J Child Psychol Psychiatry [JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
The association between school holidays and trends in adolescent ambulance attendances for suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious Behaviours.
Baldwin R, Rowland B, Melvin G … +3 more , Nehme Z, Lubman DI, Ogeil RP
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41578439 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Previous research on the protective effects of school holidays on adolescent suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has relied on hospital records which underestimate self-harm prevalence and has not be...
BACKGROUND: Previous research on the protective effects of school holidays on adolescent suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has relied on hospital records which underestimate self-harm prevalence and has not been explored in the post pandemic environment. This study utilised ambulance attendance data to explore whether protective effects of school holidays on suicidal and NSSI behaviours were present pre- and post-COVID-19 restrictions. METHODS: Using data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System, weekly ambulance attendances for suicidal and NSSI behaviours among adolescents (12-17) and young adults (18-25) in Victoria, Australia, were analysed. Trends in rates per 10,000 population pre- (2015-2019) and post-COVID-19 restrictions (2022-2023) were modelled using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous variables, stratified by age and gender. RESULTS: There were 20,635 suicidal and NSSI related ambulance attendances among adolescents and 36,510 among young adults. Pre-COVID-19 there was a significant decline in weekly rate of attendances per 10,000 population for adolescent females during the December/January (-0.35, p < .001), June/July (-0.46, p = .007) and September/October (-0.41, p = .004) holidays. Similar declines were seen in adolescent males during the December/January (-0.12, p = .003), April/May (-0.22, p = .001), June/July (-0.26, p = .003) and September/October (-0.15, p = .027) holidays. No significant effects were observed for young adults or post-pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Seasonal trends in adolescent suicidal and NSSI harms were evident prior to COVID-19, but were no longer present post-pandemic. Understanding these changes is crucial for informing targeted mental health interventions and support for adolescents.
Loneliness patterns across time and subsequent risk of psychotic experiences, depression, anxiety, and diminished well-being in adolescents.
Narita ZC, DeVylder J, Knowles G … +14 more , Yamasaki S, Miyashita M, Stanyon D, Yamaguchi S, Shinozaki T, Sasaki R, Zhou R, Ando S, Morgan C, Dazzan P, Furukawa TA, Kasai K, Kelleher I, Nishida A
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41567036 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the association between loneliness and psychotic experiences in adolescents remains limited. Moreover, loneliness has typically been assessed at a single time point, which fails to capture its dyn...
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the association between loneliness and psychotic experiences in adolescents remains limited. Moreover, loneliness has typically been assessed at a single time point, which fails to capture its dynamic nature. We hypothesized that persistent loneliness, assessed across repeated measures, would be associated with psychotic experiences and other mental health problems. METHODS: Using longitudinal data from 3,171 participants in the Tokyo Teen Cohort, we applied the g-formula. We analyzed how loneliness patterns at ages 12 and 14 were associated with psychotic experiences, depression, anxiety, and diminished well-being at age 16, accounting for time-fixed and time-varying confounders. Missing data were handled using multiple imputation by chained equations. RESULTS: Persistent loneliness was associated with increased risk and greater severity of psychotic experiences (RD 7.1%, 95% CI: 0.8-14.3; RR 2.44, 95% CI: 1.16-4.11; β 0.28, 95% CI: 0.10-0.48). Incident loneliness at age 14 showed similar associations. No association was found for adolescents whose loneliness had remitted by age 14 (RD -1.3%, 95% CI: -3.6 to 1.2; RR 0.73, 95% CI: 0.31-1.26; β 0.01, 95% CI: -0.04 to 0.08). Sensitivity analyses using marginal structural models yielded results that were largely unchanged. Findings were generally similar for other mental health problems. Associations were consistent across genders, although the association with well-being appeared particularly important for girls. CONCLUSIONS: The dynamics of loneliness are associated with a wide range of mental health problems in adolescents. The risk may not be permanent and could be mitigated if loneliness remits. Further research examining interventions that target loneliness is warranted.
Annual Research Review: Self-harm in young people.
Ougrin D, Kaess M
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Apr · PMID 41560573 · Publisher ↗
Self-harm is defined as self-injury or self-poisoning, irrespective of the presence of suicidal intent. It includes both non-suicidal self-injury and attempted suicide. The lifetime prevalence of self-harm is approximate...
