Screening for psychological and mental health difficulties in young people who offend: a systematic review and decision model

End-user involvement in a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research of non-pharmacological interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder delivered in school settings: reflections on the impacts and challenges

BACKGROUND

The benefits of end-user involvement in health-care research are widely recognized by research agencies. There are few published evaluations of end-user involvement in systematic reviews.

OBJECTIVES

(i) Describe end-user involvement in a complex mixed-methods systematic review of ADHD in schools, (ii) reflect on the impact of end-user involvement, (iii) highlight challenges and benefits experienced and (iv) provide suggestions to inform future involvement.

METHODS

End-users were involved in all stages of the project, both as authors and as members of an advisory group. In addition, several events were held with groups of relevant end-users during the project.

RESULTS

End-user input (i) guided the direction of the research, (ii) contributed to a typology of interventions and outcomes, (iii) contributed to the direction of data analysis and (iv) contributed to the robustness of the syntheses by demonstrating the alignment of interim findings with lived experiences. Challenges included (i) managing expectations, (ii) managing the intensity of emotion, (iii) ensuring that involvement was fruitful for all not just the researcher, (iv) our capacity to communicate and manage the process and (v) engendering a sense of involvement amongst end-users.

CONCLUSIONS

End-user involvement was an important aspect of this project. To minimize challenges in future projects, a recognition by the project management team and the funding provider that end-user involvement even in evidence synthesis projects is resource intensive is essential to allow appropriate allocation of time and resources for meaningful engagement.

Identifying Risk and Protective Factors in Recidivist Juvenile Offenders: A Decision Tree Approach

Research on juvenile justice aims to identify profiles of risk and protective factors in juvenile offenders. This paper presents a study of profiles of risk factors that influence young offenders toward committing sanctionable antisocial behavior (S-ASB). Decision tree analysis is used as a multivariate approach to the phenomenon of repeated sanctionable antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders in Spain. The study sample was made up of the set of juveniles who were charged in a court case in the Juvenile Court of Almeria (Spain). The period of study of recidivism was two years from the baseline. The object of study is presented, through the implementation of a decision tree. Two profiles of risk and protective factors are found. Risk factors associated with higher rates of recidivism are antisocial peers, age at baseline S-ASB, problems in school and criminality in family members.