Highlights in child mental health research: April 2025

This month’s highlights include:

Music learning and school-aged children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing

This systematic review examined 30 studies on music education for school-aged children and adolescents. The review found that most studies support the idea that music positively supports the wellbeing of young people, but more research needs to be done on the extent of the impact that music has on wellbeing.

Mental health disorders, ACEs and reoffending among justice-involved youth in Australia

This study linked offending records and mental health records for justice-involved youth in New South Wales between 1994–2022. The study aimed to identify factors that may increase reoffending rates. They found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health disorders, such as anxiety and mood disorders, are risk factors for reoffending. Mental health service use was associated with a reduced likelihood of offending.

Post-traumatic stress in infancy: The roles of cumulative trauma and caregiving context

This study reports on the effects of cumulative trauma exposure and the influence of caregiver trauma symptoms on post-traumatic symptoms in infants aged 3–18 months. The study found that exposure to traumatic events in infancy was linked to greater and more severe post-traumatic stress symptoms. Caregiver post-traumatic stress symptoms were also linked to more severe infant symptoms.

Associations among childhood household income, latent classes of early ACEs and adolescent mental health

This study used data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), low household income, and mental health challenges in adolescence. The findings from the study suggest that a higher household income can be a protective factor against the negative effects of some ACEs or low ACE exposure. The findings suggest that the type and number of ACEs a child has may increase the effect that low household income has on their anxiety and depression as an adolescent.

Why is this important?

• Evidence suggests that music can support young people’s wellbeing, particularly when listening to and making music.
• Understanding the impact of music on wellbeing may direct future research on music learning in schools and its connection to the wellbeing of young people.

What did they do?

• This systematic review included 30 studies on music education for school-aged children and adolescents. Most studies were based in Australia (43.3%) or the United Kingdom (36.6%).

What did they find?

• Most reviewed studies found that music positively supported the wellbeing of children and adolescents.
• Currently, there is no shared understanding of what ‘wellbeing’ means in the context of music learning. In addition, there are currently no explicit measures of wellbeing for children and adolescents learning music. Therefore, it is difficult to find quantitative data on the interaction of music on wellbeing.
• There is an absence of large-scale studies, especially in schools, on the impact of learning music on individuals and communities.

What does this mean for practice?

• Music education should be considered as a practice to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and teenagers.
• Further research is required on how music teachers can be upskilled and supported in wellbeing strategies.

Why is this important?

• Mental health disorders and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are risk factors for youth offending.
• It is unclear how engagement with mental health services might interrupt repeat offending.

What did they do?

• This study linked offending records (from between 1994–2022) and mental health records (2001–2022) for 1,556 justice-involved youth in New South Wales. The study aimed to identify factors that may have increased reoffending during a five-year follow-up.

What did they find?

• The study found that 69.6% of custody-supervised youth aged 14 to 17 years had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), 33.9% had experienced mental health disorders and 26.5% had experienced both.
• 64.8% of custody-supervised youth had recurring offences.
• Risk factors for reoffending included ACEs such as physical abuse, parental death and previous incarceration or other factors such as anxiety and mood disorders. Mental health service use was associated with a reduced likelihood of reoffending.

What does this mean for practice?

• Regular mental health assessments and improved access to interventions should be prioritised for justice-involved youth.
• Offending recurrence can be reduced by improving access to mental health services for young people who have existing contact with the youth justice system or have an increased likelihood of having ACEs.

Why is this important?

• Infants younger than one year of age comprise 14.7% of all maltreatment victims; children under two years of age account for 27.3% of all child maltreatment cases. Exposure to trauma significantly predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Due to their age and developmental period, infants under the age of three present symptoms of post-traumatic stress differently to adolescents and adults. It is important to use appropriate criteria to identify symptoms to ensure infants receive needed care and support.
• Caregivers play an important role in infant post-traumatic stress symptoms. They are the most likely to identify symptoms and the quality of their relationship with the child may prevent, alleviate or exacerbate the development and intensity of the infant’s response to traumatic events.

What did they do?

• This study reports on the effects of cumulative trauma exposure and the influence of caregiver trauma symptoms on post-traumatic symptoms in infants aged 3–18 months.
• 116 caregivers were included, with most being birth mothers (103). The study measured traumatic event history in the infant’s life and their post-traumatic stress symptoms. Caregivers post-traumatic stress symptoms were also measured.

What did they find?

• 44.8% of infants in the study had experienced a traumatic event related to illness or medical trauma, 28.4% of infants had experienced a serious accidental injury and 21.6% had experienced domestic violence. Other types of traumatic events included separation from their primary caregiver, community violence, neglect, and disasters.
• Infant exposure to a greater number of traumatic events was linked to greater and more severe infant post-traumatic stress symptoms as compared to infants with exposure to one traumatic event. Caregiver post-traumatic stress symptoms were linked to greater and more severe infant post-traumatic stress symptoms as reported by their caregivers.

What does this mean for practice?

• Caregiver functioning and post-traumatic stress symptoms should be considered when assessing infant post-traumatic stress symptoms.
• Future research should focus on validating screening and assessment instruments for age-appropriate diagnostic criteria, designed specifically to measure trauma-related symptoms in early infancy. Better understanding of post-traumatic stress symptoms in infants can help support healthy development from the beginning stages of life.
• Assessing for post-traumatic symptoms, along with other symptoms associated with trauma, should become a standard part of practice when an infant has been exposed to a traumatic event. Better diagnostic tools would help to differentiate between normal development and trauma-responses and to inform appropriate intervention. Identifying mental health symptoms early may prevent them from becoming worse, long-lasting or more complex.

Why is this important?

• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and low household income are linked to mental health challenges in adolescence. In addition, children from low-income households are more likely to experience a greater number of ACEs.
• It is currently not known if specific types of ACEs are associated with different household income classes and if different combinations of ACEs are associated with different mental health outcomes.

What did they do?

• This US study used data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, including 2,524 adolescents who were interviewed at 15 years and whose primary caregiver at ages one, three and five was a biological parent.
• The study measured ACEs at ages one, three and five, including harsh physical discipline, emotional/verbal abuse, neglect, parent mental illness, parent problematic substance use, parent incarceration and intimate partner violence. Adolescent mental health symptoms, including depression and anxiety symptoms, were also measured.

What did they find?

• Findings suggest that a higher household income can be protective against the negative effects of a low number of ACEs, regardless of the type of ACE.
• The type and number of ACEs may increase the effect that low household income has on an adolescent’s risk of depression and anxiety.

What does this mean for practice?

• Identifying the risk of potential parent-related ACEs (e.g. a parent’s substance use) with expecting or new parents can lead to timely intervention in a child’s development.
• It is important to use caution when using screening or measures of ACEs, as they may not always be accurate or reliable predictors of individual health and wellbeing. However, the prevention of ACEs through education, advocacy and service provision is essential for child and adolescent wellbeing.