Mental health problems among transition-aged youth with physical disabilities: an initial evaluation

Aim

Decreased participation and complex transitions into adulthood among youth with disabilities may impede their well-being. To advance knowledge on the co-occurrence of mental health problems and physical disability, this brief report describes the frequency of mental health problems, measured by the Behavior Assessment System of Children (BASC-3), among transition-aged youth (14-25 years) with physical disabilities and examines the association between mental health problems and sex, age, and number of functional issues.

Methods

Thirty-three participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the BASC-3. Frequency of BASC-3 scales falling within 3 categories: "within norms", "at risk", and "clinically significant" were described. Crosstabs and Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between BASC-3 scales and sex, age (< and ≥ 20), and number of functional issues (< and ≥ 6).

Results

Overall, "somatization", "self-esteem", "depression" and "sense of inadequacy" were the most common subscales being at risk. Participants with a higher number of functional issues (≥6) were more likely to fall within "at risk" or "clinically significant" categories across 20 (out of 22) BASC-3 scales, and female participants tended to fall more within "at risk" or "clinically significant" categories for 8 of BASC-3 scales. Younger participants (<20) were ranked in the "at risk" or "clinically significant" categories for 7 scales.

Conclusions

Findings lend further support for the occurrence of mental health problems emerging in youth with physical disabilities and highlight initial trends especially across functional levels. Further investigation of such co-occurrences and the factors that affect their development is needed.

The impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorders on academic performance in Spanish children from a low-middle- and a high-income population

Introduction

Past research has demonstrated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disorders (SLD), and socioeconomic status (SES) affect a host of educational outcomes. However, there are no studies examining whether SES moderates the association between these neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) and the academic achievement of children and adolescents. The present investigation examined the impact of ADHD and SLD on academic performance in 1,287 Spanish students aged 5-17 from a low-middle (LM)- and a high-income population, when adjusted for comorbidity and demographic factors that may influence educational functioning.

Methods

Parents completed a questionnaire regarding demographic data along with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Additionally, teachers provided information on learning difficulties trough the Protocol for Detection and Management of Dyslexia. Teacher's Version. Academic performance across multiple domains (i.e., first language, foreign language, mathematics) was obtained from school records. ND were determined using standardized diagnostic methods based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria. To examine the effects of ADHD and SLD on academic achievement and the potential moderating role of SES, a series of ordinal logistic regressions were conducted.

Results

Emotional/behavioral problems, learning difficulties, and ND were more frequent among individuals from the LM-income population. After controlling for gender, age, parental divorce/separation, grade retention, frequency of screen use, and daily meals, both ADHD and SLD were associated with worse educational outcomes. Lower SES also increased the risk for academic impairment, although the interactions with ADHD or SLD were not significant.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that ADHD and SLD exert a pervasive impact on academic performance across different socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, early detection and effective intervention strategies aimed at students with these ND are crucial to improve their educational functioning and mitigate the negative consequences related to academic problems.

Prevalence and impact of combined vision and hearing (dual sensory) impairment: A scoping review

Hearing and vision impairments are common globally. They are often considered separately in research, and in planning and delivering services. However, they can occur concurrently, termed dual sensory impairment (DSI). The prevalence and impact of hearing and vision impairment have been well-examined, but there has been much less consideration of DSI. The aim of this scoping review was to determine the nature and extent of the evidence on prevalence and impact of DSI. Three databases were searched: MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health (April 2022). We included primary studies and systematic reviews reporting the prevalence or impact of DSI. No limits were placed on age, publication dates, or country. Only studies where the full text was available in English were included. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstract, full texts. Data were charted by two reviewers independently using a pre-piloted form. The review identified 183 reports of 153 unique primary studies and 14 review articles. Most evidence came from high-income countries (86% of reports). Prevalence varied across reports, as did age groups of participants and definitions used. The prevalence of DSI increased with age. Impact was examined across three broad groups of outcomes-psychosocial, participation, and physical health. There was a strong trend towards poorer outcomes for people with DSI across all categories compared to people with one or neither impairment, including activities of daily living (worse for people with DSI in 78% of reports) and depression (68%). This scoping review highlights that DSI is a relatively common condition with substantial impact, particularly among older adults. There is a gap in evidence from low and middle-income countries. There is a pressing need for a consensus position on the definition(s) of DSI and standardisation of reporting age groups to enable reliable estimates to be ascertained and compared and responsive services developed.

