Suicide and suicidal behaviour strongly contribute to overall male youth mortality. An understanding of worldwide data contextualises suicide and suicidal behaviour in young men within any given country.

Members and colleagues of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry’s Task Force on Men’s Mental Health review the relevant data from several regions of the world. The review identifies notable findings across regions of relevance to researchers, policymakers, and clinicians.

Male suicide and suicidal behaviour in adolescence and emerging adulthood within North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Continental Africa, South Asia, East Asia, China, and Oceania share similarities as well as significant points of divergence.

International data provide an opportunity to obtain a superior understanding of suicide and suicidal behaviour amongst young men.

In a birth-cohort study, we followed offspring with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) to investigate longitudinal associations of PCE with self-reported behavioral adjustment from early adolescence to emerging adulthood (EA). Environmental pathways (family functioning, non-kinship care, maltreatment) were specified as potential mediators of PCE.

Participants were 372 (190 PCE; 47% male), primarily Black, low socioeconomic status, enrolled at birth. Internalizing and externalizing behaviors were assessed using Youth Self-Report at ages 12 and 15 and Adult Self-Report at age 21. Extended random-intercept cross-lagged panel modeling was used to account for potential bidirectional relationships between internalizing and externalizing behaviors over time, examining potential mediators.

Adjusting for covariates, significant indirect effects were found for each mediator at different ages. For family functioning, these were both internalizing (β = 0.83, p = 0.04) and externalizing behaviors (β = 1.58, p = 0.02) at age 12 and externalizing behaviors at age 15 (β = 0.51, p = 0.03); for non-kinship care, externalizing behaviors at ages 12 (β = 0.63, p = 0.02) and 15 (β = 0.20, p = 0.03); and for maltreatment, both internalizing and externalizing behaviors at ages 15 (β = 0.64, p = 0.02 for internalizing; β = 0.50, p = 0.03 for externalizing) and 21 (β = 1.39, p = 0.01 for internalizing; β = 1.11, p = 0.01 for externalizing). Direct associations of PCE with internalizing and externalizing behaviors were not observed, nor cross-lagged relationships between internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

Negative associations of PCE with behavioral adjustment persist into EA via environmental pathways, specifying intervention points to disrupt adverse pathways toward healthy development.

Low childhood socio-economic status (SES) and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with poor health outcomes in adulthood. Determining how ACE may be linked to food insecurity among young people from socio-economically diverse households can inform health-protective strategies. This study examined if ACE are associated with food insecurity during the transition to adulthood and investigated prevalence differences across SES strata.

Participants were recruited from twenty secondary schools in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.

The analytic sample (n 1518) completed classroom surveys in 2009–2010 (mean age = 14·5 years) and follow-up surveys in 2017–2018 (mean age = 22·0 years).

Past-year food insecurity was reported at both time points, and ACE were reported at follow-up. Logistic regression models were used to estimate emerging adult food insecurity prevalence by ACE exposure; models were stratified by childhood SES (low, middle and high).

The adjusted prevalence of food insecurity was 45·3 % among emerging adults who reported three or more ACE compared with 23·6 % among those with one or two ACE and 15·5 % among those with no ACE (P < 0·001). All forms of ACE were related to an elevated prevalence of food insecurity in emerging adulthood. ACE–food insecurity associations were strongest for emerging adults from lower and middle SES households. Among emerging adults from low SES households, childhood experiences of emotional abuse and substance use by a household member were associated with the largest prevalence differences in food insecurity.

Findings suggest a need for trauma-informed services within food assistance programs to better serve individuals with a history of ACE.

To examine: (1) cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between measures of food insecurity (FI; household status and youth-reported) and intuitive eating (IE) from adolescence to emerging adulthood; and (2) the association between FI persistence and IE in emerging adulthood.

Longitudinal population-based study. Young people reported IE and FI (two items from the US Household Food Security Module) in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Parents provided data on household FI via the six-item US Household Food Security Module in adolescence.

Adolescents (Mage = 14·3 ± 2 years) and their parents, recruited from Minneapolis/St. Paul public schools in 2009–2010 and again in 2017–2018 as emerging adults (Mage = 22·1 ± 2 years).

The analytic sample (n 1372; 53·1 % female, 46·9 % male) was diverse across race/ethnicity (19·8 % Asian, 28·5 % Black, 16·6 % Latinx, 14·7 % Multiracial/Other and 19·9 % White) and socio-economic status (58·6 % low/lower middle, 16·8 % middle and 21·0 % upper middle/high).

