J Child Psychol Psychiatry [JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Research Review: What we have learned about the endocannabinoid system in developmental psychopathology.
Tansey RC, Ferger MD, Marusak HA … +1 more , Mayo LM
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Dec · PMID 40639419 · Full text
BACKGROUND: The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, the primary target of cannabis, has gained significant attention as a potential novel therapeutic approach for treating a range of psychiatric disorders characterized by dysr...
BACKGROUND: The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, the primary target of cannabis, has gained significant attention as a potential novel therapeutic approach for treating a range of psychiatric disorders characterized by dysregulation of stress, emotion, and social behavior. The use of cannabis itself as a pharmacotherapeutic in children and adolescents is limited due to various constraints, including legal status, stigma, and real or perceived negative side effects. Thus, compounds that target the eCB system without the notable unwanted effects of cannabis may offer a more viable approach for developing populations. METHODS: In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the eCB system, summarizing its function throughout development and its potential contribution to psychopathology in children and adolescents. We highlight evidence of its behavioral role and the dysregulation of this system in various psychiatric disorders. Finally, we summarize current investigations into pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapeutic interventions designed to target the eCB system. CONCLUSIONS: The eCB system may offer an innovative target for treatments of various psychiatric disorders in child and adolescent populations. However, more research is needed to understand the nuanced developmental trajectory of this system and to determine whether existing compounds are safe and effective for use in these populations.
Anxiety severity in peri-adolescents is associated with greater generalization of negative memories following a period of sleep relative to wake.
Eihentale L, Kimbler A, Sollenberger NA … +6 more , Cummings LR, Yeguez CE, Patriarca GC, Pettit JW, McMakin DL, Mattfeld AT
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Dec · PMID 40639396 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Sleep may facilitate preferential selection and reactivation of emotional information for memory consolidation, contributing to negative overgeneralization (i.e., an increased tendency to generalize negative...
BACKGROUND: Sleep may facilitate preferential selection and reactivation of emotional information for memory consolidation, contributing to negative overgeneralization (i.e., an increased tendency to generalize negative information) in anxious individuals. We examined two aspects of emotional memory-recognition and generalization-in peri-adolescents across a spectrum of anxiety severity using a sleep-wake design. We hypothesized that anxiety severity would interact with sleep to increase recognition and generalization of negative stimuli. METHODS: Thirty-four participants (16 females; mean age = 11.4, SD = 2.0) completed an emotional memory similarity task with a 10- to 12-h sleep or wake retention interval, monitored by actigraphy and daily diary. Participants rated the valence (negative, neutral, positive) of images at encoding. During a recognition test, they identified targets (previously seen images), lures (images similar to targets), and foils (new images). RESULTS: A mixed-effects model showed a significant three-way interaction between anxiety severity (PARS-6), valence, and group (b = .011, SE = .005, p = .042). For negative valence, the effect of anxiety was significant in the sleep group (b = .013, p < .001) but not in the wake group (b = .0004, p = .927), with the slopes differing significantly (b = -.013, p = .020). In the sleep group, the negative slope was significantly greater than neutral (b = -.012, p = .002) but not positive (b = .007, p = .128). Slopes for neutral valence were not significant in either group (all ps > .05). Target recognition and lure discrimination interaction models were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: We provide evidence that anxiety severity in peri-adolescents is associated with greater generalization of emotional-particularly negative-content following sleep compared to wakefulness. Sleep-related emotional memory consolidation may contribute to negative overgeneralization, an etiological feature of anxiety disorders and a potential mechanism of change. Further investigation is warranted, especially during sensitive developmental periods like peri-adolescence.
Predicting adolescent disordered eating and behaviours: exploring environmental moderators of polygenic risk.
Curtis M, Colodro-Conde L, Medland SE … +4 more , Gordon S, Martin NG, Wade TD, Cohen-Woods S
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Dec · PMID 40633822 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of developing disordered eating, with twin studies demonstrating environmental factors moderate genetic susceptibility. To date, gene-environment...
