The Anna Freud Centre’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 the Anna Freud Centre’s responsibility.
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Applying behaviour change theory to understand the barriers to implementing routine outcome monitoring
The aim of this study was to develop a self-report measure of practitioner attitudes to ROM in order to better understand the barriers to successful implementation in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Authors: Bear, H., Dalzell, K., Edbrooke-Childs, J. and Wolpert, M. (2021).
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The role of mental health symptomology and quality of life in predicting referrals to special child and adolescent mental health services
This study examined longitudinal association between a young person’s self-perceptions of quality of life and mental health difficulties and referral to specialist CAMHS service using a population cohort study (Targeted Mental Health in Schools service data) nested within a large-scale linkage between school (National Pupil Data base) and child mental health service administrative data (South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust children and adolescent mental health services health records).
Authors: Yoon, Y., Deighton, J., Wickersham, A., Edbrooke-Childs, J., Osborn, D., Viding, E., Downs, J (2021).
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What treatment outcomes matter most? A Q-study of outcome priority profiles among youth with lived experience of depression
Interest in youth perspectives on what constitutes an important outcome in the treatment of depression has been growing, but limited attention has been given to heterogeneity in outcome priorities, and minority viewpoints. This study used Q-methodology to identify outcome priority profiles among youth with lived experience of service use for depression.
Authors: Krause, K. R., Edbrooke‐Childs, J., Bear, H. A., Calderón, A. & Wolpert, M. (2021).
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Parent/carer-reported experience of shared decision making at child and adolescent mental health services: a multilevel modelling approach
Shared decision making (SDM) has been associated with positive outcomes at child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). However, implementing SDM is sometimes challenging. This study aimed to explore the frequency of parent/carer-reported experience of SDM and examine possible associations between SDM and clinician's perceptions of the (a) children's and young people's psychosocial difficulties, (b) additional complex problems, and (c) impact of the psychosocial difficulties.
Authors: Liverpool, S., Hayes, D., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2021).
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A school-based mobile app intervention for enhancing emotion regulation in children: exploratory trial
This study investigates the use of a new app-based intervention designed to support children’s emotion regulation in schools. The aim is to optimise the usability, acceptability and utility of the app and explore its scope for implementation with the target user in the school context.
Authors: Moltrecht, B., Patalay, P., Deighton, J., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2021).
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A caregiver digital intervention to support shared decision making in child and adolescent mental health services
Digital interventions are increasingly being used to support care and treatment in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). In light of calls for more transparency, this paper aims to describe the development of an evidence-based, theoretically informed digital decision support intervention for parents and caregivers of young people accessing CAMHS.
Authors: Liverpool, S., & Edbrooke-Childs, J. (2021).
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Notes from the youth mental health field: using movement towards goals as a potential indicator of service change and quality improvement
The aim of this paper is to report our notes from the field on using movement toward goals at an aggregate level as an inference of service effectiveness.
Authors: Jacob, J., Edbrooke-Childs, J., Costa da Silva L., & Law, D. (2021).
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Psychological support interventions for healthcare providers and informal caregivers during the COVID‐19 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers and informal caregivers were at an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. This systematic review provides a summary of the available evidence on the content and efficacy of the psychological support interventions in increasing mental health among healthcare providers and informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authors: Bertuzzi, V., Semonella, M., Bruno, D., Manna, C., Edbrooke‐Childs, J., Giusti, E. M., Castelnuovo. G., & Pietrabissa, G. (2021).
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Realist process evaluation of the implementation and impact of an organisational cultural transformation programme in the children and young people's secure estate (CYPSE) in England: study protocol
The Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) is being implemented in the Children and Young People's Secure Estate: a 'whole systems' approach to support secure settings to develop trauma-informed and relationally based environments, supporting staff to provide consistent, therapeutic care. This paper aims to present the protocol for a national cohort study examining the impact and implementation of this cultural transformation programme.
Authors: D'Souza, S., Lane, R., Jacob, J., Livanou, M., Riches, W., Rogers, A., Ullman, R., Rashid, A., Singleton, R., Wheeler, J., Bevington, D., Deighton, J., Fonagy, P., Fuggle, P., Law, D., & Edbrooke-Childs, J., (2021).
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Adolescents' understanding of what causes emotional distress: a qualitative Exploration in a non-clinical sample using ideal-type analysis
Research exploring what adolescents perceive to be the cause(s) of their emotional difficulties is lacking. Improving understanding of this issue within non-clinical adolescent groups may provide useful insight into how to develop strategies to support young people as they navigate emotional difficulties. Objectives: The aim of this research was to explore if meaningful categories of perceived cause(s) for emotional distress exist for non-clinical adolescent groups.
Authors: O'Neill, A., Stapley, E., Stock, S., Merrick, H., & Humphrey, N. (2021).