Self-harm is defined as self-injury or self-poisoning, irrespective of the presence of suicidal intent. It includes both non-suicidal self-injury and attempted suicide. The lifetime prevalence of self-harm is approximately 20% in young people. The initial assessment for self-harm should contain an evaluation of risk, a safety plan and a therapeutic element, which should be focused on understanding the nature of self-harm, instilling hope and linking young people with follow-up treatment. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy should be offered to young people with severe self-harm. School-based interventions, such as the Youth Aware of Mental Health programme, could prevent self-harm in young people.
Eye movements, not reaction times, reveal anticipatory attentional bias in childhood social anxiety disorder.
Vietmeier N, Dietze N, Tuschen-Caffier B … +1 more , Asbrand J
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41554677 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by attentional biases that may contribute to its persistence. While adult models emphasize self-focused and hypervigilant attention, there is limited understandi...
BACKGROUND: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by attentional biases that may contribute to its persistence. While adult models emphasize self-focused and hypervigilant attention, there is limited understanding of how these processes operate in children. This study examined internal and external attentional biases in children with SAD during anticipation of a social stress task-a period when anxiety is typically elevated. METHODS: Forty-two children with a primary SAD diagnosis and 46 healthy controls (HC), aged 9-14 years, completed a reaction time (RT) task with internal (bodily) and external (visual) probes during anticipation of a speech task, while facing a peer video audience. RTs to probes and eye movements toward audience faces were recorded. RESULTS: RTs did not differ between groups. Exploratory analyses revealed that age correlated negatively with RTs in both groups, suggesting developmental effects on processing speed, although no group differences in this relationship were found. Eye-tracking revealed that children with SAD exhibited more frequent and longer fixations on audience faces during the initial phase of the task compared to HCs. CONCLUSIONS: Although RT tasks alone may not detect attentional biases in children with SAD, eye-tracking indicated heightened attention to socially salient cues during anticipation. These findings highlight the importance of multimodal assessment to capture subtle hypervigilance in pediatric SAD.
Annual Research Review: Interventions for young children exposed to trauma.
Guyon-Harris KL, Humphreys KL
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Apr · PMID 41553190 · Full text
The landscape of trauma-focused interventions for young children has evolved significantly, though substantial gaps remain. Early childhood trauma exposure occurs during sensitive periods of brain development with potent...
The landscape of trauma-focused interventions for young children has evolved significantly, though substantial gaps remain. Early childhood trauma exposure occurs during sensitive periods of brain development with potential lifelong consequences. However, these periods also present unique opportunities for intervention to redirect trajectories toward positive outcomes. Rapid neurodevelopmental changes across early childhood necessitate interventions specifically designed for evolving capacities rather than simply "scaled down" versions of adult treatments. A review focused exclusively on evidence-based interventions for young children is needed. This review represents a synthesis of the literature informed by our clinical and research expertise. We review interventions that (1) target trauma symptoms as primary outcomes, (2) were designed for children ages 0-8 years, (3) include substantive caregiver involvement, and (4) have empirical support from published randomized controlled trials or well-designed quasi-experimental studies. Our review revealed a tiered evidence base for young children, with the strongest support for interventions targeting specific age groups: Child-Parent Psychotherapy for infants and toddlers, Preschool PTSD Treatment for preschoolers, and Trauma-Focused CBT for early elementary children. Critical gaps include limited interventions for children under age 3, sparse evidence for interventions targeting noninterpersonal trauma, assessment challenges, particularly with longitudinal measurement across developmental transitions, and insufficient implementation research on disseminating interventions in community settings. By continuing to refine effective trauma interventions for our youngest children, we can alleviate immediate suffering and potentially prevent decades of associated difficulties across the lifespan. Future research priorities should include expanding the evidence base for existing interventions through well-powered trials with diverse samples, developing and testing preventive interventions delivered following potentially traumatic events, adapting established interventions for under-studied trauma types, and implementation research to support widespread adoption in real-world settings.
Evaluating placebo responses to intranasal oxytocin in autism: findings from the placebo lead-in phase of a randomised controlled trial.
Boulton KA, Thapa R, Song YJ … +10 more , Whitehouse AJO, DeMayo MM, Gregory SG, Pokorski I, Granich J, Ambarchi Z, Wray J, Thomas EE, Hickie IB, Guastella AJ
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41550040 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: The placebo effect is established in clinical trials, but for paediatric research, questions remain about how to best manage its influence. Within the autism field, data on these issues is sparse. This is par...