BACKGROUND: Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of developing disordered eating, with twin studies demonstrating environmental factors moderate genetic susceptibility. To date, gene-environment interactions leveraging polygenic risk scores (PRS) have not been studied in disordered eating phenotypes beyond anorexia nervosa (AN). This study investigated if polygenic risk for AN interacts with established environmental eating disorder risk factors (parental expectations, parental criticism, parental conflict, parental care and weight-related peer teasing) to predict overall levels of disordered eating in the general population or specific lifetime disordered eating behaviours (avoidance of eating, objective bulimic episodes, self-induced vomiting and driven exercise). METHODS: PRS were calculated using summary statistics from the largest AN genome-wide association study. Environmental factors were assessed via telephone interview using standardized measures. Analyses were performed using genome-wide complex trait analysis to test whether parental expectations, criticism, conflict or care, or weight-related peer teasing interacted with AN PRS to predict disordered eating outcomes in our sample (n = 383). RESULTS: The analyses revealed significant main effects of parental expectations, parental criticism, parental care, and weight-related peer teasing on at least one disordered eating outcome. All environmental variables moderated the association between AN PRS and at least one disordered eating outcome by either increasing risk (parental expectations, parental criticism, parental conflict, weight-related peer teasing) or lowering risk (parental care). CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors in disordered eating development and emphasize the importance of personalized interventions that consider both genetic predisposition and environmental influences.
Capturing change in restricted and repetitive behaviour in preschoolers with ASD: A comparison of direct behavioural observation and parent report.
Raji N, Kitzerow-Cleven J, Kim Z … +10 more , Kleber SK, Polzer L, Lemler C, Ring M, Taurines R, Geißler J, Fröhlich U, Noterdaeme M, Bast N, Freitag CM
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40631530 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Restricted and repetitive behaviour (RRB) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be assessed by different measures, which diverge in item quantity, dimensionality or source of information. However, change sens...
BACKGROUND: Restricted and repetitive behaviour (RRB) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be assessed by different measures, which diverge in item quantity, dimensionality or source of information. However, change sensitivity has not been systematically investigated among commonly used measures, albeit its importance for clinical trials and longitudinal studies. METHODS: Longitudinal data resulting from behavioural observation (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2, ADOS-2; Brief Observation of Social Communication Change, BOSCC) and parent report (Restricted Behaviour Scale-Revised, RBS-R) was collected for 134 toddlers and preschoolers aged 25-65 months diagnosed with ASD by the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and ADOS-2. Change sensitivity was estimated using the reliable-change index and developmental trajectories of RRB by linear mixed models and k-means clustering. RESULTS: The RBS-R identified significantly more reliable change in RRB severity compared to ADOS-2 and BOSCC. For all measures, except the RBS-R self-injurious behaviour subscale, three distinct RRB trajectories were found as follows: increasing, stable and decreasing RRB severity. Overlap was low between trajectory group assignment across measures, as were cross-sectional correlations between ADI-R, ADOS-2, BOSCC and RBS-R. Trajectory group comparisons among measures mostly showed lower baseline RRB severity in the increasing trajectory groups and higher baseline RRB severity in the decreasing trajectory groups. The trajectory groups did not differ in age or nonverbal IQ across RRB measures, except for the RBS-R compulsive behaviour subscale, which had higher nonverbal IQ in the decreasing trajectory group. CONCLUSIONS: The dimensional questionnaire RBS-R compared to ADOS-2 and BOSCC is superior in capturing subtle changes in RRB during preschool age.
Implications of cooccurring ADHD for the cognitive behavioural treatment of anxiety in autistic children.
Ng-Cordell E, Storch EA, Kendall PC … +3 more , Wood JJ, Mikami AY, Kerns CM
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Dec · PMID 40631408 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Childhood mental health conditions commonly cooccur, with potential treatment implications. Autistic children frequently experience anxiety and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated...
