Youth Problem Research Articles

Identification of health-related problems in youth: a mixed methods feasibility study evaluating the Youth Health Report System

BackgroundBecause poor health in youth risk affecting their entry in adulthood, improved methods for their early identification are needed. Health and welfare technology is widely accepted by youth populations, presenting a potential method for identifying their health problems. However, healthcare technology must be evidence-based. Specifically, feasibility studies contribute valuable information prior to more complex effects-based research. The current study assessed the process, resource, management, and scientific feasibility of the Youth Health Report System prototype, developed within a youth health clinic context in advance of an intervention study.MethodsThis mixed-methods feasibility study was conducted in a clinical setting. The process, resource, management, and scientific feasibility of the Youth Health Report System were investigated, as recommended in the literature. Participants were youth aged 16–23 years old, attending a youth health clinic, and healthcare professionals from three clinics. The youth participants used their smart phones to respond to Youth Health Report System health questions and healthcare professionals used their computer to access the results and for registration system entries. Qualitative data were collected from interviews with healthcare professionals, which were described with thematic analysis. Youth participants’ quantitative Youth Health Report System data were analyzed for descriptive statistics.ResultsFeasibility analysis of qualitative data from interviews with 11 healthcare professionals resulted in three themes: We expected it could be hard; Information and routines helped but time was an issue; and The electronic case report form was valuable in the health assessment. Qualitative data were collected from the Youth Health Report System. A total of 54 youth participants completed the evaluation questionnaire, and healthcare professionals retrieved information from, and made post-appointment system entries. Quantitative results revealed few missing items and acceptable data variability. An assessment template of merged qualitative and quantitative data guided a consensus discussion among the researchers, resulting in acceptable feasibility.ConclusionsThe process-, resource-, management-, and scientific feasibility aspects were acceptable, with some modifications, strengthening the potential for a successful Youth Health Report System intervention study.

Supporting older youth in care: The role of caregivers

Adolescents living in care are vulnerable to a range of negative outcomes. Although the mental health and substance use problems of foster youth are widely documented, significantly less research examines the influence of caregivers on these two dimensions of health and wellbeing. Given the importance of caregivers to the development of adolescents in child welfare, the present study investigates the relationship between caregiver characteristics, caregiver attachment and placement type on mental health and substance use. The sample consists of 1,093 young people taken from the 2016 Ontario Looking After Children project who are between 16 and 17 years of age. Findings suggest that caregiver attachment, caregiver gender and the caregiver’s school expectations are all significantly associated with mental health and substance use among this population. Results will inform child welfare professionals about a number of risk-predictive factors of mental health and substance use problems among a sample of young people preparing to transition to adulthood. These findings will help service providers design policies and intervention strategies to improve the future outcomes of youth involved in child welfare.

Direction of Korean Youth Policy Seen through Youth Guarantee and AmeriCorps: Policy Proposal That Does Not Miss Out on Vulnerable Groups

Youth period has become much longer than before, and difficulties lurk in various areas such as society, economy, jobs, human relationships, and family issues. In order to properly understand the lives of young people and prepare policies that can be understood by young people, we investigated the cases of the European Union's Youth Guarantee System and the AmeriCorps of USA. The EU implemented the Youth Guarantee in 2013, and the United States reorganized its youth policy in 2008, the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Youth Policy Forum. The characteristic of both systems is that they address the problems of youth in general and face the problems of vulnerable groups. Although it may seem a bit loose as a benefit-type policy for the vulnerable, it aims for a long-term strategy based on the inclusion of vulnerable youth in the overall youth population. Our country's youth policy is just getting started. We investigated Seoul City's youth policy, which is known to be the most active among the policies of the central government and local governments in the early stages of the policy. Based on the current policy, we hope to prepare a policy that includes the voices of young people and provides equal support to vulnerable groups.

Living, learning, working, and playing during COVID-19: tackling existing and exacerbated problems of low-income Singaporean youth

ABSTRACT COVID-19’s adverse, disproportionate impact on low-income youth — prompting youth-serving professionals to adapt and adjust — is well-documented. However, research gaps exist, including explanatory processes underlying COVID-19’s deleterious impact, systematic documentation of existing and exacerbated problems, and short- and long-term responses of youth-serving professionals. Using a multi-informant mixed methods design guided by a live-learn-work-play theoretical framework, exploratory findings indicated that COVID-19 worsened existing problems across all domains. In the short-term, Singaporean professionals prioritised, moved online, and evaluated programmes. Progressively, they sought to build youth communities, empower families, collaborate, and experiment. Findings have implications for understanding and resolving structural problems perpetuating pre-disaster vulnerabilities.