BACKGROUND: The placebo effect is established in clinical trials, but for paediatric research, questions remain about how to best manage its influence. Within the autism field, data on these issues is sparse. This is particularly important in the oxytocin field where placebo responses are thought to play an important role. This study reports on data from the single-blind, placebo lead-in phase of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the placebo response and its relationship to treatment response in autistic children. METHODS: Eighty-seven autistic children aged 3-12 years (M = 7.27; SD = 2.69; 85.1% male) were consecutively recruited into a multi-site RCT evaluating the efficacy of oxytocin for improving social responsiveness. Participants underwent a 3-week, single-blind placebo lead-in before randomisation into a 12-week double-blind treatment phase (oxytocin, n = 45; placebo, n = 42). The Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition (SRS-2) Total Raw Score was used to measure change from baseline to post-placebo lead-in. A ≥10-point improvement defined placebo responders. RESULTS: Nearly half the sample (n = 42, 48.3%) were identified as placebo responders during the lead-in phase, showing a clinically significant degree of change on the SRS-2. Caregiver treatment guess did not significantly impact the placebo response (p = .534). Placebo response was associated with greater symptom severity (r's > -.23; p-values < .037) and higher cognitive ability (r = -.35, p = .004). Smaller placebo responses during the lead-in phase were associated with larger responses during active treatment in participants receiving oxytocin (r = -.36, p = .017). Placebo responses during the lead-in phase were observed across all caregiver-reported measures (Cohen's d = .19-.65). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides important information about placebo effects and placebo lead-in designs for clinical trials in the autism field. We show widespread clinically significant improvement during placebo lead-in, utility of identifying placebo responders for informing clinical trial analyses, similarities in symptom measure effect sizes for placebo effects, and a lack of influence of caregiver beliefs on placebo responses.
Conduct disorder with limited prosocial emotions: a multimethod study in criminal justice-involved boys.
Colins OF, Cassart T, Delamillieure E … +5 more , Fanti KA, Kyranides MN, Sikki M, Petridou M, Meens PHF
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41536237 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: More than 10 years after its introduction in DSM-5, support for the 'limited prosocial emotions' specifier (LPE) for the diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) remains scarce, possibly because studies failed to c...
BACKGROUND: More than 10 years after its introduction in DSM-5, support for the 'limited prosocial emotions' specifier (LPE) for the diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) remains scarce, possibly because studies failed to comprehensively assess the specifier and to include important characteristics. This study was designed to tackle both major limitations. METHODS: In a sample of 323 criminal justice-involved male adolescents (ages 16-17 years), diagnostic interviews were used to differentiate between males who meet criteria for both CD and the DSM-5 specifier (CD + LPE) and males who only meet criteria for CD (CD Only). Individual and environmental characteristics were measured by means of questionnaires and computerized tasks. RESULTS: The CD + LPE (vs. CD Only) group exhibited higher levels of aggression, delay discounting, and boldness, was more likely to be expelled from school, and had significantly more delinquent friends. Levels of treatment engagement and empathy also were lower in the CD + LPE group. The DSM-5 LPE specifier significantly added to the prediction of various of these characteristics beyond indices of CD severity (i.e., total number of CD symptoms and childhood-onset CD) and features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, no significant group differences emerged for other characteristics (e.g., emotion recognition accuracy, anxiety, sensation seeking, response inhibition, and warm parenting). CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide important and novel evidence to support the utility of the DSM-5 LPE specifier for CD. Some findings were unexpected, though, underscoring the need to replicate and extend the current results when testing the viability of this specifier.
Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring: A nationwide population-based cohort study.
Oh TK, Song IA
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41532604 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution has been implicated in adverse neurodevelopment, but evidence from large-scale, long-term studies in Asian populations remains limited. We examined the association b...
