During childhood and adolescence, it is crucial for individuals to develop appropriate emotional literacy, coping, and social skills. Programmes targeting youth well-being are increasingly being implemented in schools around the world. This study aims to describe the opinions of schoolchildren with low levels of subjective well-being in relation…

A National Wellbeing Project was developed following COVID-19 to promote wellbeing in children and young people (CYP). Two 8-week, awareness-based interventions, Breath-Body-Mind (BBM) and Creative Mindfulness (CM), were delivered by external facilitators over an 8-week period in primary and post-primary schools across 5 sites in the Republic of…

Many concerns exist about potential long-term psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. While the school has been identified as having a vital role in psychological recovery post-disaster more generally, it is unclear as yet how young people have adapted to the return to in-person education. This paper reports on the…

Purpose: This secondary data analysis explores the unmet needs of adolescents experiencing maternal cancer in Ireland. Research has shown that one of the challenges adolescents deal with at the time of maternal cancer is having unmet needs that can impact negatively on their experience and their ability to cope through this difficult challenge.…

The UK government identified 'improving support within the criminal justice systems' as a priority for autistic people. There is a lack of quantitative research to enable policymakers to make evidence-based decisions on how to improve access to justice for autistic people. This study used a case-comparison design to compare the experiences of 145…

The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt education in unprecedented ways. The first school closures in Ireland took place in March 2020, affecting many students, but especially those who were preparing for their end-of-school Leaving Certificate (LC) examinations. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which COVID-19 had impacted…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread adaptations and unprecedented realities in the way teaching and learning in physical education (PE) is currently being implemented and experienced globally. Understanding the similarities and differing realities of some of these experiences across contexts and countries can help to inform…

Schools are a key setting for mental health promotion and the provision of emotional support to students. As teachers and school counsellors are adults with whom adolescents have regular contact, it is likely they would be used as a help source by distressed students however there are few studies on this from an Irish context. A mixed methods…

Research and anecdotal evidence suggests that coming to terms with the suicide of a patient can be extremely distressing for front-line professionals. Some research also suggests that exposure to such situations can undermine professionals' functioning and feelings of competence, cause them to question their professional standing and ultimately…

Research reported in recent years highlights that many children and young people living in Northern Ireland are struggling to cope with a range of complex issues in their daily lives. The lack of accessible and appropriate professional support means that many children and young people carry these issues to school, where their struggle to cope…

Victims and perpetrators of bullying experience a variety of psychological problems. The aim of the current pilot study was to explore the bullying experiences of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) service-users. The investigation was conducted as a cross-sectional survey at a community-based specialist CAMH service. A modified version of…