In cross-sectional analyses, youth-reported FI was associated with lower IE during adolescence (P = 0·02) and emerging adulthood (P < 0·001). Longitudinally, household FI, but not adolescent experience of FI, was associated with lower IE in emerging adulthood (P = 0·01). Those who remained food-insecure (P = 0·05) or became food-insecure (P = 0·02) had lower IE in emerging adulthood than those remaining food-secure. All effect sizes were small.

Results suggest FI may exert immediate and potentially lasting impacts on IE. As evidence suggests IE is an adaptive approach conferring benefits beyond eating, it would be valuable for interventions to address social and structural barriers that could impede IE.

Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is known typically to begin in adolescence, longitudinal information is lacking about patterns, predictors, and clinical outcomes of NSSI persistence among emerging adults. The present study was designed to (1) estimate NSSI persistence during the college period, (2) identify risk factors and high-risk students for NSSI persistence patterns, and (3) evaluate the association with future mental disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB).

Using prospective cohorts from the Leuven College Surveys (n = 5915), part of the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative, web-based surveys assessed mental health and psychosocial problems at college entrance and three annual follow-up assessments.

Approximately one in five (20.4%) students reported lifetime NSSI at college entrance. NSSI persistence was estimated at 56.4%, with 15.6% reporting a high-frequency repetitive pattern (≥five times yearly). Many hypothesized risk factors were associated with repetitive NSSI persistence, with the most potent effects observed for pre-college NSSI characteristics. Multivariate models suggest that an intervention focusing on the 10–20% at the highest predicted risk could effectively reach 34.9–56.7% of students with high-frequency repetitive NSSI persistence (PPV = 81.8–93.4, AUC = 0.88–0.91). Repetitive NSSI persistence during the first two college years predicted 12-month mental disorders, role impairment, and STB during the third college year, including suicide attempts.

Most emerging adults with a history of NSSI report persistent self-injury during their college years. Web-based screening may be a promising approach for detecting students at risk for a highly persistent NSSI pattern characterized by subsequent adverse outcomes.

Psychotic experiences and negative symptoms (PENS) are common in non-clinical populations. PENS are associated with adverse outcomes, particularly when they persist. Little is known about the trajectories of PENS dimensions in young people, nor about the precursory factors associated with these trajectories.

We conducted growth mixture modelling of paranoia, hallucinations, and negative symptoms across ages 16, 17, and 22 in a community sample (N = 12 049–12 652). We then described the emergent trajectory classes through their associations with genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS) for psychiatric and educational phenotypes, and earlier childhood characteristics.

Three trajectory classes emerged for paranoia, two for hallucinations, and two for negative symptoms. Across PENS, GPS for clinical help-seeking, major depressive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were associated with increased odds of being in the most elevated trajectory class (OR 1.07–1.23). Lower education GPS was associated with the most elevated trajectory class for hallucinations and negative symptoms (OR 0.77–0.91). Conversely for paranoia, higher education GPS was associated with the most elevated trajectory class (OR 1.25). Trajectory class associations were not significant for schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, or anorexia GPS. Emotional/behaviour problems and life events in childhood were associated with increased odds of being in the most elevated trajectory class across PENS.

Our results suggest latent heterogeneity in the development of paranoia, hallucinations, and negative symptoms in young people that is associated with specific polygenic scores and childhood characteristics.

The feeling of becoming an adult plays the role of central new mental formation reflecting the specificities of emotional experience and whole new mental state during adolescent development that is often misaligned with present day society attitude to adolescents. The study was conducted to explore the relationship linking cognitive peculiarities of senior adolescents and the sense of emerging adulthood

This research was conceptualized to explore the way cognitive development peculiarities affect the progress in solving tasks of the transition to adulthood from the point of view of objective growing-up and subjective assessment of feeling of becoming an adult.

The study was based on Betensky’s Adolescent Window Triptych, Akimova’s Intelligence Test for Seniors, Landgarten’s Personality Collage, Sacks-Levy’s IST, Adolescent Social Self-Portrait Essay (D.B. Elkonin) and included 68 participants aged 15-17 years.