BACKGROUND: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution has been implicated in adverse neurodevelopment, but evidence from large-scale, long-term studies in Asian populations remains limited. We examined the association between in utero exposure to multiple air pollutants and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) in offspring using a nationwide cohort in South Korea. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study using linked administrative health and environmental data. A total of 1,436,685 children born between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2014, were identified from the National Health Insurance Service database and followed up through December 31, 2023. Maternal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O), and particulate matter ≤10 μm (PM) was estimated by linking residential postal codes to fixed-site monitoring data. NDD diagnoses were identified from healthcare claims. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for maternal sociodemographic, medical, obstetric, and neonatal covariates. RESULTS: During up to 13 years of follow-up, 140,971 children (9.8%) were diagnosed with an NDD. Prenatal exposure to NO showed the strongest association: each 0.01-ppm increase was associated with an 18% higher hazard of NDD (aHR 1.18, 95% CI 1.17-1.19; p < .001). SO exposure also demonstrated a small but statistically significant association (per 0.001-ppm increase: aHR 1.01, 95% CI 1.01-1.02; p = .008). These associations persisted across major NDD subtypes - including intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, and behavioral or emotional disorders - and remained robust in trimester-specific, stratified, and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants - particularly NO and SO - is associated with increased long-term risk of NDD in offspring. These findings highlight the neurodevelopmental vulnerability of the prenatal period and underscore the need for strengthened environmental policies to reduce maternal exposure to harmful pollutants.
Positive affect as a developmental mediator of early adversity and internalizing psychopathology.
Hanson JL, Adkins DJ, Kahhale I … +1 more , Sen S
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41531034 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Early life adversities (ELAs) including experiences such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction are strongly linked to psychopathology; yet, the developmental pathways connecting ELA to externalizing an...
BACKGROUND: Early life adversities (ELAs) including experiences such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction are strongly linked to psychopathology; yet, the developmental pathways connecting ELA to externalizing and internalizing psychopathology remain unclear. While most research has focused on threat and negative affect, positive emotions may represent a critical but understudied mechanism linking ELA to mental health outcomes. METHODS: Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, we examined positive affect trajectories across six timepoints spanning childhood through adolescence (ages 9-10 to 12-13). We employed person-centered trajectory-based clustering to identify distinct patterns in positive affect - independent of ELA exposure - followed by multinomial logistic regression to examine associations between cumulative ELA exposure and trajectory membership. Mediation analyses tested whether positive affect trajectories explained links between ELA and psychopathology outcomes. RESULTS: Four distinct positive affect trajectories emerged: High-Stable, Declining, Persistently Low, and Volatile (N = 7,457). Higher ELA scores significantly predicted membership in all non-high-stable trajectories, with the strongest association existing for the Persistently Low group (β = .321, p < .001). Mediation analyses revealed that Persistently Low trajectory group membership significantly mediated the relationship between ELA and internalizing problems (indirect effect = 0.030, 95% CI [0.012, 0.056], p = .007), but not externalizing problems (N = 3,927). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that ELA shapes positive affect development through distinct, heterogeneous pathways rather than uniform effects, with persistently low positive affect representing a specific mechanism linking early adversity to later depression and anxiety. Findings suggest that targeting positive emotional experiences may be a promising intervention strategy for youth exposed to ELA.
Multivariate maternal effects across the internalizing-externalizing spectrum in childhood: results from the Norwegian mother, father, and child cohort study.
Eilertsen EM, Haahjem Eftedal N, Cheesman R … +6 more , Ayorech Z, Ebeltoft JC, Sunde HF, Tandberg AD, Torvik FA, Ystrom E
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41531007 · Full text
BACKGROUND: From a functionalist perspective, parenting behaviors have adaptive functions and are partly expressions of genetic variation. Maternal genes that have effects on children are often referred to as indirect ma...
BACKGROUND: From a functionalist perspective, parenting behaviors have adaptive functions and are partly expressions of genetic variation. Maternal genes that have effects on children are often referred to as indirect maternal genetic effects. Indirect genetic effects provide a means for measuring the role of parenting without the need for specifying the relevant parental behaviors. We studied indirect maternal genetic effects to address both the importance and commonality of parenting across the internalizing-externalizing spectrum of behavior problems in childhood. We further addressed how indirect genetic effects impact our understanding of direct genetic effects if not accounted for. METHODS: Utilizing data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), our analyses involved 42,423 children and their mothers. Both pedigree and genotype data were used to infer genetic relationships. We applied multivariate latent variable models to distinguish indirect maternal genetic effects and direct offspring genetic effects on seven measures of internalizing-externalizing behaviors. RESULTS: Our findings indicate significant maternal genetic influences, explaining 7%-18% of the variance across internalizing-externalizing behaviors. A general maternal effect common across behaviors could adequately account for most of the variability. The analyses further indicate that direct child genetic effects appear smaller and more complex when indirect maternal genetic effects are modeled simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: By summarizing the effects of parenting with indirect maternal genetic effects, we show a substantial contribution of parents with respect to internalizing-externalizing behaviors in childhood. Although parenting is multifaceted, the effects of parenting are general and can succinctly be described as a single common dimension. Further, our study demonstrates that direct genetic effects appear smaller and more complex when maternal genetic effects are accounted for, highlighting the confounding potential of parental effects in understanding the role of genetic differences in child psychopathology.
