Mental health literacy of adolescents in Bermuda, according to age, gender and race.

Mental health literacy (MHL) is an important part of the help-seeking process, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the MHL of adolescents in the Caribbean. This region is important to study as it is underrepresented in mental health research globally. The aim of this study is to explore the ability of adolescents in Bermuda to recognize depression and social phobia (social anxiety) and their beliefs about the sources of help for a peer with these mental health problems.

Identifying Service, Research and Policy priorities for preventing the impacts of family adversity on children's mental health: An Australian national resource allocation study with professional and lived experience experts.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop Service, Research and Policy priorities to prevent the impact of family adversity on child mental health and determine comparative priorities of diverse stakeholders to those with lived experience of adversity.

Methods: Value-weighting approach conducted in a staged process: (i) professionals and experts with lived experience from health, education, justice and social care sectors attended a national symposium to identify priorities for family adversity and mental health and (ii) a subsequent resource allocation survey gathered views from participants and external experts on symposium priorities.

Results: Consensus was reached on priorities.

How much do adverse childhood experiences contribute to adolescent anxiety and depression symptoms? Evidence from the longitudinal study of Australian children.

This study aims to: (i) examine the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescents; and (ii) estimate the burden of anxiety and depressive symptoms attributable to ACEs.Data were analyzed from 3089 children followed between Waves 1 (age 4-5 years) and 7 (16-17 years) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between ACEs and child-reported elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms at age 16-17.

Adapting a coach-assisted web-based intervention for parents of adolescents who refuse school: qualitative study with users of the Partners in Parenting Plus programme.

Background: School refusal is a heterogenous problem which typically emerges in adolescence and co-occurs with internalising disorders. A substantial proportion of adolescents do not respond to existing treatment modalities; thus, novel, effective intervention options are needed. Partners in Parenting Plus (PiP+) is a coach-assisted, web-based intervention designed to empower parents to respond to adolescent internalising disorders.

Redevelopment of mental health first aid guidelines for substance use problems: a Delphi study.

Background: Substance use problems have a major impact on the physical and mental health of individuals, families and communities. Early intervention may have a positive effect on recovery and treatment outcomes for those with substance use problems, reducing related risk and harm. Separate mental health first aid guidelines on how a member of the public could assist someone experiencing or developing alcohol use and drug use problems in high income Western countries were developed using Delphi expert consensus in 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Engaging Parents in Technology-Assisted Interventions for Childhood Adversity: Systematic Review.

Background: Youth mental health problems are a major public health concern and are strongly associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Technology-assisted parenting programs can intervene with ACEs that are within a parent's capacity to modify. However, engagement with such programs is suboptimal.

The impact of antidepressants and human development measures on the prevalence of sadness, worry and unhappiness: cross-national comparison.

Depression is a major public health concern. Depressed individuals have received increasing treatment with antidepressants in Western countries. In this study, we examine the relationship among individual symptoms (sadness, worry and unhappiness), human development factors and antidepressant use in 29 OECD countries.

Adolescent peer support for mental health problems: evaluation of the validity and reliability of the Mental Health Support Scale for Adolescents.

Background: The Mental Health Support Scale for Adolescents (MHSSA) is a criterion-referenced measure of adolescents' supportive intentions towards peers with mental health problems, which was developed for use in evaluations of adolescent mental health interventions, such as the teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) program. The present study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the MHSSA.

Methods: A sample of 3092 school students (Mean ± SD: 15.

Establishing conversion of the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly scores into interval-level data across multiple samples using Rasch methodology.

Background: The 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-16) is a well-validated and widely-used measure of cognitive changes (CCs) among older adults. This study aimed to use Rasch methodology to establish psychometric properties of the IQCODE-16 and validate the existing ordinal-to-interval transformation algorithms across multiple large samples.

Methods: A Partial Credit Rasch model was employed to examine psychometric properties of the IQCODE-16 using data (n = 918) from two longitudinal studies of participants aged 57-99 years: the Older Australian Twins Study (n = 450) and the Canberra Longitudinal Study (n = 468), and reusing the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (MAS) sample (n = 400).

