2nd Edition: Children’s Mental Health, Parenting, Family and Groups’ Resilience in Crisis

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Child and Adolescent Psychiatry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 1307

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; children and adolescents psychiatry; family interactions; family functioning; health care institution; multidisciplinary treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, 35128 Padua, Italy
2. Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, 35131 Padua, Italy
Interests: developmental psychopathology; parenting; clinical psychology; family interactions; family functioning; LGBTQI+ issues
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees, provoking health, social, and economic upheavals, potentially contributing to widespread emotional distress and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders in people of all ages. Even after three years of the health emergency state related to COVID-19, it is necessary to assess the impact of these events on the mental health of children, adolescents, parents, and families. Several risk factors contribute to the worsening of their mental health, with increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression, internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, and stressful environmental situations. Researchers suggest that the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic may affect individuals of developmental age in different ways depending on gender and age, particularly regarding psychological disturbances.

After collecting contributions for the Special Issue on Children’s Mental Health, Parenting, Family and Groups’ Resilience in Crisis, we now invite the submission of original research papers, reviews, notes, comments, etc., to be published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by MDPI. We aim to shed light on children's and parents’ emotional–behavioral state and its evolution after the crisis, identifying stress and resilience factors. We would also like to investigate the outcomes of provided treatments and assess families’ adaptation to changes and how children and parents manage their emotional–behavioral difficulties. Qualitative or quantitative contributions from basic or applied research that will extend the knowledge in this field are welcome.

The purpose of this Special Issue, which is the 2nd edition of the Special Issue "Children’s Mental Health, Parenting, Family and Groups’ Resilience in Crisis”, is to publish relevant research dealing with the way family, parents, and children/adolescents manage stress in times of crisis, with consistent clinical implications, to strengthen individuals and groups to enable the development of their resilience.

We encourage authors to send a short abstract (500 words max.) and a tentative title in advance. Completed manuscripts must be submitted via the online portal.

All submitted manuscripts will be processed through a rapid peer-review process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Michela Gatta
Dr. Marina Miscioscia
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. Children 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 2400 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

  • adolescence
  • children
  • mental health
  • family relationships
  • family interactions
  • psychopathology
  • psychotherapy
  • parent–child relationship
  • parent–child interactions
  • parenting
  • parenting stress
  • parental burnout
  • resilience
  • wellbeing

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

29 pages, 350 KiB  
Article
Clinical Symptomatology of Anxiety and Family Function in Adolescents—The Self-Esteem Mediator
by Ignatia Farmakopoulou, Maria Lekka and Evgenia Gkintoni
Children 2024, 11(3), 338; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/children11030338 - 12 Mar 2024
Viewed by 954
Abstract
Background: Family, the child’s first environment, shapes their psycho-emotional balance. The literature links adolescent anxiety to family relationships, interactions, and dynamics. The self-esteem of adolescents appears to protect their mental health. Goal: This study examines whether family cohesion and adaptability affect adolescent anxiety [...] Read more.
Background: Family, the child’s first environment, shapes their psycho-emotional balance. The literature links adolescent anxiety to family relationships, interactions, and dynamics. The self-esteem of adolescents appears to protect their mental health. Goal: This study examines whether family cohesion and adaptability affect adolescent anxiety symptoms. It also examines whether teen self-esteem mediates this relationship. Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive study included 166 Attica youth aged 12–18 from schools and educational units. The adolescents completed Olson’s FACES-III cohesion and adaptability scale, Spielberger’s STAI-C, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results: Family cohesion, but not adaptability, was negatively correlated with state (rho = −0.25, p = 0.001) and trait (rho = −0.46, p < 0.001) anxiety in the adolescents. Teenagers from extreme families with the lowest cohesion and adaptability had higher trait anxiety (x2(2) = 6.91, p = 0.032) than those from moderately balanced/balanced families. Self-esteem mediated the relationship between the family cohesion functioning and adolescent’s state anxiety (p = 0.005) and trait anxiety (p = 0.011). Conclusions: The findings show that family dysfunction negatively impacts adolescent anxiety, as well as their self-esteem, which protects mental balance. Full article
Back to TopTop