Does the absence of a supportive family environment influence the outcome of a universal intervention for the prevention of depression?

To date, universal, school-based interventions have produced limited success in the long-term prevention of depression in young people. This paper examines whether family relationship support moderates the outcomes of a universal, school-based preventive intervention for depression in adolescents. It reports a secondary analysis of data from the beyondblue schools research initiative.

School-based prevention of depression: a 2-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial of the beyondblue schools research initiative.

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of a universal intervention designed to reduce depressive symptoms experienced by adolescents at high school. The results from annual assessments during the 3-year intervention and a 2-year follow-up are reported.

Methods: Twenty-five pairs of secondary schools matched on socio-economic status were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a comparison group (n = 5,633 year 8 students, mean age = 13.

The latent structure of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a taxometric analysis.

Objective: To test whether the latent structure of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is best understood as categorical or dimensional in samples of 1774 children (aged 6-12 years) and 1222 adolescents (aged 13-17 years) drawn from an Australian epidemiological study.

Method: Two taxometric procedures (MAXEIG and MAMBAC) examined ADHD symptom measures assessed by diagnostic interview and parental ratings.

Results: Consistent with behavioural genetic research, findings fail to support the view that a latent category underpins ADHD.

Are ADHD gender patterns moderated by sample source?

Objective: To examine whether ADHD gender patterns with respect to social-demographic characteristics, comorbidity, and impairment vary as a function of service use for emotional or behavioral problems.

Method: Two hundred and seventy-nine males and 119 females meeting ADHD symptom criteria identified in a nationally representative sample of Australian youth ages 6 to 17 are stratified according to whether they had attended a service in the previous 6 months.

Results: ADHD gender patterns vary across service use on only 2 of the 31 comparisons made.

The beyondblue Schools Research Initiative: conceptual framework and intervention.

Objective: To describe the rationale, conceptual framework and content of the intervention for the beyondblue Schools Research Initiative.

Conclusions: The beyondblue Schools Research Initiative aims to prevent the development of depression in young people through increasing individual and environmental protective factors within the school context. The model draws on evidence that demonstrates the important role played by individual and environmental characteristics in buffering the impact of adversity.

Gender differences among children with DSM-IV ADHD in Australia.

Objective: To examine gender differences among children meeting symptom criteria for DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) identified in a nationally representative sample of Australian children.

Method: From 2,404 children aged 6 to 13 years, 225 boys and 99 girls with ADHD symptoms were identified using the parent version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children and compared on parent reports of children's behavioral problems and impairment.

Results: When ADHD types were collapsed into a single group, boys and girls did not differ on core symptoms, comorbidity, and impairment with the exception that girls rated higher on somatic complaints and boys had poorer school functioning.

Subfactors of DSM-IV conduct disorder: evidence and connections with syndromes from the Child Behavior Checklist.

Is conduct disorder (CD) as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) a unitary entity, or do variants of CD exist? We addressed this question, using data collected from the parents of 1,669 Australian boys, aged 6-17. Parents were interviewed to assess DSM-IV Conduct Disorder (DSM-IV CD) criteria. Results revealed 2 subfactors of DSM-IV CD symptoms, made up of overt behaviors (e.

Use of medication by young people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of psychotropic medication use by children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children without ADHD. To identify factors associated with stimulant use by children in the community.

Design: A representative, multistage probability sample of Australian households was conducted in 1998.

Health-related quality of life of children and adolescents with mental disorders.

Objective: To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQL) between children aged 6-17 years with one of three mental disorders (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, or conduct disorder), a physical disorder, and those with none of these disorders.

Method: Parent reports describing the HRQL, mental disorders, and physical disorders of a national sample of 3,597 children and adolescents in Australia, aged 6-17 years (response rate = 70%), were obtained by means of a structured diagnostic interview and questionnaires.

Results: After controlling for age, gender, and family structure, children with mental disorders were reported to have a significantly worse HRQL in several domains than children with no disorder.