Self-criticism degree in cognition of elder adolescents has an effect on the progress in solving specific tasks of the transition to adulthood (such as high degree of maturity in intellectual activity (rs=.50; р=.002) and cognitive autonomy (rs=.36; р=.032), understanding importance of personal professional development (rs=.40; p=.059) and high value of having a family (rs=.39, p=.02). Also correlation regression analysis provides support for high correlation between self-esteem of personal autonomy, intellect (in solving tasks for conceptual thinking), emotional autonomy and social/moral maturity variables.

It was confirmed that cognitive peculiarities of elder adolescents (such as academic intelligence, maturity in intellectual activity and cognitive autonomy) have an effect on the progress in solving specific tasks of the transition to adulthood.

No significant relationships.

Adolescent transitions to adulthood are a vulnerable phase for the development of mental illnesses. Additionally, there are often disruptions in psychiatric care delivery during the transition phase, potentially leading to a considerable treatment delay with a high risk of early chronification. Thus, the health care system and professionals in both child and adolescent psychiatry and adult psychiatry should be given greater consideration to the transition phase.

The aim of the project ProTransition is the development of an online course for health care professionals to give in-depth knowledge of “transition psychiatry”, practical guidance and to sensitize them for the special challenges and needs of young adults with mental illness.

The online-course is being developed at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/ Psychotherapy, Ulm and is expected to start in May 2021. It comprises e.g. special psychopathology of emerging adulthood, clinical interventions for adolescents with mental illness or legal aspects. An innovative and multi-didactical approach with specialized texts, case-studies, online-chats and interviews with experts and young people is applied. Additionally, user satisfaction with the online course will be evaluated.

On the basis of the gained experiences, ideas for new transition-psychiatric treatment models will be derived. The accompanying research will point out the status quo and the course-related increasing knowledge of health care professionals regarding transition psychiatry. First results are expected in November 2021.

As transition psychiatry is facing great difficulties and challenges, professionals should be adequately educated. E-Learning offers a flexible and low-level approach to reach a broad target group.

Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an issue of major concern to colleges worldwide, we lack detailed information about the epidemiology of NSSI among college students. The objectives of this study were to present the first cross-national data on the prevalence of NSSI and NSSI disorder among first-year college students and its association with mental disorders.

Data come from a survey of the entering class in 24 colleges across nine countries participating in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative assessed in web-based self-report surveys (20 842 first-year students). Using retrospective age-of-onset reports, we investigated time-ordered associations between NSSI and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-IV) mood (major depressive and bipolar disorder), anxiety (generalized anxiety and panic disorder), and substance use disorders (alcohol and drug use disorder).

NSSI lifetime and 12-month prevalence were 17.7% and 8.4%. A positive screen of 12-month DSM-5 NSSI disorder was 2.3%. Of those with lifetime NSSI, 59.6% met the criteria for at least one mental disorder. Temporally primary lifetime mental disorders predicted subsequent onset of NSSI [median odds ratio (OR) 2.4], but these primary lifetime disorders did not consistently predict 12-month NSSI among respondents with lifetime NSSI. Conversely, even after controlling for pre-existing mental disorders, NSSI consistently predicted later onset of mental disorders (median OR 1.8) as well as 12-month persistence of mental disorders among students with a generalized anxiety disorder (OR 1.6) and bipolar disorder (OR 4.6).

NSSI is common among first-year college students and is a behavioral marker of various common mental disorders.

Previous research suggests recovery from cannabis-related deficits in verbal learning and memory functioning after periods of cannabis abstinence in adolescents. Here, we examine how cannabis cessation affects cognitive performance over 2 weeks of monitored abstinence compared to controls in adolescents and young adults.

Seventy-four participants (35 cannabis users) aged 16–26 ceased all cannabis, alcohol, and other illicit substance consumption for a 2-week period; abstinence was monitored via weekly urinalysis, breath, and sweat patch testing. Starting at baseline, participants completed weekly abbreviated neuropsychological batteries. Measures included tests of attention, inhibition, verbal working memory, and learning. Repeated measures assessed within and between subject effects for time and group status, while controlling for past year alcohol and nicotine use.

Cannabis users showed increased performance compared to controls on sustained attention tasks after 2 weeks of cannabis use.

Deficits in attention, but not verbal learning and memory, recovered after 2 weeks of monitored abstinence. This differs from previous literature, suggesting that other cognitive domains may show signs of recovery after periods of cannabis cessation in adolescents and young adults.