[Mental Health of Children and Adolescents with and without Disabilities and Health-related Impairment: Results of the Representative German Child and Adolescent Health Survey (KiGGS Wave 2)]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Children and adolescents with disabilities and health-related impairment belong to a vulnerable population group. There are only few German findings on mental health that distinguish between children and adolescents with and without disabilities and health-related impairment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were used from the German KiGGS Wave 2 of the Robert Koch-Institute from 2014-2017. A total of 11,830 children and adolescents aged 3-17 years were included using the parent perspective and 5,222 children and adolescents between 11-17 years using their self-assessments. Mental health outcomes were mental health problems (SDQ, parental assessment) and health-related quality of life (kidscreen, self-assessment). Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using cross-tables with Chi square tests and multivariate analyses using binary logistic regression models.

RESULTS

In 16.5% of children aged 3-17 years, parents reported mental health problems; 48.4% of the interviewed children and adolescents aged 11-17 years reported a low health-related quality of life. Children with disabilities and health-related impairment had a significantly higher probability of mental health problems (OR: 5.11) and a low health-related quality of life (OR: 1.50).

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest a need for action to strengthen mental health in children and adolescents with disabilities and/or health-related impairment. In this context, the educational settings of kindergarten and school are of great importance.

The Role of Learning Difficulties in Adolescents' Academic Emotions and Academic Achievement

The present study examines associations between learning difficulties (LD), academic emotions, and academic achievement among 845 Grade 6 adolescents (455 girls, 390 boys). Reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) were identified based on tested reading and math skills in the fall semester of Grade 6. At this time, the students also rated their hope, enjoyment, and anxiety regarding literacy and math. Information on students' achievement in literacy and math, as well as their overall academic achievement, was gathered using questionnaires in both the fall and spring semesters of Grade 6. The results show, first, that students with RD had lower hope and higher anxiety toward reading than those without RD. Also, students with MD reported lower enjoyment, lower hope, and higher anxiety than those without MD. Furthermore, the results show that hope partly played a mediating role between LD and academic achievement in both the literacy and math domains. In addition, enjoyment played a mediating role in the math domain. The present study's results indicate that subject-specific academic emotions should be taken into account when considering relations between LD and academic achievement.

Specific learning disability

Specific learning disabilities (SLD) have an impact on discrete areas of academic function. They result in a level of difficulty that is unexpected when considered in the context of a student's overall intellectual and academic competence. A common example is dyslexia, an SLD that affects the acquisition of literacy. Medical professionals have an important role to play in the evaluation and management of SLD. The medical role is founded on the fact that these conditions are biologically based and have the potential to cause significant harm for the developing child. Even if details of biological causation are not possible to demonstrate for individual children, medical professionals may, nevertheless, make an important judgement call regarding the likelihood of aetiology. When learning problems are medically based, it is clearly unreasonable to expect children to do more than they are able and to learn faster than is reasonable. Advocacy around these biological presumptions and their implications is a major contribution to the well-being of children who have SLD.

Subjective health complaints and exposure to peer victimization among disabled and non-disabled adolescents: A population-based study in Sweden

AIMS

To investigate subjective health complaints (SHCs) (psychological and somatic, respectively) among disabled and non-disabled adolescents, focusing on the impact of traditional bullying and cyber harassment, and furthermore to report psychological and somatic SHCs across different types of disability.

