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Objective A measure was recently developed which assesses self-efficacy to resist NSSI across differing contexts. The aim of this study was to examine how self-efficacy to resist NSSI across contexts interacts with NSSI-related outcome expectancies when differentiating NSSI history. Participant: 501 Australian college students aged 17–40 years (M = 21.21, SD = 2.36). Method: Participants completed online questionnaires. Results: Self-efficacy to resist NSSI when in contexts considered to be protective or of high risk moderated the relationships between NSSI-related outcome expectancies and recent engagement in NSSI. Participants who expected NSSI to result in communication were more likely to have recently engaged in NSSI if they held weak self-efficacy to resist NSSI in protective contexts. Expecting NSSI to result in diminished self-worth was protective against weak self-efficacy to resist NSSI. Conclusion: Results support the application of Social Cognitive Theory to NSSI and provide future avenues for exploring NSSI-specific cognitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Social Cognitive Theory, the anticipated consequences of a behavior (outcome expectancies), coupled with our belief in our ability to successfully perform the behavior (self-efficacy), determine the likelihood of engagement in a behavior. We explored whether the relationship between nonsuicidal self-injury outcome expectancies and self-injury was moderated by self-efficacy to resist nonsuicidal self-injury. Participants: Five hundred and sixteen college students aged 18–26 years (M = 20.60, SD = 1.86). Methods: Self-report measures were completed online. Results: The relationship between expecting self-injury would result in pain or emotion regulation and engaging in self-injury was moderated by a belief in the ability to resist self-injury. People who had never self-injured were more likely to believe that self-injury would cause physical pain and believe they could resist self-injury. A belief in the ability to resist self-injury countered expectations that self-injury would result in emotion regulation. Conclusion: Results may inform college-based prevention and intervention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adopting a socio‐ecological perspective, we used data extracted from clinical casefiles to investigate factors associated with externalising and internalising problems in a large, representative sample of children with a diagnosis of dyslexia. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected by the Dyslexia‐SPELD Foundation in Western Australia. Casefiles for school‐aged children who had received a dyslexia diagnosis in 2014 and 2015 were identified (n = 1,235), and a subset of casefiles were randomly selected for data extraction (n = 454). Of the sample, 58% (n = 262) were male, 42% (n = 192) were female. Ages ranged between 6 and 17 years (M = 12.32, SD = 3.07). Casefiles include results from assessments of literacy‐related achievement, as well as parent‐reported information on behavioural and socio‐emotional development. Results: After controlling for child age, gender, and reading ability, it was found that low self‐esteem, difficulties in emotion regulation, and social skills difficulties were all associated with externalising problems. Additionally, low self‐esteem, difficulties in emotion regulation, and bullying victimisation were all associated with internalising problems. Peer relationship difficulties were indirectly associated with both externalising and internalising problems through associations with low self‐esteem and difficulties in emotion regulation. Conclusion: Self‐esteem, bullying victimisation, emotion regulation, social skills, and peer problems are salient correlates of externalising and internalising problems in children with a diagnosis of dyslexia. Implications for intervention are discussed, both universal school‐based mental health promotion programs, as well as more targeted programs for children with dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether rumination and self-compassion moderate and/or mediate the relationships between negative affect and both non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide ideation. Undergraduate university students (n = 415) completed well-validated measures of negative affect, rumination, self-compassion, NSSI, and suicide ideation. Neither rumination nor self-compassion moderated associations between negative affect and NSSI and suicide ideation. However, both rumination and self-compassion mediated associations between negative affect and lifetime history of NSSI and suicide ideation. Self-compassion additionally mediated the association between negative affect and both 12-month NSSI and suicide ideation. The salience of self-compassion, particularly in predicting recent NSSI and suicide ideation, offers promise for early intervention initiatives focusing on less judgmental or self-critical means of self-relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although declining in all other age groups, AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are increasing. In the context of HIV, mental health problems are associated with negative health outcomes, including non-adherence to life-saving ART. For effective programming it is essential to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes in this population. Adopting a socioecological perspective, we aimed to identify correlates of internalising and externalising symptoms in a large, representative sample of South African adolescents living with HIV. HIV-positive adolescents (n = 1060), who received care in public health facilities in South Africa's Eastern Cape, completed measures of internalising and externalising symptoms. Hypothesised correlates included HIV and health-related factors (physical health, mode of infection, medication sideeffects, disclosure, stigma), health-service related factors (negative interactions with clinic staff, clinic support group), interpersonal factors (abuse, bullying victimisation, social support), parenting-related factors (orphanhood, positive parenting, parental monitoring, parent communication), as well as individual and demographic-related factors (self-efficacy, age, gender, urban/rural location, poverty). Correlates operating across a variety of contexts were identified. Bullying victimisation, self-efficacy, and positive parenting may be particularly salient intervention targets as they were associated with better outcomes on most or all mental health measures, can be addressed without directly targeting adolescents living with HIV (reducing the chances of accidental exposure and stigma), and are associated with better adolescent mental health in South Africa more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV stigma--both "self-stigma" toward positive individuals and "stigma by association" toward their families--is linked with adverse mental health. This study examined how stigma was associated with the mental health of parents and children in South Africa. Parent-child dyads (n = 2,477 dyads) in South Africa participated in a cross-sectional survey. For both parents and children, greater stigma was associated with their own reports of greater anxious and depressive symptoms. Parents' reports of stigma were associated with children's greater anxious and depressive symptoms. Children's reports of stigma were related to parents' greater anxious and depressive symptoms. There was a significant interaction, such that the association between parent stigma and depression was stronger when children also reported high levels of stigma. Findings provided support the effect of HIV stigma on the mental health of families and illustrate the importance of taking a family-based approach to stigma-reduction interventions to alleviate mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined prospective associations between poverty, gender, and school dropout in a large community sample of South African adolescents (baseline:n = 3515, follow-up:n = 3401, 57% female, age range at baseline: 10–17 years, mean age at baseline = 13.45). School dropout was defined as being enrolled in school at baseline assessment but no longer enrolled in school at follow-up assessment. Poverty was measured at baseline assessment using an index of access to the eight highest socially perceived necessities for South African children and adolescents. Demographic characteristics including child gender and age, province, and urban versus rural location were recorded at baseline assessment and controlled for in the analysis. As predicted, higher poverty scores (AOR = 2.01,p < .001) were associated with increased odds of school dropout 1 year later. Gender was not a significant predictor of school dropout (AOR = 1.56,p = .07) but did interact with poverty (AOR = 0.66,p = .04) in predicting school dropout. However, our initial hypothesis that the impact of poverty on school dropout would be stronger for girls than boys was not supported. Instead, results indicated that while girls were at elevated risk of school dropout at low and mean levels of poverty, at high levels of poverty this gender difference was no longer evident. Findings suggest that vulnerable boys should not be neglected in policies to improve retention in education in contexts of extreme poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: A small but growing body of literature indicates that children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalising and externalising mental health problems. However, little research addresses why this might be the case, particularly from the point of view of the children or their parents. This study therefore aimed to explore the lived experiences of children with dyslexia, and their parents. Method: Drawing on a phenomenological approach, 13 children with dyslexia and 21 parents were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews were analysed thematically. Result: Dyslexia was seen to impact at the individual, family and community level. Children’s accounts of their experiences were ecologically situated at both the micro and mesosystem levels of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, while parent’s accounts extended to include the exosystem. Both also reflected on “difference”, a theme related to cultural and attitudinal views at the level of the macrosystem. Conclusion: Presentation of the themes contrasts the experiences of children and parents, illustrating that the experience of dyslexia is indicative of broader challenges associated with societal values and attitudes that privilege perceived ability and shame difference. This study provides information that could be used to inform and educate families and teachers about the impact of living with dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A recent systematic review of studies in the developing world has critically examined linkages from familial HIV/AIDS and associated factors such as poverty and child mental health to negative child educational outcomes. In line with several recommendations in the review, the current study modelled relationships between familial HIV/AIDS, poverty, child internalising problems, gender and four educational outcomes: non-enrolment at school, non-attendance, deficits in grade progression and concentration problems. Path analyses reveal no direct associations between familial HIV/AIDS and any of the educational outcomes. Instead, HIV/AIDS-orphanhood or caregiver HIV/AIDS-sickness impacted indirectly on educational outcomes via the poverty and internalising problems that they occasioned. This has implications for evidence-based policy inferences. For instance, by addressing such intervening variables generally, rather than by seeking to target families affected by HIV/AIDS, interventions could avoid exacerbating stigmatisation, while having a more direct and stronger impact on children's educational outcomes. This analytic approach also suggests that future research should seek to identify causal paths, and may include other intervening variables related to poverty (such as child housework and caring responsibilities) or to child mental health (such as stigma and abuse), that are linked to both familial HIV/AIDS and educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Families affected by HIV/AIDS in the developing world experience higher risks of psychosocial problems than nonaffected families. Positive parenting behavior may buffer against the negative impact of child AIDS-orphanhood and caregiver AIDS-sickness on child well-being. Although there is substantial literature regarding the predictors of parenting behavior in Western populations, there is insufficient evidence on HIV/AIDS as a risk factor for poor parenting in low- and middle-income countries. This paper examines the relationship between HIV/AIDS and positive parenting by comparing HIV/AIDS-affected and nonaffected caregiver-child dyads (n=2477) from a cross-sectional survey in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (27.7% AIDS-ill caregivers; 7.4% child AIDS-orphanhood). Multiple mediation analyses tested an ecological model with poverty, caregiver depression, perceived social support, and child behavior problems as potential mediators of the association of HIV/AIDS with positive parenting. Results indicate that familial HIV/AIDS's association to reduced positive parenting was consistent with mediation by poverty, caregiver depression, and child behavior problems. Parenting interventions that situate positive parenting within a wider ecological framework by improving child behavior problems and caregiver depression may buffer against risks for poor child mental and physical health outcomes in families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: Children with reading difficulties are at elevated risk for externalising (e.g., conduct disorder) and internalising (e.g., anxiety and depression) mental health problems. Reading ability is also negatively associated with self‐esteem, a consistent predictor of child and adolescent mental health more broadly. This study examined whether self‐esteem moderated and/or mediated relationships between reading ability and mental health. Method: One hundred and seventeen children (7–12 years) completed standardised reading assessments (Castles and Coltheart Test 2; CC2) and self‐report measures of mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) and self‐esteem (Coopersmith Self‐esteem Inventory). Non‐verbal intelligence (IQ) was measured using the block design and matrix reasoning subscales of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and was controlled for in all multivariate analyses. Results: Reading ability was negatively associated with internalising symptoms. This relationship was not moderated by self‐esteem. Poor readers also reported more total difficulties and externalising symptoms, but only at low levels of self‐esteem. There was no evidence that self‐esteem mediated relationships between reading ability and mental health. Conclusions: Poor reading was associated with internalising symptoms. Self‐esteem moderated the impact of reading ability on total difficulties and externalising symptoms, with high self‐esteem buffering against negative impacts of poor reading. However, the reliability of the self‐esteem scale used in the study was poor and findings need replication using a reliable and valid self‐esteem measure, as well as other measures of child mental health. If replicated, future research should examine whether interventions aiming to improve self‐esteem can reduce the risk of externalising problems in children with reading difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]