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Early empirical data shows that school-aged children, adolescents and adults are experiencing elevated levels of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there is very little research on mental health outcomes for young children. To describe the formation of a global collaboration entitled, 'COVID-19 Unmasked'. The collaborating researchers aim to (1) describe and compare the COVID-19 related experiences within and across countries; (2) examine mental health outcomes for young children (1 to 5 years) and caregivers over a 12-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) explore the trajectories/time course of psychological outcomes of the children and parents over this period and (4) identify the risk and protective factors for different mental health trajectories. Data will be combined from all participating countries into one large open access cross-cultural dataset to facilitate further international collaborations and joint publications. COVID-19 Unmasked is an online prospective longitudinal cohort study. An international steering committee was formed with the aim of starting a global collaboration. Currently, partnerships have been formed with 9 countries (Australia, Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the United States of America). Research partners have started to start data collection with caregivers of young children aged 1–5 years old at baseline, 3-months, 6-months, and 12-months. Caregivers are invited to complete an online survey about COVID-19 related exposure and experiences, child's wellbeing, their own mental health, and parenting. Primary study outcomes will be child mental health as assessed by scales from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System – Early Childhood (PROMIS-EC) and caregiver mental health as assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The trajectories/time course of mental health difficulties and the impact of risk and protective factors will be analysed using hierarchical linear models, accounting for nested effects (e.g. country) and repeated measures. This article describes the formation of a global collaboration between 9 countries that are collecting data to examine mental health outcomes for young children (1 to 5 years) and caregivers over a 12-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Creative Resistance in Medellín's Changing Public Space: Medellín's flagship public space interventions fall short of remedying structural problems, but for local residents in Comuna 13, the city's changes offer a platform to advance their struggles for social justice in creative ways The terrace outside the San Javier Library Park is one of Medellín's innovative investments in public space targeting marginal areas of the city, like Comuna 13. In recent years, government interventions have focused on transforming Comuna 13's reputation through a wide range of projects including the San Javier Library Park, cable cars and outdoor escalators facilitating commutes up the steep hillsides, and a number of open-access gyms. San Javier Library Park, where residents sketched outlines of their bodies on the Orión anniversary, is one of several similar projects across the city, and one of the key infrastructure developments in Comuna 13. [Extracted from the article]

Delirium is a common and serious neuropsychiatric complication in critically ill patients of all ages. In the context of critical illness, delirium may emerge as a result of a cascade of underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms and signals organ failure of the brain. Awareness of the clinical importance of delirium in adults is growing as emerging research demonstrates that delirium represents a serious medical problem with significant sequelae. However, our understanding of delirium in children lags significantly behind the adult literature. In particular, our knowledge of how to assess delirium is complicated by challenges in recognizing symptoms of delirium in pediatric patients especially in critical and intensive care settings, and our understanding of its impact on acute and long-term functioning remains in its infancy. This paper focuses on (a) the challenges associated with assessing delirium in critically ill children, (b) the current literature on the outcomes of delirium including morbidity following discharge from PICU, and care-giver well-being, and (c) the importance of assessment in determining impact of delirium on outcome. Current evidence suggests that delirium is a diagnostic challenge for clinicians and may play a detrimental role in a child’s recovery after discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Recommendations are proposed for how our knowledge and assessment of delirium in children could be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Encouraging participation and agency are fundamental elements of social work practice using a community development approach that emphasises community identification of needs and strengths, and community involvement in social change. Ensuring children have a voice is also a cornerstone of social work practice. This paper reports on a project being undertaken in two social housing neighbourhoods in Sydney that began with an exploration of community members' perceptions of community and priorities for change. Initial engagement undertaken with adults living in the two estates indicated that lack of support for children and the behaviour of young people were pressing community concerns. This prompted researchers to revisit the community development research design in order to actively seek out the perspectives of children and young people. Unsurprisingly, the children and young people provided a layer of additional and alternative knowledge about community life and a raft of suggested strategies to improve community wellbeing. We argue that the position of children and young people as community members in community development discourse and practice requires further attention. If community development is posed as an alternative to ''top down'' approaches to work in communities, then including children and young people (and other marginalised age groups) in ''bottom up'' initiatives is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian families are changing and parenthood is increasingly being seen as an individual choice. One important arena for exercising such choice is adoption, which today takes place across national boundaries in the form of intercountry adoption. This is now the predominant type of adoption in Australia. In order to reach their goal of