BACKGROUND: Childhood mental health conditions commonly cooccur, with potential treatment implications. Autistic children frequently experience anxiety and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We investigated the implications of this cooccurrence for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a front-line treatment for anxiety in autistic children. We tested whether (1) ADHD predicts anxiety treatment response, (2) ADHD improves in response to anxiety treatment and (3) ADHD improvement is related to reductions in anxiety. METHOD: Autistic children with elevated anxiety (N = 167) enrolled in a multisite, randomised controlled trial comparing standard CBT, autism-adapted CBT and treatment as usual. ADHD symptoms and severity were assessed via a parent-report questionnaire and clinical interview, respectively. Linear regressions (questions 1 and 2) and linear mixed models (question 3) were conducted with adjustments for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Participants meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD (62%) had greater pretreatment anxiety severity and anxiety-related functional impairment, particularly at school. ADHD did not moderate anxiety response following CBT. Receiving CBT (standard or adapted) predicted reduction in evaluator-rated ADHD severity, but not parent-reported symptoms. Reduction in anxiety severity predicted reduction in ADHD symptoms and severity. CONCLUSIONS: Existing CBT programmes are suitable for treating anxiety in autistic children with cooccurring ADHD. Future research should identify mechanisms through which CBT for anxiety also mitigates ADHD, with the aim of improving treatment precision and effectiveness.
Editorial: Sleep privilege - research and clinical recommendations for when sleep cannot be optimal.
Gregory AM, Harvey AG, Shafran R
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Aug · PMID 40583048 · Publisher ↗
Sleep has historically been undervalued, with its significance in public health and child development often disregarded. More recently, there has been immense and growing public interest in sleep. Guidelines emphasise th...
Sleep has historically been undervalued, with its significance in public health and child development often disregarded. More recently, there has been immense and growing public interest in sleep. Guidelines emphasise the amount and quality of sleep that we should obtain. However, some people, and notably parents and caregivers of children and youth, and particularly those with special needs, are not able to achieve this and are becoming distressed and worried. Whereas some people have 'sleep privilege' in that they are able to sleep under optimal circumstances and conditions, others do not. Here we offer six research and clinical recommendations for this important yet underconsidered area.
Mother-preschooler RSA synchrony and self-regulation as antecedents of developmental psychopathology in early childhood.
Li L, Such S, Lunkenheimer E
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40566797 · Full text
BACKGROUND: We examined whether mother-preschooler respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony and self-regulation, as potential biological antecedents of developmental psychopathology, interacted to shape children's la...
BACKGROUND: We examined whether mother-preschooler respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony and self-regulation, as potential biological antecedents of developmental psychopathology, interacted to shape children's later behavior problems directly and indirectly via harsh parenting. METHODS: Mother-preschooler dyads (N = 135; 53% female) were oversampled for familial risk. Mother-rated harsh parenting and child behavior problems at ages 3 and 4 years were modeled as latent change scores across ages. Age 3 mother-child RSA synchrony was estimated with multilevel modeling as the concurrent effects of maternal RSA on child RSA during a challenging parent-child task. Age 3 child and maternal RSA self-regulation were measured as mean RSA during a resting task. RESULTS: More positive RSA synchrony with children with stronger individual RSA self-regulation predicted greater decreases in harsh parenting. In contrast, more positive RSA synchrony with children with weaker RSA self-regulation predicted greater increases in harsh parenting. In turn, greater increases in harsh parenting were related to greater increases in children's externalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates that individual differences in RSA self-regulation influence how parent-child RSA synchrony shapes developmental psychopathology over time and adds to prior research showing that parent-child coregulation patterns may be adaptive or maladaptive depending on the protective or risk-related qualities of the corresponding persons or context.
Research Review: Are sampling biases masking long-term effects of hormonal contraceptive use in adolescence on risk for depression?
Chen FS, Zareian B, Nelson MA … +2 more , Edwards N, Anderl C
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Dec · PMID 40537985 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that the use of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) during adolescence may be linked to an increased risk for depression. This review examines major inconsistencies that have been reported...
BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that the use of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) during adolescence may be linked to an increased risk for depression. This review examines major inconsistencies that have been reported regarding this relationship, and in particular, how the common practice of combining 'never users' and 'former users' of HCs in analyses obscures patterns that are detectable when these groups are analyzed separately. METHODS: A review was conducted of research examining the relationship between HC use and depression to determine what data-analytic choices were commonly made by individual researchers. Specifically, we assessed whether the past history of HC use had been accounted for in each reported analysis. RESULTS: The majority of papers published between 2013 and 2022 did not account for the former use of HCs. These papers reported mixed findings regarding the relationship between HC use and depression. In contrast, the subset of papers that did account for former use of HCs, or otherwise explicitly addressed common biases affecting the interpretation of observational data, revealed a more consistent relationship between HC use and depression, particularly for those who began using HCs during adolescence. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is consistent evidence of a relationship between adolescent HC use and long-term risk for depression and offer several recommendations to help ensure that future work in this area will yield consistent, interpretable findings. Although this paper focuses primarily on HCs and depression, many of the analytical approaches and recommendations outlined within it are also relevant to research on the side effects of other drugs and medications.
Impact of a Pediatric Mental Health Crisis Service in the emergency department on hospital resource utilization: an interrupted time series analysis.
Padmanabhan V, Bellagarda CA, Dondzilo L … +4 more , MacDonald S, Hegarty A, Morris M, Pedro Z
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40534169 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Lengthening waitlists, reduced outpatient care availability, and increased numbers of children experiencing mental health (MH) crises have strained emergency departments (EDs). EDs facilitate access to immedi...
BACKGROUND: Lengthening waitlists, reduced outpatient care availability, and increased numbers of children experiencing mental health (MH) crises have strained emergency departments (EDs). EDs facilitate access to immediate intervention and triage to acute services but are often underresourced and undertrained to manage the unique needs of mental health crises. The combination of demand, complexity, and resources required encouraged the development of specialized mental health crisis services. In 2021, CAMHS Crisis Connect (CCC) was established at Perth Children's Hospital and aims to improve patient flow, reduce hospital resource utilization, and improve the experience of children experiencing crises. METHODS: The aim of the current study is to examine a pediatric crisis intervention service in a West Australian context. We implement interrupted time series analyses (ITS), a quasi-experimental statistical methodology allowing us to make causal interpretations of CCC impact on hospital resource utilization. RESULTS: The key effect here is the substantial reduction in presentations and re-presentations to ED and inpatient wards that are sustained across the long term and directly attributable to CCC. However, there is an increasing length of stay in ED and the very small and potentially not clinically meaningful reduction in inpatient bed occupancy, which requires further investigation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support specialized, multi-faceted crisis care programs in ED to ensure accessibility of acute, intensive care for those with severe and complex needs, supporting the journey for children who may be more effectively managed in community and outpatient settings.
Correction to 'Health, behavior, and social outcomes among offspring of parents with criminal convictions: a register-based study from Sweden'.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Sep · PMID 40528745 · Publisher ↗
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Predictive and incremental validity of adolescent callous-unemotional traits: longitudinal prediction of antisocial and social outcomes in early adulthood.
Vaughan EP, Frick PJ, Ray JV … +6 more , Thornton LC, Myers TDW, Robertson EL, Walker TM, Steinberg L, Cauffman E
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40491310 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits were recently added as a diagnostic specifier for disruptive behavior disorders, largely due to their prognostic utility. However, past longitudinal research has yielded mixed...
