Open research questions in Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

What the literature leaves open

• Future research should consider a broader definition of engagement, inclusive of indicators of behavioral engage- ment (e. Future research could explore whether parent- or teacher- reported presenting problems and family involvement in school are more strongly associated with program engage- ment. Finally, a person-centered approach is limited by the available sample size, such that all profiles that exist in a given population may not have been identified.

  Exploring Predictors of Student and Parent Attendance in a Tier 2 School-Based Program: Implications for Optimizing Attendance in the Coping Power Program · 2026 · DOI

• In addition, future research should examine contextual factors such as parenting practices, family relationships, cultural influences, and differences across age and gender to provide a more comprehensive understanding of adolescents’ psychological experiences. Future research is recommended to employ longitudinal and/or mixed- methods designs to better understand how depression and antisocial behavioral tendencies develop and interact over time.

  Exploring Depression among Adolescents with Antisocial Behavioral Tendencies · 2026 · DOI

• Abstract Community violence exposure (CVE) is a pervasive risk to youth mental health, yet developmental research examining protective factors in Latin America remains scarce.

  Community violence exposure and mental health in urban Mexico: The moderating role of school belonging in early adolescence and young adulthood · 2026 · DOI

• Congenital colour vision deficiency (CCVD) is associated with challenges in daily functioning and social interactions, yet its behavioural and emotional implications during adolescence remain underexplored.

  Behavioural and emotional assessment of Malaysian adolescent boys with congenital colour vision deficiency and its association with socioeconomic factors · 2026 · DOI

• Maternal and paternal attachment may relate differently to adolescent depressive symptoms, but the potential contribution of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to these associations remains unclear.

  The Longitudinal Association Between Parent-Child Attachment and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: Moderation by Oxytocin Receptor Polymorphisms · 2026 · DOI

• Several suggestions are given for future research that could be based on the results of this study. First, a comparative study is suggested between rural and urban population to compare and contrast the social stigma, materialistic value and psychosocial distress to see if there are differences among different cultures and social groups. Second, research is suggested that should track changes in parental stress, stigma perceptions, and materialistic attitudes over time for stronger inferences on causality. Last but not least, further research needs to incorporate the voices of adult children who are not married, to enrich the understanding of family life and the bidirectional relationship of social stigma and materialism between the parent and child. Vol. 6 No. 2 (May, 2026) 173 Shahzad, Bari & Lashari Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. Authors’ Biography 1 Sabir Shahzad (Ph.D) is an Assistant Professor at the College of Clinical Psychology, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan. He obtained his Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from the Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan. 2 Zaid Bari is a Research Scholar at the College of Clinical Psychology, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan. He completed his Bachelors Degree in Pre-Medical from the DHACSS Degree College, Karachi, Pakistan. 3 Maha Lashari is a Research Scholar at the College of Clinical Psychology, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan. She completed her Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Ziauddin University, Karachi, Pakistan. rEFErEnCES Akhtar, F., & Malik, R. A. (2025). The Socio-Economic Matrix of Marriage: An Empirical Study of Delay in Marriage Patterns in Punjab. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 6(4), 148-165. https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2025(6- IV)12 Arooj, A., Iqbal, S., & Khan, M. L. (2025). Psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction and hopelessness in delayed marriages. Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review, 9(3), 65-79. Daraz, U., Bojnec, Š., Khan, Y., & Hussain, Z. (2025). Cultural narratives, social norms, and psychological stigma: a study of mental health help-seeking behavior in Peshawar, Pakistan. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1560460. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1560460 Dev, M., Podoshen, J. S., & Shahzad, M. (2018). An exploratory comparison of materialism and conspicuous consumption in Pakistan. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 30(5), 317-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/0 8961530.2018.1467292 Husain, W., Ijaz, F., Husain, M. A., Ammar, A., Trabelsi, K., & Jahrami, H. (2024). The quality of psychosocial health and psychosocial illness among women with and without shelter homes: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 1368.