Evidence Base Update on the Assessment of Irritability, Anger, and Aggression in Youth

ABSTRACT Objective Irritability, anger, and aggression have garnered significant attention from youth mental health researchers and clinicians; however, fundamental challenges of conceptualization and measurement persist. This article reviews the evidence base for assessing these transdiagnostic constructs in children and adolescents. Method We conducted a preregistered systematic review of the evidence behind instruments used to measure irritability, anger, aggression, and related problems in youth. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO and PubMed, identifying 4,664 unique articles. Eligibility criteria focused on self- and proxy-report measures with peer-reviewed psychometric evidence from studies in English with youths ages 3–18. Additional measures were found through ancillary search strategies (e.g. book chapters, review articles, test publishers). Measures were screened and coded by multiple raters with acceptable reliability. Results Overall, 68 instruments met criteria for inclusion, with scales covering irritability (n = 15), anger (n = 19), aggression (n = 45), and/or general overt externalizing problems (n = 27). Regarding overall psychometric support, 6 measures (8.8%) were classified as Excellent, 46 (67.6%) were Good, and 16 (23.5%) were Adequate. Descriptive information (e.g. informants, scales, availability, translations) and psychometric properties (e.g. reliability, validity, norms) are summarized. Conclusions Numerous instruments for youth irritability, anger, and aggression exist with varying degrees of empirical support for specific applications. Although some measures were especially strong, none had uniformly excellent properties across all dimensions, signaling the need for further research in particular areas. Findings promote conceptual clarity while also producing a well-characterized toolkit for researchers and clinicians addressing transdiagnostic problems affecting youth.

Phasic Versus Tonic Irritability and Associations with Family Accommodation Among Youth with Selective Mutism: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Clinical presentations of selective mutism (SM) vary widely across affected youth. Although studies have explored general externalizing problems in youth with SM, research has not specifically examined patterns of irritability. Relatedly, research has not considered how affected families differentially accommodate the anxiety of youth with SM as a function of the child's temper outbursts (i.e., phasic irritability) and general angry mood (i.e., tonic irritability). Data were drawn from a sample of treatment-seeking children and adolescents with a primary diagnosis of selective mutism (N = 152; Mean age = 6.12years; 67.11% female), and their caregivers. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify distinct profiles in SM youth that were characterized by varying levels of phasic and/or tonic irritability. Analyses further examined whether these different profiles were associated with different levels of family accommodation and global impairment. LPA identified 5 profiles: SM with No irritability, SM with Low Phasic Irritability, SM with High Phasic Irritability, SM with High Phasic and Moderate Tonic Irritability, and SM with High Phasic and High Tonic Irritability. Patterns of family accommodation and global impairment were highest among youth belonging to profiles characterized by high phasic irritability. Findings highlight separable patterns of irritability across youth with SM, with phasic irritability (i.e., temper outbursts) appearing particularly linked with increased family accommodation and overall global impairment. Assessing phasic irritability is critical for optimizing treatment in youth with SM and can be useful for flagging possible patterns of family accommodation contributing to overall impairment.

How Far Are NEET Youth Falling Behind in Their Non-Cognitive Skills? An Econometric Analysis of Disparities

Youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) refers to the most vulnerable group in the transition from school to work. While much research focuses on institutional factors behind the NEET incidence, the current study approaches the problem of the NEET youth from the perspective of non-cognitive skills. For measuring non-cognitive skills, the Big Five personality characteristics (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) as well as grit were analyzed. The analysis was carried out using propensity score matching based on the data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS HSE) for 2016. This study shows that the majority of young people in the NEET group come from the poorest families. Nearly half of the NEET youth are not only not working, but they are also not looking for a job either. The analysis revealed that NEET youth fall behind in different non-cognitive abilities, with statistically significant differences in conscientiousness, extraversion, and grit, as well as a greater severity of neuroticism.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms in Spanish adolescents: results from the EHDLA study.

