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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Psychological interventions for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties aged 5-12 years: An evidence
Felicity L Brown1, Catherine Lee1, Chiara Servili2
1Child Protection, United Nations Children's Fund, New York, NY, USA.
Insights
Limited evidence exists for effective mental health interventions for children aged 5-12 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and humanitarian emergencies. Promising approaches include cognitive-behavioral techniques and caregiver training, but scalability remains a challenge.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Global Mental Health
- Humanitarian Psychology
Background:
- Children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face numerous mental health risks, amplified during humanitarian emergencies.
- A significant treatment gap exists due to limited access to effective mental health services in these settings.
- Middle childhood (5-12 years) is critical for development, with many mental disorders emerging before age 14.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing evidence on psychological interventions for children aged 5-12 in LMICs and humanitarian contexts.
- To inform the development of a new, evidence-based intervention package for this vulnerable population.
- To identify best practices and promising approaches for addressing emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive evidence review synthesizing 52 intervention studies from LMICs and humanitarian settings.
- Included 53 systematic reviews and meta-analyses from both LMICs and high-income countries.
- Incorporated findings from 15 technical guidelines to inform intervention development.
Main Results:
- Limited high-quality evidence was found for interventions targeting children aged 5-12 in LMICs and emergencies.
- Promising interventions identified include cognitive-behavioral techniques (group or individual) and caregiver skills training.
- Many evaluated interventions rely on specialists and are lengthy, posing challenges for scalability in resource-scarce settings.
Conclusions:
- There is a critical need for effective, scalable psychological interventions for children in LMICs and humanitarian emergencies.
- Cognitive-behavioral approaches and caregiver involvement show potential but require further research and adaptation.
- Findings will guide the development of new interventions to address emotional and behavioral difficulties in middle childhood.
Abstract:
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), children and families face a multitude of risk factors for mental health and well-being. These risks are even further exacerbated in humanitarian emergencies. However, access to effective mental health services in such settings is severely limited, leading to a large mental health treatment gap. Middle childhood (5-12 years) is a crucial period for human development during which symptoms of emotional distress often emerge, with one in three mental disorders developing prior to age 14. However, there is little evidence of effective psychological interventions for children in this developmental stage, and suitable for implementation within LMICs and humanitarian emergencies. We conducted this evidence review to inform the development of a new intervention package based on existing best practice for this age group, drawing insights from both global and LMIC resources. Our review synthesizes the findings of 52 intervention studies from LMICs and humanitarian settings; 53 existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses covering both LMICs and high-income countries, and 15 technical guidelines. Overall, there is limited high-quality evidence from which to draw recommendations for this age group; however, some promising intervention approaches were identified for children experiencing externalizing and internalizing symptoms, traumatic stress and a combination of difficulties. Several effective interventions utilize cognitive-behavioral techniques for children, in either group or individual format, and incorporate caregiver skills training into treatment, although the findings are mixed. Most evaluated interventions use specialists as delivery agents and are lengthy, which poses challenges for scale-up in settings where financial and human resources are scarce. These findings will inform the development of new psychological interventions for children in this age group with emotional and behavioral difficulties.
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