Suchergebnisse

ObjectivesCriminal offending and re-offending comes at a significant social and economic cost. Offending prevention therefore presents a high priority policy area. Low educational attainment is a known risk factor for offending, but little is understood about how changes in school performance over time might be associated with offending.
MethodsWe investigated this in a large sample of n~4.3 million pupils using an administrative data linkage between two routinely-collected national datasets: the National Pupil Database (NPD) and the Police National Computer (PNC). First, we conducted growth mixture modelling using NPD data over three statutory testing years (School Years 2, 6 and 11). We then investigated the association between membership of these trajectories and subsequent conviction or caution for any criminal offence between Year 11 and age 21.
ResultsWe derived five school performance trajectories: (1) Average Consistent (n=3,497,167, 81.0%), (2) Average Increasing (n=66,383, 1.5%), (3) Average Declining (n=373,117, 8.6%), (4) Low Increasing (n=98,805, 2.3%), and (5) Low Consistent (n=281,964, 6.5%). The Average Declining group had the highest proportion of individuals who went on to be convicted or cautioned for any first offence up to age 21 (9.8%), followed by the Low Consistent (8.5%), Low Increasing (5.6%), Average Consistent (4.2%) and Average Increasing (1.5%) groups. Furthermore, as the number of offending days between Year 11 and age 21 increased (indicating repeat offending), the likelihood of having been in the Average Declining or Low Consistent groups also increased. We will also present findings from multilevel models accounting for school clustering, different offence types, and interactions.
ConclusionTentatively, findings suggest that changes in school performance could help to identify pupils who are struggling and at increased risk of criminal justice involvement, and therefore might be in need of additional support.

Abstract

Background
Compulsory admission rates under the Mental Health Act (MHA) have been on the rise for many years despite representing a costly and coercive approach to psychiatric care. There is therefore an urgent need to minimise compulsory admission rates using interventions based on known risk factors for detention. However, risk factors in the MHA assessment process have been under-researched.


Methods
A mixed methods service evaluation was conducted in one inner London NHS Trust. A retrospective cohort study used routinely collected assessment records to model potential risk factors for detention. Local assessors were interviewed to explore factors that might help or hinder detention minimisation.


Main findings
Assessments were less likely to result in detention when professionals other than the assessing team were in attendance, although this association weakened after adjusting for potential confounders. Interviewed assessors identified factors that could contribute to detention minimisation in the assessment process, in general service provision, and in wider society.


Conclusion
Some local assessment processes could contribute to minimising detention rates, such as community team participation in assessments. Challenges posed by limited resources and community and inpatient care were particularly evident. Consideration of these might also help reduce detentions.

Background Research has shown depression to result in poorer educational attainment among children. However, comparatively little is known about the relationship between depression and attainment over time, and the role that children's socio-demographic characteristics might play.
Aim To describe the educational attainment trajectory profiles of children with a clinical diagnosis of depression, and to explore whether these trajectory profiles vary by gender, ethnicity, area-level deprivation and age at diagnosis.
Methods This is a historical, longitudinal cohort study, making use of two linked administrative datasets. First, a cohort of children (<18 years) were identified who had received a first diagnosis of depression from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust between 2007 and 2013 (n=1490). Their pseudonymised secondary mental healthcare records were extracted via the Clinical Record Interactive Search application at the Trust's Biomedical Research Centre. These records were then linked to England's National Pupil Database, which contains attainment data for these children at three timepoints of interest: Key Stage 1 (ages 5 to 7 years), Key Stage 2 (7 to 11 years) and Key Stage 4 (14 to 16 years). Longitudinal mixed models for repeated measures will be conducted to model changes in attainment over these three timepoints according to gender, ethnicity, area-level deprivation and age at diagnosis.
Results Preliminary results are suggestive of attainment trajectories in this cohort varying according to their socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis will be completed August 2019.
Conclusion The findings from this study will identify whether some groups of depressed children experience better or worse patterns of educational attainment over time. This could highlight priorities for intervention in England's ongoing efforts to improve child mental health provision in schools.

LAY SUMMARYWhen parents drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol, it can have negative consequences for their children's mental health. Although some evidence has shown that members of the military may consume alcohol at unhealthy levels, no study has yet looked at the possible impact on children connected to military families. The authors completed a study among children of UK fathers who served in the military and determined that alcohol misuse by fathers who serve in the military may negatively affect their children's behaviour. More research is needed to confirm this relationship and identify targets for prevention and harm reduction.

LAY SUMMARY Loneliness occurs when there is a difference between the number and the quality of the social relationships people have and the ones they want. Research shows loneliness is negatively associated with quality of life and alcohol misuse; two common issues for military Veterans. Loneliness can also be affected by partner drinking, particularly if it does not match Veterans' drinking behaviour. This study explored 1) the relationship between loneliness, quality of life, and alcohol misuse, and 2) the relationship between loneliness and perceived partner drinking among a sample of treatment-seeking UK military Veterans. In total, 163 treatment-seeking UK Veterans completed a survey via a smartphone application, DrinksRation, which included questions about their health and well-being. A large percentage of the sample reported loneliness (66%). This study found lonely treatment-seeking Veterans had poorer quality of life and higher alcohol misuse than non-lonely Veterans.

LAY SUMMARY Limited research has explored the relationships between paternal mental health, adolescent offspring mental health, and family functioning in United Kingdom military populations. The authors investigated this in a study of 105 serving and ex-serving members of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, with adolescent offspring ages 11 to 17 years. It was found military fathers with symptoms of PTSD or depression had more family difficulties, particularly around communication. Their adolescent offspring were also more likely to meet criteria for mental health disorders. These findings demonstrate the importance of supporting military fathers and their families with mental health and well-being.