The mental health of children and adolescent is a current topic around the world, especially now, when the well-being of young people is burdened by many crises. With the pandemic, suicides among young people have been on the rise worldwide. According to researchers, climate change and the loss of biodiversity are also significant threats to public health.
Researchers from the University of Turku and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology investigated the role of grandmothers in preventing childhood mortality from infectious diseases in 18th and 19th century Finland. According to the study, grandmothers decreased all-cause and cause-specific mortality of children.
Professor of social work Mia Hakovirta and Professor of child psychiatry André Sourander have received funding from NordForsk call Welfare among Children and Young People in the Post-Pandemic Nordics. Both projects examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of children and adolescents in the Nordic countries.
We are pleased to announce our new collaboration with Archways in Ireland.
In a recent seminar, there were presentations about mental health stigma and ways to reduce it. A major topic of discussion was the prevalence of mental health stigma and its negative effect on the human dignity of those in need of services. The seminar was organized by The Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, INVEST research centre and the Advisory Board for Public health (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health).
According to a new study conducted by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry of the University of Turku and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the amount of new psychiatric diagnoses by Finnish specialist services increased by nearly a fifth among children and adolescents in Finland after the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The diagnoses increased particularly among females, adolescents and those living in the Helsinki region, which had the highest COVID-19 rates and tightest restrictions when compared to the rest of the country.
Institut International de Lancy (IIL) becomes an official KiVa licensed partner for French and English-speaking schools in Switzerland, as well as for schools belonging to the Catholic School Network in France and the Odyssey group.
The State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia will start implementing the KiVa program in schools starting from September 2023. The State Chancellery, the Children and Adolescent Resource Centre, Latvian SOS Children's Villages Association, the University of Latvia and Riga Stradins University have worked together in order to make the KiVa program operational in schools to reduce and prevent the spread of school bullying.
Ukrainian professor Olga Osokina has seen the consequences of the Russian full-scale invasion with her own eyes. As a visiting professor, she helps the University of Turku to build understanding of the mental health of children and adolescents in war-torn Ukraine.