Annual Research Review: The role of caregiver sensitivity in children's developmental outcomes - an umbrella review.
Nivison MD, Fearon P, Jenkins JM … +1 more , Madigan S
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Apr · PMID 41499433 · Full text
Caregiver sensitivity is the extent to which a caregiver notices a child's signal, interprets it correctly, and responds quickly and appropriately. Although originally introduced to developmental science as the key antec...
Caregiver sensitivity is the extent to which a caregiver notices a child's signal, interprets it correctly, and responds quickly and appropriately. Although originally introduced to developmental science as the key antecedent of attachment security, decades since its conception, hundreds of studies have been conducted examining the predictive significance of caregiver sensitivity to a broad range of developmental outcomes. The literature on caregiver sensitivity and related constructs (e.g., warmth, responsivity, negative parenting) has grown exponentially and is now the focus of several meta-analyses. We conducted an umbrella review - a systematic review of reviews - to examine the extent to which caregiver sensitivity and related constructs are associated with child attachment, socioemotional, and cognitive outcomes. Searches in EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Medline and yielded 2,157 abstracts. Studies were included if they were a meta-analysis of caregiver sensitivity or a related construct, focused on children's developmental outcomes, were available in English, French, or Spanish, and were published between 2010 and 2024. Conducted and reported in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, 17 meta-analyses were identified. Using the metaumbrella package in R, we conducted quantitative analyses which demonstrated that caregiver sensitivity was moderately associated with attachment security (r = .25, k = 253, n = 37,444), cognition (r = .23, k = 44, n = 6,777), language skills (r = .26, k = 54, n = 11,136), and weakly associated with socioemotional problems (r = -.07, k = 135, n = 33,305). Narrative analysis of other meta-analyses on caregiver warmth, responsivity, positive and negative parenting, and child outcomes also showed associations in the expected direction. Our findings demonstrate the critical importance of caregiver sensitivity on children's socioemotional and cognitive development, supporting caregiver sensitivity as an important target for early childhood prevention and intervention programs.
Practitioner Review: Infant mental health meets cell and molecular biology - a look to the future.
Zeanah CH, Hare M, Cowhey K … +1 more , Drury SS
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41498492 · Full text
BACKGROUND: A major research effort in the past two decades has begun to illuminate how experience 'gets under the skin' - that is - the cellular and molecular processes that are associated with adversity and resilience....
BACKGROUND: A major research effort in the past two decades has begun to illuminate how experience 'gets under the skin' - that is - the cellular and molecular processes that are associated with adversity and resilience. METHODS: We selectively review three areas of this research: epigenetics, especially DNA methylation, telomere length, and inflammatory processes, and consider the implications of this work for better understanding the effects of adversity and pathways of recovery. RESULTS: Because infant mental health practitioners focus on children in the earliest years of life, they are well positioned to favorably alter the developmental trajectories of children experiencing or at risk for maladaptation. In addition to helping us develop more individually effective treatments, we consider other ways in which research advances in cell and molecular biology may be especially important to infant mental health practitioners in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Better understanding these processes will enhance effectiveness and potentially enlarge the scope of our practice.
Gut microbiome as a predictor for positive youth development transition from childhood to early adolescence: a cohort study.
Xu Y, Wang X, Chen M … +2 more , Xiong J, Cheng G
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41493385 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: The gut microbiome is increasingly implicated in childhood mental health and may influence positive youth development (PYD). This study aims to characterize PYD transition patterns from childhood to adolescen...
