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Extant evidence indicates that there is a stronger link between homework difficulties and ADHD than in the general population of children. In addition, parents' involvement in education is an important factor in academic success. Despite the well-established challenges that homework presents to children with ADHD, none of the existing treatment protocols or standard therapeutic options are specifically designed to target homework difficulties. This study aims to identify, describe and appraise studies that have empirically evaluated interventions to optimise the homework performance of children with ADHD. The three databases searched were: Medline, PsycInfo, Embase The keywords 'ADHD' and 'Homework' were used in combination to search the three databases. The search was designed to identify therapeutic interventions which sought to aid parents of children with ADHD to optimise their child's homework performance. The systematic review included 14 studies. The quality of the trials was mixed and generally low; for the other trial types (n = 5) STROBE scores ranged from 6 to 14. The literature in this field points to increased awareness of the need to focus on specific areas of functional impairment in the lives of children with ADHD and to tailor therapeutic supports to enhance a child's educational trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the early-phase development of a group self-development and personality exploration programme (DEEPdown) grounded in the Five Factor Model. A university pilot study wherein students completed the first iteration of the DEEPdown programme (n = 29), and a clinician survey (n = 36) were undertaken in parallel. University students completed feedback forms and focus groups; clinicians viewed a video summary. Data were analysed using quantitative and thematic analysis. Students consistently reported various positive experiences (e.g. space to reflect) and helpful in-session events (e.g. normative personality education). Their mean satisfaction level was 4.5 out of 5 (SD = 0.51), and in response to "I would recommend DEEPdown to friends and/or family", 50% strongly agreed and 50% agreed. 27 of 29 students completed the 7-week programme. Clinician feedback was mostly favourable (e.g. 78% indicated that they would consider DEEPdown training), yet caution was also indicated (e.g. only 61% would recommend DEEPdown to a client). Key identified outcomes across both studies included greater self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. Concerns surrounding insufficient session duration and content complexity arose in both studies. DEEPdown (iteration 1) was broadly acceptable to both students and clinicians. While further refinement and empirical evaluations in different settings are needed, DEEPdown has the potential to positively impact upon important aspects of well-being. To encourage collaboration from the scientific community, we have released DEEPdown as an open source intervention that is freely usable, modifiable, and empirically testable without author permission; all programme content is available on an open source platform (https://osf.io/9eysm/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitally delivered interventions for depression vary in many aspects, including their therapeutic orientation, depth of content, interactivity, individual tailoring, inclusion of multimedia, cost, and effectiveness. However, their effectiveness is rarely examined in intervention-specific meta-analyses. An earlier meta-analysis of eight randomized controlled trials (RCT) demonstrated the effectiveness of a tailored, integrative digital intervention (deprexis), which is delivered via the Internet. This updated meta-analysis of twelve deprexis-specific RCT with a total of N = 2901 participants confirmed the effectiveness of deprexis for depression reduction at post-intervention (g = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.40–0.62, I2 = 26%). Results were analogous when study quality, screening and randomization procedure were taken into account. Clinician guidance, developer-involvement, setting (community vs. clinical), and initial symptom severity did not have statistically significant effects on the effect size, and there was no evidence of publication bias. Thus, these findings demonstrate that deprexis can facilitate clinically relevant reduction of depressive symptoms over 8–12 weeks across a broad range of initial symptom severity, and that the intervention can be combined with other forms of depression treatment. There is now a need to study the intervention's implementation in routine care settings as well as its long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in diverse cultural and linguistic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: ‘Self-monitoring’ refers to the extent to which people control how they act in social situations. Some evidence suggests that those with various mental health issues engage in less self-monitoring than those without such issues. In the current study, we investigated the association of (offline and online) self-monitoring with depression in help-seeking Facebook users. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of an anonymised dataset generated using the myPersonality Facebook application (N = 1,857). Participants were those who accessed an application for depressive symptom-reporting that was linked to the myPersonality application. Results: The odds of depression were 1.85 times greater in low self-monitors than high self-monitors (odds ratio = 1.