  Perceived Social Stigma, Materialistic Values, and Psychosocial Distress among Parents of Unmarried Adult Children in Urban Pakistan · 2026 · DOI

• While this study provides valuable insights into the influence of school location, grade, and parental employ- ment on learners’ MHL, it is important to acknowledge its limitations. Due to financial constraints and time limitations, the sample did not include all schools within Tshwane Region 1. Consequently, the findings should be interpreted with caution and may not be generalizable to the entire region. Nonetheless, these results offer a meaningful foundation for understanding MHL among secondary school learners and can inform future research and intervention strategies aimed at improving mental health outcomes in similar educational and social contexts. Conclusion, Implications, and Future Directions The use of ordinal logistic regression in this study highlights the complex relationships between individual attrib- utes as well as broader environmental and parental influences on MHL, offering a more comprehensive under- standing. The study findings highlight the importance of addressing structural inequalities and tailoring mental health interventions to the unique needs of learners from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, par- ticularly township areas. The significant influence of school location, grade level, and parental employment on learners’ MHL suggests that interventions should be contextually tailored. Specifically, township schools require targeted mental health education programs that address the unique challenges faced by learners. The findings of this study carry significant implications for both educational policy and practice. Firstly, the Department of Basic Education, in collaboration with school principals and teachers, should prioritize the inte- gration of mental health education into the curriculum, beginning in earlier grades. This is particularly important in township schools, where learners often exhibit lower levels of MHL. Moreover, targeted professional develop- ment programs should be implemented to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify early signs of mental health problems and facilitate earlier referrals. Furthermore, township schools should collaborate to develop and sustain school based MHL programs that address the needs of learners from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Mental health professionals and community-based organizations should also initiate outreach programs that consider the educational and familial contexts of learners, especially in areas with high rates of parental unemployment. These coordinated efforts can contribute to a more supportive environment for adolescent mental health development and literacy. Eur. J. Ment. Health 2026, 21, e0055, 1–11. 8 O. P. MOKOENA ET AL. Determinants of Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Acknowledgement The authors are grateful to all the authors whose studies were included in the final synthesis. They would also like to thank all the learners and parents who consented to participation in this study.

  Determinants of Adolescent Mental Health Literacy in Selected South African Secondary Schools: The Roles of Socioeconomic and Demographic Status, and School Level Context · 2026 · DOI

• Future research would benefit from longitudinal and multi-informant designs, greater cultural diversity, and more comprehensive assessments of parent-child relationship and parental ESB dimensions. Expanding the scope of future reviews may also provide a broader understanding of the complex mechanisms through which family relationships shape children’s emotional development.

  A Systematic Review: The Role of Parent-Child Relationship and Parental Emotional Socialization on Children’s Emotion Regulation · 2026 · DOI

• This study identified several important methodological limitations, including the lack of comprehensive measurement across all variable dimensions, the predominance of cross-sectional design, and the reliance on single-parent reports as the primary informant of children’s emotion regulation. An exception was noted in Castro et al. (2017) article’, which utilized teacher assessments and yielded different findings. Additionally, limitations include the relatively limited cultural BULETIN PSIKOLOGI 165 Sanaky et al ∥ Parenting and Children’s Emotion Regulation representation of the included studies and potential constraints arising from the literature search strategy. Future research would benefit from longitudinal, multi-informant and cross-cultural approaches, as well as broader search strategies (e.g keywords) to provide more comprehensive understanding of the relationships among parent-child relationship quality, parental ESB, and children’s emotion regulation.

  A Systematic Review: The Role of Parent-Child Relationship and Parental Emotional Socialization on Children’s Emotion Regulation · 2026 · DOI

• In terms of implementation, mental health literacy should be integrated into existing subjects, such as health education, supported by low-cost, peer-led models, and complemented by partnerships with NGOs and commu- nity health workers to extend reach. For policymakers, priorities include allocating training budgets for teach- ers and school counselors as frontline providers, piloting the integration of mental health content into school cur- ricula, and fostering cross-sector partnerships with ro- bust monitoring and evaluation frameworks. For future research, rigorous longitudinal and intervention studies are needed, including randomized controlled trials of school- and peer-based programs, as well as comparative analyses across rural and urban LMIC settings. Mixed- methods designs that capture cultural and contextual nu- ances will be essential to identify scalable and sustain- able approaches.

