A recent study by the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Finnish Social Insurance Institution Kela reveals that the average duration of ADHD medication for children and adolescents is more than three years. However, reliable, controlled data on the safety of marketed ADHD medicines in children are available for only one year of follow-up.
A recent doctoral dissertation reveals that adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect, predisposes adolescents to suicidality. Girls had a higher risk of a suicidal event occurring during treatment, and suicidality risk screening at intake to behavioral and mental health services failed to predict a large number of suicidal events.
A new study from the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku in Finland screened school-age children for anxiety and examined the efficacy of the Master Your Worries programme developed for treating anxiety among children. The study found that the programme reduced children's symptoms of generalised anxiety, social anxiety, and separation anxiety. The study also found that lighter, fully digital study material can reduce anxiety symptoms in children.
Yuko Mori conducted a large international school survey for her doctoral dissertation in child psychiatry. The research showed that around 5% of young people had attempted suicide. Students who had been victims of both cyberbullying and traditional bullying were the most likely to have attempted suicide. The survey also found that around a third of young people feel unsafe at school and that young people rarely seek professional help for their mental health problems.
A large international study conducted at the University of Turku in Finland found that most adolescents do not seek professional help even when they have a high level of mental health problems. This unmet need was prevalent across all eight Asian and European countries involved in this study but especially in lower-income countries.
There has not previously been conducted any population-based study on suicidality among children and adolescents during the Russian invasion in Ukraine. A new study carried out by a multinational research group showed high levels of suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescents, which were strongly associated with wartime traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
The mental health of children and adolescent is a current topic around the world, especially now, when the well-being of young people is burdened by many crises. With the pandemic, suicides among young people have been on the rise worldwide. According to researchers, climate change and the loss of biodiversity are also significant threats to public health.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety were more likely in adolescents exposed to war than those living outside the war-affected region in Ukraine. The unique study conducted by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry of the University of Turku is the largest epidemiological study using standardised measures that examined the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war 2014 on the mental health of adolescents.
How education can help children and young people find their place in the community and society? This issue will be addressed in the panel discussion On the Right Track - Education as a Pathway to Inclusion at the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku. On Thursday 8.4. Olli-Pekka Heinonen, the Director General of the Finnish National Agency for Education, will take part in the panel discussion streamed via zoom from 10.15 to 11.45.