Highlights in child mental health research: May 2021

Highlights

• This systematic review looks at the evidence on the impact parental support programs have on early child development.
• Findings were based on analysis of 102 randomized controlled trials of parenting interventions for children during the first 3 years of life and across a total of 33 countries.

Key findings:

• Parental support to help teach children during the earliest years of life can help promote early child development.
• Parenting interventions improved early child cognitive, language, motor, socioemotional development, attachment patterns and reduced behaviour problems.
• Parenting interventions improved parenting knowledge, parenting practices, and parent–child interactions. However, they did not significantly reduce parental depressive symptoms.
• The effect of parenting interventions on the cognitive development of the child was 3 times greater in low- and middle-income countries versus high income countries.
• Responsive parenting (family interactions in which parents are aware of their children’s emotional and physical needs and respond appropriately and consistently) was identified as important.
• Parenting interventions that included content on responsive caregiving had significantly greater effects on child cognitive development, parenting knowledge, parenting practices, and parent–child interactions than interventions that did not include content on responsive parenting.

Implications:

• Research suggests parenting programs have global relevance although the form and content of interventions can change according to socio-cultural and economic contexts.
• Future research should unpack the different components of parenting programs to identify the association with outcomes to inform improved delivery, effectiveness, and scale of parenting interventions for early child development.
• Substantial variation in program content and implementation characteristics make is difficult to draw on one model.

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Highlights

• This study investigated the role of sex, ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in the emotional difficulties of children aged 5 to 14.
• Data from 19,748 participants in two contemporary nationally representative samples in Australia (Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, n = 4,975) and the UK (Millennium Cohort Study, n = 14,773) were used.

Key findings:

• The relationship between inequality and mental health are not the same despite data coming from two English-speaking, high-income, industrialised countries.
• Girls experience greater difficulties in adolescence, particularly in the UK.
• Australian children with unemployed parents had significantly higher emotional symptoms, but this was not the case for UK children where there was no difference by parent’s unemployment.
• The study used the term “ethnic minority” and “ethnic majority” to assess disparities in mental health of those who have Caucasian heritage (ethnic majority) and those who do not (ethnic minority).
• In the UK, children of ethnic minority have better mental health than their Caucasian majority peers in adolescence, whereas in Australia both children had similar emotional symptoms.
• In both countries, parents of children from Caucasian backgrounds faced fewer stresses than parents of children from culturally linguistically diverse communities.
• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parents report the highest average level of emotional stress for themselves and their children across all ages compared with other groups.

Implications:

• Understanding country and context-specific drivers of different inequalities (e.g. cultural and economic differences, differences in levels of discrimination and victimisation) could be part of reducing disparities in child and adolescent mental health.
• In Australia, specific programs are needed to alleviate the stresses faced by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander parents.
• Understanding context-specific explanations for differences (e.g. differences in racial discrimination and bullying victimisation) might help identify targets to prevent inequalities.

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Highlights

• 241 parents or carers of children aged 5-18 (median of 9 years) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) described how the coronavirus outbreak has affected their mental health and the mental health of their child.
• The study found that children with SEND and their parents are experiencing increased overwhelm, loss, worry and changes in mood and behaviour due to COVID-19.
• Of the parents/carers who provided data, 92% were mothers and 63% earned less than the approximate UK median income (£44,000).

Key findings:

• A majority of parents/carers described that loss of routine, support network and structures, specialist input and, for a minority, financial stability had a significant impact on their wellbeing.
• Losses were amplified in families whose SEND children could not always understand COVID-19 and related changes.
• For a minority of parents with children who had school related anxieties, COVID-19 has had little impact on mental health in their family, or has led to improvements because the child feels safe at home.

Implications:

• The level of worry many SEND families report appears to be substantial and serious.
• Frequently mentioned suggestions to support parents and alleviate stress included specialist professional advice for parents on how to meet the child’s educational and mental health needs and continued access to specialist appointments.
• Help is required for parents to understand appropriate tasks and resources for home learning and providing opportunities to see familiar faces remotely.
• The study did not include a comparison group of neurotypical children and their families which makes it hard to draw direct conclusions about the specific needs of families with SEND children and further research is needed.

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Highlights

• This study examines the effects of culturally specific community-level risk and protective factors for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child/youth suicide.
• Suicide mortality data were derived from the Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) for Queensland young people aged 10–19 years.
• Cultural connectedness was assessed using data published by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). Data on demographic, social, cultural, and environmental indicators, including language, cultural activities, social networks, support, health, and wellbeing were included.

Key Findings:

• Suicide rates have been persistently higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for other Australians with 12 times as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under 15 years of age dying by suicide as other young Australians.
• The suicide rate among young people was lower in communities where First Peoples had greater engagement with cultural events, ceremonies, and organisations, and where discrimination was less prevalent.
• Neither Indigenous language use nor socio-economic resource level significantly influenced suicide rates.

Implications:

• Strategies for increasing cultural connection and engagement and for reducing discrimination should be developed to reduce the number of First Nations young people who die by suicide.

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