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Objective: The literature suggests a distinction between illness (negative health) and the ability to cope with challenges such as illness (positive health). The two continua model of mental health distinguishes psychiatric symptoms (illness) from well‐being (positive health). Well‐being consists of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well‐being, constituting one factor that is moderately correlated with psychopathology in the general population. In a mental health care population, we examined whether the three dimensions of well‐being are distinguishable and whether well‐being is also moderately correlated with symptoms. Method: A representative sample of 1,069 patients (63% female, 47% male; mean age: 42 years) voluntarily completed the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form (MHC‐SF), a 14‐item test that assesses three components of well‐being. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a model with strong correlations between the three subscales of the MHC‐SF, indicating poor discriminant validity. Furthermore, the MHC‐SF was strongly correlated (r = −.71) with the symptomatic distress scale of the OQ‐45. Exploratory factor analysis permitted a two‐factor solution, providing support for the two continua model of mental health. However, the explained variance of the second factor (well‐being) was meager in comparison with the first factor (psychopathology). The results of a canonic correlation did not confirm the two continua model, and only a model with one common canonical factor was significant. Conclusions: For patients with clinical levels of psychopathology, the level of well‐being and psychopathology correlate much higher than in the general population. Well‐being and psychopathology are so entwined that the supposed distinction should be seriously questioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treatment Support Measure (TSM) Parent and Youth were created to help clinicians with actionable feedback when youths are not making sufficient progress in treatment. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth. Parents ( n = 172) and youth ( n = 122) were recruited at 2 outpatient mental health care institutions. Children of participating parents (50.6% boys) had a mean age of 11.9 years ( SD = 3.46; range 4-18). Participating youth (30.3% boys) had a mean age of 15.68 years ( SD = 1.75; range 12-18). Participants were asked to complete the TSM and questionnaires measuring related constructs once during treatment. Responses to the TSM Parent items were explained by 9 instead of 5 subscales, and responses to the TSM Youth items were explained by 8 instead of 4 subscales. The internal consistency reliability of both the TSM Parent and the TSM Youth scales was generally good. The convergent validity of the TSM Parent and the TSM Youth was also good, although the divergent validity was less convincing. The criterion validity was inconclusive; the TSM Parent was not able to differentiate between problematic and nonproblematic treatments, but multiple scales of the TSM Youth were able to differentiate between these groups. The TSM Parent and TSM Youth have potential to be helpful tools in clinical practice. They could signal potential barriers to youth progress and direct the conversation between the clinician and youth and parents about adaptation of treatment. Key practitioner message This is the first study to investigate the psychometric properties of the Treatment Support Measure (TSM) Parent and Youth versions, which are created to help clinicians with actionable feedback when youths are not making sufficient progress in treatment., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth have moderate to good psychometric properties., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth might be helpful tools for use in clinical practice: they contain variables that are related to youth outcome, can signal potential barriers to youth progress, and can direct the conversation between the clinician and the youth and parents about adaptation of treatment., The Dutch TSM Parent and TSM Youth could be added to the regular ROM to facilitate both routine monitoring of outcome and direct and concrete aid to the here-and-now relational processes in treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Childhood anxiety is a problem not only because of its negative consequences on the well-being of children but also because of its adverse effects on society and its role in mental disorders later in life. Adequate prevention might be the key in tackling this problem. The effectiveness of Coping Cat, as an indicated CBT-based prevention program in Dutch primary school children, was assessed by means of a randomized controlled trial. In total, 141 children aged 7-13 with elevated levels of anxiety and their mothers were included and randomly assigned to an intervention group and a waiting list control group. After screening, all participants completed baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments. The results showed that Coping Cat, as an indicated prevention program, reduces children's self-reported anxiety symptoms, with Cohen's effect size d of 0.66 at the 3-month follow-up. A moderating effect was found for baseline anxiety level; specifically, children with high levels of baseline anxiety who received the Coping Cat program had lower anxiety levels at follow-up compared to children with high levels of anxiety in the control condition. No moderating effects of gender or age were found. An unexpected decline in anxiety levels from screening to pre-assessment was found in both groups, and this decline was stronger in the experimental group. These promising results warrant the implementation of Coping Cat as an indicated prevention program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anxiety is a problem for many children, particularly because of its negative consequences not only on the wellbeing of the child, but also on society. Adequate prevention and treatment might be the key in tackling this problem. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been found effective for treating anxiety disorders. "Coping Cat" is one of the few evidence-based CBT programs designed to treat anxiety symptoms in children. The main aim of this project is to conduct a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of a Dutch version of Coping Cat as an indicative group-based prevention program. The second aim is to gain insight into the mechanisms underlying its effectiveness. Methods/design: Coping Cat will be tested in Dutch primary school children grades five through eight (ages 7 to 13) with elevated levels of anxiety. This RCT has two conditions: 130 children will be randomly assigned to the experimental (N=65, Coping Cat) and control groups (N=65, no program). All children and their mothers will be asked to complete baseline, post intervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments. In addition, children in both the experimental and control group will be asked to complete 12 weekly questionnaires matched to the treatment sessions. Main outcome measure will be the child's anxiety symptoms level (SCAS). Four potential mediators will be examined, namely active coping, positive cognitive restructuring, self efficacy and cognitions about ones coping ability (from now on coping cognitions). Discussion: It is hypothesized that children in the experimental condition will experience reduced levels of anxiety in comparison with the control group. Further, active coping, positive cognitive restructuring, and coping cognitions are expected to mediate program effectiveness. If Coping Cat proves effective as a prevention program and working mechanisms can be found, this group-based approach might lead to the development of a cost-effective program suitable for prevention purposes that would be easily implemented on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]