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) = [1.50, 2.27]). The association remained significant after adjusting for ‘big five’ personality traits (odds ratio = 1.48; 95% CI = [1.18, 1.86]). In fully adjusted analyses involving different operationalisations of self-monitoring, (1) the odds of depression were 1.38 times greater in low acquisitive self-monitors than high acquisitive self-monitors (odds ratio = 1.38; 95% CI = [1.10, 1.74]) and (2) the odds of depression were 1.48 times greater in low protective self-monitors than high protective self-monitors (odds ratio = 1.48; 95% CI = [1.18, 1.85]). Conclusion: The utility of self-monitoring in interventions for depression is worthy of investigation. Moreover, the assessment of self-monitoring may offer insights into clients’ social skills, motivation and self-awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifth edition of the Stanford‐Binet Intelligence scales allows ‘full scale’ IQ (FSIQ) to be estimated using an abridged version of the test—the abbreviated battery IQ (ABIQ). Set within a public early intervention team service, the current cross‐sectional study investigated the utility of the ABIQ in estimating FSIQ for 40 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 3–5 years. A strong ABIQ‐FSIQ association was yielded (r = 0.89; r2 = 0.808) and the ABIQ did not over‐estimate mean FSIQ above a clinically‐relevant threshold; however, clinically significant over‐estimation occurred in 17.5% of individual cases. While the findings provide support for the utility of the ABIQ in estimating FSIQ for young children with ASD, caution relating to the over‐estimation of FSIQ is warranted. Careful clinical judgment–ideally based on examination of previous cognitive assessment results (if available), thorough interactional observations, and close multi‐disciplinary consultation—is necessary to determine the applicability of the ABIQ to individual cases. Autism Res2018, 11: 503–508. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary: We investigated the utility of a shortened version of the Stanford‐Binet Intelligence Scales in estimating IQ for 40 young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings provide qualified support for the instrument: acceptably accurate IQ estimation was achieved for most cases; but not so for a sizeable minority (17.5%). Careful clinical judgment is necessary to determine the applicability of the ABIQ to individual cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many investigations of the associations of self-presentation on Facebook with mental health and personality variables exist, but their findings have not yet been synthetized. We therefore carried out a narrative synthesis of 21 observational studies (combined N = 7,573) obtained from a systematic search of four academic databases. Significant self-presentation associations were yielded for self-esteem, perceived social support, social anxiety, well-being, depression, bipolar/mania, stress, self-consciousness, and insecure attachment. Significant associations were also yielded for all of the big five personality variables and narcissism. The clearest trends-based on the number of times significant associations were yielded across included studies-were as follows: (1) inauthentic self-presentation was consistently associated with low self-esteem and elevated levels of social anxiety; (2) inauthentic self-presentation was consistently more likely to occur in people high in neuroticism and narcissism; and (3) authentic/positive self-presentation was consistently associated with increased levels of self-esteem and perceived social support. The assessment of online self-presentation may offer clinicians important insights into how clients are functioning in relation to various domains of mental health and personality. For example, clients who present inauthentic versions of themselves on Facebook could be experiencing social anxiety or have maladaptive personality traits such as neuroticism and narcissism, all of which could be targeted in intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a freely available computerised cognitive behavioural therapy programme (MoodGYM) for depression (primary outcome), anxiety and general psychological distress in adults. Method: We searched PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Social Science Citation Index and references from identified papers. To assess MoodGYM’s effectiveness, we conducted random effects meta-analysis of identified randomised controlled trials. Results: Comparisons from 11 studies demonstrated MoodGYM’s effectiveness for depression symptoms at post-intervention, with a small effect size (g = 0.36, 95% confidence interval: 0.17–0.56; I2 = 78%). Removing the lowest quality studies (k = 3) had minimal impact; however, adjusting for publication bias reduced the effect size to a non-significant level (g = 0.17, 95% confidence interval: −0.01 to 0.38). Comparisons from six studies demonstrated MoodGYM’s effectiveness for anxiety symptoms at post-intervention, with a medium effect size (g = 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.20–0.94; I2 = 85%). Although comparisons from six studies did not yield significance for MoodGYM’s effectiveness for general psychological distress symptoms, the small effect size approached significance (g = 0.34, 95% confidence interval: −0.04 to 0.68; I2 = 79%). Both the type of setting (clinical vs non-clinical) and MoodGYM-developer authorship in randomised controlled trials had no meaningful influence on results; however, the results were confounded by the type of control deployed, level of clinician guidance, international region of trial and adherence to MoodGYM. Conclusions: The confounding influence of several variables, and presence of publication bias, means that the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution. Tentative support is provided for MoodGYM’s effectiveness for symptoms of depression and general psychological distress. The programme’s medium effect on anxiety symptoms