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Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 11122

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marianne Singstad

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU Midt-Norge), Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: child and adolescent mental health; developmental psychology; adolescence; identity development; social support; social networks; early intervention; school research; child welfare; residential youth care
Prof. Dr. Ottar Ness

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
WellFare: Nordic Research Centre for Wellbeing and Social Sustainability, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Noway
Interests: wellbeing; recovery; mental health; substance abuse; citizenship; relational welfare; social justice
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

There is an increased number of children and adolescents living with mental health problems, and the complexity in preventing and handling these challenges has been widely discussed in recent decades. Additionally, COVID-19 has shown that there is an urgent need to promote mental health and wellbeing for children and young people. Health-promoting strategies and the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations within and among different services at both the community and national levels are of significance to promoting children’s and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in this regard. For children and young people living in vulnerable life situations or at risk of developing mental health problems, a variety of risk factors might be significant contributors. These factors relate to both structures and relations within the family environment, growing-up conditions, institutional factors concerning daycare or schooling, child and adolescent services within the community, or personal factors within each individual. To encounter these potential complex needs of children and young people, early interventions and collaborations across disciplines and professions stand out as important contributions. 

This Special Issue on mental health in children and young people focuses on the current state of knowledge on children and young people living in vulnerable life situations or at risk of poor mental health, on practical implications for health-promoting actions, and on interdisciplinary collaborations between services to promote children’s and adolescents’ mental health and wellbeing. 

We welcome a diversity of articles, such as conceptual and empirical articles, reviews, critical comments, and meta-analyses, for submission to this Special Issue. We will accept manuscripts from different disciplines, addressing topics related to the scope.

Dr. Marianne Tevik Singstad
Prof. Dr. Ottar Ness
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children at risk
  • mental health
  • wellbeing
  • health-promoting
  • early intervention
  • community
  • services
  • interdisciplinary collaboration

