Spring 2007 - Children's Behavioural Wellbeing
Welcome to our Spring issue of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly, produced by the Children’s Health Policy Centre at Simon Fraser University. The Quarterly provides updates on the best currently available research evidence in children’s mental health. The theme for this issue is children’s behavioural wellbeing. This theme was chosen in consultation with child and youth mental health staff at BC’s Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD).
An evaluation of The Incredible Years program has just been published in the British Medical Journal. Webster-Stratton’s Incredible Years is a well-evaluated parenting program designed to prevent and treat conduct disorder in children. This is the first time the program has been evaluated in a “real world” setting and was shown to reduce key factors for developing conduct disorder.
In our commentary we respond to questions from policy-makers, practitioners and parents about the prevalence, causes and costs of disruptive behaviour problems. We then present findings from the best emerging research on interventions that can help children and families. Next, we highlight a high-quality systematic review that examines the latest evidence on the effectiveness of Multi-Systemic Therapy, a form of therapy frequently used to treat children engaging in serious disruptive behaviours. We also highlight a new study on the Incredible Years parenting program for at-risk families. Finally, a social worker (Barry Fulton) shares his experiences applying research evidence in practice with children in his region. We hope you find this issue both enjoyable and useful. We want your feedback. Please email us at: chpc@sfu.ca.
Next Issue
Our Summer 2007 Quarterly will focus on children’s emotional wellbeing with an emphasis on preventing and treating anxiety. We encourage readers to email us with questions and suggestions for future topics.
The Quarterly
is prepared by the interdisciplinary team at the Children’s Health
Policy Centre.
EDITOR
Erika Harrison MA
WRITER
Christine Schwartz MA, PhD, RPsych
SCIENTIFIC EDITOR
Charlotte Waddell MSc, MD, CCFP, FRCPC
RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Orion Garland, BA; Larry Nightingale, LibTech; Jenn Dixon,
BScHP
IN COMMENTARY
Disruptive behaviours: The numbers, the causes and the costs
of not intervening
We respond to questions from policy-makers, practitioners and parents about how common disruptive behaviours are. We then detail well-researched child, family and social factors known to influence the development of disruptive behaviours. We also look at the costs of not providing effective programs, given the high prevalence of disruptive behaviours.
IN REVIEW
Addressing disruptive behaviours
We systemically review the latest high-quality research evidence on interventions for preventing and treating disruptive behaviours. To highlight the most effective programs, we include new research findings and we recap results from our previous review on conduct disorder, building on some of the themes covered in the first issue of this Quarterly.
IN FOCUS
The latest evidence on Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)
We summarize a recent high-quality systematic review examining the effectiveness of MST for treating children with serious behaviour problems. Outcome data for Canadian, American and Norwegian children are presented.
IN PRACTICE
Applying the research evidence
Barry Fulton is a Social Worker and Child and Youth Mental Health manager for transitional services with the Okanagan Region. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, Barry spoke to us about his experiences in applying research evidence to address behaviour concerns with children in his practice and within his region.