BACKGROUND: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits were recently added as a diagnostic specifier for disruptive behavior disorders, largely due to their prognostic utility. However, past longitudinal research has yielded mixed results when investigating associations between CU traits and long-term outcomes, particularly when controlling for the individual's level of antisocial behavior. METHODS: The current study investigated the longitudinal predictive utility of CU traits in a sample of 1,216 adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system who were followed for 7 years after their first arrest. Growth models of CU traits throughout adolescence were used to predict a variety of young adult outcomes (e.g., aggression, financially-motivated crime, and social impairment) while controlling for the trajectory of antisocial behavior throughout adolescence. RESULTS: Results indicated that adolescent CU traits predicted a variety of antisocial and social outcomes. While several of these associations were no longer significant after accounting for antisocial behavior, CU traits incrementally predicted several early adulthood outcomes (e.g., more arrests, greater aggression, lower quality relationships with friends and romantic partners) when controlling for both the level and degree of change in antisocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results support that CU traits are clinically useful when identifying risk for problematic outcomes and highlight the need for effective intervention for youth with elevated CU traits.
Predictors of Environmental Sensitivity in Syrian refugee children.
May AK, Smeeth D, McEwen F … +2 more , Karam E, Pluess M
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40491279 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Although more prone to psychopathology on average, refugee children differ in their response to adversity. Growing evidence attributes some of these individual differences to varying levels of Environmental S...
BACKGROUND: Although more prone to psychopathology on average, refugee children differ in their response to adversity. Growing evidence attributes some of these individual differences to varying levels of Environmental Sensitivity - the extent to which children perceive and process contextual influences. However, there is limited knowledge of how Environmental Sensitivity is developmentally influenced, particularly in the refugee setting. METHODS: Here, we investigated whether individual-, family- and community-level predictors (psychosocial and genetic) were associated with self-reported Environmental Sensitivity and its subscales (measured using the 12-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale). Participants were a subsample (n = 1,409) from a cohort of Syrian refugee children and their biological mothers, recruited from informal tented settlements in Lebanon. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were fitted to identify the best selection from over 40 available predictors. RESULTS: Twelve predictors of Environmental Sensitivity emerged, with the five most commonly selected being maternal behavioural control, human insecurity, positive home experiences, maternal anxiety and child-reported child abuse, the latter three of which were also suggested to predict changes in sensitivity over a 12-month period. Some predictors such as maternal PTSD, war exposure and bullying showed a non-linear, V-shape relationship with sensitivity. All effect sizes, however, were small. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that both highly supportive and highly adverse contextual factors associate with greater childhood Environmental Sensitivity, in line with current theorising. Despite previous suggestive evidence, we did not find that polygenic scores for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predicted sensitivity. Further research into predictors of Environmental Sensitivity is encouraged, as this may help with improved assessment of the trait in children.
Dynamics of depression symptoms in adolescents during three types of psychotherapy and post-treatment follow-up.
Aitken M, Neufeld SAS, Ma C … +2 more , IMPACT Consortium, Goodyer IM
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40491067 · Full text
BACKGROUND: According to the network theory of mental disorders, psychopathology emerges from symptoms that causally influence one another and create interconnections and feedback loops that maintain atypical mental stat...
BACKGROUND: According to the network theory of mental disorders, psychopathology emerges from symptoms that causally influence one another and create interconnections and feedback loops that maintain atypical mental states. Analysis of symptom networks during and following psychotherapy may provide clues to some of the mechanisms through which change occurs. Youth with depression are an important population in which to better understand psychotherapy mechanisms because current evidence-based interventions for this population show only modest effects. METHODS: Participants were adolescents with major depressive disorder (N = 465; ages 11-17; 75% female) in a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive behavioral therapy, short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy, and brief psychosocial intervention (IMPACT, ISRCTN83033550). Eleven self-reported depression symptoms were used to compute two longitudinal networks: (1) treatment phase, using baseline, 6 and 12 weeks data; and (2) follow-up phase, using 36, 52, and 86 weeks data. RESULTS: During the treatment phase, all depression symptoms were interconnected. Symptoms of insomnia and fatigue showed the highest outstrength centrality (ability to predict other symptoms over time). In contrast, few symptoms were interconnected during the post-treatment phase except worthlessness, which had the highest outstrength centrality. Allowing network parameters to differ across the three treatment types improved model fit during the treatment phase and revealed that symptoms with the highest outstrength centrality varied by treatment type. CONCLUSIONS: Individual symptoms may make key contributions to subsequent depressive psychopathology in adolescents. Longitudinal network analysis reveals that insomnia and fatigue predict other symptoms, allowing for consideration of specific mechanisms associated with depression treatment. The findings further suggest that negative cognitions about the self may emerge as a central putative cognitive vulnerability in those with a history of depression. Our exploratory findings also suggest that the three therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy, and brief psychosocial intervention) may have achieved equifinality in part through different mechanisms.
