We examined the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) delivered in groups on the reduction of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in young people on the autism spectrum. Utilising a quasi-experimental design, comparisons were made between individuals allocated to a group intervention program and individuals allocated to a waitlist. Following the intervention program, participants who were initially symptomatic reported significantly lower depression and stress scores on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in comparison to individuals on the waitlist. There was no significant change in anxiety related symptoms. The benefits were maintained at 3 and 9 month follow-up. Our findings demonstrate the potential of CBT in a small group setting for assisting young people with ASD who have symptoms of depression and stress.

One hundred nine people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), and Stress Survey Schedule (SSS). Compared with Australian norms for DASS depression, anxiety, and stress, both males and females with ASD showed elevated scores. Females aged 25 to 44 years scored significantly higher on the DASS depression subscale than same aged males and younger males and females. Significant gender and age differences were evident on SSS subscales. In comparison with males, females were more stressed on Pleasant Events, Sensory/Personal Contact, and Social and Environmental subscales, and adult females in particular were more stressed on items around Change and Social Threats and Anticipation/Uncertainty. Young people were less stressed on seven of the eight SSS subscales than older people. It appears that emotional vulnerability in people with ASD varies according to gender and age, with adult females at particular risk.

Despite high levels of contact with a well-organized, sectorized mental health service in an affluent country, this pocket of several hundred people had high levels of persisting disability and needs. The literature and local experience suggest that changing this situation is likely to require co-ordinated policy and practice between the health, welfare and housing sectors.

What is known about this topic• Elder abuse is an important public health and societal problem which requires a response from both the primary healthcare and social service sectors.• Current knowledge about the effectiveness of many of these approaches is limited.• There is a need to identify evidence-based interventions. What this paper adds• Identifies a body of empirical research that evaluates prevention interventions.• No accounts of multi-modal interventions addressing key risk factors at the level of the elder person were identified.• There is currently insufficient evidence to guide the implementation of interventions that prevent abuse. AbstractAlthough there is increasing concern about both the prevalence of, and harms associated with the abuse of older adults, progress in the development of interventions to prevent its occurrence has been slow. This paper reports the findings of a systematic review of the published literature that identified studies in which the outcomes of preventative interventions are described. A total of eight different intervention trials, published since 2004, are described across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention and in terms of the types of risk factor that they target. The current evidence to support the effectiveness of these interventions is not only limited by the small number of outcome studies but also the poor quality of evaluation designs and the focus of many interventions on single risk factors. It is concluded that work is needed to strengthen the evidence base that supports the delivery of interventions to prevent elder abuse.

Successful community engagement is often a crucial component of effective qualitative research. In this article we reflect on our experience of engaging with ethnic minority communities in a qualitative study of help seeking for depression. Community engagement emerges as a complex process that provides important insights into the way mental illness is constructed in various cultural contexts and from diverse perspectives. Contested notions of ethnicity, culture, community, and depression were the domains in which personal and public politics were played out. We worked with bilingual research assistants who provided an entrée to the community. Despite this, disparate community subgroups and influential individuals vied for input into and control of the research agenda. We conclude that negotiating the politics of these processes requires great reflexivity and is itself a powerful seam of data, adding richness to findings about the experience of mental distress in a community seeking to locate itself within mainstream society.