Search Results (2,172)

Background/Objectives: HPV vaccination is safe, effective, and recommended at ages 11–12, yet uptake remains suboptimal. Serious video games may offer an innovative strategy to deliver brief, engaging education during clinic visits. This qualitative paper, embedded within a mixed-methods study, examined adolescents’, parents’, and healthcare providers’ (HCPs’) perceptions of the acceptability, usability, and perceived clinical applicability of HPV Detective, a tablet-based digital game designed to provide HPV-related education to parent–child dyads during pediatric clinic wait times. Methods: Eight adolescent–parent dyads (N = 16) and three HCPs from university-affiliated pediatric clinics participated in 30–60-min semi-structured Zoom interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed by two coders, with discrepancies resolved by consensus and reviewed by a third researcher. Results: Participants identified five key dyadic themes and four HCP themes. Adolescents described the gameplay as intuitive and enjoyable, highlighting interactive challenges and realistic avatars. Parents valued the clarity of HPV information and noted that the game helped initiate health-related conversations. Both adolescents and parents suggested enhancements including voice narration and greater customization and agreed that the game was well suited for 10–15-min clinic wait times, with text messaging preferred for follow-up. HCPs emphasized challenges such as parental hesitancy and competing clinical demands and viewed the game as a feasible adjunct to support vaccine-related discussions. Conclusions: Findings suggest the acceptability, usability, and perceived clinical applicability of a brief, clinic-based digital game for HPV-related education and engagement among adolescents and their parents. Full article

Background/Objectives: Although numerous studies have examined associations between screen time and early language development, less is known about how screen exposure interacts with developmental stage, digital content quality, and parental mediation across childhood and adolescence, particularly with respect to pragmatic communication. This study aimed to address these gaps by examining the joint associations of screen time, content composition, and parental mediation with multiple linguistic and pragmatic domains across a broad age range. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 286 Romanian participants aged 5–19 years, grouped into four developmental stages. Measures included daily screen time, proportion of educational versus recreational content, parental mediation practices, and standardized assessments of vocabulary, verbal fluency, grammatical competence, and pragmatic communication. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, 4 × 3 factorial ANOVAs (age group × screen-time category), and multiple linear regression. Results: Higher levels of screen exposure were consistently associated with lower performance across all linguistic and pragmatic domains (r = −0.19 to −0.28, all p < 0.01). Participants viewing >2 h/day showed significantly weaker outcomes than those with ≤1 h/day, particularly in semantic and phonemic fluency and pragmatic communication (p < 0.001). Educational content correlated positively with linguistic scores, whereas recreational content showed negative associations. Parental mediation emerged as a significant positive predictor. In the regression model (R² = 0.42), age (β = 0.47), parental mediation (β = 0.21), and educational content (β = 0.18) predicted better linguistic performance, while screen time (β = −0.29) predicted lower performance. Conclusions: The findings indicate that associations between digital media use and linguistic and pragmatic performance vary across developmental stages and contextual factors. Rather than screen time alone, digital content quality and parental mediation are associated with differences in communicative performance. These results highlight the value of a nuanced, developmentally informed perspective when considering children’s digital media environments. Full article

Adolescent sexual assault survivors have myriad post-assault needs. However, if and how they access resources to attend to those needs can be complicated due to their legal status as minors and child abuse mandatory reporting policies. Such policies that require specific entities to be notified when a sexual assault involving a minor has occurred might deter adolescents from seeking post-assault care. However, no studies to date have examined how mandatory reporting laws inform adolescents’ post-assault decisions and experiences. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with twenty-one survivors of adolescent sexual assault in one Northeastern US state, we found that mandatory reporting actively deterred sixteen survivors from seeking formal help; would have deterred two survivors from seeking formal help had they known about it; and was a nonissue for three survivors who chose to seek formal help in an attempt to have very specific needs met. Survivors of adolescent sexual assault had serious concerns about losing agency and control and about unwanted involvement from police, parents, and child protective services. Individual providers, organizations, and whole communities must seriously consider the potential harm of mandatory reporting policies and think creatively and collaboratively alongside adolescent survivors to ensure they can access the care they need and deserve. Full article

