International Journal of Child Development and Mental Health

Parent Perceptions of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Care

Stephanie Thorson-Olesen — 2024-06-28

This study used a modified consensual qualitative research design to explore the perspective of parents living in the United States about the barriers to accessing parent training programs for better supporting the mental health of infants and young children. Participants (N=20) responded to open-ended questions to share their perceptions. The results suggest that factors related to parental awareness, accessibility, support, and predicted benefit should be considered. Additionally, there is a need for increased parental awareness of infant and early childhood mental health and for consistent screening and assessment practices, potentially within integrated service models. The mental health care of future generations is a global imperative.

Journey Towards Growth: The Development and Effectiveness of a Logotherapy – Based Intervention in Achieving Posttraumatic Growth Among Filipino Adolescent Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Karen Anne Quing — 2024-06-28

The sexual abuse of children is a global catastrophe. Several research have already established the detrimental effects of child sexual abuse on the survivors, ranging from physical to psychological repercussions. As a result, survivors of trauma utilize different coping techniques to deal with the negative impacts of the trauma, such as confronting these challenges and viewing them as an opportunity for personal development which can be referred to as posttraumatic growth. It is therefore the goal of this study to facilitate posttraumatic growth among Filipino survivors of child sexual abuse through a logotherapy – based intervention. This study included 50 Filipino child sexual abuse survivors who were mostly female and within the age range of 11 – 17 years old. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the National Stressful Events Survey PTSD Short Scale were administered to assess the variables in this study. Using an independent sample t – test, results revealed that there is a significant difference in the posttraumatic symptoms and posttraumatic growth between the groups. This implies that the logotherapy – based treatment plan was an effective tool to reduce the posttraumatic symptoms and improve the posttraumatic growth of the experimental group.

What Should the Role of Peer Mental Health Support Worker Involve? Youth Perspectives from Pakistan and South Africa

Panos Vostanis — 2024-06-28

Globally, child and youth mental health needs are largely unmet, especially in resource-constrained settings. Youth are uniquely placed to provide mental health support, but there is limited evidence on what their role should involve. The aim of this study was to establish how youth themselves conceptualized the peer support worker role. We captured the perspectives of 45 youth from Pakistan and South Africa. Focus group discussions were analyzed through a thematic codebook framework. Key findings indicated how youth can improve their mental health care, as well as those of their peers, by recognizing early signs of mental health concerns, developing adaptive coping mechanisms, strengthening social relationships, and mobilizing additional resources through advocacy and mediation. Peer support can be enhanced by skills such as lack of judgement, empathy, encouragement and good communication. Peer support workers can play an important role in promoting children’s mental health, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Such posts should be clearly defined, incorporated within existing service systems, and provided with adequate funding, training and supervision.

Detrimental Power of Words: Impacts of Paternal and Maternal Verbal Aggression on Psychological Well-Being Among Psychology Students of PHINMA-University of Pangasinan

Joshua Jesalva — 2024-06-28

Parental verbal aggression has long been assumed to be detrimental in terms of parent-child relationships. However, little is known about how it affects the relationship with psychological well-being, the more specific thought on maternal and paternal verbal aggression, and more acknowledgment regarding the implication of aggressive words as injurious to children. The critical goal of the study was to investigate whether participants reporting experiences on their maternal and paternal verbal aggression impact their psychological well-being. Data for the analysis were from the college students of PHINMA- University of Pangasinan (n = 219). A purposive sampling method was employed to select participants. Results showed that high psychological well-being is not significant, with both paternal and maternal verbal aggression jointly affecting it. However, maternal verbal aggression is independently associated with lower psychological well-being.