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Background: According to the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), children and adolescents represent 41% of all forcibly displaced individuals. They have to deal with conflicts, violence, and the many difficulties of flight and resettlement during a critical stage of their emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development. They are more likely to experience mental health problems during migration. Despite the several known risk factors, it is frequently challenging for refugees and asylum seekers to get mental health care. In this paper we review available studies on interventions aimed at promoting mental health and at preventing common mental disorders in immigrant adolescents and children. Methods: The relevant PubMed, Scopus, PsychINFO and Web of Science databases were searched for papers published until March 21, 2023, using ("immigrants" OR "migration" OR "asylum seekers" OR "refugees") AND ("promotion" OR "prevention") AND ("mental health" OR "mental disorders" OR "psych*") AND ("children" OR "adolescents" OR "young adults") as search string. Fourteen articles qualified for the detailed review. Results and Conclusions: The majority of available interventions, although highly heterogeneous in format and content, showed significant improvement in several psychopathological dimensions, including trauma-related symptoms, psychological stress, anxiety, depressive and cognitive symptoms. Available studies on interventions for the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health in refugees and asylum seekers children and adolescents indicate that provided interventions were associated with a global improvement for participants. Implementation strategies to improve their scalability are highly needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School psychology has heavily relied on quantitative methodology to create and sustain our knowledge of best practices regarding academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes for students. Nevertheless, underlying assumptions of the neutrality of quantitative data have obfuscated how school psychology research has perpetuated oppressive ideologies and practices, which directly harm students from marginalized identities. This paper demonstrates the need for employing a critical lens when engaging in and consuming school psychology research that utilizes quantitative methods. One such framework is QuantCrit, developed in the United Kingdom, which intentionally integrates Critical Race Theory tenets into the development, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative data. We explore specific examples of the insidious ways that 'presumed neutral' quantitative approaches have led to the perpetuation of oppressive practices in the following key areas of school psychology research: (a) discipline disproportionality, (b) special education disproportionality, and (c) school accountability metrics. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for both utilizing and publishing quantitative research that moves school psychologists towards more equitable practices for children and families across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Youth violence and knife crime is increasing dramatically, so much so it has been described as a global epidemic. The social, economic and political forces fuelling this rise mean that minority groups are particularly affected. Aim: This paper reviews the literature primarily from a UK perspective, and illustrates the disparate factors that are influencing the rise in youth violence and knife crime and illustrates the complexities of integrating the perspectives of different disciplines into coherent intervention strategies. Method: We conducted a systematic review of the literature that explores both the causes of increasing youth violence and knife crime as well as some of the interventions that have attempted to deal with the problem. Results: A complex interplay of social, economic, mental health and political factors underpin the increase in youth violence and knife crime. An uneasy tension exists between a traditional criminal justice system-based approach based upon deterrence and punishment, and a more liberal preventative model focusing on adolescent mental health. None of the interventions thus far have been particularly effective. Conclusion: Youth violence and knife crime is a global social issue that causes untold suffering to individuals, families and communities as well as fear that reverberates through society. Interventions have often been devised through the lens of particular disciplines or ideologies. Integrating these perspectives into a coherent approach that is actually effective demands greater co-operation, dialogue and mutual understanding between disciplines and agencies, as well as a robust framework for the evidence-based assessment of outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the widespread occurrence of mental disorders among adolescents, there is globally a recognised need to assess the mental well-being of higher education students. Those in extended programmes, dealing with self-esteem and capability challenges intensified by peer and institutional attitudes, might face heightened susceptibility to mental health issues. Moreover, research suggests that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic likely worsened students' mental health difficulties. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of mental health issues among students in a South African university's extended curriculum programme in 2022 while exploring potential gender differences. Furthermore, by comparing these findings to a 2017 study, it sought to assess the COVID-19 pandemic's potential impact on the mental health of extended programme students. Paper-based questionnaires evaluated depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among first-year extended programme students in 2017 (pre-COVID, n = 208) and in 2022 (within the pandemic, post-lockdown, n = 202). The results showed consistently high levels of mental health issues for both cohorts, with no statistically significant difference between the cohorts. However, female students in the 2022 cohort faced notably more mental health challenges than their male peers. Universities should enhance mental health education and awareness campaigns and explore new counselling methods to assist the growing number of students in need of support. Further research ought to investigate the factors behind the heightened mental health issues, especially among female students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted school-based programs seem to be a promising approach to help adolescents in need. Nevertheless, successful implementation and evaluation of such programs is challenging. However, there is limited knowledge about (overcoming) the challenges of implementation and experimental evaluation of school-based programs. The goal of the present paper is, therefore, to improve future research by describing the challenges encountered and lessons learned during two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to study the effectiveness of two skills-training programs reducing school or social stress. In this way, we aim to inform others who plan to implement and evaluate such programs in schools using an RCT design. Some of the challenges encountered apply to all effectiveness studies, such as the recruitment and retention of participants; others are more "intervention at school" specific, such as scheduling the programs and assessments. Our experiences show that it is possible to effectively implement and evaluate targeted programs promoting adolescent mental health in secondary schools with RCTs, even during a worldwide health pandemic, but that it requires investing sufficient time in keeping close and regular contact as well as clear communication between the involved parties. Moreover, high levels of flexibility are needed in adjusting scheduled meetings for intervention and research while keeping track of the entire process for each school and individual participant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates stress related to schoolwork among students in academic upper secondary schools. The research questions asked are: 1. To what degree does students’ schoolwork stress vary between academic classes?; And 2. are perceptions of classroom goal orientation, academic achievement, sex and parental education related to schoolwork stress?A cross-sectional survey was done in the final year of upper secondary school in 71 school classes from 13 schools. A total of 1955 students in academic education programs were invited to participate in the survey, and 1511 completed the survey; the response rate was 77%. The outcome measure was a composite measure of schoolwork stress (alpha = 0.81). Multilevel modeling was used to estimate school class-level effects.The mean value of schoolwork stress was 4.0, on a scale of 1 (very little schoolwork stress) to 6 (very high schoolwork stress). About half of the students reported a score of 4 or higher. The analysis showed that individual characteristics explained most of the variation in schoolwork stress. Girls experienced a much higher level of schoolwork stress than boys (mean values of 4.3 and 3.6, respectively). There was also a significant class-level effect, estimated to 6% of the variance. Students’ perceptions of classroom goal orientation was also associated with schoolwork stress. The main contribution was the discovery of significant variations in schoolwork stress between school classes. We also found that higher mastery climate was linked to lower schoolwork stress, whereas higher performance climate was linked to higher schoolwork stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]