Objectives: The Impostor Phenomenon (IP), defined as persistent self-doubt despite objective success, has been extensively researched in adults. In contrast, empirical research on children and adolescents remains limited. Methods: The present study examines the prevalence, correlates, and potential risk as well as protective factors of the IP in a sample of 286 participants (56.6% female, 42.7% male, and 0.7% diverse) aged 8–18 years (M = 11.75, SD = 2.50). Participants were recruited from four distinct German subsamples between 2022 and 2024, including a clinically vulnerable group. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design administered to children and adolescents. Results: The results of the study indicate the presence of the IP as early as primary school age, with increasing intensity during adolescence. The study identified robust correlations between the IP and neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and self-esteem. In the present study, children and adolescents exhibiting depressive–anxious symptomatology demonstrated significantly elevated impostor scores in comparison to those manifesting other disorders. Furthermore, the study yielded negative associations between impostorism and various personal resources (e.g., optimism, self-efficacy) and family resources (e.g., parental support, authoritative parenting style). Conclusions: The present findings underline the importance of early intervention in addressing impostor feelings among younger age groups. In conclusion, the present findings contribute to our understanding of the IP etiology and underscore the importance of understanding the IP during formative years to inform prevention and intervention strategies. Full article

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a significant public health issue that threatens the physical and mental well-being of adolescents. Identifying associated factors is a crucial step toward effective intervention. Methods: This study analyzed data from 463 adolescents (42.12% boys; mean age = 16.21 years, range 12–18) to explore the relationships between NSSI, parental psychological control, self-disgust, and resilience. Results: Multivariate logistic regression indicated that parental psychological control, self-disgust, and resilience were significantly associated with NSSI. Furthermore, in the chain mediation model, self-disgust and resilience significantly mediated the relationship between parental psychological control and NSSI. Conclusions: This study examines the relationships between parental psychological control, self-disgust, resilience and NSSI in adolescents, providing theoretical insights and practical implications for developing intervention and prevention strategies. Full article

Background: Adolescence is a sensitive period for psychological, academic, and social development, and sports participation has been described as a potential protective factor for academic performance and psychological well-being. However, limited research has examined the combined influence of sports involvement, sport type, and family background on adolescents’ academic and psychological outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the associations between organized sport participation, sport type (football vs. judo), psychological well-being, psychosomatic symptoms, academic performance, and family socioeconomic background among adolescent boys. Methods: The sample consisted of 52 boys aged 11–14 years from a rural school, divided into football players (n = 13), judo athletes (n = 13), non-athletes (n = 13), and a contextual subgroup of students with special educational needs (SEN; n = 13), with the latter included for exploratory purposes only. Data included school-record-based academic performance and validated self-report measures of life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, psychosomatic complaints, perceived physical fitness, and socioeconomic background. Results: Athletes demonstrated significantly higher academic achievement than non-athletes in overall grade point average (p < 0.001), mathematics (p < 0.001), Romanian (p < 0.001), English (p = 0.03), and Hungarian (p < 0.001). They also reported higher life satisfaction (p < 0.001) but simultaneously showed slightly elevated depressive symptom scores (p < 0.001), indicating a paradoxical pattern of concurrent psychosocial benefits and psychological strain. Parental education (p < 0.001), parental occupational status (p = 0.01), and fathers’ occupational position (p = 0.02) were significantly higher among athletes’ families. Perceived physical fitness was also rated higher by athletes (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found in body mass index, family structure, or most psychosomatic symptoms. Conclusions: Sport participation was associated with more favorable academic and psychological indicators, yet also with elevated depressive symptoms, highlighting the dual nature of organized sport during adolescence. Future research should apply longitudinal designs, include female participants, and incorporate objective indicators of training load. Full article