demonstrates its utility for people with this difficulty. MoodGYM benefits from its free accessibility over the Internet, but adherence rates can be problematic and at the extreme can fall below 10%. We conclude that MoodGYM is best placed as a population-level intervention that is likely to benefit a sizeable minority of its users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few countries have made much progress in implementing transparent and efficient systems for the allocation of mental health care resources. In England there are ongoing efforts by the National Health Service (NHS) to develop mental health ‘payment by results’ (PbR). The system depends on the ability of patient ‘clusters’ derived from the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) to predict costs. We therefore investigated the associations of individual HoNOS items and the Total HoNOS score at baseline with mental health service costs at one year follow-up. Methods: An historical cohort study using secondary care patient records from the UK financial year 2012–2013. Included were 1,343 patients with ‘common mental health problems’, represented by ICD-10 disorders between F32-48. Costs were based on patient contacts with community-based and hospital-based mental health services. The costs outcome was transformed into ‘high costs’ vs ‘regular costs’ in main analyses. Results: After adjustment for covariates, 11 HoNOS items were not associated with costs. The exception was ‘self-injury’ with an odds ratio of 1.41 (95% CI 1.10–2.99). Population attributable fractions (PAFs) for the contribution of HoNOS items to high costs ranged from 0.6% (physical illness) to 22.4% (self-injury). After adjustment, the Total HoNOS score was not associated with costs (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99–1.07). However, the PAF (33.3%) demonstrated that it might account for a modest proportion of the incidence of high costs. Conclusions: Our findings provide limited support for the utility of the self-injury item and Total HoNOS score in predicting costs. However, the absence of associations for the remaining HoNOS items indicates that current PbR clusters have minimal ability to predict costs, so potentially contributing to a misallocation of NHS resources across England. The findings may inform the development of mental health payment systems internationally, especially since the vast majority of countries have not progressed past the early stages of this development. Discrepancies between our findings with those from Australia and New Zealand point to the need for further international investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contemporary casemix systems for health services need to ensure that payment rates adequately account for actual resource consumption based on patients' needs for services. It has been argued that functioning information, as one important determinant of health service provision and resource use, should be taken into account when developing casemix systems. However, there has to date been little systematic collation of the evidence on the extent to which the addition of functioning information into existing casemix systems adds value to those systems with regard to the predictive power and resource variation explained by the groupings of these systems. Thus, the objective of this research was to examine the value of adding functioning information into casemix systems with respect to the prediction of resource use as measured by costs and length of stay.Methods: A systematic literature review was performed. Peer-reviewed studies, published before May 2014 were retrieved from CINAHL, EconLit, Embase, JSTOR, PubMed and Sociological Abstracts using keywords related to functioning ('Functioning', 'Functional status', 'Function*, 'ICF', 'International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health', 'Activities of Daily Living' or 'ADL') and casemix systems ('Casemix', 'case mix', 'Diagnosis Related Groups', 'Function Related Groups', 'Resource Utilization Groups' or 'AN-SNAP'). In addition, a hand search of reference lists of included articles was conducted. Information about study aims, design, country, setting, methods, outcome variables, study results, and information regarding the authors' discussion of results, study limitations and implications was extracted.Results: Ten included studies provided evidence demonstrating that adding functioning information into casemix systems improves predictive ability and fosters homogeneity in casemix groups with regard to costs and length of stay. Collection and integration of functioning information varied across studies. Results suggest that, in particular, DRG casemix systems can be improved in predicting resource use and capturing outcomes for frail elderly or severely functioning-impaired patients.Conclusion: Further exploration of the value of adding functioning information into casemix systems is one promising approach to improve casemix systems ability to adequately capture the differences in patient's needs for services and to better predict resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The majority of people experiencing mental-health problems do not seek help, and the stigma of mental illness is considered a major barrier to seeking appropriate treatment. More targeted interventions (e.g. at the workplace) seem to be a promising and necessary supplement to public campaigns, but little is known about their effectiveness. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an overview of the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions targeting the stigma of mental illness at the workplace. Methods: Sixteen studies were included after the literature review. The effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions at the workplace was assessed by examining changes in: (1) knowledge of mental disorders and their treatment and recognition of signs/symptoms of mental illness, (2) attitudes towards people with mental-health problems, and (3) supportive behavior. Results: The results indicate that anti-stigma interventions at the workplace can lead to improved employee knowledge and supportive behavior towards people with mental-health problems. The effects of interventions on employees' attitudes were mixed, but generally positive. The quality of evidence varied across studies. Conclusions: This highlights the need for more rigorous, higher-quality evaluations conducted with more diverse samples of the working population. Future research should explore to what extent changes in employees' knowledge, attitudes, and supportive behavior lead to affected individuals seeking help earlier. Such investigations are likely to inform important stakeholders about the potential benefits of current workplace anti-stigma interventions and provide guidance for the development and implementation of effective future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify variables that predict health service utilisation (HSU) by adults with mental disorders in the UK, and to determine the evidence level for these predictors. Design: A narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed studies published after the year 2000. The search was conducted using four databases (ie, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus with full text, MEDLINE and EMBASE) and completed on 25 March 2014. Setting: The majority of included studies were set in health services across primary, secondary, specialist and inpatient care. Some studies used data from household and postal surveys. Participants: Included were UK-based studies that predicted HSU by adults with mental disorders. Participants had a range of mental disorders including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and dementia. Primary outcome: A wide range of HSU outcomes were examined, including general practitioner (GP) contacts, medication usage, psychiatrist contacts, psychotherapy attendances, inpatient days, accident and emergency admissions and 'total HSU'. Results: Taking into account study quality, 28 studies identified a range of variables with good preliminary evidence supporting their ability to predict HSU. Of these variables, comorbidity, personality disorder, age (heterogeneous age ranges), neurotic symptoms, female gender, a marital status of divorced, separated or widowed, non-white ethnicity, high previous HSU and activities of daily living, were associated with increased HSU. Moreover, good preliminary evidence was found for associations of accessing a primary care psychological treatment service and medication use with decreased HSU. Conclusions: The findings can inform decisions about which variables might be used to derive mental health clusters in 'payment by results' systems in the UK. The findings also support the need to investigate whether combining broad diagnoses with care pathways is an effective method for mental health clustering, and the need for research to further examine the association between mental health clusters and HSU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of the computerized CBT (cCBT) programme, MoodGYM, for the reduction in symptoms of general psychological distress (the primary outcome), depression, anxiety, stress, and impaired daily functioning. Design A randomized controlled trial, with a waiting list control condition, in a routine clinical setting. Methods Participants were 149 public mental health service users (aged 18-61 [ M = 35.3 years; SD = 10.3]) waiting for interventions. Self-report outcome measures were administered online at baseline and post-intervention (i.e., after 32 days). Results After high dropout rates, a post-intervention completers analysis examined 28 MoodGYM participants and 38 waiting list control participants. MoodGYM was significantly more effective than the waiting list control for the reduction of symptoms of general psychological distress ( F[1, 64] = 4.45; p < .05) and stress ( F[1, 64] = 5.35; p < .05) but not depression, anxiety, or impaired daily functioning. Conclusions Due to their high associated dropout rates, self-help cCBT programmes such as MoodGYM should not be provided as front-line treatments. However, as it is likely to be agreeable and beneficial to some service users, perhaps self-help cCBT should be provided as an additional treatment option. Practitioner points Computerized CBT has predominantly been evaluated in 'efficacy' trials which often include motivated, self-referred participants unrepresentative of clinical populations. Multi-site recruitment in the present trial allowed participants with characteristics typical of public mental health service users across Ireland to be included., MoodGYM's effectiveness was demonstrated for the primary outcome, general psychological distress symptoms, and one of four secondary outcomes (i.e., stress symptoms). However, 56.3% of MoodGYM participants (and 85% of males) dropped out of the study, limiting the validity of findings., Feedback to MoodGYM (for those who engaged with it) was generally positive (e.g., 68% of respondents would recommend MoodGYM to a friend if they needed some help). However, 73% of MoodGYM participants did not complete all five sessions., Due to their limited effectiveness and high associated dropout rates, self-help cCBT programmes such as MoodGYM should not be provided as front-line treatments, in place of higher intensity interventions such as one-to-one psychotherapy. However, as it is likely to be agreeable and beneficial to some service users, self-help cCBT is perhaps best offered as an additional treatment option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]