Differences in social behaviours are common in young people with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). Recent research challenges the long-standing hypothesis that difficulties in social cognition explain social behaviour differences.

We examined how difficulties regulating one's behaviour, emotions and thoughts to adapt to environmental demands (i.e. dysregulation), alongside social cognition, explain social behaviours across neurodiverse young people.

We analysed cross-sectional behavioural and cognitive data of 646 6- to 18-year-old typically developing young people and those with NDCs from the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Network. Social behaviours and dysregulation were measured by the caregiver-reported Adaptive Behavior Assessment System Social domain and Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile, respectively. Social cognition was assessed by the Neuropsychological Assessment Affect-Recognition and Theory-of-Mind, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, and Sandbox continuous false-belief task scores. We split the sample into training (n = 324) and test (n = 322) sets. We investigated how social cognition and dysregulation explained social behaviours through principal component regression and hierarchical regression in the training set. We tested social cognition-by-dysregulation interactions, and whether dysregulation mediated the social cognition–social behaviours association. We assessed model fits in the test set.

Two social cognition components adequately explained social behaviours (13.88%). Lower dysregulation further explained better social behaviours (β = −0.163, 95% CI −0.191 to −0.134). Social cognition-by-dysregulation interaction was non-significant (β = −0.001, 95% CI −0.023 to 0.021). Dysregulation partially mediated the social cognition–social behaviours association (total effect: 0.544, 95% CI 0.370–0.695). Findings were replicated in the test set.

Self-regulation, beyond social cognition, substantially explains social behaviours across neurodiverse young people.

Action mechanisms of therapeutic alliance in stepped and digital interventions remain unclear.

(a) To compare the development of therapeutic alliance between psychosocial treatment as usual (PTAU) and a stepped digital intervention designed to prevent distress in cancer patients; (b) to analyse the level of agreement between patients’ and therapists’ therapeutic alliance ratings; and (c) to explore variables associated with therapeutic alliance in the digital intervention.

A multicentre randomised controlled trial with 184 newly diagnosed breast cancer women was conducted. Patients were assigned to digital intervention or PTAU. Therapeutic alliance was assessed at 3, 6 and 12 months after inclusion using the working alliance inventory for patients and therapists. Age, usability (system usability scale), satisfaction (visual analogue scale), type and amount of patient–therapist communication were analysed as associated variables.

Patients and therapists established high therapeutic alliance in the digital intervention, although significantly lower compared with PTAU. The development of patients’ therapeutic alliance did not differ between interventions, unlike that of the therapists. No agreement was found between patients’ and therapists’ therapeutic alliance ratings. Patients’ therapeutic alliance was associated with usability and satisfaction with app, whereas therapists’ therapeutic alliance was associated with satisfaction with monitoring platform.

A stepped digital intervention for cancer patients could develop and maintain strong therapeutic alliance. Neither the type nor amount of communication affected patients’ therapeutic alliance, suggesting that flexible and available digital communication fosters a sense of care and connection. The association between usability and satisfaction with digital tools highlights their importance as key therapeutic alliance components in digital settings.

In individuals with severe mental illness (SMI), low muscle strength heightens the risk of mortality and chronic disease development. Routine muscle strength assessments could identify vulnerabilities, thereby reducing the growing burden associated with SMI. However, integration into clinical settings faces obstacles because of limited resources and inadequate healthcare staff training. The 5 sit-to-stand (5-STS) test offers an alternative for measuring muscle strength compared with more complex or demanding tests. Nevertheless, its validity in individuals with SMI remains unexplored.

This study aimed to analyse the criterion validity of the 5-STS test in SMI, considering potential age, gender and body mass index influences.

In a cross-sectional study following the ‘STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology’ (STROBE) guidelines, 82 adults with SMI (aged 18–65, 24 women) were assessed. Participants underwent both the 5-STS test and the isometric knee extension strength (KES) test.

Analysis revealed a significant moderate correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (−0.58 for both) for all participants, indicating that the measures are valid and assess related aspects of the same construct. Strong agreement was observed in women and the older age groups. The 5-STS test demonstrated accuracy, with a standard error of estimate lower than the within-subject variability on the KES test. Bland–Altman plots showed limits of agreement values of −3.39 and 3.52 for the entire sample, and heteroscedasticity analyses indicated consistent differences between the 5-STS and KES tests across all groups analysed, except in the women's group.

