A newly identified group of adolescents at “invisible” risk for psychopathology and suicidal behavior: findings from the SEYLE study

Abstract

This study explored the prevalence of risk behaviors (excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking, reduced sleep, overweight, underweight, sedentary behavior, high use of Internet/TV/videogames for reasons not related to school or work, and truancy), and their association with psychopathology and self-destructive behaviors, in a sample of 12,395 adolescents recruited in randomly selected schools across 11 European countries. Latent class analysis identified three groups of adolescents: a low-risk group (57.8%) including pupils with low or very low frequency of risk behaviors; a high-risk group (13.2%) including pupils who scored high on all risk behaviors, and a third group ("invisible" risk, 29%) including pupils who were positive for high use of Internet/TV/videogames for reasons not related to school or work, sedentary behavior and reduced sleep. Pupils in the "invisible" risk group, compared with the high-risk group, had a similar prevalence of suicidal thoughts (42.2% vs. 44%), anxiety (8% vs. 9.2%), subthreshold depression (33.2% vs. 34%) and depression (13.4% vs. 14.7%). The prevalence of suicide attempts was 5.9% in the "invisible" group, 10.1% in the high-risk group and 1.7% in the low-risk group. The prevalence of all risk behaviors increased with age and most of them were significantly more frequent among boys. Girls were significantly more likely to experience internalizing (emotional) psychiatric symptoms. The "invisible" group may represent an important new intervention target group for potentially reducing psychopathology and other untoward outcomes in adolescence, including suicidal behavior.

New evidence of factor structure and measurement invariance of the SDQ across five European nations

“…To this end, we examined the internal structure, tested the measurement invariance across countries, and estimated the internal consistency of the SDQ scores. Knowledge of the SDQ psychometric properties is relevant to use it as a screening tool in an age group at particular risk of developing emotional and behavioural symptoms and disorders [1,[4][5][6][7].…”

“…Nevertheless, it is worth noting that measurement invariance was reached after factor loadings and threshold of items were freed (1,2,6,7,15,16,17,20,21,22, and 23), in the five-factor model with correlated errors.…”

“…These problems are both common and debilitating during adolescence producing significant social and economic consequences for the individual, their families, and the global community [2,3]. As a consequence, interest in the detection of children and adolescents at risk for emotional disorders or behavioural problems have sharply increased in the last two decades [4][5][6][7]. The assessment of emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents is a priority issue not only for public health policy, but also in the context of clinical practice and research.…”

Physical activity in European adolescents and associations with anxiety, depression and well-being

“…The multi-centre Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) study reported that 5.8% of participants met criteria for an anxiety disorder, 10.5% met criteria for depressive disorder [15], while 32.3% reported suicidal thoughts [16]. In this study we examined physical activity and its associations with mental health indicators in the SEYLE sample.…”

"Trampolín" educational programme for adolescents with severe behavioural problems: Participant profile and effect of the intervention

“…Otra cuestión importante es la referente al consumo de sustancias que nos indica que más del 90% de los menores del Grupo Trampolín consume algún tipo de droga de forma habitual, siendo el alcohol y el cannabis las sustancias más consumidas. Son numerosas las investigaciones que relacionan los trastornos graves del comportamiento con conductas de riesgo como el consumo de drogas (Bernal y González-Tascón, 2009;Carli et al, 2014;Gutiérrez et al, 2008;Howell, 2003;Plattner et al, 2012;Quinsey, Skilling, Lalumière y Craig, 2004); estos estudios coinciden con los resultados hallados en Trampolín sobre este aspecto concreto, por lo que se puede afirmar que los menores del programa tienen como característica común el ser consumidores habituales tanto de sustancias socialmente aceptadas (alcohol y tabaco) como de otras consideradas ilegales. Continuando con los aspectos escolares, los participantes en Trampolín mayoritariamente pertenecen a centros públicos.…”