BACKGROUND: The gut microbiome is increasingly implicated in childhood mental health and may influence positive youth development (PYD). This study aims to characterize PYD transition patterns from childhood to adolescence and explore the predictive value of the gut microbiome. METHODS: This cohort study used two waves of data from the Chinese Adolescent Cohort study, including children aged 8-11 years at Wave 1, from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing provinces. PYD was assessed at both time points, and latent transition analysis identified changes over the 3-year follow-up period. Baseline stool samples were analyzed using 16 s rRNA sequencing. A light gradient boosting machine model was developed to link gut microbiota with PYD transition type in a training set (70%, n = 461), and validated with multinominal logistic analysis within a test set (30%, n = 200). Linear regression models were performed to assess dietary modifications on the gut microbiome. RESULTS: Three PYD transition profiles were identified: downgraded (declining to a lower pattern), promoted (advancing to a higher pattern), and stable development type (remaining in the same pattern). Fifteen microbial genera were identified as predictors of PYD transitions, and children with higher abundance of these taxa were more likely to transition to a stable or promoted profile rather than a downgraded profile (odds ratio ranging from 2.03 to 5.45). This predictive model demonstrated excellent performance, with an area under the curve of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.93). The microbiome-PYD transition association was more pronounced in children in earlier stages of puberty. Furthermore, a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and soybeans was positively linked with PYD stable or promoted transition type. CONCLUSIONS: The gut microbiome presents predictive value in PYD transition from childhood to adolescence. Targeting these microbial taxa may inform future health promotion programs to optimize child development, particularly during the critical pubertal transition.
Vitamin D supplementation in the first 2 years and autism spectrum traits at 6-8 years - a randomized clinical trial.
Sandboge S, Seppälä V, Lintula S … +7 more , Holmlund-Suila E, Hauta-Alus H, Kajantie E, Mäkitie O, Andersson S, Räikkönen K, Heinonen K
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41486975 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Early life vitamin D levels may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related traits, but causality is unknown. We examine whether higher-than-standard vitamin D supplementation during the fir...
BACKGROUND: Early life vitamin D levels may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related traits, but causality is unknown. We examine whether higher-than-standard vitamin D supplementation during the first 2 years, as well as higher pregnancy and childhood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and their trajectories, are associated with lower ASD trait scores at ages 6-8 years in a non-clinical cohort. METHODS: This secondary analysis of the double-blind randomized clinical trial vitamin D intervention in infants (VIDI) comprised 366 Finnish children aged 6-8 years, 177 of whom were randomized to receive 400-IU and 189 to receive 1,200-IU daily oral vitamin D supplementation between ages 2 weeks and 2 years. ASD-related traits were assessed at mean age 7.2 years (SD 0.4) using the parent-reported Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ). Predictor variables were supplementation group, 25(OH)D concentrations measured during pregnancy and at ages 1 and 2 years, as well as 25(OH)D trajectories (high vs. low) derived from these time points. RESULTS: None of the predictor variables of interest were associated with the outcome in the full sample. After sex stratification, among boys, 25(OH)D concentrations at 1 and 2 years were inversely associated with ASSQ scores (mean difference -0.2 of normalized SD score (95% CI -0.3 to -0.1, p = .003) and -0.2 (95% CI -0.3 to -0.05, p = .01) per 10 ng/mL 25(OH)D) after adjustment for age, breastfeeding, parental education, maternal depressive symptoms, and season of 25(OH)D assessment as was belonging to the higher 25(OH)D trajectory, -0.45 SD (95% CI -0.79 to -0.10, p = .01). CONCLUSIONS: We found no indication that higher-than-normal vitamin D supplementation between ages 0 and 2 years decreases ASD-related trait scores at ages 6-8 years. Sex-stratified analysis suggested an inverse association, among boys, between early life 25(OH)D concentrations and ASD-related traits, warranting further studies on potential causal direction and sex specificity of associations.
The nature and nurture of primary and secondary callous-unemotional traits: evidence from two independent twin samples.
Tomlinson RC, Pezzoli P, Viding E … +4 more , De Brito SA, Klump KL, Burt SA, Hyde LW
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jun · PMID 41486957 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits identify youth with more severe and chronic trajectories of conduct problems. However, the etiology of CU traits may be heterogeneous, undermining the search for effective trea...