A significant body of research worldwide has examined how parents who set high expectations may increase adolescents’ risk of developing perfectionistic traits. However, studies exploring this relationship in the Global South are almost nonexistent. This study investigated how adolescents perceived parental expectations related to perfectionism and depressive symptoms among Nigerian adolescents. Participants completed the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), the Living Up to Parental Expectation Scale—Academic (LPE), and Beck’s Depression Inventory. Parental academic expectations were positively associated with personal standards and concern over mistakes, but parental expectations were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Further analysis revealed that personal standards fully mediated the negative relationship between parental academic expectations on adolescents’ depressive symptoms. In contrast, concern over mistakes partially mediated the relationship between parental academic expectations and depressive symptoms. In contrast to previous research, parental academic expectations were associated with fewer depressive symptoms among Nigerian adolescents through indirect relationships with perfectionistic traits. Full article

This study examines how parental legal status operates as a fundamental social determinant of health and educational equity, focusing on long-term outcomes among U.S.-born and foreign-born children of immigrants. We hypothesized that intergenerational stress and institutional exclusion associated with undocumented status would lead to lower educational attainment and poorer health. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative cohort, participants were classified by inferred parental legal status: native-born, documented immigrant, and undocumented immigrant. Outcomes included high school graduation, college enrollment, depression scores, and chronic health conditions. Children of undocumented parents exhibited the most adverse outcomes—lower graduation (63.8%) and college enrollment rates (39.9%), higher depression, and greater chronic illness. In models controlling for socioeconomic factors, parental undocumented status independently predicted reduced odds of college enrollment (OR = 0.61, p < 0.001) and increased odds of reporting fair/poor health (OR = 2.10, p < 0.001). Findings highlight legal precarity as a potent driver of intergenerational disadvantage and underscore the need for policies addressing the barriers faced by children in undocumented families to promote health and educational equity. Full article

Early detection of suicidal risk in adolescents requires valid tools adapted to the clinical and educational context. However, there are currently no observational scales developed specifically for use by significant people in the adolescent’s environment. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to design, validate and apply to a pilot sample an observational scale to identify behavioural and emotional signs of suicidal risk in adolescents, from the perspective of adolescents, parents and teachers. Validation study of an Observational Adolescent Suicide Risk Scale (EORSA) based on a theoretical review and expert consensus. Content validity was evaluated through expert judgement by professionals with recognised experience in mental health, psychometrics, and suicide prevention. The scale was subsequently applied to a sample of adolescents, parents and teachers, analysing the mean scores per item in each group. The final scale included 19 items with a high level of agreement among experts (content validity index > 0.80). When applied to the pilot sample, significant differences were observed in the items considered most frequent by each group. The EORSA is a valid and potentially useful tool for identifying signs of suicidal risk in adolescents from an observational perspective. Its design and application allow for a contextualised and multidimensional assessment, favouring preventive interventions adapted to each setting. Full article