Depression and anxiety are prevalent and disabling conditions among adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms in adolescents. This cross-sectional study included a sample of 698 adolescent students from a region of Spain (mean age of 13.9 ± 1.5years; 56.2% girls). Adherence to the MD was evaluated with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in children and adolescents (KIDMED). Mental health symptoms were measured with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Logistic regression models were performed, including a wide range of potential confounders. Compared to individuals with low adherence to the MD, those with moderate and high adherence had lower odds of experiencing depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24-0.65 and OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.20-0.55, respectively), which were statistically significant even after adjustment. No significant associations were found regarding anxiety or stress symptoms. Therefore, according to our results, higher adherence to the MD is inversely related to having depressive symptoms among adolescents, regardless of socioeconomic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors. Considering the deleterious effects of mental health problems in youths, further research on the role of nonpharmacological strategies for the prevention and treatment of depressive symptoms in adolescence is essential.

Teens and digital media: How do we move toward productive public discourse?

ABSTRACT In recent years, increased attention has been paid to possible linkages between youth digital media use and well-being. Greater scrutiny is certainly warranted, given how much time teens spend with technology and the escalating number of teens who struggle with their mental health. However, a negative frame has shaped much of the public discourse about the relationship teens share with technology. News media in particular have tended to vilify digital media as the central contributor to youth problems, amplifying adult fears and disregarding youth agency in the process. In this commentary, we argue that alternate media narratives are possible and more likely to be productive. Showcasing examples from popular fictional streaming programs Euphoria and Ginny & Georgia, we highlight how complicated, nuanced representations of teens’ digital media interactions can more realistically and poignantly address the contemporary moment. We conclude by challenging scholars to consider how they can engage with media storytellers, particularly journalists, in an effort to shape a public discourse about youth and digital media that is more accurate, meaningful, and productive.

Moderators of the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and externalizing problems in youth.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment on Oct 26 2023 (see record 2024-19662-001). In the original article, the authors changed the order of authorship from "Blair D. Batky, Allison N. Shields, Jennifer L. Tackett, and Randall T. Salekin" to "Blair D. Batky, Allison N. Shields, Randall T. Salekin, and Jennifer L. Tackett." All versions of this article have been corrected. The names appear correctly in this record.] Callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e., tendencies to experience low levels of guilt and empathy) are associated with severe and persistent conduct problems in youth. However, some youth with elevated CU traits do not exhibit severe externalizing problems, and further research is needed to identify conditions under which CU traits are more versus less strongly associated with higher levels of externalizing behavior. To this end, the current preregistered study examined whether internalizing problems, five-factor model personality traits, and parenting practices moderated associations between CU traits and externalizing problems. Caregivers of 1,232 youth ages 6-18 (Mage = 11.46) reported on youths' CU traits, externalizing, internalizing, and five-factor model traits as well as on their own parenting practices. We found that the relationship between CU traits and externalizing was robust to the moderating effects of internalizing problems and parenting practices, but CU traits were more strongly related to externalizing problems at higher levels of neuroticism and at lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness. Results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of externalizing problems among youth high in CU traits and may inform future longitudinal and intervention research seeking to identify factors that reduce externalizing behavior among high-CU youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Sleep well, worry less: A co-design study for the development of the SMILE app.

With the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic exacerbating mental health concerns, the prevalence rates of anxiety and sleep problems have increased alarmingly among youth. Although 90% of patients with anxiety experience sleep problems, current interventions for anxiety often do not target sleep problems in youth. Given this lack, we designed the SMILE app, an intervention that addresses both anxiety and sleep problems simultaneously. As users' perspectives are essential to ensure app engagement and uptake, the features, designs, and functions of the SMILE app were evaluated using a participatory app design approach. Participants (N = 17) were youth aged 15 to 25 who reported co-morbid anxiety and sleep issues above clinical thresholds. After completing an online screening survey assessing demographics, anxiety, and sleep problems, participants shared app feedback through group-based, semi-structured co-design sessions. Qualitative analyses were conducted to identify common themes from participants' feedback. While participants expressed enthusiasm for the SMILE app's features, particularly the Visualization, Journaling, and Psychoeducation features, and their variety, they criticized the design aspects of the app, such as the font and text amount. Most participants stated they would use the SMILE app or recommend it to a friend. By actively involving the target population in the design process, the SMILE app has the potential to notably improve the mental well-being of youth, though further research and development are required to realize this potential fully.

Relative brain age is associated with socioeconomic status and anxiety/depression problems in youth.