Research Review: Conceptualizing and measuring 'problem behavior' in early intervention autism research - a project AIM secondary systematic review.
Bottema-Beutel K, Guo R, Hinson-Wiliams J … +4 more , Shen Y, LaPoint S, Woynaroski T, Sandbank M
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40451187 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Some autistic children exhibit behavior that caregivers, clinicians, and researchers consider problematic. However, there is little consensus about the types of behaviors that should be treated as a problem a...
BACKGROUND: Some autistic children exhibit behavior that caregivers, clinicians, and researchers consider problematic. However, there is little consensus about the types of behaviors that should be treated as a problem and reduced via intervention. In autism intervention research, problem behaviors range from inherently harmful behaviors such as aggression and self-injury to nonnormative but not harmful behaviors associated with autism such as repetitive movements. Likewise, there are a variety of conceptualizations and measurement practices used to assess these behaviors. METHODS: In this secondary systematic review of group-design, nonpharmacological intervention studies for autistic children up to age eight, we explore researchers' conceptualizations of problem behavior and measurement systems to assess problem behavior. We defined problem behavior as any outcome where behaviors were targeted for reduction or elimination. A coding scheme was applied to 102 studies that met inclusion criteria for the secondary review. All studies were double coded by two independent coders. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of studies described reducing behavior as a primary or secondary purpose of the study and/or intervention, 33% gave a rationale for targeting behaviors for reduction, and 28% offered a conceptualization of the behavior(s) they targeted. Only 8% offered a conceptual definition. The most common measures were 'off-the-shelf' measures that had undergone at least some previous validation beyond interrater reliability and that involved parent reports. For the 10 most common assessment measures, two were validated along six different validation dimensions in autistic populations. All but one full scale or subscale measured behaviors that were nonnormative but not inherently harmful, or a mix of behaviors that were inherently harmful and that were nonnormative but not inherently harmful. CONCLUSIONS: Intervention researchers should provide clear definitions and rationales for targeting behaviors for reduction via intervention and should develop refined measurement tools for assessing these behaviors in collaboration with the autistic community.
Gaze behavior, facial emotion processing, and neural underpinnings: A comparison of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and conduct disorder.
Tkalcec A, Baldassarri A, Junghans A … +14 more , Somasundaram V, Menks WM, Fehlbaum LV, Borbàs R, Raschle N, Seeger-Schneider G, Jenny B, Walitza S, Cole DM, Sterzer P, Santini F, Herbrecht E, Cubillo A, Stadler C
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40420478 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Facial emotion processing deficits and atypical eye gaze are often described in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with conduct disorder (CD) and high callous unemotional (CU) traits. Y...
BACKGROUND: Facial emotion processing deficits and atypical eye gaze are often described in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with conduct disorder (CD) and high callous unemotional (CU) traits. Yet, the underlying neural mechanisms of these deficits are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate if eye gaze can partially account for the differences in brain activation in youth with ASD, with CD, and typically developing youth (TD). METHODS: In total, 105 adolescent participants (N = 39, N = 27, N = 39; mean age = 15.59 years) underwent a brain functional imaging session including eye tracking during an implicit emotion processing task while parents/caregivers completed questionnaires. Group differences in gaze behavior (number of fixations to the eye and mouth regions) for different facial expressions (neutral, fearful, angry) presented in the task were investigated using Bayesian analyses. Full-factorial models were used to investigate group differences in brain activation with and without including gaze behavior parameters and focusing on brain regions underlying facial emotion processing (insula, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex). RESULTS: Youth with ASD showed increased fixations on the mouth compared to TD and CD groups. CD participants with high CU traits tended to show fewer fixations to the eye region compared to TD for all emotions. Brain imaging results show higher right anterior insula activation in the ASD compared with the CD group when angry faces were presented. The inclusion of gaze behavior parameters in the model reduced the size of that cluster. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in insula activation may be partially explained by gaze behavior. This implies an important role of gaze behavior in facial emotion processing, which should be considered for future brain imaging studies. In addition, our results suggest that targeting gaze behavior in interventions might be potentially beneficial for disorders showing impairments associated with the processing of emotional faces. The relation between eye gaze, CU traits, and neural function in different diagnoses needs further clarification in larger samples.