Background/Objectives: Socioeconomic stressors, such as financial strain, rising living costs, and perceived price burden, have gained relevance in the post-pandemic period and may adversely affect adolescent mental health. This study examined the association between subjective financial stress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and emotional/behavioral difficulties among adolescents in Northern Italy. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2025 Corona and Psyche South Tyrol (COP-S) population survey. A total of 2554 adolescents aged 11–19 years and their parents participated; 1598 adolescents provided complete data for analyses of socioeconomic stressors (parent-reported Family Affluence Scale III, adolescent self-reported and parent proxy and self-reported burden due to price increases). Mental health outcomes included depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), generalized anxiety (SCARED-GAD), and emotional/behavioral difficulties (SDQ). Associations were assessed using chi-square tests, Kendall’s tau correlations, and two-factor ANOVA models. Results: Elevated depressive symptoms were present in 10.7% of adolescents, emotional/behavioral difficulties in 13.9%, and anxiety symptoms in 27.9% of adolescents. Female adolescents consistently showed higher symptom levels in all domains. Self-reported financial burden was the strongest and most consistent correlate of mental health problems, demonstrating small-to-moderate positive correlations with depressive symptoms (τ = 0.20, p < 0.001), emotional/behavioral difficulties (τ = 0.14, p < 0.001), and anxiety (τ = 0.25, p < 0.001). Parent-reported burden showed weaker and less consistent associations, and the Family Affluence Scale III was not significantly related to any of the mental health outcomes. ANOVA models indicated that adolescents’ own perception of financial burden significantly predicted anxiety levels in both age groups (11–14 and 15–19 years), whereas discrepancies between adolescent and parent burden perceptions were particularly relevant among younger adolescents. Conclusions: In this affluent European region, subjective financial strain, especially adolescents’ perception of burden due to rising prices, is a stronger determinant of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and psychosocial difficulties than parental burden reports or structural affluence indicators. Adolescents, especially females, appear to be particularly vulnerable. These findings underscore the importance of addressing subjective financial stress in adolescent mental health and public health strategies. Full article

Examining the dyadic effects of parental depression on parenting behaviors is important for understanding the dynamic impact of a family member’s negative emotions on parenting and family-based interventions. To clarify the interpersonal processes between parental depression and parenting within families, this study aimed to investigate the mutual influence of parental depression and parenting (warmth–reasoning and harshness–hostility) in one large sample of adolescent twins and their parents. A sample of 1387 Chinese families with adolescent twins was used. The actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to examine the mutual influences. By examining the dyadic patterns with APIM, we found that depressive symptoms in mothers or fathers significantly influence their own and their partner’s parenting behaviors. The model comparisons found no significant difference in the partner effect between maternal and paternal depression. In the Chinese family system, depression in one parent influences not only their own parenting but also their partner’s parenting. Full article

Individuals with developmental disabilities often experience physical and mental chronic conditions from early childhood, which can negatively affect their education, employment, and social participation without appropriate interventions. These impairments frequently limit the acquisition of essential daily living skills, including personal hygiene skills. This study examined a multicomponent intervention package—comprising video prompting, step-by-step instruction based on task analysis, systematic error correction, and reinforcement—to support the acquisition of handwashing skills for two adolescents with developmental disabilities (Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability) and toothbrushing skills for one adolescent. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across participants and skills was employed, including baseline, intervention, maintenance, and generalization phases. The intervention was conducted over eight weeks. The results indicated low and stable baseline performance for both participants, followed by a systematic increase in performance after the introduction of the intervention, reaching accuracy levels between 80% and 91%. Participants demonstrated meaningful improvements in hygiene skill performance following intervention. These gains were maintained over time and generalized to new settings, although a few task steps continued to require prompting. Furthermore, teachers and parents rated the intervention as highly feasible, practical, and useful for supporting hygiene skills, while students reported enjoyment, perceived improvement, and willingness to participate again. Overall, the findings suggest that structured, evidence-based instructional approaches may support increased functional participation in essential daily living skills, particularly when complete independence may not be attainable for all individuals. Full article