  Mental Health Awareness and Support Among Adolescents in African Secondary Schools: A Systematic Review · 2026 · DOI

• Despite the strengths of this study, including a large sample size and the use of well-validated measures, several limita- tions should be noted. First, the cross-sectional design pre- cludes causal inferences. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish the temporal sequence of the observed relation- ships. Second, the reliance on self-reported measures may introduce bias, as participants may underreport or overreport their trauma, physical activity, and mental health symptoms. Future research should consider incorporating objective measures of physical activity, such as accelerometers, and corroborative reports of trauma and mental health symp- toms. Additionally, while this study highlights the mediat- ing role of physical activity, other potential mediators, such as social support and coping strategies, should be explored in future research. Understanding the complex interplay of multiple factors will provide a more comprehensive picture of how childhood trauma influences mental health and how these effects can be mitigated. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma1 3 Conclusion The current study provides valuable insights into the medi- ating role of physical activity in the relationship between childhood trauma and mental health outcomes among ado- lescents in Uganda. Our findings underscore the potential of physical activity interventions as a viable strategy to alle- viate depression and anxiety in trauma-affected youth. By prioritizing physical activity within school settings, policy- makers and educators can contribute to the mental health and overall well-being of adolescents in these challenging contexts. Future research should continue to explore and expand upon these findings to develop holistic and effective interventions for vulnerable populations. Author Contributions DV, JM and PW acquired funding and concep- tualized the study. DV and JM collected the data. DV analyzed the data. DV and JM wrote a first draft. TVD commented on the conceptu- alization, and data management and analysis plan. PW and TVD com- mented and edited the text until consensus was reached. All authors agreed with the final version. Funding This research was funded by a VLIR-UOS South Initiative grant (UG2022SIN360A101). Data Availability Data are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

  Adverse Childhood Experiences, Anxiety and Depression in School-going Ugandan Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Physical Activity · 2026 · DOI

• To continue informing targeted interventions, future studies should focus on identifying additional family- and individual-level factors that contribute to differences in early-life socio-emotional outcomes, as well as understanding whether specific aspects of socio-emotional outcomes are particularly sensitive to family background influences and intersecting (dis)advantages.

  What siblings share: how family background shapes early childhood socio-emotional difficulties in the United Kingdom · 2026 · DOI

• While the small sample size aligns with the qualitative research aims of depth over breadth, it limits generalizability and may omit broader stakeholder perspectives. Con- ducted in Pune, the findings may not fully capture the diversity of mental health sys- tems or adolescent needs across other regions, particularly rural or under-resourced ones. Additionally, the study reflects only professionals’ views; including adolescents and educators could provide richer, firsthand insights. Future research should examine the applicability of the adapted PFA framework in rural, tribal, and low-income settings with distinct cultural norms and resource constraints.

  Adapting global psychological first aid frameworks for Indian adolescents through expert insights from mental health professionals · 2026 · DOI

• While not statistically significant, effect sizes linking regulation of some specific emotions (anger, fear) with subsequent INT and EXT problems warrant further research.

  Examining early inhibitory control and emotion regulation as predictors of childhood internalizing and externalizing problems: A longitudinal study · 2026 · DOI

• Second, the study’s time span is relatively short, and it did not conduct multiple rounds of longitudinal follow-up; future studies could consider extending the time span to more deeply reveal the transition patterns of depressive symptoms among middle Int J Ment Health Promot. Third, in the logistic regression analysis, some transition patterns with fewer participants were merged, resulting in the inability to capture more granular findings; future research could examine in greater detail the effects of different predictor variables on pattern transitions.

  Latent Patterns and Transitions of Depressive Symptoms in Middle School Students: Stress Types, Life Satisfaction, and Gender as Predictors · 2026 · DOI

• Despite the DASS-Y’s increasing use across diverse cultural contexts, two critical gaps had remained unaddressed: the lack of evidence regarding measurement invariance across time and developmental stages, and uncertainty about whether traditional CFA adequately captures the scale’s factor structure given the inherent overlap among depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in youth.

  Does the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales–Youth Version (DASS-Y) Remain Consistent Across Time and Diverse School-Aged Youth? · 2026 · DOI

• Several methodological considerations should be acknowledged when interpreting the present findings. First, because a separate a priori power analysis was not conducted for each individual fNIRS channel, the statistical power at the channel level cannot be fully ascertained. Nevertheless, the use of 48 event-related segments per condition provided a conservative and stable estimate of the hemodynamic response, minimizing random noise while maintaining overall data reliability. Second, fNIRS recordings were limited to the bilateral prefrontal cortex using an eight-channel configuration, which constrained the ability to capture neural activity and functional connectivity with other emotion-related regions, such as the limbic system. Future research could address these issues by employing wider cortical and subcortical coverage and channel-specific power estimations to yield a more comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying emotional inhibitory control.