parenthood, individuals choosing intercountry adoption must undergo an education and assessment process. This paper presents the findings from research undertaken as part of a larger doctoral study, with prospective intercountry adoptive parents, intercountry adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and support group representatives living in Australia. Three groups were found to exist in relation to the intercountry adoption assessment process: embracers, acceptors, and pragmatists. Factors influencing each group are discussed and suggestions for strengthening the role and efficacy of education and assessment in the selection of Australian intercountry adoptive parents are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role of emotional dysregulation and coping responses to peer provocation in predicting peer victimisation. Participants were 255 children aged 11-14 years who were assessed on two occasions at a 3-month interval. Cross-sectionally, gender was found to moderate the relationship between emotional dysregulation and victimisation. Girls who reported high levels of victimisation tended to experience problems in the emotional regulation of anger and greater use of internalising and aggressive coping strategies. Boys who reported high levels of victimisation were more likely to experience emotional dysregulation of sadness and reported greater use of internalising coping responses. Longitudinally, emotional dysregulation of anger, and coping responses to peer provocation that involve aggressive reactions or expressions of emotional distress, increased the risk of future victimisation in both genders. Preventive interventions should include training in emotional regulation and coping skills for children at risk of persistent victimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1911, Finland became one of the last northern European countries to join the ICW. The formation of a national chapter was preceded by an almost twenty-five-year crusade by one woman, Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, who was the most internationally recognised Finnish feminist of her time. By focusing on her correspondence, this article sheds light on an important chapter in the history of international feminism in Finland. It discusses Gripenberg's successful career in the ICW from the 1880s and her national attempts to gather the various women's movements under one umbrella organisation that would be eligible for the full membership of the ICW. The article also suggests that universal suffrage in 1906 had an ambivalent impact on women's organising in Finland: as women's activism was channelled into political parties, the Finnish women's rights organisations lost some of their previous appeal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For South African author Mongane Wally Serote, art and activism can only operate in tandem. In the 1970s and 1980s, Serote took leadership roles in revolutionary and anti-apartheid organizations and movements, and in his writing and in these activist roles he mobilizes the one as a means to achieve the ends of the other. In his novel To Every Birth Its Blood, he uses narrative to experiment with chronology and perspective, and explore the physical spaces of township, exile, and state in ways that challenge the apartheid regime's authority to regulate the lives of South Africans. Serote deploys the novel form against apartheid's policies, social organization, and legacy. Through this work, he indicts the regime for human rights abuses, and imagines a new world order shaped by inclusive forms of community that carry forward the fight for equal rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity (PA) can improve cardiorespiratory status, strength, body composition and quality of life for patients infected with HIV. Evidence from HIV-uninfected populations also shows that PA is associated with a lower risk of mortality, primarily death due to cardiovascular causes. There is, however, a lack of data on how physically active HIV-infected patients are. In this study, we assessed levels of self-reported PA over time in patients enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a large multicentre prospective observational cohort study. We included a total of 10,540 patients who completed at least one report of PA between December 2009 and November 2014 during routine clinical follow-up (scheduled every 6 months). In the first year after December 2009 there was a higher rate of non-response so these data are of a lesser reliability. Over the next four years, the percentage of patients reporting no free-time PA at all declined from 49% to 44%. In contrast, in two “Sport Switzerland” surveys of the general population in 2008 and 2014, the percentage of individuals reporting no sports activities at all was considerably lower and relatively stable over time (27% in 2008; 26% in 2014). In our analysis, the percentage of patients reporting sedentary activity at work increased from 23% to 26% over the four years. Subgroup findings suggest differences between women and men and between patients classified by their age, stage of infection and CD4 cell count. Integrating PA counselling into the routine care of HIV-infected patients and promoting PA among this population has the potential to improve the general state of health and quality of life for HIV-infected patients and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annals of the American Association of Geographers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Oxytocin has been implicated in parent–infant attachment and social recognition. With respect to emotion recognition memory, both memory-enhancing and impairing effects have been observed, suggesting an influence of individual factors. We assessed the effects of oxytocin on memory for infant cues, and whether these effects are moderated by self-reported childhood emotional maltreatment. Nulliparous females (N = 102) participated in a randomized, double-blind, between-subjects study with intranasal oxytocin or placebo administration. Participants’ memory was tested using the Baby Social Reward Task, where participants were asked to select the happier infant from a pair of two infants based on the information that they received about the infants’ mood in the previous phase. Participants reporting more childhood emotional maltreatment were less accurate in this task after inhaling oxytocin. Our findings add to a growing body of literature showing that the effects of intranasal oxytocin on memory and social behavior are moderated by adverse early life experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]