Harald Baumeister

PurposeThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents is of great concern, especially in the vulnerable group of adolescents with chronic medical conditions. The aim of this study was to examine this impact on the mental health of adolescents with chronic medical conditions treated in a German pediatric outpatient clinic.MethodsChanges in the mental health status of adolescents with chronic medical conditions treated in a German pediatric outpatient clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic were explored via validated screening tools for anxiety and depression.ResultsThe relative risk for adolescents with chronic medical conditions to develop clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety or depression was significantly higher (odds ratio 1,78 [confidence interval 1.06–3.04]) during the pandemic.DiscussionThis study identifies the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential additional risk for adolescents …

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that growing up with rheumatic conditions can fuel dissatisfaction and psychological distress, which in turn affects disease self-management and treatment adherence. Primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to identify correlates of conspicuous screening results.MethodsInitiated as part of the COACH multicenter observational study, outpatients aged 12 to 21 years participating in the National Pediatric Rheumatological Database (NPRD) were prospectively screened for mental health using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7).ResultsData from 1,150 adolescents with JIA (mean age 15.6 ± 2.2 years; mean disease duration 7.2 ± 4.9 years, 69% female, 43 …

BackgroundThe experience of benefit-finding and growth (BFG), defined as perceiving positive life changes resulting from adversity, is increasingly studied among youths with chronic health conditions (CCs). However, empirical evidence is scarce for explaining individual differences in BFG. The study aimed to test a model of BFG, including an interplay of personal and environmental factors and coping processes.MethodsA sample of N = 498 youths (12–21 years) recruited from three German patient registries for CCs (type 1 diabetes: n = 388, juvenile idiopathic arthritis: n = 82, cystic fibrosis: n = 28) completed a questionnaire including self-reported optimism, social support from parents and peers, coping strategies, and BFG. The model was created to reflect the theoretical assumptions of the Life Crisis and Personal Growth model and current empirical evidence. Structural equation modeling was …

Early investigations of subjective well-being responses to the COVID-19 pandemic indicated average deterioration but also high variability related to vulnerability of population groups and pandemic phase. Thus, we aimed to gain new insights into the characteristics of certain groups and their differences in subjective well-being response patterns over time. First, we performed Latent Class Analyses with baseline survey data of 2,137 adults (mean age = 40.98, SD = 13.62) derived from the German CORONA HEALTH APP Study to identify subgroups showing similarity of a comprehensive set of 50 risk and protective factors. Next, we investigated the course of quality of life (QoL) as an indicator of subjective well-being grouped by the identified latent classes from July 2020 to July 2021 based on monthly and pandemic phase averaged follow-up survey data by means of Linear Mixed-Effects Regression Modeling …

Introduction New digital treatment formats may reduce barriers to treatment for individuals with suicidal ideation. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of a remote blended care programme for this population, defined as acceptability, demand, practicality, adaptation, indications of efficacy and safety. Methods We conducted a mixed‐methods single‐arm trial for proof‐of‐concept. Participants were eligible if they were at least 18 years old, had sufficient German proficiency, a Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation score ≥2, internet access and lived near the outpatient clinic. The treatment consisted of 12 sessions of cognitive‐behavioural videotherapy combined with online modules over 6 weeks. Results We included 10 participants. All patients were satisfied with the treatment; most patients (80%) reported unpleasant memories resurfacing. All patients completed all therapy sessions and a mean of 13.7 …

Mental disorders, most commonly anxiety disorders and fourth most common depression, are prevalent in children and adolescents. Internet-and mobile-based interventions might represent a scalable approach to improve mental health care, however, evidence so far is inconclusive and systematic reports on negative effects are missing. Four data-bases were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating internet-and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) targeting anxiety disorders or depression in children and adolescents up to 18 years exhibiting clinically relevant symptoms. Meta-analytic evaluations were conducted in comparison to active and passive control groups, furthermore, pre-defined sub-groups were explored and reported negative effects examined. Pooled estimates showed a moderate positive effect for IMIs targeting anxiety disorders compared to passive control groups (g=-0.69; CI-0.94 to-0.45 …

Background Mental health (MH) problems in youth are prevalent, burdening, and frequently persistent. Despite the existence of effective treatment, the uptake of professional help is low, particularly due to attitudinal barriers. Objective This study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptability of 2 video-based microinterventions aimed at reducing barriers to MH treatment and increasing the likelihood of seeking professional help in young people. Methods This study was entirely web based and open access. The interventions addressed 5 MH problems: generalized anxiety disorder, depression, bulimia, nonsuicidal self-injury, and problematic alcohol use. Intervention 1 aimed to destigmatize and improve MH literacy, whereas intervention 2 aimed to induce positive outcome expectancies regarding professional help seeking. Of the 2435 participants who commenced the study, a final sample of 1394 (57.25%) participants aged 14 to 29 years with complete data and sufficient durations of stay on the video pages were randomized in a fully automated manner to 1 of the 5 MH problems and 1 of 3 conditions (control, intervention 1, and intervention 2) in a permuted block design. After the presentation of a video vignette, no further videos were shown to the control group, whereas a second, short intervention video was presented to the intervention 1 and 2 groups. Intervention effects on self-reported potential professional help seeking (primary outcome), stigma, and attitudes toward help seeking were examined using analyses of covariance across and within the 5 MH problems. Furthermore, we …

BackgroundDespite severely burdened individuals, often being excluded from research studies on internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs), negative events (NEs) including suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) can still occur during a trial. NEs require monitoring and adequate safety measures. However, study protocols frequently lack comprehensive descriptions of procedures for managing NEs.AimsThis study aimed to illustrate the assessment, monitoring, and procedures for addressing NEs in two studies on IMIs in adults and youth using case reports, to identify strengths and weaknesses of the NE management approaches, and to derive key learnings and recommendations.MethodsTwo case reports were drawn from two distinct IMI studies. The first study, PSYCHOnlineTHERAPY, evaluates the combination of an IMI with on-site psychotherapy for anxiety and depressive disorders in adults (adult …