  Developmental trajectories of prefrontal activation underlying emotional inhibitory control from adolescence to young adulthood: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study · 2026 · DOI

• Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings of this study. First, participants were recruited exclusively from schools located in the Athens metropoli- tan area. Although multiple schools were included, the geographic concentration of the sample may limit general- izability to adolescents from rural regions or other socio- cultural contexts within Greece. Future research should replicate these findings using larger and geographically 1 3Child Psychiatry & Human Development diverse adolescent samples across different regions of the country. Second, the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions regarding temporal stability of the instrument. Longitudinal studies and test–retest reliability assessments are necessary to determine the stability of DASS-Y scores over time. Third, measurement invariance across gender, age groups, or other demographic characteristics was not exam- ined in the present study. Because adolescence is charac- terized by important developmental and gender-related differences in emotional. symptom expression, future studies should further exam- ine whether the Greek DASS- Y functions equivalently across demographic subgroups.Such analyses represent an important next step for establishing whether the scale func- tions equivalently across different subgroups of adolescents. Fourth, although strong correlations among the three DASS-Y dimensions were observed, alternative structural representations, such as bifactor models distinguishing gen- eral emotional distress from specific symptom factors, were not tested. Future studies may further clarify the dimen- sional structure of adolescent emotional symptoms by com- paring these alternative models. Finally, the absence of clinical samples limits conclusions regarding diagnostic sensitivity or clinical cutoff interpreta- tion. Accordingly, the present findings should be interpreted primarily within the context of community-based screening and preliminary psychometric validation rather than formal clinical assessment. The severity classifications used in the present study should therefore be considered provisional until normative data for Greek adolescent populations become available.

  Preliminary Psychometric Validation of the Greek Version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales for Youth (DASS-Y) · 2026 · DOI

• This study has several important strengths. It is one of the few investigations to examine help-seeking for co-parenting support specifically during the early parenting period, offer- ing insights that extend beyond program outcomes to include parents’ motivations and the contextual stressors shaping engagement. The mixed-methods design strengthened the interpretive depth of the findings by integrating qualitative themes with quantitative psychosocial profiles. Conducting the research within a community-based co-parenting pro- gram further enhanced ecological relevance by capturing the experiences of families seeking support in a real-world service setting. Importantly, the inclusion of fathers who are often underrepresented in co-parenting and early parenting research provided a more comprehensive and ecologically valid understanding of the co-parenting system and offers important direction for future father-inclusive intervention design (Cowan & Cowan, 1995; Wade et al., 2022). Despite these strengths, several limitations must be acknowledged. The sample was predominantly tertiary-edu- cated, employed, Australian-born, and partnered, indicat- ing a relatively privileged demographic profile. This limits the generalisability of the findings to families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, culturally and linguistically diverse families, single parents, and parents who are not in a couple relationship. The absence of these groups restricts under- standing of how co-parenting programs might be accessed or avoided by families facing structural disadvantage, or differing cultural expectations around parenting. Targeted recruitment and engagement strategies may help improve access for these families. Additionally, families experienc- ing high levels of conflict, severe mental health difficulties, or other psychosocial risks were less likely to commence the program, raising the possibility that the structure and demands of the program may be more suited to socioeco- nomically advantaged families, inadvertently reinforcing disparities in access. Another significant limitation of this study is the absence of a follow-up survey for parents who enrolled in but did not commence the program. The qualitative analysis identified three central themes behind parents’ help-seeking behav- iours, with communication difficulties and financial strain emerging as particularly prevalent concerns. However, the quantitative data revealed that parents who reported experi- encing medium to high levels of conflict or significant finan- cial difficulties were less likely to engage with the program. This discrepancy highlights a critical gap in understanding the reasons behind not engaging in the program. Without follow-up information, it is difficult to determine whether logistical barriers, emotional overwhelm, perceived stigma, 1 3Journal of Child and Family Studies program fit, or other unmeasured factors hindered engage- ment. Future research should therefore prioritise collecting follow-up data on non-engaging families to better under- stand these barriers and to develop targeted strategies to support parents who are struggling the most.