Brain age, a measure of biological aging in the brain, has been linked to psychiatric illness, principally in adult populations. Components of socioeconomic status (SES) associate with differences in brain structure and psychiatric risk across the lifespan. This study aimed to investigate the influence of SES on brain aging in childhood and adolescence, a period of rapid neurodevelopment and peak onset for many psychiatric disorders. We reanalyzed data from the Healthy Brain Network to examine the influence of SES components (occupational prestige, public assistance enrollment, parent education, and household income-to-needs ratio [INR]) on relative brain age (RBA). Analyses included 470 youth (5-17 years; 61.3% men), self-identifying as White (55%), African American (15%), Hispanic (9%), or multiracial (17.2%). Household income was 3.95 ± 2.33 (mean ± SD) times the federal poverty threshold. RBA quantified differences between chronological age and brain age using covariation patterns of morphological features and total volumes. We also examined associations between RBA and psychiatric symptoms (Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]). Models covaried for sex, scan location, and parent psychiatric diagnoses. In a linear regression, lower RBA is associated with lower parent occupational prestige (p = .01), lower public assistance enrollment (p = .03), and more parent psychiatric diagnoses (p = .01), but not parent education or INR. Lower parent occupational prestige (p = .02) and lower RBA (p = .04) are associated with higher CBCL anxious/depressed scores. Our findings underscore the importance of including SES components in developmental brain research. Delayed brain aging may represent a potential biological pathway from SES to psychiatric risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Linking 24-h Movement Behavior Guidelines to Cognitive Difficulties, Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Preterm Youth

Linking 24-h Movement Behavior Guidelines to Cognitive Difficulties, Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Preterm Youth

Psychosocial risk and protective factors for youth problem behavior are associated with food addiction in the Generation Z.

Food Addiction (FA) and other well-known risk behavior as substance misuse tend to co-occur and may share similar risk and protective factors. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the diagnosis/severity of FA and psychosocial domains typically related to risk behavior syndrome in a large, nationally representative community sample of Generation Z underage Italian students. The sample consisted of 8,755 students (3,623 from middle schools, 5,132 from high schools). A short version of the Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 was administered to evaluate FA. Risk and protective factors related to demographic, personality, behavior, and family variables were examined. Stepwise multivariate logistic and linear regressions were conducted. The prevalence of FA was 30.8%. Female gender, social anxiety and depression symptoms, social withdrawal risk, Internet gaming disorder, social media addiction, current substance use, social challenge engagement and experienced doxing boosted the chance of FA diagnosis, whereas eating fruit and vegetables, playing competitive sports and an average sleep duration of 7-8 h per night reduced these odds. FA severity was significantly and positively associated with trait impulsiveness, social anxiety and depressive symptoms, risk of social withdrawal, recent substance use, social media, and gaming addiction, doxing suffered and risky social challenges participation. Negative associations between the severity of FA and fruit and vegetable diet habits were found. Our findings confirm that FA is widespread among Italian adolescents. The associations between the diagnosis and severity of FA and psychosocial risk factors for health, including, addictive and deviant behaviors related to digital misuse, suggest its belonging to the risk behavior constellation. Health promotion schemes based on a multicomponent strategy of intervention should consider the inclusion of FA and its psychosocial correlates.

Building Strong Character Among The Adolescent Of The Islamic Center Mosque Of Al-Muqorrobin, Sewon, Bantul Through Didikan Subuh And Tapak Suci Martial Arts

Abstract.One of the functions of the mosque that Al-Muqorrobin Islamic Center Mosque wants to play, apart from being a comfortable place for mahdah worship, is as a place for the formation of the young generation of Muslims who are strong in character. However, so far this function is still not optimal, while the interesting activities of Youth Mosques to prosper the mosque and form the mentality and awareness of defending the country among its members are still very minimal. For this reason, this community partnership program offers 2 sustainable activities to address the problem of youth mosques as the program partner namely: 1. The Subuh Education(Didikan Subuh) activities after the Fajr Prayer in the congregation every Sunday morning; 2. The practice of martial art Tapak Suci self-defense which is carried out after Didikan from 6 to 8 am. The methods used in these activities are lectures, dialogue, demonstrations, and exercises led by a professional martial arts trainer. The results of the pre-test and post-test assessments of the Didikan Subuh participants showed that there had been a significant increase in the participants' religious and national insights and knowledge from an average of 32.6% in the pre-test to 64% in the post-test. While the results of routine Tapak Suci martial arts training since February 5, 2023, have produced 2 champions of the Tapak Suci Inter Kindergarten and Elementary Championships throughout the Province of Yogyakarta Special Region (Muhi Minggir Cup Competition) which was held on 12-14 May 2023