METHODS

Data from the public health survey of children and adolescents in Scania, Sweden, 2012 was used. A questionnaire was answered anonymously in school by 9791 students in the 9th grade (response rate 83%), and 7533 of these with valid answers on key questions were included in this study. Associations with daily SHCs were investigated by multi-adjusted logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

Any disability was reported by 24.1% of boys and 22.0% of girls. Disabled students were more exposed to cyber harassment (boys: 20.0%; girls: 28.2%) than non-disabled peers (boys: 11.8%; girls: 18.1%). Exposure to traditional bullying showed the same pattern but with a lower prevalence. Disabled students had around doubled odds of both daily psychological SHCs and daily somatic SHCs in the fully adjusted models. In general, the odds increased with exposure to cyber harassment or traditional bullying and the highest odds were seen among disabled students exposed to both cyber harassment and traditional bullying. Students with ADHD/ADD had the highest odds of daily psychological SHCs as well as exposure to traditional bullying across six disability types.

CONCLUSIONS

Disabled adolescents report poorer health and are more exposed to both traditional bullying and cyber harassment. This public health issue needs more attention in schools and in society in general.

Gambling among adolescents with and without hearing loss

OBJECTIVES

This exploratory study investigates the prevalence of gambling, preferred types of gambling, and problem gambling in Swedish young people aged 15-18 years with and without hearing loss.

METHODS

A cross-sectional health survey was conducted in Örebro County, Sweden in 2014. A standardized questionnaire was distributed to 4888 students, and 4329 filled it. There were 318 (8 %) students with hearing loss. The response rate was 82 %. The 2-item Lie/Bet questionnaire (Johnson et al. in Psychol Rep 80:83-88, 1997) was used for measuring problem gambling.

RESULTS

More students with hearing loss had gambled during their lifetime (35 %) and in the past year (25 %) than their hearing counterparts (lifetime: 24 %; past-year: 19 %). More students with hearing loss compared to normal hearing students were identified as problem gamblers (7.7 % compared to 4.3 %).

CONCLUSION

More research is needed on gambling among people with hearing loss as well as other disabilities.

Mental health problems among individuals with persistent health challenges from adolescence to young adulthood: a population-based longitudinal study in Norway

BACKGROUND

Persistent health challenges are increasing throughout the world. It has been shown that adolescents with persistent health challenges are at greater risk of having mental health problems than their healthy peers. However, these studies are mainly cross-sectional, and little is known about the transition to adulthood. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine how mental health problems in adolescents and young adults with persistent health challenges vary during adolescence and in the transition to young adulthood.

METHODS

The study used longitudinal and time-series data from the "Young in Norway" study. A sample of adolescents was prospectively followed from adolescence to young adulthood with measures at four different time points (n = 3,087; T1-T4): 2921 adolescents (12-19 years) participated at T1 and T2, while 2448 young adults participated at T3 and T4. Persistent health challenges, age, gender, mental health problems and parental socio-economic status were measured in the longitudinal survey. Regression models were applied to estimate associations between persistent health challenges (understood as having a chronic health condition or disability) and mental health problems during adolescence and young adulthood. Different models were tested for chronic health conditions and disability.

RESULTS

Adolescents with disability had higher scores for depressive and anxiety symptoms, loneliness and self-concept instability, and lower scores for self-worth, appearance satisfaction, scholastic competence and social acceptance compared with adolescents without disability. In young adulthood, there were also significant associations between disability and most mental health problems. The longitudinal associations between chronic health conditions and mental health problems during adolescence and young adulthood showed that significant associations between chronic health conditions and mental health problems were only found during adolescence.

CONCLUSIONS

This longitudinal survey revealed that on average, adolescents with disability had more mental health problems than those with a chronic health condition. In addition, the problems followed into adulthood for adolescents with disability. Thus, disability seems to be a much higher risk factor for developing and maintaining mental health problems than having a chronic health condition. These findings need to be followed up in further studies.