  Parent, child, and family factors associated with help-seeking for co-parenting support in the early parenting period · 2026 · DOI

• Conclusions Limitations of the current study include that − given the method of recruitment − a self-selection bias may have influenced the results of this research. In other words, our two samples of employed mothers may not be representa- tive of employed mothers in general. Notably, however, the results were overall consistent across samples. A second limitation is that the research employed a cross- sectional, rather than a prospective design, and for this rea- son no causal relationships can be inferred. Relatedly, the use of mediation analysis within cross-sectional designs has been criticized, since cross-sectional mediation models can lead to biased estimates of direct and indirect effects when the mediation effect occurs over time (Maxwell & Cole, 2007). More recently, however, Cain et al. (2018) have used simulation to compare the cross-sectional model with three types of longitudinal mediation models, arguing that – although multilevel models showed the highest power – cross-sectional models may provide a reasonable alternative Despite the above limitations, our findings provide a con- tribution to our understanding of the relationship between working mothers’ ED, stress, attitudes towards parent-child play and frequency of play with the child. On the one hand, our results suggest that perceived life stress and parenting stress represent distinct pathways linking emotion dysregu- lation and different dimensions of mothers’ attitudes towards parent-child play, namely, the tendency to avoid playing with the child and the experience of enjoyment while play- ing. On the other, our findings add to a growing literature regarding mothers’ employment as a contextual variable that may influence parenting behavior. In this regard, stress arising from time allocation issues unexpectantly showed correlations of similar strength with the two dimensions of avoidance and enjoyment of parent-child play. This result may reflect an ambivalent (i.e., simultaneously positive and negative) attitude that – in our opinion – deserves further attention. We hope that these findings could be used as hints 1 3Journal of Child and Family Studies for interventions focused on emotion regulation to sustain working mothers in dealing with various forms of stress, since the perception of their life as overloaded seems to have detrimental implications for the time they are willing to dedicate to play with their child.

  Emotion Dysregulation, Stress, and Attitudes towards Parent-Child Play in two Samples of Working Mothers · 2026 · DOI

• This is the first qualitative study to explore young people’s experiences and views of Early Support Hubs across multiple sites in England. It captured the experiences of hub users with diverse ages, genders, sexual orientations, and education/ employment statuses, including groups that are often under-represented in research. It also benefited from input from young people and a parent with lived experience of mental health services throughout. This helped to enhance the relevance of the findings and ensure that the research reflected their perspectives. However, this study has some limitations. While we recruited from eight hubs across England, these may not fully reflect the range of hubs nationally. Additionally, we did not systematically compare findings across sites to explore how factors such as hub size, provider types, or local demographics may have influenced the results, which limits our ability to determine the extent to which the findings are context-specific or generalisable. Recruiting directly from hubs with the help of their staff meant young people with more negative experiences may have been less likely to be approached or less willing to participate. Furthermore, several hubs supported recruitment for our study by directly advertising it to their youth advisory groups, which may have resulted in our sample having more positive views about the hub model than other young people who are not as engaged with the services. Most participants had also used their hub for over a year. Purposively recruiting individuals who have used hubs for different lengths of time, or who have lower levels of engagement with hubs, may have facilitated a more in-depth and representative understanding of young people’s experiences and areas for improvement. Although we purposively sampled young people from ethnic minority groups, the sample was predominantly White British (75.0%). Only one participant identified as being from ‘any Asian background’, and four from ‘any Black background’. This may partly reflect the geographical locations of the hubs, many of which were located in areas with predominantly White British populations. There were some other aspects of diversity, such as disability and religion, which we did not collect data on. This might limit our understanding of whether hubs provide appropriate care for groups who may face greater barriers to accessing mental health services. Implications for policy, practice, and research This study highlights young people’s views on both the strengths of Early Support Hubs and areas for improvement, offering important insights for policy, practice, and research. Our findings showed that young people value hubs’ open-access, youth-centred, one-stop-shop approach, as well as their non-clinical environment and ethos, and flexible, holistic, personalised support.

  A qualitative investigation of young people’s experiences and views of Early Support Hubs across England · 2026 · DOI

• This study examined whether basic psychological needs satisfaction in exercise and self-esteem statistically accounted for the association between students’ perceived school climate and close friend support. Several limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings. These limitations also point to priorities for future research in measurement, study design, covariate adjustment, clustering, model testing, and generalizability. 7.1 Limitations of measurement methods All study constructs were assessed at one time point using student self-report measures, which limits the ability to rule out shared method variance and response-style bias. Although a statistical screen for common method variance was conducted, single-source data may still inflate observed associations. In addition, although responses were screened for completion time, missingness, and obvious logical inconsistencies, the survey did not include formal attention-check items or systematic straightlining detection.

