Early childhood parenting and adolescent bullying behavior: Evidence from a randomized intervention at ten-year follow-up

Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs to Reduce Firearm Injuries in Children: A Scoping Review

INTRODUCTION

Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) have shown promise in preventing reinjury and enhancing recovery from violent injuries, including those related to firearms. Historically, HVIPs have primarily focused on at-risk adolescents and young adults. The aim of this study is to perform a scoping review of HVIPs targeting children under the age of 18, describe the evidence supporting these programs, and deduce the potential impact of expanding HVIPs to younger children.

METHODS

A scoping review was performed utilizing PubMed database with search terms "violence intervention program" and pediatric, or children, or youth. Articles were screened for youth-inclusive violence programs, and the literature was analyzed for program descriptions, evidence supporting interventions, and barriers to evaluation.

RESULTS

36 studies (covering 23 programs) were identified that met criteria (including patients ≤18 years old), with only 4 programs including children under 10. Many HVIPs utilize brief hospital interventions with longitudinal wraparound outpatient services. Despite heterogeneity in programs and studied outcomes, many HVIPs demonstrated positive outcomes, such as reduction of risk factors, decreased reinjury, decreased violent behaviors, decreased criminal justice involvement, and positive attitude or behavioral changes. Only a few studies reported increased odds of enrollment and positive impact in younger patients specifically.

CONCLUSIONS

Children are an impressionable population in which HVIPs may have significant impact; however, there remains a gap in targeted programs. Given that firearm injuries are the leading cause of death in children and adolescents, priority should be given to piloting, implementing, and evaluating HVIPs among younger age groups.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV.

How is physical attractiveness associated with depression in China: A moderated mediation analysis

Rewarding beauty has never fallen out of vogue in human history. Attractive people enjoy many social and economic advantages. This study aims to investigate the relationship between physical attractiveness and depression and its potential mechanism among Chinese residents. A population-based data including 12,172 Chinese adults from 3 waves of CFPS (2012, 2016, 2020) were used. Moderated-mediation models were utilized to assess the mediation effect of unfair experiences and the moderation effect of socioeconomic-status (SES), in the linkage between physical attractiveness and depression. Firstly, our results demonstrated that physical attractiveness is negatively associated with depression. Secondly, the effect of unfair experiences as a mediator between physical attractiveness and depression is statistically significant. Lastly, socioeconomic status (SES) performs a crucial moderating role. Among Chinese residents, the mitigating effect of physical attractiveness on unfair experiences and depression would be stronger among those with a lower SES compared to those with a higher SES.

Psychological profiles, including emotion regulation characteristics, defence strategies and mentalisation capacity, of male adolescents involved in fights among peers

BACKGROUND

Youth violence has become a worrying public health issue worldwide. In Europe and the USA, research has shown a prevalence of this phenomenon ranging from 30 to 70% in boys.

AIMS

This descriptive study aimed to evaluate psychological profiles of male adolescents involved in fights with their peers.

METHOD

Identity consolidation was evaluated with the Self-Concept and Identity Measure; defence strategies were assessed by the Response Evaluation Measure for Youth; emotion regulation was assessed with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and mentalisation capacity was evaluated by the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Through a series of multivariate analyses of variance, our results showed that adolescents reporting four or more fights in the past year, when compared with peers reporting none or fewer than four fights, displayed lower identity consolidation, greater use of immature defence strategies, poorer emotion regulation processes and poorer mentalisation capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study could be useful for the promotion of prevention and intervention programmes to stem fights among adolescents.

Violent Behaviours among Adolescents and Young Adults: Association with Psychoactive Substance Use and Parenting Styles

This study extends existing research on the relationship between psychoactive substance use among young people and violent behaviour, by evaluating the possible effect of the modification of parenting in a nationally representative sample of 14,685 Italian students drawn from the 2019 wave of the ESPAD Italia survey (51% male; mean age about 17 years). Parental dimensions considered in the study were rule-setting, monitoring, and emotional support, as well as the possible absence of a parent. Relative risk ratios and binary logistic regressions were used to estimate the associations separately for adolescents (15–17) and young adults (18–19). Overall, parental rule-setting, perceived parental monitoring, and emotional support were protective factors for substance use, and the strength of this relationship increased with the frequency of use. Among adolescents, the absence of a parent represented a risk factor. In both age groups, the odds of engaging in violent behaviour was increased among those reporting alcohol intoxication and substance use and the greater the frequency of use, the greater the increase in the odds. As parental monitoring and emotional support decreased, the odds of engaging in violent behaviour increased (except in the case of lower parental support among young adults), while the opposite applies to parental rule-setting. The odds of engaging in violent behaviour were increased among those reporting the absence of a parent only in the adolescent age group. Parental rule-setting was found to have an effect only among adolescents, increasing the odds of violent behaviour among frequent drinkers. Our results might be helpful to signal adolescents who would be more prone to adopt violent behaviour in order to target prevention policies.