Keyword: INVEST

Finnish parents felt that the Let’s Cope Together website, which is based on behavioural therapy methods, helped them and their child to manage worries related to the coronavirus during the first spring of the pandemic. The website, which has been created by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry at the University of Turku, is opened today for anonymous use. As well as the English, Finnish and Swedish versions, the content will also soon be offered in Russian and Japanese.

The Academy of Finland has made the funding decisions to strengthen the research-related profiling of Finnish universities. The University of Turku was granted €6.8 million of the Profi 6 funding. The funding supports strategic, cross-disciplinary research of the University.

A population-based study revealed reasons behind elevated suicide risk, attempted suicides, and other selfharm, which require special health care, among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Comorbid disorders, especially non-affective psychoses and the affective and anxiety disorders, explained the risk.

A study using extensive nationwide registry data showed that girls born extremely preterm, earlier than 28 weeks gestational age, were three times more likely to be diagnosed with depression than peers born close to the expected date of delivery. Increased risk of depression also applied to girls and boys with poor fetal growth born full-term and post-term. The effects of poor fetal growth were more evident with increasing gestational age.

The corona crisis affects the well-being, learning and education of children and adolescents in many different ways. It is likely that in most children, the long-term disadvantages of the corona crisis are related to the economic and social impacts on families with children. However, it is possible to minimise the detrimental effects on their well-being. For example, the negative effects of parental unemployment on children's education are most effectively reduced by preventing unemployment itself.

The Prime Minister’s Office appointed a 13-member multidisciplinary scientific panel to support the work of the group set up by Prime Minister Sanna Marin on the 8 April 2020 to deal with the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. The term of the scientific panel will continue until 31 May 2020.

The Department of Child Psychiatry has opened a website for parents whose children develop symptoms of anxiety or fear during the current corona epidemic. The website provides information on anxiety, advice on how to handle difficult feelings and simple exercises to ease the anxiety of a parent and their child. The site has been implemented by experienced digital care researchers.

At the beginning of May, a group of INVEST psychology researchers will conduct a survey amongst students in comprehensive school level about their experiences during the corona epidemic. The researchers will survey the experiences of children and young people in terms of studying and learning, social relations and mental well-being.

Special arrangements during the spring may put students’ ability to cope to the test. The Opintokamu (in English “Studypal”) programme offers educational institutions tools for improving student’s well-being. Students of universities of applied sciences in Finland can now access the free online course.

Professor Salmivalli has received a research grant from the European Research Council ERC. The ERC Advanced Grant is the largest personal research grant available in Europe.

The five-year ERC Advanced Grants are given to established, leading principal investigators who have a track-record of significant research achievements. The ERC Advanced Grants are one of the most competed funding in Europe.