Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact on the health and development of children worldwide. There is limited evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and its related school closures and disease-containment measures on the psychosocial wellbeing of children; little research has been done on the characteristics of vulnerable groups and factors that promote resilience. Methods We conducted a large-scale cross-sectional population study of Hong Kong families with children aged 2–12 years. Parents completed an online survey on family demographics, child psychosocial wellbeing, functioning and lifestyle habits, parent–child interactions, and parental stress during school closures due to COVID-19. We used simple and multiple linear regression analyses to explore factors associated with child psychosocial problems and parental stress during the pandemic. Results The study included 29,202 individual families; of which 12,163 had children aged 2–5 years and 17,029 had children aged 6–12 years. The risk of child psychosocial problems was higher in children with special educational needs, and/or acute or chronic disease, mothers with mental illness, single-parent families, and low-income families. Delayed bedtime and/or inadequate sleep or exercise duration, extended use of electronic devices were associated with significantly higher parental stress and more psychosocial problems among pre-schoolers. Conclusions This study identifies vulnerable groups of children and highlights the importance of strengthening family coherence, adequate sleep and exercise, and responsible use of electronic devices in promoting psychosocial wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00787-020-01680-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objective The objective of this first population-based study in Hong Kong was to assess the impact of psychological abuse by an intimate partner on the mental health of pregnant women.Design Survey.Setting Antenatal clinics in seven public hospitals in Hong Kong.Population Three thousand two hundred and forty-five pregnant women.Methods The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) and demographic questionnaires were administered face-to-face at 32-36 weeks of gestation. At 1 week postpartum, the AAS, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and SF-12 Health Survey were administered by telephone.Main outcome measures Intimate partner violence, postnatal depression and health-related quality of life.Results Two hundred and ninety six (9.1%) of the participants reported abuse by an intimate partner in the past year. Of those abused, 216 (73%) reported psychological abuse only and 80 (27%) reported physical and/or sexual abuse. Forty six (57.5%) in the physical and/or sexual abuse group also reported psychological abuse. Women in the psychological abuse only group had a higher risk of postnatal depression compared with nonabused women (adjusted OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.12-3.02). They were also at a higher risk of thinking about harming themselves (adjusted OR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.49-8.20) and had significantly poorer mental healthrelated quality of life (P < 0.001). The higher risks of postnatal depression and thinking of harming themselves were not observed in the physical and/or sexual abuse group although significantly poorer mental health-related quality of life (P < 0.001) was observed.Conclusions Psychological abuse by an intimate partner against pregnant women has a negative impact on their mental health postdelivery. Furthermore, psychological abuse in the absence of physical and/or sexual abuse can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of abused women. The findings underscore the importance of screening pregnant women for abuse by an intimate partner and the need for developing, implementing and evaluating interventions to address psychological abuse.Keywords Intimate partner violence, pregnancy, psychological abuse. Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, which does not permit commercial exploitation.

ObjectiveThe epidemiology of violence against children is likely to differ substantially by sex and age of the victim and the perpetrator. Thus far, investment in effective prevention strategies has been hindered by lack of clarity in the burden of childhood violence across these dimensions. We produced the first age-specific and sex-specific prevalence estimates by perpetrator type for physical, sexual and emotional violence against children globally.DesignWe used random effects meta-regression to estimate prevalence. Estimates were adjusted for relevant quality covariates, variation in definitions of violence and weighted by region-specific, age-specific and sex-specific population data to ensure estimates reflect country population structures.Data sourcesSecondary data from 600 population or school-based representative datasets and 43 publications obtained via systematic literature review, representing 13 830 estimates from 171 countries.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesEstimates for recent violence against children aged 0–19 were included.ResultsThe most common perpetrators of physical and emotional violence for both boys and girls across a range of ages are household members, with prevalence often surpassing 50%, followed by student peers. Children reported experiencing more emotional than physical violence from both household members and students. The most common perpetrators of sexual violence against girls aged 15–19 years are intimate partners; however, few data on other perpetrators of sexual violence against children are systematically collected internationally. Few age-specific and sex-specific data are available on violence perpetration by schoolteachers; however, existing data indicate high prevalence of physical violence from teachers towards students. Data from other authority figures, strangers, siblings and other adults are limited, as are data on neglect of children.ConclusionsWithout further investment in data generation on violence exposure from multiple perpetrators for boys and girls of all ages, progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 and 16 may be slow. Despite data gaps, evidence shows violence from household members, peers in school and for girls, from intimate partners, should be prioritised for prevention.Trial registration numberPROSPERO 2015: CRD42015024315.

A PYD-based sports mentorship intervention improved healthy adolescents' mental well-being, psychological assets, physical fitness, and physical activity levels.

Grasp the Opportunity is effective in reducing depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents over a long follow-up period. Poor completion rate is the major challenge in the study.