influence life and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A stressful event occurred when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. The present study aims to explore possible gender differences in stress, psychosocial factors (self-efficacy, self-esteem, loneliness), pain, HL, and HRQOL in parents of adolescents one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and to explore possible associations between gender, demographic and psychosocial factors, pain, HL, and HRQOL.MethodsParents of adolescents aged 16–17 took part in the study from January to February 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing. Data on socio-demographics, stress, self-efficacy, self-esteem, pain, HL, loneliness, and HRQOL were collected. HRQOL was assessed using RAND-36.ResultsAmong the 320 parents from the general population, the mean age was 47.6 (standard deviation (SD) = 4.6) years, 81% were mothers, 79% were married or cohabiting, 81% had a university degree, and the majority worked full time (78%) or part time (13%). The average pain score was low, 0.48 (95% CI [0.43–0.54]). However, 50% of the parents reported persistent pain and more mothers reported persistent pain compared to fathers (53% vs. 37%). The parents’ mean (SD) score for RAND-36 was 52.1 (95% CI [51.2–53.0]) for the physical component summary (PCS) score and 51.0 (95% CI [50.0–52.1]) for the mental component summary (MCS) score. Mothers reported significantly lower scores for all the eight RAND-36 domains and the PCS and MCS scores. Adjusting for gender, age, living condition, education, pain, HL, self-efficacy and loneliness, we revealed no associations between stress and RAND-36-PCS. University education of four years or more was positively associated (B = 3.29, 95% CI: [0.78–5.80]) with RAND-36-PCS, while persistent pain was negatively associated (B = -7.13, CI: [-9.20– -5.06]). We identified a strong negative association between RAND-36-MCS and stress (B = -43.11, CI: [-48.83– -37.38]) and a positive association with older age (B = 0.21, CI: [ 0.04, 0.39)].ConclusionOne year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we identified a strong negative association between stress and mental HRQOL, while pain was strongly negatively associated with physical HRQOL.

Exploring parental awareness and attitudes towards human papillomavirus infection and vaccination for 9–15-year-old adolescents in Jordan

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to analyze knowledge and beliefs regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) disease and its vaccine among the public, particularly parents of adolescents aged 9–15, who constitute the target group for the HPV vaccine, and to identify factors affecting their knowledge and beliefs. Methods In Jordan, a cross-sectional study surveyed 386 parents of 9–15-year-olds. Data were collected through surveys to assess knowledge and attitudes about HPV and the HPV vaccine. Statistical analysis using SPSS provided insights. Key findings A total of 386 individuals participated in the survey. Approximately two-thirds were female (n = 245, 63.5%), and more than half of the participants were aged above 35 (n = 224, 58%). Concerning participants’ beliefs about HPV vaccines, around 19% believed that the efficacy of the HPV vaccine is unclear (n = 74, 19.2%), and only 35.5% trusted HPV vaccination (n = 137). Linear regression analysis revealed that female participants (mothers) and those with higher income (>1000 JD) tend to have better knowledge and belief scores compared to others (P < 0.05). Conclusion In summary, this study highlights the pressing need for improved HPV education campaigns in Jordan. Heightening awareness of HPV and its associated health risks is paramount. The absence of the HPV vaccine in Arab national schedules exacerbates this awareness gap. Focusing on parents of adolescents is critical for vaccination efforts, and community pharmacies may aid in expanding vaccine coverage and awareness.

“I Don’t Want to be a Girl. I Am a Girl!” Experiences Before, During and After Transition in Families with Trans Children and Adolescents

Families often have little knowledge and skills to support their trans children. Therefore, our aim was to learn more about the experiences of parents of trans children and adolescents and how the transition process is experienced. Using a qualitative approach, we analyzed 22 life stories written by parents of trans children and adolescents. The data were analyzed with MAXQDA. Three key periods were considered: (1) before, (2) during, and (3) after social transition. The themes most frequently reported by parents were: children’s not expected gender expressions and negative attitudes and feelings, and parents’ negative feelings, denial and repression attitudes, confussion and search of information, before transition; children’s explicit disclosure, name selection and more positive attitudes, followed by parental understanding, acceptance and support, during transition; and both parents’ and children’s positive attitudes and feelings, as well as concern about pubertal development and expectations and fears about the future, after transition. In general, the stories reflect children’s negative emotions before social transition and parents’ doubts and lack of knowledge, which were followed by acceptance and more positive emotions once the social transition had taken place. Concerns and problems were reported by most of the families throughout the three time periods. Our findings emphasize the need to facilitate social transition and to design specific approaches to better support transitioning children and adolescents, and their families.

