Siti Raudzah Ghazali

Background: Studies on mental health rates among primary school children are still limited, particularly related to psychological trauma and its relationship to other mental health challenges. Objective: The objective of this study was to 1) examine the prevalence of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms in primary school children before the Covid-19 pandemic; 2) identify the relationship between PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms; and 3) investigate potential gender differences in PTSD symptoms. Methods: This is the first cross-sectional study examining the rates of trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms in primary school children before the covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Two hundred and twenty-one students participated in this study. They were recruited from four primary schools that volunteered to participate in this study. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Child PTSD Symptoms Scale-5 (CPSS-5), The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale version (CESD), and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) were used to survey psychological symptoms. Results: Most of the students, or 54.3% of them, have experienced at least one traumatic event. Of 221 students, 39.4% reported having PTSD symptoms, 38% reported having depressive symptoms, and 19% reported having anxiety symptoms. Female students were more likely to report PTSD symptoms compared to male students. The first regression analysis model indicated that depressive symptoms were the only significant predictors of PTSD. In the second model, religion, family income, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. In the third model, depressive symptoms were the sole significant predictors of anxiety. Conclusion: The study reveals that primary school children experience high levels of trauma, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, especially before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the early phases of the pandemic, these mental health issues have been largely neglected in Malaysia, with limited preventative and therapeutic interventions available. Future research should focus on documenting the prevalence of these issues in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The world has experienced numerous natural and man-made disasters throughout history. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, children and adolescents have reported significant psychopathologies in response to traumatic experiences. We aimed to investigate the surge of internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies during COVID-19 and to assess the efficacy of single-session therapies used to treat mental health issues during this period. Methods: Overall, 270 articles were retrieved across both phases of the study, with 250 articles identified in Phase I and 20 in Phase II. Following the PRISMA flowchart guidelines, approximately 30 studies were selected to meet the objective of Phase I, while 10 studies were chosen to address the objective of Phase II. The articles were retrieved from various databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Ovid, CENTRAL, JSTOR, NCBI, and Science Direct. Only articles published between 2019 and 2022 were included in the study. Results: The findings of first phase of study indicated a surge in internalizing psychopathologies (such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, and somatic problems) and externalizing psychopathologies (including conduct/oppositional disorders, sleep disturbances, suicidal ideation, ADHD, and substance abuse) over the past four years. Additionally, according to the findings of the second phase of the study, single-session therapies were found to be effective in mitigating symptoms of depression and anxiety. Conclusion: The study's findings are discussed in the context of counseling adolescents, highlighting the importance of addressing mental health issues in this demographic.

Multiple studies have investigated the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in improving psychological flexibility among overweight and obese individuals. However, to date, no specific reviews have focused on ACT and weight-related difficulties in this population. This systematic review of the literature aims to identify and assemble all ACT interventions in randomized controlled trials (RCT) that address weight-related difficulties in the treatment of overweight and obese adults. The PRISMA 2020 framework was used for the systematic review, includes manual and computerized database searches. Five databases (Medline, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Google) were utilized to gather all articles that: (a) published in English; (b) adopted the RCT design; (c) used ACT as an intervention; (d) included adult participants aged over 18 years with BMI of over 25 kg/m², and (e) included weight-related difficulties and weight as outcome measures. The review identified seven studies comprising 698 overweight or obese participants of both genders. Improvements were reported in weight-related difficulties and percentage of weight loss in the ACT group and the non-ACT group. The present review supports ACT as an effective intervention that can help adults with weight-related difficulties and excess body weight. Further studies should be conducted in various overweight or obese populations with a more systematic RCT research design to establish the effectiveness of ACT in this area.