Large-scale cohort studies in mental health research - strengths and limitations.
Morales-Muñoz I
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Jul · PMID 40390602 · Publisher ↗
In recent years, the use of longitudinal studies in mental health research has grown, particularly in the United Kingdom. These studies provide numerous benefits and improvements in mental health research, such as facili...
In recent years, the use of longitudinal studies in mental health research has grown, particularly in the United Kingdom. These studies provide numerous benefits and improvements in mental health research, such as facilitating the early detection of risk factors for mental health problems. Nevertheless, they also come with drawbacks, including their high financial costs and the complexity involved in their implementation. Although significant efforts have been made in the United Kingdom to fund large longitudinal cohorts for mental health research, most existing longitudinal cohort studies tend to cover a broad range of factors across large sample sizes, often providing only limited information on each individual factor. To address this, future longitudinal studies should prioritise more focused and in-depth evaluations of key variables and mechanisms, rather than broad but less detailed assessments. In other words, it is essential that future longitudinal studies are specifically designed to test well-defined hypotheses. Overall, this could play a major role in guiding the design of more precise and effective early interventions for mental health.
Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way - a call for clearer conceptualization of adverse family factors in biosocial research on child and adolescent mental health problems.
Jansen LMC, Leijten P
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Jun · PMID 40344595 · Publisher ↗
Child and adolescent mental health problems stem from an interaction between biological and environmental factors. In the past decades, conceptualizations of genetic and neurobiological factors have become increasingly d...
Child and adolescent mental health problems stem from an interaction between biological and environmental factors. In the past decades, conceptualizations of genetic and neurobiological factors have become increasingly detailed. Development of our conceptualizations of environmental factors, in contrast, is lacking behind. Environmental adversity is usually conceptualized as one rather global factor, including, for example, both structural factors (e.g. poverty and racism) and psychosocial factors (e.g. parental violence or neglect). Or, as Chow et al. (2025) in this issue put it 'There is not yet a consensus on the best way to conceptualise adverse childhood experience'. In this Editorial, we call for clearer, more specific conceptualizations of family adversity in biosocial research. This development is essential for unravelling the mechanisms that shape child and adolescent mental health problems.
Childhood trauma, adolescent risk behaviours and cardiovascular health indices in the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort.
Bailey M, Fairchild G, Hammerton G … +5 more , Santos IS, Tovo-Rodrigues L, Murray J, Matijasevich A, Halligan SL
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40304315 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma has been associated with increased risk of substance use and poor sleep, with these factors linked to subsequent poor cardiovascular health. However, there has been little longitudinal resear...
BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma has been associated with increased risk of substance use and poor sleep, with these factors linked to subsequent poor cardiovascular health. However, there has been little longitudinal research exploring these associations in adolescence, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address this, we investigated longitudinal pathways from trauma to risk behaviours and cardiovascular health indices among adolescents in the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort, Brazil. METHODS: Lifetime cumulative trauma was assessed via caregiver reports up to age 11, and combined adolescent/caregiver reports at ages 15 and 18. At age 18, current problematic alcohol use, smoking, illicit drug use and sleep duration were measured via self-report and resting heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were assessed. We tested for trauma risk behaviour-HR/BP associations using multivariable regression, population attributable fractions and counterfactual mediation. RESULTS: Of 4,229 adolescents (51.9% boys), 81.9% were trauma-exposed by age 18. Cumulative trauma up to ages 15 and 18 increased the odds of age 18 alcohol, smoking and drug use (adjusted ORs: 1.25-1.44). Sleep duration was unrelated to childhood trauma. Population attributable fractions indicated that childhood trauma explained ≥28% of age 18 substance use. Unexpectedly, greater trauma exposure was associated with lower resting HR and BP. Substance use partially mediated the effect of trauma on cardiovascular health indices. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma is associated with substance use in LMIC adolescents. Prevention and intervention strategies targeting trauma are critical given this significant burden. Our finding that trauma predicts lower HR/BP warrants further exploration given well-established associations between trauma and poorer cardiovascular health in adulthood.
Editorial: Beyond the usual suspects - broadening the scope of environmental influences in child and adolescent mental health research.
Wertz J, Ronald A
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 May · PMID 40268866 · Publisher ↗
When we think about which environmental influences affect children and young people's mental health, answers that are 'close to home' tend to come to mind, such as relationships, screen time, bullying, stressful life eve...
When we think about which environmental influences affect children and young people's mental health, answers that are 'close to home' tend to come to mind, such as relationships, screen time, bullying, stressful life events and poverty. These same factors are also often prioritised in child and adolescent mental health research. More distal factors receive less attention, such as the air we breathe, the materials in our built environment, and the cultural and social norms of the societies in which we live. These factors are embedded in the very structure of our built and social environments, but may be harder to 'imagine' as being important, perhaps because they feel less tangible. Findings in this issue of the journal highlight the relevance of these factors for child and adolescent mental health. This editorial will reflect on the importance of these findings and then turn to consider how physical and sociocultural factors can be better integrated in research on child and adolescent mental health, by incorporating novel data sources, diversifying samples and by capturing multiple levels of analysis.
The roles of parental verbal communication and child characteristics in the transmission and maintenance of social fears.
Zeytinoglu S, White LK, Morales S … +5 more , Degnan K, Henderson HA, Pérez-Edgar K, Pine DS, Fox NA
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2025 Nov · PMID 40211653 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Although social anxiety runs in families, little is known about how parents and children contribute to the intergenerational transmission of social fears. We examined whether mothers transfer social fear beli...
BACKGROUND: Although social anxiety runs in families, little is known about how parents and children contribute to the intergenerational transmission of social fears. We examined whether mothers transfer social fear beliefs to their children through verbal communication and how children's behavioral inhibition and social anxiety contribute to this transmission. The associations of children's social fear beliefs with peer avoidance and interpretation bias were also examined. METHODS: Participants (N = 291, 54% female) were followed from toddlerhood to middle childhood. Behavioral inhibition was assessed at ages 2 and 3. At the 10-year assessment, mother-child dyads participated in a conversation task. Mothers received ambiguous information about hypothetical peers and then talked to their children about vignettes involving these peers. Mothers' positive and negative statements were coded. Prior to the conversation, dyads reported their own social fear beliefs. Post-conversation, children rated their social fear beliefs and completed symbolic peer avoidance and social interpretive bias tasks. Children self-reported their social anxiety. RESULTS: Mothers' positive statements mediated the paths from maternal social fear beliefs and behavioral inhibition to children's post-conversation social fear beliefs. Mothers' negative statements also mediated the link between mothers' fear beliefs and children's post-conversation fear beliefs, but only among children with heightened anxiety. Children's post-conversation social fear beliefs were, in turn, associated with children's peer avoidance and interpretation bias. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that maternal verbal communication serves as a mechanism in the relation between parent and child social fear beliefs, and children's fear beliefs, in turn, predict their symbolic peer avoidance and interpretative biases. Children with heightened anxiety were particularly impacted by their mothers' negative statements, whereas behavioral inhibition predicted fewer maternal positive statements. Targeting mothers' social fear beliefs and verbal communication patterns may help prevent the intergenerational transmission of social fear.
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