Experiences of Parenting an Autistic Individual During Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood in the Indian Context: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Background and aims: The needs of autistic individuals and their families are unique in each developmental phase, but this diversity is more palpable during adolescence. Literature generally presents a view that caregivers experience challenges in caring for autistic children, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where formal support services are uneven or unavailable. The present study explored the lived experiences of parents of autistic adolescents in the Indian context. Methods: In-depth interviews with 12 parents were analyzed using an interpretative phenomenological approach. Results: Three superordinate themes were derived: (a) Acceptance alongside recurring experiences of grief and loss, (b) post-traumatic growth and vicarious transformation, and (c) What after me? Planning for future care services with limited systemic support. Beginning with the initial recognition and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, parents progressed through a series of experiences that strengthened and challenged their understanding and aided in their acceptance. Parents recognize their adolescents’ key attributes, growth, development, and persisting differences that could contribute to future challenges. Grief experiences, however, sporadic, persisted alongside acceptance. Conclusion: Despite challenges, families were adapting to the changing needs of the developmental phases in unique ways, with or without formal support available to them. Nonetheless, there is a considerable need to address the existing gaps and felt needs of parents, focusing on empowering parents and capacity building toward providing comprehensive services to autistic individuals with a lifespan approach.

Adolescents' mental health, problematic internet use, and their parents' rules on internet use: A latent profile analysis

This study explored the connection between adolescent problematic internet use (PIU), mental health, and parents’ rules on internet use. From a person-centered approach, this study considered the coexistence of multiple mental health indicators for adolescents, including psychopathological risks (i.e., depressive symptoms, anxiety, and loneliness) and psychosocial well-being (i.e., social support, meaning, and competence). A latent profile analysis of 4592 U.S. adolescents revealed five distinct mental health profiles, with adolescents having psychopathological risks being most susceptible to PIU. Additionally, parents reported their rules on adolescent internet use. Strict parental rules on time increased PIU for adolescents of psychopathological risks, while restrictions on content viewed online reduced chances of PIU for these adolescents. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the complex mental health experiences of U.S. adolescents and underscore the significance of person-centered associations between mental health and PIU.

Barriers to mediation among U.S. parents of adolescents: A mixed-methods study of why parents choose not to monitor or restrict digital media use

This mixed-methods study considers why parents do not establish or maintain strategies to manage adolescents' media use. In focus groups and interviews, U.S. parents of adolescents (ages 10–17 years) described barriers including beliefs, attitudes, and values; concerns about family conflicts; and social-structural factors, such as burnout from other professional and parenting demands or how the actions of other parents constrained their own opportunities for mediation. We used this exploratory thematic analysis to develop a questionnaire tested with a national survey of U.S. parents. In factor analysis, barriers items clustered together as mediation roadblocks, issues that keep parents from initiating or continuing mediation even when they intend to; and mediation resistance, when parents question mediation practice that did not align with values like support for adolescent autonomy. Parents were much more likely to agree that values-based resistance to mediation was a barrier to monitoring or restricting adolescent media use. In addition, parents with older children and parents whose children reported that they had a controlling parenting style were more likely to agree with monitoring and restrictive mediation roadblocks. Our findings demonstrate that parental mediation research should consider how parents’ values align, or contrast with, recommended practices and how the barriers parents encounter can be addressed to enable effective mediation.

Tunisian parents’ expectations and approaches regarding sex education of their children according to their age: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionAdolescents often lack vital information for making wise sexual and reproductive decisions, leading to risks like abuse, unwanted pregnancies, and infections. Comprehensive, early, and age-appropriate sex education is crucial. While parents should play a significant role, many underestimate their responsibility. The perception of sex education is changing, with younger parents being more open to participating in their children’s education.ObjectivesThis study compares the approaches of Tunisian parents with adolescent and pre-adolescent children towards sex education.MethodsThis study used a cross-sectional design to collect data from Tunisian parents of children between the ages of 1 to 18 using an online survey. Two groups were recruited based on the age of their children, one group had parents of children younger than 10 years old, and the other had parents of adolescents. The survey included questions about the participants’ demographics, approach to sex education, reasons for their approach, and opinions on sex-related education in public schools. The survey was anonymous and confidential, and data were collected from January to March 2023 through various social media platforms.Results This study surveyed 232 Tunisian parents with children between the ages of 1 and 18, divided into two groups based on the age of their children. The majority of participants were female (62.1%) and married (81.9%). The majority of participants in both groups agreed that sex education is important and indispensable, but only 54.7% of parents in the older children group responded positively to teaching sexual education as an independent subject. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding their opinions about the appropriate age of sexual education for their children, and who they think should discuss sexual and reproductive health with young people. Most participants indicated that the human body and its development, sexual and reproductive health, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, contraception as well as puberty are the most important subjects to be addressed. Sexuality and sexual behaviors, the concepts of violence and safety, interpersonal relationships, consent, insults, harassment, and sexist cyberbullying were less frequently mentioned.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study highlights the importance of sex education in Tunisia. Parents in both groups support it but differ on timing and integration. Barriers like communication challenges and religious beliefs exist. These insights can guide tailored sex education programs for Tunisian parents, promoting youth sexual and reproductive health.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Quality of life of families and siblings of children with cerebral palsy treated at a reference neurorehabilitation center in Brazil

