Joseph M. Boden

Life course theory (Elder & Shanahan, 2006) holds that development unfolds through life transitions (ref) marking periods of growth and change. Following Erikson (1980), each life stage involves a developmental task whose resolution enables the transition to the next. These transitions can induce uncertainty and stress, but navigating them is critical to shaping developmental outcomes. Stress is not inherently harmful; it can stimulate growth, foster resilience, and prompt shifts in behavioural or social roles. But while some stress is normal, exposure to unpredictable or severe stressors can alter developmental trajectories in lasting ways.This second collection on longitudinal data analysis in child and adolescent mental health focuses largely on life stress. Some of the life stress examined is tied to participants' developmental stage, some arising from mental or physical illness, and some from the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted daily life and social functioning worldwide.Early childhood and the transition to school are the focus of the brief report by da Silva and colleagues, reporting on a randomised controlled trial of Brazil's Happy Child Program, designed to promote healthy development to age six by addressing parenting behaviours. Across three assessments of 284 children and families, maternal growth monitoring and non-violent discipline were linked to positive outcomes, while older maternal age and psychological aggression predicted poorer ones.Cai and colleagues used hospital record data from 94 children aged 2-5 with intellectual disabilities to track developmental quotients, a measure of progress against age norms. Cross-lagged panel modelling across three waves showed that early adaptive behaviour predicted later language and personal-social development, supporting prioritisation of adaptive skills in early intervention.In a cohort of young Canadian children Turner et al. examine five kindergarten developmental domains: physical health, social competence, emotional maturity, language, and communication. Of 23 predictors spanning prenatal exposures to family stress, childhood family stress (at ages 1 and 3) and lower socioeconomic status predicted poorer outcomes, while prenatal maternal and postnatal child health did not.Xu et al. focus on adolescence, a developmental period in which young people gain increasing choice and control over their diets. In a longitudinal survey of 1693 Chinese students aged 12 to 16 years, Xu et al. examined adolescent eating patterns and depressive symptoms. Skipping, or irregular, breakfast consumption and late-night snacking were significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms over the course of the study. These results add to the growing evidence that diet plays an important role in adolescent development, including mental health.Hospitalization is one potentially critical outcome for some young people experiencing mental health disorders. Aiming to improve the transition from inpatient to outpatient care, Friedrich and Zemp present a mixed-methods study protocol for the ReCoVer Study examining the role of the family environment in post-discharge outcomes following psychiatric inpatient care. Caregivers of these young people will be followed during the first six months after inpatient discharge to investigate caregiver burden and family influences on recovery.So and colleagues focus on the measurement of schizotypy, a mental health disorder characterized by interpersonal deficits and related behaviour that creates difficulty for individual functioning. Using longitudinal data from over 3000 young people (15 to 24 years) in Hong Kong, their analyses confirmed a three-factor model of schizotypy, and showed that the behaviour associated with schizotypy was strongly related to psychotic-like experiences, social anxiety, and personality traits. These results highlight the potential value of schizotypy assessment for identifying and supporting young people in the early stages of serious mental illness.Methods for diagnosing ADHD in children was the focus of the article by Himmelmeier et al, noting the challenges of obtaining consistent results across the use of multimethod examinations for diagnosis. In a sample of 125 young people aged 6 to 13 years (56 with an ADHD diagnosis), they compared self-report questionnaires, attention performance tests, and reports from parents and teachers. Parent and teacher questionnaires had the highest classification accuracy in identifying inattentive symptoms, while objective attention tests were less effective. These findings underline the importance of multi-informant assessment for the diagnosis of ADHD in young people.Moving from mental to physical health, Zhao and colleagues report a longitudinal study of 60 Chinese children and adolescents (8 to 18 years) with leukemia. The study examined post-traumatic growth and coping styles over three waves of data tracking from remission to maintenance therapy. Positive coping styles were associated with greater post-traumatic growth, though gains levelled off over time. Negative coping (emotional reactivity) was associated with lower growth. The findings suggest that the assessment of coping styles and growth may support patients' wellbeing and improve outcomes among children and adolescents undergoing treatment for leukemia.The transition to university is an important period for many young people. Han et al. followed 761 first-year students over three waves (age 17 to 19 years) to examine reciprocal associations between measures of depression and social support taken at three intervals. Simultaneous daily diary data provided additional evidence to show this effect occurring at the daily level, with depression associated with decreased support the following day, and vice versa. These results indicate that interventions addressing both factors may reduce depression and improve adjustment during the first year of university.The Covid-19...

The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted widespread and prolonged stress, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Similar events are likely in the future, and understanding moderators of the effects in LMICs may be helpful. An observational study of adults aged ≥18 years in Türkiye, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somaliland, and Iran was conducted using an online survey between 2021 and 2023. Data were collected on sociodemographic and pandemic-related variables along with standardized measures of psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale 10, K10; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, PCL5), wellbeing (World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, WHO-5), post-traumatic growth (Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, PTGI), and pandemic-related distress (COVID-19 Psychosocial Impacts Scale, CPIS). Modified Poisson multilevel mixed-effect models were used to explore associations. Cumulative distribution function plots were used to visually compare sites, followed by ANCOVA to assess statistical differences while controlling for covariates. Overall, 2,574 adults aged 18–73 years (M = 28.0 years, SD = 10.6) participated. They were predominantly female (64.6%), single (58.0%), and Muslim (92.2%), with 81.2% having at least a tertiary qualification. The CPIS score range was 5–144 (M = 47.7, SD = 24.0). Psychological outcomes revealed substantial distress on K10 (32.2%), PCL5 (37.8%), and WHO-5 (45.0%) measures. Being female, married, studying full-time, and unemployed were consistently linked to higher psychological distress. The PTGI scores ranged from 0-105 (M = 53.3, SD = 23.3), showing a wide spectrum of posttraumatic growth in responses to COVID-19. Country-wise comparisons indicated variations in distress, well-being, and post-traumatic growth in response to COVID-19. The variation in distress scores appeared to be influenced by individual (e.g., gender, marital status, education, employment) and contextual (e.g., lockdown) factors. These findings suggest that strategies aimed at mitigating long-term psychosocial impacts of pandemics in resource-constrained settings may have population-health beneficial. Registration details: The study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry (NCT05052333).

