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Increasing evidence has shown that the Covid-19 outbreak has impacted adolescents’ mental health. Utilising a mixed-method design, the current study examined a total of 518 adolescent perspectives (60% female), in Scotland, on what has and could help their mental health in the context of Covid-19. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed three themes in relation to what has helped adolescents’ mental health since the Covid-19 outbreak. These related to findings about the value of: (1) engaging in recreational activities, (2) engaging with friends, and (3) the disruption to schooling. The remaining four themes related to what could have helped adolescents mental health and wellbeing since the Covid-19 outbreak. These focussed on (1) better support: in relation to mental health; school work; and communication, (2) contact with friends, and (3) more opportunities for recreational activities. Males were more likely to report recreational activities had helped and less likely to report better support could have helped. Adolescents who reached clinical threshold for depression and anxiety and those with elevated PTSD-like symptoms about Covid-19 were more likely to state more support could have helped, and adolescents who reached clinical threshold for depression were less likely to report that friends could have helped their mental health. The findings may inform mental health policy and interventions in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Background: Depression is highly prevalent in autistic children and adolescents. Despite this, little is known about the nature of the autistic child's subjective experience of depression and the impact of depression on their lives. Methods: We therefore conducted a qualitative study using thematic analysis with 7 autistic children and adolescents and their parents to identify common themes and individual differences. All children had previously experienced at least one depressive episode. Results: Six main themes were identified: (1) Autism related experiences; (2) Difficulties with peer relationships; (3) Co-occurring relationships between anxiety and depression; (4) Impactful pessimism and anhedonia; (5) Impactful difficulties with focus and concentration and (6) Feelings of irritability, including aggressive behaviours. Parent's accounts of their children's experience of depression mirrored the child's perspective. Novel findings included reports of depression related restriction of diet variety and masking of mental health difficulties. Children and parents linked being autistic and developing depression, referring to the difficulties of being autistic in a complex, neurotypical world. Conclusions: These results highlight key challenges that autistic children and their families experience, calling for increased awareness of the impact of depression on autistic young people.

Intellectual Disability is under-ascertained worldwide and is associated with greater physical and mental health difficulties. This research aimed to identify clinical features and characteristics of children with Intellectual Disability in a population of 126 6–18 year olds in mainstream school, attending paediatric developmental clinics. Intellectual Disability was defined according to the DSM-5 (deficits in intellectual and adaptive functioning, present during childhood). Measures used to assess this were WISC-IV IQ (score

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more at risk for academic underachievement compared to their typically developing peers. Understanding their greatest strengths and challenges at school, and how these can be supported, is vital in order to develop focused classroom interventions. Ten primary school pupils with ADHD (aged 6–11 years) and their teachers (N = 6) took part in semi-structured interviews that focused on (1) ADHD knowledge, (2) the child’s strengths and challenges at school, and (3) strategies in place to support challenges. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts and three key themes were identified; classroom-general versus individual-specific strategies, heterogeneity of strategies, and the role of peers. Implications relating to educational practice and future research are discussed.

Cognitive processes play an imperative role in children's mathematics learning. Difficulties in cognitive functioning are a core feature of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, who also tend to show lower levels of mathematics attainment than their typically developing peers. This review (registration number: CRD42020169708) sought to aggregate findings from studies assessing the relationship between cognition and mathematics in children with a clinical ADHD diagnosis aged 4-12 years. A total of 11,799 studies published between 1992 and August 2020 were screened for eligibility using various database (PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, ERIC, Web of Science, and additional sources), from which four studies met inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was conducted on the correlations between mathematics and cognitive domains, including an evaluation of the risk of bias within the studies. Across four studies meeting inclusion criteria, memory, inhibitory control, and processing speed were assessed. The results showed a positive association between cognition and mathematics performance in this population. The strength of associations across these studies varied as a function of the cognitive domain in question, means by which mathematics performance was assessed, as well as whether confounding factors such as age and IQ were controlled for. Collectively, this review demonstrates a lack of research in this area and points to various methodological considerations for identifying the association between cognition and mathematics performance in ADHD.

Background: The CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007) is the most prominent and comprehensive model of overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) and provides a framework for OGM. The model comprises of three mechanisms, capture and rumination, functional avoidance, and impaired executive control. These can independently, or in interaction, account for OGM. This systematic review aims to evaluate the existing research on the CaR-FA-X model, and trauma exposure studies specific to child and adolescent populations. Methods: The following databases were searched: 'PsychInfo', 'PsychArticles', ‘PubMed’, ‘Web of Science’, ‘Medline’, ‘SCOPUS’ and ‘Embase’ for English-language, peer-reviewed papers with samples < M = 18 years, published since 1986. To account for the possibility of grey literature, six online journal databases ‘OpenGrey’, ‘ProQuest’, ‘Web of Science Conference Proceedings’, ‘Copac’, ‘The British Library’ ‘Zetoc’ and the ‘Centre for Autobiographical Memory Research Conference proceedings’ were also searched. Results: Support was reported for capture errors and trauma exposure as well as interactive effects between rumination and executive control. Limited support was found for rumination, avoidance and impaired executive control in isolation. Conclusions: Partial support for the CaR-FA-X model was found for child and adolescent populations. Recommendations, refinements to the model, and plausible explanations for the mixed findings are discussed.

This study examined whether mental health professionals would differentiate, in terms of confidentiality and a duty to protect, persons with AIDS (PWAs) who refused to inform their partners from persons with homicidal intent. Six hundred professionals were randomly assigned one of four hypothetical therapy vignettes. In each vignette, the client had either AIDS or homicidal intent. The relationship of the client to the third party was either heterosexual or homosexual. PWAs were rated as being significantly more dangerous than persons with homicidal intent. Persons with homicidal intent were significantly more likely to receive increased intervention and their partners were significantly more likely to be warned. PWAs were rated significantly more negatively on most adjective rating scales.

The authors examine the characteristics of threatening and otherwise inappropriate communications sent to members of the U.S. Congress by a sample of 86 subjects, 20 of whom threatened assassination. We quote excerpts from these letters and provide quantitative data on such variables as the volume, duration, form, and appearance of such communications; the enclosures; the subjects' perceived relationships to the recipients; the thematic content of the communications; and the messages and threats communicated. Comparisons between 43 subjects who pursued encounters with members of Congress and 43 who did not revealed 17 factors associated with such pursuit. In this population, threateners were significantly less likely to pursue an encounter than inappropriate letter writers who did not threaten, regardless of the type of threat or the harm threatened. Inappropriate letters to members of Congress are compared with those directed to Hollywood celebrities. Mentally disordered persons writing to public figures often mention and sometimes threaten public figures other than those to whom the letters are addressed, which raises important issues regarding notification of endangered third parties and the sharing of information among protective agencies.