ObjectivesTo investigate the associations between caregivers’ burden, family quality of life (QoL), and siblings’ QoL in Brazilian families of children with cerebral palsy, and to analyze siblings’ QoL using as a parameter the QoL of typically developed Brazilian children. MethodsIt was a cross-sectional study. The 212 families, 212 caregivers and 131 siblings completed the Family Quality of Life Scale, Burden Interview, and KIDSCREEN-27 Child and Adolescent Version and Parents Version questionnaires at a neurorehabilitation center in southeast Brazil. Univariable and multivariable models were used. ResultsFamily QoL significantly worsened as caregivers’ burden increased (95 % CI -0.66 to -0.38). Caregivers’ burden was significantly lower with increasing family QoL scores (95 % CI -0.52 to -0.30). Self-reported siblings’ QoL was significantly worse than that of their typically developed peers (95 % CI -7.6 to -3.6). Self-reported siblings’ QoL was significantly lower as siblings’ age (95 % CI -2.52 to -0.59) and caregivers’ burden (95 % CI -0.35 to -0.05) increased. Parent-reported siblings’ QoL was significantly lower with increasing caregivers’ burden (95 % CI -0.45 to -0.16) and higher as family QoL increased (95 % CI 0.09 to 0.37). ConclusionsThe cross-sectional nature of these data precludes any statement of causality. Family QoL worsened with higher caregivers’ burden levels. Lower caregivers’ burden scores were associated with a higher family QoL. Siblings’ QoL was impaired as compared to typically developed peers, worse among older siblings, and as caregivers’ burden increased and better with higher family QoL levels. Future multicenter studies may validate the generalizability of the present findings.

Sports participation plays a relevant role in the relationship between birth weight and bone mineral content in adolescents.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis (DOHaD) proposes that growth during the prenatal period might play a critical role in health, affecting the development of diseases, such as osteoporosis. Bone health is particularly affected by human behaviors when sports participation constitutes the main manifestation of physical exercise. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between birth weight (BW) and bone mineral content (BMC) among adolescents, as well as to identify if sports participation and maturity can affect this relationship. The sample was composed of adolescents with ages ranging from 11 to 18 years, stratified according to normal birth weight (n = 331), low birth weight (n = 36), and macrosomia (n = 47), extracted from a wider cross-sectional study (ABCD Growth Study). BW was self-reported by the adolescent's parent. Sports participation was assessed by face-to-face interview. BMC was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In the multivariate models, the relationships between BW and BMC remained non-significant, while sports participation was significantly related to BMC on lower limbs among boys (r = 0.154; p value = .001) and BMC of upper limbs among girls (r = 0.124; p value = .044). APHV was related to BMC of upper limbs among boys (r = 0.137; p value = .001). In conclusion, BMC was not affected by BW, while this phenomenon seems to be significantly affected by the positive impact of sports participation and maturation on it.

Symptoms of selective mutism beyond failure to speak in children and adolescents.

Understanding the symptoms of a mental disorder is essential for accurate diagnosis or selecting appropriate treatment targets. Despite this, there is a surprising lack of systematic research on the symptoms of selective mutism (SM). While the DSM-5 defines failure to speak as the only core symptom of SM, sparse research suggests that children with SM may experience additional symptoms. Previous studies have been limited in their identification of symptoms of SM, either by using a predefined set of symptoms or by only asking for anxiety-specific symptoms. This may have resulted in important symptoms being overlooked. In this study, we provided n = 86 parents of children and adolescents with SM (3-18years) with a symptom definition appropriate for the target group. Additionally, parents were asked an open-ended question about any other symptoms they had observed in their children, beyond the failure to speak. The symptoms reported were categorized using qualitative content analysis (QCA) and examined for frequency and association with symptom severity. Ten different symptom categories were identified, with fear, freezing, and avoidance/security behaviors being the most prevalent. On average, parents reported M = 4.74 (SD = 2.37) symptoms from different symptom categories. Only fear was found to be related to symptom severity of SM. As the findings suggest that SM encompasses various symptoms beyond failure to speak, a more sophisticated understanding of SM as a mental disorder with multiple symptoms seems essential. The clinical implications of this are discussed in further detail.

A qualitative internet-based study of parental experiences of adolescents suffering from affective disorders with non-suicidal self-injury during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors of adolescents with affective disorders can directly deteriorate parents' internal experiences, and negative parental experiences can exacerbate or even worsen NSSI behaviors. This study investigates the impact of NSSI behaviors exhibited by adolescents with affective disorders on the internal experiences of parents. Specifically, our research focuses on the inner experiences of parents when their children engage in NSSI behaviors during social isolation of the COVID-19, offering insights for addressing parental mental health issues related to NSSI and developing positive parental behavioral models to optimize adolescent behavior during major public health events. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 parents of adolescents with affective disorders displaying NSSI behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Colaizzi 7-step analysis was employed to refine and categorize emerging themes. Our study revealed that parents of adolescents facing NSSI during the COVID-19 pandemic underwent different internal experiences, which could be classified into four themes: negative experience, high caregiving burden, lack of caregiving capacity, and resilience. This Internet-based research is the first to explore the internal experiences of parents of adolescents with affective disorders experiencing NSSI during the COVID-19 pandemic. It sheds light on how parents, in response to their children's NSSI behaviors, undergo resilience following negative experiences, explore more open and supportive family model. Despite these positive outcomes, parents express a need for increased knowledge about NSSI illness care and a desire for professional assistance.