The COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges to the provision of community programs and access to mental health services for young people. We examined the feasibility, reach, and acceptability of multi-technology delivery of an integrated system that assesses and provides feedback on youth mental health and wellbeing and connects them to care within the context of a youth sports development program. The system was delivered via computer, telephone, and teleconference with 66 adolescent boys participating in a rugby league development program in three communities in Australia. Young people completed online wellbeing and mental health measures (Assess step), parents were provided with telephone feedback on results, support, and referral options (Reflect step), and youth received teleconferenced workshops and online resources (Connect step). The multi-technology delivery was feasible to implement, and reach was high, with barriers experienced at the Assess step but minimally experienced at the Reflect and Connect steps. Delivering the system via multiple forms of technology was rated as highly beneficial and enjoyable by young people. Players improved in self-reported prosocial behaviour, gratitude, and anxiety symptoms from pre- to post-program. Strong collaboration between researchers, organisational personnel, and community members is important for achieving these outcomes.

Adolescent dieting and disordered eating (DE) are risks for clinical eating disorders. In this five-wave longitudinal study, we tested gender-specific models linking early risk factors to temporal patterns of DE, considering appearance anxiety as a mediator. Participants were 384 Australian students (age 10 to 13; 45% boys) who reported their purging and skipping meals, experience with appearance-related teasing, media pressure, and appearance anxiety. Parents reported pubertal maturation and height/weight was measured. Gender differences in temporal patterns of DE were found and predictive models were tested using latent-variable growth curve and path models. Boys’ DE was generally stable over time; girls showed stability in purging but an average increase in skipping meals. Peer teasing, media pressure, and pubertal maturation were associated with more elevated initial DE in girls, and pubertal maturation was associated with a steeper increase in DE. For boys, body mass index had a direct positive association with DE. Appearance anxiety was associated with more DE, but there was only one significant indirect effect via anxiety, which was for boys’ pubertal maturation. Findings support the dominant role of social interactions and messages, as well as pubertal maturation, for girls’ DE and the prominence of physical risk factors for explaining boys’ DE.

Adolescents’ appearance-related concerns can provoke increasing emotional, social, and eating-related problems. The aims of this five-wave (2.5-year), multiple-informant longitudinal study were to (a) examine growth trajectories of appearance anxiety symptoms and appearance esteem, (b) identify whether trajectories differed by gender, and (c) examine several launching factors including parent-reported physical maturation, peer-rated physical appearance, body mass index, and appearance teasing by parents and peers. Participants were 387 adolescents (44% boys) aged 10 to 13 years at the first assessment. Steep growth in appearance anxiety symptoms was found for both girls and boys, but there was no average change in appearance esteem. Girls had more elevated appearance anxiety symptoms and lower appearance esteem than boys, girls’ body mass index was associated with symptoms, and earlier physical maturation and teasing about appearance, alone and in combination, were associated with growth in appearance anxiety symptoms for girls and boys. Earlier maturing boys who were highly teased by parents, but even more so when teased by peers, were at utmost risk for elevated appearance anxiety symptoms and increasing symptoms over time. In contrast, all girls exhibited elevated or increasing appearance anxiety symptoms across time, with the exception of girls with the latest maturation who also reported little teasing about their appearance.

In the present study, parent–child interactions with anxious children were compared to parent–child interactions with the anxious children's nonsymptomatic siblings and parent–child interactions with nonclinic children. Participants included 33 anxious children, their parents and siblings, and 14 nonclinic children and their parents. Parent–child interactions were observed during two discussion tasks related to anxiety-provoking or challenging situations. Parent–child interactions were coded for the following variables: control, warmth, reward of coping behaviour and task involvement. Consistent with previous research, parents in the anxious group showed more control, less paternal warmth and less maternal reward of coping behaviour toward their anxious child compared to parents of nonclinic children. Parent–child interactions with the anxious child were similar to parent–child interactions with the nonsymptomatic sibling, with the exception of fathers who exhibited more control toward their anxious child. Parent–sibling interactions, however, also resembled the nonclinic parent–child interactions, with mothers of anxious children showing more control toward their nonsymptomatic child than mothers of nonclinic children. These findings suggest that the relationships of each parent and their anxious child may be influenced by how the parent and child interact with each other. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

The aim of the current pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of the FRIENDS program (a cognitive–behavioural intervention for children and adolescents with anxiety) within a community-based clinic in Brisbane, Australia. A total of 18 children participated in the study and completed the FRIENDS program at Pathways Health and Research Centre, an innovative research-based psychology clinic for children, adolescents and families. All participants either met criteria for an anxiety disorder (N = 11) or were experiencing subclinical symptoms of anxiety (N = 7) before commencing the intervention. Before and following treatment, participants were assessed using a diagnostic interview and completed a number of self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that 73% of the participants who met criteria for an anxiety disorder before the intervention were diagnosis-free following treatment. Positive treatment effects were also found for questionnaire data, indicating that there were significant reductions on self-report levels of anxiety and depression following treatment. The outcome of this research suggests that the FRIENDS program is an effective treatment for children with anxiety, and results from this community trial replicate findings from controlled treatment trials.