  Associations between perceived school climate and close friend support among Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional serial indirect-effect analysis of exercise-related basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-esteem · 2026 · DOI

• There are some notable strengths in this emerging field of study, as well as several significant gaps that point to direc- tions for future research. These studies represent an increas- ing awareness of the importance of positive childhood experiences not only for adult health, but for the health of families and future generations. Rigorous examination of these modifiable, health promoting and protective factors is key to discovering points of intervention to improve out- comes for families, interrupt intergenerational transmission of risk, and promote transmission of protective factors. 1 3Adversity and Resilience Science (2026) 7:34 Samples and Settings Sampling approaches represented both strengths and weak- nesses. North American samples reported significant racial and socioeconomic diversity, including populations that have historically been under-represented in clinical research (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2022). Over half of the studies focused on parents who were pregnant or parenting very young children, thereby capturing sensitive periods of early development (Halfon et al., 2014). However, most samples were relatively small and were comprised primarily of mothers. Non-random, convenience sampling approaches also introduced the likelihood that participants would be predisposed to have certain con- founding characteristics and limited generalizability. Addi- tionally, studies with smaller sample sizes may have been underpowered to detect effects or analyze subgroups (i.e., mothers versus fathers). Apart from studies that sampled heterosexual couples together, all of the studies that enrolled both mothers and fathers had samples that were heavily weighted to mothers. With a few studies noting differences in how mothering versus fathering impacted participants as well as how mothers versus fathers were affected by their own PCEs, examination of caregiver gender and caregiver role identities’ influence on the transmission of the benefits of PCEs should be explored. The context in which children experience PCEs, and in which they later parent their own children, such as adverse or supportive social or economic environments, may have unique influence on PCE prevalence and impact, but at this time that is not well known. With only one nation- ally representative study included in the United States, much remains unknown about population-level preva- lence of parents’ PCEs and outcomes for parents and their children. Additionally, low- and middle-income countries were not represented at all in this review, and there was also a paucity of racially and ethnically diverse samples in Europe. In addition, collectivist cultural contexts were not explicitly represented in any of the articles, which not only represents a gap in the literature, but may also limit interpretations and inferences drawn from BCEs literature as a whole (Hamby et al., 2021). Without this foundational data, public health and clinical initiatives to increase PCEs may be imprecise, ineffective, or not reach populations most at risk. While some studies on PCEs have addressed unhoused parents and those with intellectual disabilities, research remains limited regarding the prevalence and impact of PCEs among families affected by mental illness (GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators, 2022) and opi- oid use disorder in North American adults (Wang et al., 2025). Future research should consider how studies Page 19 of 24 34 are advancing knowledge of PCEs in diverse or criti- cally underserved populations. Furthermore, many study designs included self-report by only one adult in a family. Therefore, our knowledge of PCEs is hindered not only by mono-method, mono-informant bias, it is also failing to include perspectives of children, fathers, grandpar- ents, and informal caregivers, and observed data, all of which would increase the richness of our understanding of PCEs’ influence not only on individuals but on fami- lies and communities.