The major anxiety disorders (ANX; including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobias) are highly prevalent, often onset early and cause substantial global disability. Although distinct in their clinical presentations, they probably represent differential expressions of a dysregulated threat–response system. Here, we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis comprising 122,341 European ancestry ANX cases and 729,881 controls. We identified 58 independent genome-wide significant risk variants and 66 genes with robust biological support. In an independent sample of 1,175,012 self-report ANX cases and 1,956,379 controls, 51 out of the 58 associations replicated. As predicted by twin studies, we found substantial genetic correlation between ANX and depression, neuroticism and other internalizing phenotypes. Follow-up analyses demonstrated enrichment in all major brain regions and highlighted GABAergic signaling as one potential mechanism implicated in ANX genetic risk. These results advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of ANX and prioritize genes for functional follow-up studies.

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood is associated with various adverse long-term outcomes. Aims: We aimed to examine the independent associations between ADHD symptoms at age 14–16 years and long-term mental health and psychosocial functioning outcomes in a 40-year birth cohort study. Method: Study members from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a population-based New Zealand birth cohort study ( N = 1265 at birth) were followed to age 40 years. Generalised estimating equations were used to model associations between ADHD symptoms at age 14–16 years and outcomes at age 18–40. Adjusted models were fitted to account for confounding by antecedent individual and familial risk factors, and coexisting symptoms of conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. Results: Adolescents in the highest quartile for ADHD symptoms at age 14–16 years were at elevated risk of substance use disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, criminal offending and unemployment across early adulthood. They also had lower income, home ownership, relationship stability and living standards. The size of these associations attenuated after adjusting for confounding factors and the effect of coexisting conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. However, in adjusted models, ADHD symptoms remained associated with elevated odds of substance use and criminal offending outcomes, with odds ratios ranging from 1.4 to 1.6. Conclusions: Higher levels of adolescent ADHD symptoms are associated with substance use problems and criminal offending in adulthood. Long-term secondary prevention activities are needed to detect and manage coexisting problems among adults with a history of ADHD.

We performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of 290,134 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom measures of 70,953 unique individuals from multiple raters, ages and instruments (ADHD_SYMP). Next, we meta-analyzed the results with a study of ADHD diagnosis (ADHD_OVERALL). ADHD_SYMP returned no genome-wide significant variants. We show that the combined ADHD_OVERALL GWAMA identified 39 independent loci, of which 17 were new. Using a recently developed gene-mapping method, Fine-mapped Locus Assessment Model of Effector genes, we identified 22 potential ADHD effector genes implicating several new biological processes and pathways. Moderate negative genetic correlations (r_g < -0.40) were observed with multiple cognitive traits. In three cohorts, polygenic scores (PGSs) based on ADHD_OVERALL outperformed PGSs based on ADHD symptoms and diagnosis alone. Our findings support the notion that clinical ADHD is at the extreme end of a continuous liability that is indexed by ADHD symptoms. We show that including ADHD symptom counts helps to identify new genes implicated in ADHD.

Background and aims: The use of amphetamines (including amphetamine and methamphetamine) has been consistently associated with mental health difficulties; however, the direction of potential causal relationships has not yet been established. This study aimed to assess the direction relationships between illicit amphetamine use and mental health difficulties across adolescence and young adulthood.Design: Observational study of four population‐level cohorts participating in the Monitoring Illicit Substance Use (MISUse) Consortium.Setting: Australia and New Zealand.Participants: A total of 7527 participants (51% female) were used: Christchurch Health and Development Study (n = 1056), Australian Temperament Project (n = 1644), Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study (n = 1943) and International Youth Development Study (n = 2884).Measurements: Assessments were used to derive binary indicators of amphetamine use (≥monthly) and mental health difficulties during both adolescence (age 10–17 years) and young adulthood (age 18–30 years).Findings: Associations were estimated as Risk Ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence internals (CIs) using G‐computation procedures, while accounting for 15 potential confounding factors and interactions between exposure and both study cohort and participant sex. The risk of mental health difficulties in young adulthood was 21% greater (RR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.41) for those who reported monthly or more frequent amphetamine use in adolescence. The risk of monthly or higher amphetamine use in young adulthood was 19% greater (RR = 1.19, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.45) in those who reported mental health difficulties in adolescence. There was also some evidence to suggest that in males the strongest association was from amphetamine use to mental health difficulties (RR = 1.24, 95% CI = 0.95, 1.60), while in females the strongest association was from mental health difficulties to amphetamine use (RR = 1.33, 95% CI = 0.99, 1.78).Conclusions: There appears to be a bidirectional association between monthly or more frequent amphetamine use and mental health difficulties from adolescence to young adulthood.