Therapist “missteps” (i.e., inadvertent, less optimal, or noncollaborative therapist behaviors) have the potential to negatively impact youth and family engagement in community mental health services. The present study explores potential misstep …

Youth problem sexual behaviors (PSBs), and particularly youth illegal sexual behaviors, have deleterious consequences for youth who engage in them, including removal from the home, perpetration of non-sexual offenses, and chronic involvement with …

Language skills, along with emotional (internalising) and behavioural (externalising) problems, are known to independently influence long-term outcomes. However, the bidirectional relationship between these factors over time, particularly during …

This study aimed to develop and validate a measurement tool for General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and explore the underlying mechanisms of anxiety. Study 1 developed the Generalized Anxiety Symptom Scale (GASS) based on the diagnostic criteria of GAD …

Suicide prevention and treatment guidelines for pediatric patients often mirror adult strategies. Distinguishing itself from other pediatric specialties, when a child is psychiatrically hospitalized, the child is typically separated from their …

Accumulating evidence implicates immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), often manifesting as abnormal alterations in peripheral blood immune cell levels. The mononuclear phagocyte system, including …

The mechanisms that underlie obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are elusive. The habit formation model of OCD postulates that compulsions arise from an imbalance between goal-directed and habit formation systems, stemming from impaired inhibition …

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are generally associated with impaired life functioning, including mental health. Prevalent globally, ACEs’ effects vary across cultural settings and groups. The present study assessed horizontal and vertical …

Problematic sexual behavior (PSB) are behaviors that involve sexual body parts and that are developmentally inappropriate or potentially harmful among children ages 12 and younger. PSB has been associated with different types of maltreatment as …

Effective treatment of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) is dependent on etiological knowledge about what factors contribute to their development and maintenance. Previous research points to a role for social skills in …

Suicide is a complex phenomenon influenced by various individual and contextual factors that may inform prevention efforts. This research is part of a comprehensive project conducted in the chain clinics of Iris Company (pseudonym) throughout …

Addressing global concerns about youth mental health requires understanding longitudinal pathways to psychological maladjustment among diverse youth. Hostile attribution bias (HAB) and hostile rumination (HR) are cognitive vulnerabilities …

Exposure to interparental conflict and poor parental relationship adjustment (i.e., interparental relationship discord) has been associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout childhood and later life. However, the …

The strategies adolescents use to cope with stress are key determinants of psychological adjustment. Research has most often utilized questionnaire methods to assess coping, which can be limited by recall bias and broad time frames. This study …

A growing body of literature has confirmed the within-person process from interpersonal conflict to adolescent mood on a day-to-day timescale. However, research on how, when and for whom adolescent interpersonal conflict relates to their daily …

Preschool-onset major depressive disorder (PO-MDD) is an impairing pediatric mental health disorder that impacts children as young as three years old. There is limited work dedicated to uncovering neural measures of this early childhood disorder …

This study examined the interplay of psychopathic traits, executive functioning, and antisocial behavior among adjudicated youth, with a focus on the potential moderating role of executive function. The current study uses data from the Pathways to …

Developmental changes in youth sleep preferences (chronotype) and pubertal development are consequential for youth risk for depression. Previous research has identified individual differences in chronotype in risk for psychopathology. However …

Neurodivergent youth often experience anxiety and depressive symptoms that may hamper adaptive functioning and well-being. There is little knowledge of how anxiety and depression are related in neurodivergent youth. Therefore, we aimed to examine …

Youth with complex health needs (CHNs; e.g., requiring daily assistance or equipment for care) and their parents face heightened vulnerabilities during natural disasters, potentially leading to poorer mental health outcomes compared to those …