BACKGROUND: Callous-unemotional (CU) traits identify youth with more severe and chronic trajectories of conduct problems. However, the etiology of CU traits may be heterogeneous, undermining the search for effective treatments. The level of co-occurring anxiety has been used to identify "primary" (lower anxiety) versus "secondary" (higher anxiety) variants of CU traits. The primary variant has been hypothesized to emerge from strong genetic influence and secondary variants as an adaptation to adversity, such as exposure to childhood maltreatment. However, little research has tested this hypothesis directly. METHODS: We examined whether anxiety moderates the etiology of CU traits to determine whether this phenotypic feature can help distinguish CU traits with stronger genetic or environmental risk. In two population-based twin cohorts (initial sample: N = 1,196, aged 6-11, oversampled for exposure to neighborhood disadvantage; follow-up sample: N = 13,486, age 7), we used genotype-by-environment interaction twin modeling to examine if parent-reported child anxiety moderated the etiology of concurrent parent-reported child CU traits. RESULTS: Anxiety moderated the etiology of CU traits across both samples, such that nonshared environmental influences increased as anxiety increased. Additionally, in the larger sample, genetic influences decreased with increasing anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support theories suggesting that co-occurring anxiety may distinguish CU traits with different origins: CU traits with higher anxiety appear more influenced by nonshared environmental factors-potentially including adversity-and may show weaker genetic influence. Assessing for co-occurring child anxiety is likely important for diagnosing and personalizing treatments among children with CU traits.
Do early gains deliver lasting impact? Understanding why long-term effects of language intervention fade out.
Krishnan S, Moll K
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Mar · PMID 41466162 · Publisher ↗
Early oral language interventions boost children's language skills, yet we know strikingly little about whether these gains endure. The handful of long-term follow-up studies available suggest that even high-quality lang...
Early oral language interventions boost children's language skills, yet we know strikingly little about whether these gains endure. The handful of long-term follow-up studies available suggest that even high-quality language interventions show substantial fade-out. This gap in our evidence base has real consequences for families and for policy, especially as demand for language support continues to rise. We suggest that long-term impact might depend on three levels: characteristics of the intervention (e.g. breadth, instructional approach, and fidelity), features of the learning environment (e.g. classroom ethos, continuity of support, and language resources available) and child-specific factors (e.g. children's cognitive profiles). We call on funders and researchers to prioritise the routine capture of long-term outcomes and to invest in identifying the mechanisms and tools that could drive sustained improvement (e.g. regular booster sessions). We feel this is a critical priority for future research, as it would help us design support that genuinely shifts developmental trajectories.
Neural correlates of child temperament: The role of brain network connectivity in psychopathology risk.
Xie W, Wang Y, Sacks DD … +2 more , Nelson CA, Bosquet Enlow M
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jul · PMID 41437414 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Early temperament has been shown to predict socioemotional outcomes, but its neural correlates are not yet fully understood. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between early temperament an...
BACKGROUND: Early temperament has been shown to predict socioemotional outcomes, but its neural correlates are not yet fully understood. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between early temperament and neuronal network functional connectivity (FC), and how these factors contribute to the risk of psychopathology. METHODS: Using a longitudinal cohort followed from infancy to age 7 (N = 749 collected at infancy), we assessed temperament through two approaches: data-driven profiles extracted from parent-reported questionnaires collected from infancy to age 3 and lab-based assessments of behavioral inhibition (BI) at age 3. Symptoms of psychopathology were measured at age 7 with the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Resting-state EEG data collected at ages 3, 5, and 7, along with source-space connectivity methods, were used to examine FC within brain networks. RESULTS: Children with an emotionally and behaviorally dysregulated (EBD) profile, an identified risk factor for psychopathology, exhibited reduced FC in the frontoparietal network compared to their emotionally and behaviorally regulated (EBR) peers. BI at age 3 was also negatively correlated with FC in the ventral attention network at age 3 and the frontoparietal network at age 7. Additionally, frontoparietal FC moderated the relationship between early temperament and later attention-deficit symptoms: EBD children showed higher levels of attention problems than their EBR peers, but only when frontoparietal FC was low. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the importance of network connectivity in understanding early temperament and its socioemotional outcomes. Specifically, they highlight the role of attention and control networks in the development of psychopathology, suggesting potential targets for early interventions aimed at at-risk children.
Reward-specific learning parameters change across normative adolescent development and are blunted in youth with high risk for depression.
Sullivan-Toole H, Haynes JM, Schmidt H … +3 more , Larsen B, Haines N, Olino TM
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jun · PMID 41428380 · Full text
BACKGROUND: Reward learning is thought to undergo refinement in adolescence, but little is known about how computational components of reinforcement learning develop. Given that adolescence is a sensitive period for rewa...
