Examining the Effectiveness of an Intensive Telemental Health Treatment for Pediatric Anxiety and OCD During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pediatric Mental Health Crisis.

Despite research supporting the efficacy of weekly outpatient videoconferencing-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VCBT), limited evidence exists about the benefits of leveraging VCBT for brief intensive formats. We examined the effectiveness of an intensive outpatient VCBT targeting pediatric anxiety and OCD. Quasi-experimental design was used to compare outcomes of intensive, in-person, group-based cognitive-behavioral therapy with medication management and caregiver guidance pre-pandemic, to a similar VCBT peri-pandemic (n = 130). Pretreatment and posttreatment assessments included patient- and caregiver-report of anxiety and functional impairment. Analyses of covariance were conducted, examining changes in anxiety and impairment between treatment groups, controlling for admission levels. No significant differences in posttreatment anxiety or impairment were observed between conditions. This study illustrates that intensive, group-based treatment for pediatric anxiety and OCD using VCBT is associated with comparable reductions in anxiety and impairment. It marks a crucial step toward providing broader access to quality care for youth in need.

Perpetration of Electronic Intrusiveness Among Adolescent Females: Associations With In-Person Dating Violence.

Electronic intrusiveness is a form of cyber dating abuse that includes monitoring a partners' location, whom a partner is talking to, and other private information via technology and social networking sites. The aim of this study was to further explore the prevalence of electronic intrusiveness, as well as to assess how electronic intrusiveness relates to in-person dating violence while controlling for known risk factors for in-person dating violence, namely, depression, emotion regulation, and acceptance of couple violence. Data for this study were drawn from the baseline assessment of a larger clinical trial. A sample of high-risk adolescent females between the ages of 14 and 17 with a lifetime history of prior dating violence victimization or perpetration was used. Participants completed self-report measures for all study variables. Findings demonstrate that perpetration of electronic intrusiveness within the past 3 months is common among a sample of high-risk adolescent females, with rates across various modes of technology ranging from 30% to 57%. Results also revealed electronic intrusiveness is associated with in-person dating violence perpetration after accounting for known risk factors. This study highlights the need to increase awareness of electronic intrusiveness and to better incorporate electronic intrusiveness into theoretical and empirical models of dating violence.

Brief report: A network analysis of self-cutting risk among late adolescent girls exposed to dating violence.

Adolescent self-directed violence (SDV) is a major public health concern. Adolescent girls exposed to dating violence (DV) are a particularly vulnerable group. Numerous studies have examined the number and type of SDV risk factors, but few examined global patterns of relationships among them. Exploring global patterns of risk is crucial to developing targeted prevention efforts. In this study we applied a network model to identify risk patterns for a common form of SDV, self-cutting, among American adolescent girls (N = 109) with history of DV. Risk factor networks were compared among girls who did/did not endorse lifetime self-cutting. Girls with a history of self-cutting (19%) had a risk factor network characterized by a higher number of associations than girls who did not (test statistic = 0.142; 95% CI = 02-.03). For these girls, the experience of one risk factor is more likely to co-occur with multiple others, thereby potentially compounding effects and unwanted consequences.