Anna Freud’s online research library contains a collection of evidence-based material on children and young people’s mental health, written and co-written by our team. The research explores factors relating to:
anxiety | behavioural difficulties | depression | digital mental health | empowering young people and families | early years | evaluation | fostering and adoption | intervention | maltreatment and abuse | measures | mentalization | methodology | neurodiversity | parents and carers| prevalence and trends | prevention | psychological therapies | resources | risk and resilience | social care | trauma | wellbeing
The library is managed by our team of evidence experts. It is updated on a regular basis and currently consists of research published between 2018 and 2023.
Please be aware that links to our open-access papers lead to external sites and that the management, data handling and administration of these external sites is not Anna Freud’s responsibility.
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Barriers and facilitators to shared decision making in child and youth mental health: clinician perspectives using the Theorectial Domains Framework
Shared decision making (SDM) is increasingly being suggested as an integral part of mental health provision. Yet, there is little research on what clinicians believe the barriers and facilitators around practice to be.
Authors: Hayes, D., Edbrooke-Childs, J., Town, R., Wolpert, M., Midgley, N. (2018).
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Mental health and wellbeing trends among children and young people in the UK, 1995-2014: Analysis of repeated cross-sectional health surveys
There is a growing concern about the mental health of children and young people (CYP) in the UK, with increasing demand for counselling services, admissions for self-harm and referrals to mental health services. We investigated whether there have been similar recent trends in selected mental health outcomes among CYP in national health surveys from England, Scotland and Wales.
Authors: Pitchforth, J., Fahy, K., Ford, T., Wolpert, M., Viner, R. M., & Hargreaves, D. S. (2018).
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Evaluation of reliable improvement rates in depression and anxiety at the end of treatment in adolescents
The aim of this study was to consider how many adolescents report reliable improvement in anxiety, depression and comorbid depression and anxiety by end of treatment.
Authors: Edbrooke-Childs, J., Wolpert, M., Zamperoni, V., Napelone, E., Bear, H. (2018).
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Using flawed, uncertain, proximate and sparse (FUPS) data in the context of complexity: learning from the case of child mental health
This paper presents an example of the use of a FUPS dataset in the complex system of child mental healthcare. The paper explores the use of this FUPS dataset to support meaningful dialogue between key stakeholders, including service providers, funders and users, in relation to outcomes of services. The term ‘FUPS’ is proposed to describe these flawed, uncertain, proximate and sparse datasets.
Authors: Wolpert, M., Rutter, H. (2018).
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Temporal effects of maternal pyschological distress on child mental health problems at ages 3, 5, 7 and 11: analysis from the UK Millennium Cohort Study
Psychological distress is common among women of childbearing age, and limited longitudinal research suggests prolonged exposure to maternal distress is linked to child mental health problems. We analysed the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative sample with data collected throughout childhood.
Authors: Hope, S., Pearce, A., Chittleborough, C., Deighton, J., Maika, A., Micali, N., Mittinty, M., Law, C., Lynch, J. (2018).
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Power Up: patient and public involvement in developing a shared decision-making app for mental health
Young people as active partners in the design of interventions is increasingly considered an integral part of research. This article presents results from a project involving young people as co-designers in a digital intervention for shared decision-making in mental health services.
Authors: Edridge, C., Edbooke-Childs, J., Martin, K., Delane, L., Averill, P., Feltham, A., Rees, J., Jeremy, G., Chapman, L., Craven, M. P., & Wolpert, M. (2018).
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Assessing the readability of the self-reported strengths and difficulties questionnaire
The findings suggest a need for caution in using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire as a self-report measure for children below the age of 13, and highlight considerations of readability in measure development, selection and interpretation.
Authors: Patalay, P., Hayes, D., & Wolpert, M. (2018).
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The impact of universal, school based, interventions on help seeking in children and young people: a systematic literature review
Universal help-seeking interventions in schools to support young people’s mental health have been widely used, but we know little about their initial impact and longer term follow-up. This systematic literature review aims to explore the impact of these types of programmes across different help-seeking constructs.
Authors: Hayes, D., Mansfield, R., Mason, C., Santos, J., Moore, A., Boehnke, J., Ashworth, E., Moltrecht, B., Humphrey, N., Stallard, P., Patalay, P., & Deighton, J. (2023).
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Self-management, self-care, and self-help in adolescents with emotional problems: a scoping review
The aim of this study was to review the existing published and grey literature exploring the concepts of self-management, self-care, and self-help in the context of adolescents with emotional problems. Specifically, this scoping review sought to provide clarity on the definitions of these concepts and delineate the types of strategies or techniques used by adolescents.
Authors: Town, R., Hayes, D., March, A., Fonagy, P., & Stapley, E. (2023).
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The Importance of child-staff therapeutic relationships in the Children and Young People Secure Estate
The aim of this research was to explore young people’s experiences of therapeutic relationships with staff in secure settings, which is a central component of the Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS).
Authors: Jacobs, J., D'souza, S., Lane, R., Cracknell, L., Singleton, R., Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2023).