BACKGROUND: Reward learning is thought to undergo refinement in adolescence, but little is known about how computational components of reinforcement learning develop. Given that adolescence is a sensitive period for reward system plasticity with associated vulnerability for depression, it is important to understand developmental trajectories of different reinforcement learning parameters in normative development and in youth at risk for depression. METHODS: Youth aged 9-17 years completed the Play-or-Pass Iowa Gambling Task (PoP-IGT) across five timepoints. We calculated task metrics using a traditional scoring approach - yielding summary scores for good deck play, bad deck play, and net play - and a computational modeling approach - yielding parameters for reward learning rate, punishment learning rate, go bias, and sensitivity to win/loss frequency ignoring outcome magnitude. We examined normative developmental trajectories for each traditional and computational performance metric using multilevel models. Further, we examined whether maternal history of depression was associated with individual differences in these trajectories. RESULTS: As hypothesized, youth showed a significant age-related increase in net play (p = 0.003), a measure of overall good performance. Exploratory analyses found that youth showed significant developmental change in reward-specific learning parameters including age-related increases in win/loss frequency sensitivity (FDR = 0.016) and age-related decreases in reward learning rate (FDR < 0.001). In line with hypotheses, youth at high risk for depression showed lower reward learning rates in early adolescence (p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: The observed developmental changes in traditional and computational metrics are largely consistent with the optimization of learning from rewards across adolescence. Further, the observed developmental changes in specifically reward-related computational parameters are consistent with heightened adolescent reward system plasticity. Additionally, there was support for our hypothesis that maternal history of depression may exert a unique effect on learning from rewards specifically, but further research across additional reward learning tasks is needed.
Network structure of reward sensitivity and its temporal interactions with depression: a cross-lagged panel network analysis.
Bi X, Ma S, Cui H … +2 more , Zhang L, Ma Y
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Jun · PMID 41414831 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: Reward sensitivity plays a crucial role in shaping emotional and behavioural responses, yet its internal structure and dynamic interplay with depression remain underexplored. This study systematically examine...
BACKGROUND: Reward sensitivity plays a crucial role in shaping emotional and behavioural responses, yet its internal structure and dynamic interplay with depression remain underexplored. This study systematically examined the network structure of reward sensitivity and its associations with depression using a network analysis framework. METHODS: Based on two waves of data (T1: N = 1,136, M = 14.33, 52.46% female; T2: N = 1,083, M = 14.32, 52.82% female), we constructed multiple cross-sectional and bridge networks, as well as a cross-lagged panel network model (CLPN). RESULTS: (1) Cross-sectional network analysis reveals that positive feedback serves as the core node in the depression group, while hobbies dominate in the healthy group; (2) bridging network analysis identifies hobbies and positive affect as key bridging nodes linking reward sensitivity and depression; (3) CLPN analysis demonstrates that greater engagement in hobbies at baseline significantly predicts lower levels of depression 6 months later. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a novel network perspective on the structural and temporal characteristics of reward sensitivity in depression. The findings underscored the importance of targeting specific reward types in intervention strategies and personalised mental health approaches.
Editorial: Reflecting on child effects in psychology and psychiatry research.
Wade M, Li LM, Collishaw S
J Child Psychol Psychiatry · 2026 Feb · PMID 41399043 · Publisher ↗
The authors explore publication trends in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry over the past 5 years regarding associations between parenting and child outcomes, with a focus on the directionality of these effe...
The authors explore publication trends in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry over the past 5 years regarding associations between parenting and child outcomes, with a focus on the directionality of these effects. Bibliometric analysis revealed that far more studies have examined parent-to-child associations than either child-to-parent or bidirectional associations, reflecting a significant imbalance in what researchers publishing in JCPP intend to study. However, when evaluating evidence from a subset of robust and well-designed studies, especially those that permit a test of bidirectionality, the authors see a more balanced picture, with a roughly equal number of studies finding evidence of parent-to-child, child-to-parent, and bidirectional effects. These studies used a range of methodologies and examined a diverse set of parenting behaviors and child outcomes. Overall, the findings suggest that evidence in favor of child effects is consistently observed despite being significantly understudied relative to that of parent effects. The authors emphasize the importance of studying both child and parent effects alongside one another to understand the complexity of parent-child interactions, and underscore how respect for the agency and perspectives of youth is essential to understanding how they shape the conditions in which they grow up.
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