The primary goals of this study were to test a conceptual model linking social approach and avoidance motivations, socially withdrawn behaviors, and peer difficulties in later childhood and to compare the socioemotional functioning of different subtypes of withdrawn children (shy, unsociable, avoidant). Participants were 367 children, aged 9-12 years. Measures included assessments of social motivations (i.e., self-reported shyness and preference for solitude) and social withdrawal (observations of solitary behaviors in the schoolyard and self-reports of solitary activities outside of school), as well as self-and parent-reported peer difficulties and internalizing problems. Among the results, both shyness and preference for solitude were associated with socially withdrawn behaviors, which in turn predicted peer difficulties. However, only shyness (but not preference for solitude) also displayed a direct path to peer difficulties. As well, results from person-oriented analyses indicated that different subtypes of socially withdrawn children displayed decidedly different profiles with regard to indices of internalizing problems. For example, whereas unsociable children did not differ from their nonwithdrawn peers on indices of internalizing problems, socially avoidant (i.e., high in both shyness and unsociability) children reported the most pervasive socioemotional difficulties. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different forms of social withdrawal for socioemotional functioning in later childhood.

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Concurrent mental health factors may influence the reporting of traumatic childhood experiences. Studies that use retrospective reporting to estimate associations between childhood adversity and adult outcomes associated with mental health may be biased.

BACKGROUND:Many studies have shown that depression increases mortality risk. We aimed to investigate the duration of time over which depression is associated with increased risk of mortality, secular trends in the association between depression and mortality, and sex differences in the association between depression and mortality.

BackgroundPhysical and sedentary activities have been identified as potentially modifiable risk factors for many diseases, including mental illness, and may be effective targets for public health policy and intervention. However, the relative contribution of physical activity versus sedentary behaviour to mental health is less clear. This study investigated the cross-sectional association between physical activity, sedentary activity and symptoms of depression and anxiety at age 14–15 in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).MethodsRespondents aged 14–15 years between 1996 and 2009 who reported on symptoms of depression in the NLSCY were included (n=9702). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between physical and sedentary activity and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Joint models including both physical and sedentary activity were also explored. Models were adjusted for sex, ethnicity, immigration status, family income, parental education, recent major stressful life events and chronic health conditions.ResultsThe odds of having moderate and severe symptoms of depression and anxiety compared with no symptoms was 1.43 (1.11 to 1.84) and 1.88 (1.45 to 2.45) times higher, respectively, in physically inactive youth relative to physically active youth. The odds of having moderate and severe symptoms of depression and anxiety compared with no symptoms was 1.38 (1.13 to 1.69) and 1.31 (1.02 to 1.69) times higher, respectively, in sedentary youth relative to non-sedentary youth. In joint models including both physical and sedentary activity, sedentary activity was not consistently associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety.ConclusionsBoth physical inactivity and sedentary activity appear to be significantly related to symptoms of depression and anxiety. The importance of distinguishing these two behaviours has relevance for research as well as policies targeting physical activity and mental health in youth.

BACKGROUNDThe aim of this study was to investigate the associations between ambient air pollution and emergency department (ED) visits for depression.METHODSHealth data were retrieved from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System. ED visits for depression were retrieved from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), Tenth revision codes; ICD-10: F32 (mild depressive episode) and ICD-10: F33 (recurrent depressive disorder). A case-crossover design was employed for this study. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios.RESULTSFor females, exposure to ozone was associated with increased risk of an ED visit for depression between 1 and 7 days after exposure, for males, between 1 and 5, and 8 days after exposure, with odds ratios ranging between 1.02 and 1.03.CONCLUSIONSThese findings suggest that, as hypothesized, there is a positive association between exposure to air pollution and ED visits for depression.

The findings suggest that prenatal stressful events may be an independent risk factor for offspring externalizing symptoms, regardless of maternal mental health and offspring internalizing.

These findings suggest that relations between fruit and vegetable intake, other health-related behaviours and depression are complex. Behaviours such as smoking and physical activity may have a more important impact on depression than fruit and vegetable intake. Randomised control trials of diet are necessary to disentangle the effects of multiple health behaviours on mental health.