Youth from India Conflicting Area Suffering from Mental Health Issues

Nowadays, more and more youth are suffering from mental health issues all over the world. Based on an online literature review, the author found out that there are limited journals talking about low and middle-income countries, especially the relationship between conflicting areas and youth psychological issues. With that said, this essay aims to find the relationship between youth suffering from mental health problem and India conflicting areas. It further analyzes both direct and indirect causes to the problem of mental health in the youth in India. In the suggestion section, the author also provides with several solutions at different levels. The aim of providing these solutions is try to solve or mitigate the problem of youth in conflicting areas suffering from mental health problems, also highlighting the importance of peace, trying to build a better living environment for human being.

The Evolving Landscape of Juvenile Justice: A Comprehensive Examination of Policies, Practices, and Reform Initiatives

The juvenile justice system in India is designed to provide care, protection, and rehabilitation to children in conflict with the law. The system is guided by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which aims to create a child-friendly justice system that is in line with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite the existence of this legal framework, the efficacy of the juvenile justice system in India has been the subject of much debate. One of the main criticisms of the system is that it is often ineffective in rehabilitating juvenile offenders and preventing them from reoffending. Despite these challenges, there have also been positive developments in the juvenile justice system in India. For example, the system has started to focus more on restorative justice and diversion programs, which aim to address the root causes of juvenile delinquency and provide support to young people to help them avoid criminal behavior. The Juvenile Justice System is the most dynamic and irradiated framework embraced by the world which deals with all-round development of children. The chief centre is to give consideration to the unprotected children. To the extent practicable, a child is to be rehabilitated and re-established to the family. This project is going to assess the Juvenile Justice System in India in the light of protected reasoning and international parameters along with some of the landmark cases of which the Juvenile Justice Act had to take its course into being defined as an Act of its own. The concept of juvenile justice was derived from a belief that the problems of juvenile delinquency and youth in abnormal situations are not amenable to resolution within the framework of the traditional process of criminal law.

Risk Factors and Mental Health Issues in Adolescence: an Analysis of the Indian Setting

Adolescence in India is marked by heightened vulnerabilities to concerns related to mental health with depression playing an important role as a contributing factor. Recent years have seen an increase in the incidence of depression in Indian adolescents. Despite this the major causes of causes of depression still remain unidentified. The present article aims to provide a detailed examination of the possible risk factors that are becoming increasingly significant in the Indian setting. The primary purpose of the paper is to offer an in -depth understanding of the factors that commonly lead to mental health problems in contemporary Indian youth. It is believed that the article would help create an understanding and awareness among parents, teachers and policy makers about the pressures and challenges youth faces so that relevant interventions can be made at different levels.

Social problems of youth of the Republic of North Ossetia ‒ Alania: results of a sociological study

Social problems of youth of the Republic of North Ossetia ‒ Alania: results of a sociological study

Assessing the Longitudinal Associations Between Decision-Making Processes and Attention Problems in Early Adolescence.

Cognitive functions and psychopathology develop in parallel in childhood and adolescence, but the temporal dynamics of their associations are poorly understood. The present study sought to elucidate the intertwined development of decision-making processes and attention problems using longitudinal data from late childhood (9-10 years) to mid-adolescence (11-13 years) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (n = 8918). We utilised hierarchical drift-diffusion modelling of behavioural data from the stop-signal task, parent-reported attention problems from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and multigroup univariate and bivariate latent change score models. The results showed faster drift rate was associated with lower levels of inattention at baseline, as well as a greater reduction of inattention over time. Moreover, baseline drift rate negatively predicted change in attention problems in females, and baseline attention problems negatively predicted change in drift rate. Neither response caution (decision threshold) nor encoding- and responding processes (non-decision time) were significantly associated with attention problems. There were no significant sex differences in the associations between decision-making processes and attention problems. The study supports previous findings of reduced evidence accumulation in attention problems and additionally shows that development of this aspect of decision-making plays a role in developmental changes in attention problems in youth.