Mental Health Literacy for Supporting Children: A Systematic Review of Teacher and Parent/Carer Knowledge and Recognition of Mental Health Problems in Childhood.

The level of mental health literacy (MHL) in adults who work with or care for children is likely to influence the timeliness and adequacy of support that children receive for mental health problems. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on mental health literacy for supporting children (MHLSC, recognition/knowledge) among parents and teachers of school aged children (5 to 12 years old). A systematic search was conducted for quantitative studies published between 2000 and June 2021 using three databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO and ERIC) and relevant citations reviewed in Scopus.

National characteristics associated with prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms: a cross-sectional ecological study.

Background: Cross-national comparisons of the prevalence of mental disorders have relied on lay-administered interviews scored using complex diagnostic algorithms. However, this approach has led to some paradoxical findings, with more vulnerable countries showing lower prevalence, and its appropriateness for cross-national comparisons has been questioned. This study used an alternative method involving simple questions from social surveys to assess the prevalence of specific depression and anxiety symptoms, and investigated their association with national indicators of human development, quality of government, mental health resources, and mental health governance.

A repeated cross-sectional and longitudinal study of mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19 lockdowns in Victoria, Australia.

Background: Population surveys across the world have examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. However, few have simultaneously examined independent cross-sectional data with longitudinal data, each of which have different strengths and weaknesses and facilitate the investigation of distinct research questions. This study aimed to investigate psychological distress and life satisfaction during the first and second lockdowns in the state of Victoria, Australia, and the social factors that may be affected by lockdowns and could affect mental health.

Mental Health First Aid Training with the Nepalese Community in Australia: An Evaluation of Effects on Knowledge, Confidence, Intentions, Willingness to have Contact and Stigmatizing Attitudes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training amongst the Nepalese community in Australia by exploring the impact on knowledge about mental health first aid, confidence and intentions to help, willingness to have contact and stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness. We hypothesized that since MHFA has been extensively evaluated with other communities and has been found to be effective, it would therefore be effective with this community as well. MHFA training was conducted by an accredited Nepalese-Australian MHFA Instructor with 162 participants from the Nepalese community in four states of Australia.

Development of the Mental Health Support Scale: A New Measure of Mental Health First Aid Behaviors.

Mental health first aid (MHFA) courses teach community members the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and respond to mental health problems until professional help is received or the crisis resolves. This study aimed to develop a reliable and valid measure of MHFA behaviors. A pool of actions that were recommended and not recommended were selected from MHFA guidelines and developed into two scales measuring either intended or provided support.

early intervention for psychosis in Australia: Is it still a 'best buy'?

Objectives: Australia is piloting a stand-alone early intervention programme for psychosis, based on the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) model that was developed within mainstream Victorian State Government psychiatric services. The Australian early intervention programme is located in primary care, and badged as ' Early Psychosis Youth Services'. There are currently six metropolitan early intervention services with two further services planned for the 2023 Financial Year.

Redevelopment of mental health first aid guidelines for supporting someone experiencing a panic attack: a Delphi study.

Background: Panic attacks and panic disorder can have a major impact on the mental health and wellbeing of those who experience them. People with recurrent panic attacks have increased odds of developing a mental disorder and of worsening the course of existing mental disorders. Early intervention efforts at the time that a panic attack occurs might reduce or prevent some of these associated negative outcomes.

Evaluation of the Conversations About Gambling Mental Health First Aid course: effects on knowledge, stigmatising attitudes, confidence and helping behaviour.

Background: The effects of problem gambling are wide-ranging, affecting many aspects of health and negatively impacting the person who gambles, their family and friends, and their community. People experiencing problem gambling have low rates of help-seeking and perceive many barriers to treatment, although evidence suggests that encouragement and support from friends and family can increase rates of help-seeking. Mental Health First Aid Australia's Conversations About Gambling course aims to teach members of the public evidence-based strategies for recognising and responding to signs of problem gambling in a person they know.