Background/Objectives: Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used to reduce pain during pediatric needle procedures, but its effectiveness may vary by developmental stage and gender. This study evaluated whether immersive VR reduces venipuncture pain in children and adolescents and examined parent–patient agreement and gender-specific response patterns. Methods: A prospective nonrandomized clinical study was conducted within a hospital-based pediatric venipuncture service using an alternating 1:1 allocation sequence. Participants aged 4–18 years underwent venipuncture with either VR (n = 49) or standard care (n = 29). Procedural pain was measured using the Faces Pain Scale–Revised (FPS-R) with independent parent ratings. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) compared post-procedural FPS-R scores while adjusting for baseline pain. Exploratory age and gender-specific analyses were also performed. Results: VR led to a clear reduction in pain for children, even after adjusting for baseline scores (3.55 vs. 4.73; p = 0.003). Adolescents, however, reported similarly low pain in both groups (2.81 vs. 2.79; p = 0.60), and several mentioned that the PEGI 3 content felt too young for them, which likely limited how engaged they were. Among children, girls showed the most noticeable drop in pain, which matches the subgroup’s adjusted significance (p = 0.011). Parent–patient agreement was stronger in children (r ≈ 0.7–0.8) than in adolescents (r ≈ 0.4–0.5), and VR did not change this pattern. Most participants said they would choose VR again for future procedures. Conclusions: Immersive VR helped reduce venipuncture pain in children but had little effect in adolescents, underscoring the need for age-appropriate or more interactive VR content for older patients. Overall, these findings support using VR selectively as a distraction tool that fits the developmental needs of pediatric groups. Full article

Background: Eating disorders are increasingly diagnosed in young women, particularly during adolescence. The recently described Anorexic Readiness Syndrome (ARS) is more common than full-blown anorexia. It has been identified in female athletes engaging in disciplines focusing on the aesthetics of the body, in women involved in recreational exercise and in those who are not physically active but strive to achieve the “perfect” figure. The study aimed to assess the severity and prevalence of ARS in women regularly engaging in body-shaping physical activity. Methods: The study included 659 women aged ≥ 14 years who engaged in regular body-shaping physical activity, provided informed consent to participate in the study (in the case of minors, also the consent of a parent or legal guardian), and had no diagnosed chronic diseases. The level of ARS was assessed using a questionnaire measuring attitudes toward food, supplemented with a specially designed survey consisting of 32 questions and a personal data form. Based on the frequency of body-shaping physical activity, participants were divided into two groups: the study group comprised women exercising ≥ 3 times per week (n = 301), while women exercising < 3 times per week constituted the control group (n = 358). The analyses examined the relationships between ARS, frequency of body-shaping physical activity, BMI, and menstrual irregularities. Results: Medium or high ARS level was identified in over 96% (n = 637) of the respondents. The level of ARS was significantly related to the allocation into the group (p = 0.034) and the weekly hours of physical activity (p = 0.011 in the control group; p = 0.020 in the study group). There was a correlation between ARS and menstrual irregularities (p = 0.001). Weak but significant correlations were identified for awareness of eating disorders (V = 0.20; p = 0.001), adherence to a special diet (V = 0.18; p < 0.001) and self-assessed health (V = 0.18; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Higher ARS levels were observed in women reporting greater weekly physical activity. No significant associations were found between ARS and body mass index or body weight. Medium and high ARS levels were significantly associated with self-reported menstrual disturbances, while most participants with elevated ARS were unaware of disordered eating risk. Full article

Late bedtimes and insufficient sleep duration among children and adolescents have been consistently associated with daytime sleepiness, irritability, and poorer academic performance. To mitigate these adverse consequences of insufficient sleep, it is essential to provide children, students, teachers, and parents with not only knowledge about sleep improvement but also practical tools that facilitate behavioral change. This review synthesizes existing evidence from studies that have addressed this issue by evaluating students’ individual sleep behaviors using checklists of sleep-promoting practices. Drawing on practical examples from school-based interventions, the review highlights the effectiveness of sleep education programs for children and adolescents. These programs aim to bridge the gap between sleep-related knowledge and actual behavioral change by targeting daily sleep habits. Typically, such programs consist of a single 50 min educational session focusing on the importance of sleep and strategies for improvement, followed by a two-week self-help period during which students actively practice and monitor specific target behaviors. Overall, the findings indicate that sleep education programs incorporating self-help components not only enhance sleep-related knowledge but also promote healthier sleep behaviors and improve sleep patterns. Moreover, these programs effectively reduce daytime sleepiness and irritability among children and adolescents, thereby contributing to a healthier and more adaptive school life. Full article