The 5-STS test seems to be a valid test for assessing muscle strength in individuals with SMI, supporting its usefulness for routine assessment in clinical settings, facilitating detection and intervention in critical situations.

Developmental regression in children, in the absence of neurological damage or trauma, presents a significant diagnostic challenge. The complexity is further compounded when it is associated with psychotic symptoms.

We discuss a case series of ten children aged 6–10 years, with neurotypical development, presenting with late-onset developmental regression (>6 years of age), their clinical course and outcome at 1 year. A comprehensive clinical evaluation, laboratory investigations and neuroimaging ruled out any identifiable neurological cause.

Mean age at regression was 7.65 (s.d. 1.5) years and mean illness duration was 10.1 (s.d. 8.5) months. The symptom domains included regression (in more than two domains – cognitive, socio-emotional, language, bowel and bladder incontinence), emotional disturbances, and hallucinatory and repetitive behaviours. Response to treatment was gradual over 6 months to 1 year. At 1-year follow-up, nine children did not attain pre-regression functioning, and residual symptoms included not attaining age-appropriate speech and language, socio-emotional reciprocity and cognitive abilities.

These cases demonstrate a unique pattern of regression with psychiatric manifestations, distinct from autism spectrum disorder and childhood-onset schizophrenia. The diagnostic dilemma arises from the overlap of symptoms with childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD), childhood-onset schizophrenia and autism. This study underscores the diagnostic intricacies of this clinical presentation and highlights the need for longitudinal follow-up to unravel the transitions in phenomenology, course and outcome. For severe manifestations such as developmental regression, where the illness is still evolving, considering CDD as a non-aetiological and transitory/tentative diagnosis would aid against premature diagnostic categorisation and provide scope for ongoing aetiological search.

Racism is increasingly recognised as a key contributor to poor mental health. However, the existing literature primarily focuses on its effects on adults.

To identify literature on the association between experiences of racism and mental health in children and young people in the UK.

Inclusion criteria were: (a) peer-reviewed publications containing original data; (b) UK-based research; (c) included examination of associations between mental health and experiences of direct or indirect racism (quantitative or qualitative); (d) inclusion of an assessment of mental health outcomes; (e) participant ages up to and including 18 years of age or (if the range went beyond 18) with a mean age of 17 years or less. Six databases were searched between 2000 and 2022; an initial 11 522 studies were identified with only eight meeting the inclusion criteria.

Five of the identified studies provided quantitative data and three provided qualitative data. The majority of studies (7/8) focused on children and young people aged 10 years and over; only one focused on children under the age of 10 years. Measurements of racism varied among the studies providing quantitative data. Only four studies directly focused on the effects of racism on the mental health of children and young people.

Although the included studies highlighted potential negative impacts of experiences of racism on children and young people in the UK, this review shows the lack of available literature to inform policy and practice. No studies examined the impact of internalised racism, systemic and institutional racism, or intersectionality.

Physical activities are widely implemented for non-pharmacological intervention to alleviate depressive symptoms. However, there is little evidence supporting their genotype-specific effectiveness in reducing the risk of self-harm in patients with depression.

To assess the associations between physical activity and self-harm behaviour and determine the recommended level of physical activity across the genotypes.

We developed the bidirectional analytical model to investigate the genotype-specific effectiveness on UK Biobank. After the genetic stratification of the depression phenotype cohort using hierarchical clustering, multivariable logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were built to investigate the associations between physical activity and the risk of self-harm behaviour.

A total of 28 923 subjects with depression phenotypes were included in the study. In retrospective cohort analysis, the moderate and highly active groups were at lower risk of self-harm behaviour. In the followed prospective cohort analysis, light-intensity physical activity was associated with a lower risk of hospitalisations due to self-harm behaviour in one genetic cluster (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.28 [95% CI, 0.08–0.96]), which was distinguished by three genetic variants: rs1432639, rs4543289 and rs11209948. Compliance with the guideline-level moderate-to-vigorous physical activities was not significantly related to the risk of self-harm behaviour.

A genotype-specific dose of light-intensity physical activity reduces the risk of self-harm by around a fourth in depressive patients.