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 966 KiB  
Article
Developing Pre-Implementation Strategies for a Co-Designed, Technology-Assisted Parenting Intervention Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) Approach
by Grace Aldridge, Andrea Reupert, Ling Wu, Joshua Paolo Seguin, Patrick Olivier, Glenn Pringle and Marie B. H. Yap
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(12), 1599; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21121599 - 30 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1288
Abstract
Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a major risk factor for mental disorders in children. Parenting interventions can mitigate the impact of family-level ACEs and subsequently improve young people’s mental health. However, a substantial research-to-practice gap hinders access to, and uptake of, available [...] Read more.
Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a major risk factor for mental disorders in children. Parenting interventions can mitigate the impact of family-level ACEs and subsequently improve young people’s mental health. However, a substantial research-to-practice gap hinders access to, and uptake of, available interventions. Aim: This study aimed to develop actionable strategies to support the implementation of an evidence-based, co-designed, technology-assisted parenting intervention by understanding potential barriers and facilitators from the perspectives of service providers working with families of children experiencing ACEs. Methods: We conducted one-on-one interviews with 14 staff at a community health service (six managers, eight service providers). A theoretical thematic analysis was used. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) guided the data collection and analysis of barriers and facilitators. Pre-implementation strategies were informed by The Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation. The CFIR–ERIC matching tool was used to match the CFIR barriers identified by participants in this study with ERIC strategies to overcome these barriers. Results: Fourteen CFIR constructs were identified as facilitators, and eleven as barriers. By using the CFIR–ERIC tool, eleven strategies to mitigate the barriers were identified. Most strategies were aligned to the ERIC clusters Use evaluative and iterative strategies (n = 4) and Develop stakeholder interrelationships (n = 3). Conclusions: The CFIR–ERIC approach offered relevant and concise pre-implementation strategies for addressing potential barriers to implementing a novel, co-designed, technology-assisted parenting intervention for parents of children with ACEs. The identified facilitators support the utility of co-designing interventions as an initial phase in bridging research-to-practice gaps. Healthcare settings aiming to innovate services with technology-assisted parenting interventions to improve child mental health can draw on findings from the current study to guide pre-implementation plans for innovative, technology-assisted parenting interventions to improve child mental health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk)
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18 pages, 1095 KiB  
Article
Young Adults with a History of Residential Youth Care: A Cohort Profile of a Hard-to-Reach Population
by Hanne Klæboe Greger, Maria C. Stuifbergen, Thomas Jozefiak, Nanna Sønnichsen Kayed, Stian Lydersen, Tormod Rimehaug, Inga Schalinski, Astrid Røsland Seim, Marianne Tevik Singstad, Jan Wallander, Lars Wichstrøm and Stine Lehmann
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(11), 1447; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21111447 - 30 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1596
Abstract
Adults with a history of living in residential youth care (RYC) face elevated risks across various life domains. In this cohort profile paper, we outline the design of a comprehensive follow-up study—the VINGO study—targeting young adults (22–30 years) with a history of living [...] Read more.
Adults with a history of living in residential youth care (RYC) face elevated risks across various life domains. In this cohort profile paper, we outline the design of a comprehensive follow-up study—the VINGO study—targeting young adults (22–30 years) with a history of living in RYC (T2). We describe the recruitment strategy and present sample characteristics. Data were collected in the baseline study (T1) from 2011 to 2014. At T1, the 400 adolescent participants showed a high prevalence of mental disorders, maltreatment experiences, substance use, and self-reported suicide attempts. Data collection at T2 10 years later (2021–2023) included self-reported sociodemographic information, physical health, childhood maltreatment, dissociation, quality of life, social support, and self-esteem using standardized and validated instruments. A diagnostic psychiatric assessment and subjective evaluation of service utilization were conducted by telephone interviews. Additionally, a qualitative sub-study involved in-depth interviews of fourteen participants. We reached a 52% response rate at T2. Comparing participants (n = 157, 107 females) to non-participants (n = 243, 123 females) based on T1 data revealed that T2 participants had a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, and conduct disorder and a lower prevalence of ADHD at T1. Furthermore, T2 participants reported more suicide attempts, experiences of maltreatment, and problematic substance use at T1. Our results show that we reached a burdened population, positioning the VINGO study as a unique opportunity to examine a vulnerable population of emerging adults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk)
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15 pages, 586 KiB  
Article
Physical and Psychological Symptomatology, Co-Parenting, and Emotion Socialization in High-Conflict Divorces: A Profile Analysis
by Inés Pellón-Elexpuru, Ana Martínez-Pampliega and Susana Cormenzana
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(9), 1156; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091156 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1951
Abstract
Although the consequences of divorce and conflict have been extensively studied, most research has focused on children rather than ex-spouses, although variables such as parental health or co-parenting may have an influence on children’s development through processes such as emotion socialization. In addition, [...] Read more.
Although the consequences of divorce and conflict have been extensively studied, most research has focused on children rather than ex-spouses, although variables such as parental health or co-parenting may have an influence on children’s development through processes such as emotion socialization. In addition, the relationship between these variables has never been considered in high-conflict divorces. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the impact of physical and psychological symptomatology and co-parenting on the emotion socialization patterns of parents experiencing high-conflict divorces. Furthermore, the moderating role of resilience was considered, as it has been highly studied as a coping mechanism in adverse situations but barely in divorce at the parental level. For this purpose, a Latent Profile Analysis was carried out with Mplus 8.10, using a sample of 239 parents from Family Visitation Centers. Results revealed, on the one hand, that parents with fewer physical and psychological symptoms sowed more emotion socialization behaviors than those with more symptomatology. On the other hand, in situations of high interparental conflict, the role of co-parenting and resilience seems less relevant than that of physical and psychological symptomatology when analyzing parental skills like emotion socialization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk)
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15 pages, 326 KiB  
Article
Teen Perspectives on Suicides and Deaths in an Affluent Community: Perfectionism, Protection, and Exclusion
by Abigail Peterson and Carolyn Smith-Morris
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(4), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040456 - 9 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2045
Abstract
Clusters of youth suicide and death are tragic for communities and present long-term consequences for the surviving youths. Despite an awareness of community-based patterns in youth suicide, our understanding of the social and community factors behind these events remains poor. While links between [...] Read more.
Clusters of youth suicide and death are tragic for communities and present long-term consequences for the surviving youths. Despite an awareness of community-based patterns in youth suicide, our understanding of the social and community factors behind these events remains poor. While links between poverty and suicide have been well documented, wealthy communities are rarely targeted in suicide research. In response to this gap, we conducted ethnographic research in a wealthy U.S. town that, over a recent 10-year period, witnessed at least four youth suicides and seven more youth accidental deaths. Our interviews (n = 30) explored community values and stressors, interpersonal relationships, and high school experiences on participant perceptions of community deaths. Youth participants characterize their affluent community as having (1) perfectionist standards; (2) permissive and sometimes absent parents; (3) socially competitive and superficial relationships; and (4) a “bubble” that is protective but also exclusionary. Our qualitative findings reveal network influence in teen suicides and accidental deaths in a wealthy community. Greater attention paid to the negative effects of subcultural values and stressors in affluent communities is warranted. Further, our work promotes the value of ethnographic, community-based methodologies for suicidology and treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk)
12 pages, 339 KiB  
Article
Personal Stories of Young Women in Residential Care: Health-Promoting Strategies and Wellbeing
by Mira Aurora Marlow, Rita Sørly and Heli Kyllikki Kaatrakoski
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16386; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416386 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2102
Abstract
Interdisciplinary social work practice produces and circulates narratives of young women in residential care. The dominant narratives often present negative descriptions of this group, and less attention has been paid to their resistance to these “big stories”. This study’s aim is to illuminate [...] Read more.
Interdisciplinary social work practice produces and circulates narratives of young women in residential care. The dominant narratives often present negative descriptions of this group, and less attention has been paid to their resistance to these “big stories”. This study’s aim is to illuminate this resistance of young women in residential care and to explore how they narrate their experiences of being children at risk who have become women managing everyday life. This study utilises a narrative approach and includes three selected personal stories: two from the participants and one from the first author’s reflections on resistance. Through contextual analysis at the macro, meso and micro levels, we focus on how personal stories can influence interdisciplinary social work services. We found resistance to dominant narratives on the different levels in the chosen stories. Resistance can create space to reconstruct and renarrate reality together and help understand the meaning and power of storytelling and silence. Participants’ resistance can be a tool to rebalance the power between social work practitioners and service users. Based on this analysis, we suggest that interdisciplinary collaborative social work should emphasise service users’ personal stories to a higher degree and, in this way, increase user participation in residential care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Young People at Risk)
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