  Parents’ Positive Childhood Experiences: A Scoping Review · 2026 · DOI

• families involved in PBIS. Second, This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the sample included only eight parents. While this number is appropriate for an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study, it limits the ability to draw broader conclusions about the participants were all located in two states, Pennsylvania recruited from schools and Maryland. Educational policies, and school implementation practices may vary across regions, which may influence how parents experience PBIS. Additionally, the findings are based on parents’ self-reported experiences. These accounts reflect personal perceptions and may be influenced by memory, emotions, or individual interpretation. The study culture, did not include perspectives from teachers or administrators, which may have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the collaboration process. Finally, all participating parents had children receiving Tier 3 PBIS support. Parents of students receiving Tier 1 or Tier 2 interventions may have different experiences that were not captured in this study. Although these limitations should be considered, the study still provides valuable insight into how parents experience and interpret their involvement in PBIS. 7 Summary, conclusion, and future research The findings of this study suggest that parental involvement in PBIS is shaped not only by structural practices but also by how parents interpret their role within the school system. Although parents expressed strong motivation to participate, many experienced a limited understanding of PBIS processes and minimal inclusion in planning and decision-making. This indicates that engagement requires more than simply providing information; it also requires clear communication and shared responsibility between parents and schools. Previous research has emphasized that parents are critical partners in supporting positive behavioral outcomes (Chu, 2015; Garbacz et al., 2018). The present study adds to this literature by highlighting how parents experience their involvement at a relational level. When parents are informed but not meaningfully included, partnerships may remain procedural rather than collaborative.Strengthening collaboration between schools and families may empower parents to contribute more effectively to Behavior Intervention Plans and related supports (Minke and Anderson, 2005; Grüter et al., 2024). Structured communication, training opportunities, and shared planning discussions may help increase clarity and confidence among families. As suggested in previous research (Närhi et al., 2017), carefully planned and purposeful parental involvement may improve both behavioral and academic outcomes. Future research should include larger and more diverse samples across different regions and school contexts to examine whether similar patterns are observed. Including perspectives from teachers and administrators may also provide a more comprehensive understanding of collaboration within PBIS frameworks. Additionally, studies exploring structured parent- training models within PBIS may help identify practical strategies for strengthening family and school partnerships. This study focused only on Tier 3 of PBIS. Future research could examine parental involvement across all PBIS tiers to provide a more complete understanding.

  Understanding parental involvement in the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) process in schools: a qualitative study · 2026 · DOI

• should be acknowledged. First, the data were collected from only one city in China, Shanghai, which limits the generalizability of the findings to a larger population of the whole China. The city where the study was conducted represents a relatively developed and competitive social context, where IM beliefs and overparenting practice may be more salient compared to economically underdeveloped areas of China.

  The associations between intensive mothering beliefs, maternal overparenting behavior and Chinese preschoolers' behavioral problems · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

• Protecting Adolescents From Harm · JAMA · 1997 · 5,293 citations
• Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. · Psychological Bulletin · 2001 · 2,179 citations
• Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk? · Psychological Bulletin · 1987 · 1,941 citations
• Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. · Psychological Bulletin · 1990 · 1,411 citations
• Global prevalence of depression and elevated depressive symptoms among adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · 2021 · 1,285 citations
• Understanding the Mechanisms Through Which an Influential Early Childhood Program Boosted Adult Outcomes · American Economic Review · 2013 · 1,138 citations
• Prevalence, Persistence, and Sociodemographic Correlates of DSM-IV Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement · Archives of General Psychiatry · 2011 · 922 citations
• The ABCs of depression: Integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. · Psychological Review · 2008 · 838 citations
• Emotion regulation from early adolescence to emerging adulthood and middle adulthood · International Journal of Behavioral Development · 2014 · 755 citations
• Testing Standard and Modular Designs for Psychotherapy Treating Depression, Anxiety, and Conduct Problems in Youth · Archives of General Psychiatry · 2011 · 711 citations

Most recent work

• Perceived Stress and Self-Esteem as Significant Predictors of Cigarette Smoking Behavior of Bangladeshi Male Adults · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
• Understanding the interplay among parental involvement, parental self-regulation, and child adjustment: A latent profiles analysis and cross-validation · Journal of School Psychology · 2026
• Parental interference in adolescents' choices and depressive symptoms: the role of self-efficacy, school anxiety, engagement, and burnout in a structural equation model · European Journal of Psychology of Education · 2026
• Factors Influencing Adolescents' Use of Anonymous Reporting Systems to Seek Help for Peers in Severe Mental Distress · Journal of Adolescent Health · 2026
• The Portuguese Version of the Self-Regulation Scale: Psychometrics, Measurement Invariance, and Associations with Antisocial Variables Among Youth · International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology · 2026
• A Pubertal Shift in Anxiety Reporting: Parent–child Discrepancies Intensify During Peri-Adolescence · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · 2026
• Parental Expressed Emotion Criticism Relates to Everyday Perceptions of Social Threat in Adolescents with Varying Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors · Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology · 2026
• Temporal trends and projections in the global burden of mental disorders among adolescents and young adults (15—39 years): Analysis within the framework of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine · EPMA Journal · 2026
• Parents’ Positive Childhood Experiences: A Scoping Review · Adversity and Resilience Science · 2026
• Understanding Gender Differences in Internalizing Symptoms: The Role of Co-Rumination and Empathetic Distress · The Journal of Early Adolescence · 2026

Related topics in Psychology