Age and gender effects on non-suicidal self-injury, and their interplay with psychological distress.

INTRODUCTION: NSSI (non-suicidal self-injury) is an important public health issue, with high prevalence and associations with future mental illness and suicide. To date, no large single study has tested age and gender effects on NSSI and their interplay with psychological distress. METHOD: NSSI and psychological distress were ascertained by questionnaire in a community study of 2368 young people aged 14-25; proportions at each age and of each gender were approximately equal. RESULTS: There was a significant quadratic interaction between age and gender on last month NSSI prevalence (p = 0.025): NSSI was more common in females ages 16-19, but there were no significant gender differences at younger/older ages. General distress partially mediated the effects of age and gender on NSSI. The association between general distress and NSSI was not significantly moderated by age, gender nor their interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Gender difference in NSSI is not a static gap, but evolves across time, widening in mid-adolescence and disappearing by early adulthood. Part of the reason for that gender gap being present at those ages is the increase levels of distress in young women at those ages. There was no evidence that the effects of general distress on NSSI differed by age/gender.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of interventions to improve psychological wellbeing in the parents of children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND: Caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) face unique demands and challenges, with potential negative impact on psychological wellbeing and consequences for both caregiver and child. Timely support could improve parental wellbeing. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving the psychological wellbeing of caregivers of children with CP. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of interventions to improve the psychological well-being of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. Databases (including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane) were searched for relevant English language publications between January 1990 and December 2017. Risk of bias was assessed including randomization, allocation concealment, incomplete outcome data and selective outcome reporting. OUTCOME AND RESULTS: We included 13 studies (1293 participants, 1/3 with CP). Six studies investigated a positive parenting intervention; the other seven studies covered a range of other interventions. Meta-analysis of 7 studies (662 participants) showed that interventions significantly improved parental wellbeing (standardised mean difference -0.61, 95% CI -0.92 to -0.30, z = 3.84, p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Limitations include small sample sizes and heterogeneity in study design; however, our results indicate that interventions can improve the wellbeing of parents of children with CP and should be made available.