The Social and Emotional Wellbeing of the Australian Child and Adolescent - Literature review Example

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN IN AUSTRALIA 0-12 YEARS OLD PURPOSE This report aims at highlighting social and emotional health issues, their impact and nursing intervention and early prevention among the children aged 0-12 years old in Australia. DEFINITION A child defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless applicable under the law child majority attained earlier. (WHO1999) The definition of social and emotional well-being in Australia: …social and emotional wellbeing associated with how children relate, behave, think and feel. For children and especially for a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children emotional includes a sense of spiritual, cultural and community wellbeing. In a school setting, the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and the whole school community are both important. Social and emotional wellbeing is not static; it changes over time, just as physical health and wellbeing does. (Department of Health and Ageing 2010) Introduction According to Bernard and group identified that child social and emotional wellbeing including the cognitive and social-emotional domains environmental and factors related to the home school and community. (Bernard et al 2007) Based on epidemiological data, the most common disorders in children and adolescents are the following: anxiety disorders, generalised anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder, with girls tending to have more of all subtypes of anxiety disorders behaviour disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorders and oppositional defiant disorder, with prevalence higher in boys than girls for all types except oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorders, depressive disorder and bipolar disorders. (Graetz et al 2010) According to Weist children and adolescents exhibiting internalising behaviours with disorders such as depression, anxiety or suicide. This is not as easily identified as those with externalising social anxiety disorder, whose onset peaks in adolescence, associated with impairment, few friends, loneliness, depressed mood, disturbances in school performance and difficulty with interpersonal relationships. Students with social anxiety often overlooked, most likely due to their quiet, compliant manner and it is common for adults to underestimate the adversity associated with the disorder adolescent with externalising disorders act out their troubles through aggressive, disruptive or violent behaviour. (Weist et al 2007) As indicated by Durlak and company youth violence and related aggressive behaviours have become serious public health issues with physical, economic, social, psychological impacts and consequences. Bullying behaviour is a subset of the larger construct of antisocial and aggressive behaviour described as an example of externalising behaviour. Studies have documented the connections between social, emotional variables and academic performance. Students who set high academic goals have self-discipline, motivate themselves, manage stress, organise approach to spend more time on learning and achieve better grades. (Durlak et al 2011) According to Merikangas and group many epidemiological studies have shown that children with physical illness are more likely to develop depression and emotional disorders have an increased risk of developing physical disorders. (Merikangas et al 2009) Drawing on WHO data, problems associated with the common pattern of obesity that progress into adulthood leads to earlier development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. More recent data indicates clearly that many of the ill-health consequences of excessive weight are present in children and adolescents. (Gill et al 2009) The development of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa represents an extreme response having detrimental effects on psychological, social emotional and academic development. (Shulman and Mulloy- Anderson 2009) BACKGROUND Australia government set out an action plan that focused on prevention and early intervention, recognising children who were experiencing multiple disadvantages affecting their home environment; schooling experiences, health, family and social networks particularly at risk of social exclusion and reduced future prospects in life. (DPMC 2009) The report on children’s headline indicators provides policies that will guide and evaluate development of children in Australia by measuring progress on 19 set of indicators that are potentially amenable to change over time through prevention and early intervention. That covers a number of developmental phases such as: prenatal, infancy, early and school-age childhood. The child’s experiences and development early in life determine the biological pathways that affect cognition, behaviour, capacity to learn, memory, physical and mental health throughout life. (Headline Indicators for children’s health development and wellbeing 2011) The importance of the early years of childhood development established, with evidence from neuroscience, molecular biology, genomics, behavioural and social sciences indicates that experiences of early life have a long term impact on health and wellbeing in a number of ways. (Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University 2010) Evidence suggests that policies, which strengthen the foundations of health in the prenatal and early childhood periods, may have long-lasting positive effects. Children who have the best possible start in life are more likely to become healthy, resilient and productive adults who, in turn, contribute to the whole of society. (COAG 2009) Impact of abuse and neglect According to Casaneuva and company, the impact of abuse and neglect hinders neurological activities such that the brain does not develop along a healthy trajectory towards its full potential while behaviourally the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being findings indicate that children subjected to protective services are twice as likely as to have significant challenges in the area of social competence compared to the general population. (Casaneuva et al 2011) As indicated by Merikangas and group biological risks factors that impact the central nervous system and impact development, such as genetic predispositions prenatal or postnatal damage psychological risks, individual personality characteristics associated with poor future outcomes, such as difficulty forming nurturing and loving relationships, regulating emotions or benefiting from social support family risks, severe parental conflict and overcrowding within the home, risks pertaining to the school such as normative beliefs about aggression, overcrowded classrooms, frequent changes in school staff community risks conditions and influences that turn neighbourhoods into hostile environments, such as the concentration of poverty within a given community, violence and crime, lack of support services, social and cultural discrimination. Stressful life event risks unexpected circumstances that cause extraordinary levels of stress, hardship, including parental death, divorce and surviving a life threatening experience. (Merikangas et al 2009) RECOMMENDATIONS Interventions Primary School Nursing Program offered to all children attending primary schools with an aim of mental ill-health prevention, early intervention and implemented in Australia. (Victorian Auditor-General’s Office 2010) Implement prevention and early intervention programs based on: cognitive behaviour therapy approaches that focus on the development of problem-solving social skills, relaxation, assertiveness interpersonal therapy, which focuses on improving social networks, role transitions, taking perspective and conflict resolution. (Neils and Christensen 2007) According to Rees, the use of assessment tools to measure parenting capacities and improvements over time. Screening for symptoms related to trauma, specifically how experiences of trauma may impair healthy functioning, is an essential element of functional assessment. Trauma screening involves universal administration of brief tools to: 1.) estimate the prevalence of trauma symptoms and traumatic experiences. 2.) Identify children who may require further assessment and intervention. Examples of trauma screening tools include the Child, Adolescent Needs, Strengths Trauma Version, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the Paediatric Emotional Distress Scale. It is important to note that many of the evidence-based interventions that improve child functioning require the involvement of caregivers and specifically target their behaviours for change as well. Caregivers need support in managing the behaviours of children who experiences maltreatment and in providing a nurturing environment in which healing can occur. (Rees 2010) CONCLUSION According to Yakoob and group, the parents, government and health professionals have to ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life begins in the antenatal period. High quality antenatal care, education and support to mothers during pregnancy are important to ensure a healthy start to life for infants. (Yakoob et al 2009) As suggested in the studies of Bernard and company, the children with high levels of social and emotional wellbeing are more likely to go through the physical, intellectual and social changes that take place through childhood and adolescence. (Bernard et al 2007) Reference list Australian Government Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (2008) wellbeing of Families in Australia. Canberra: (DPMC) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011) Headline Indicators for children’s health, development and wellbeing 2011. Cat. no. 144. Canberra: AIHW. Bernard M E, Stephanou A and Urbach D (2007) Student Social and Emotional Health Report: A Research Project conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research ACER, Melbourne. Casaneuva C; Ringeisen H, Wilson E, Smith,K and Dolan M.(2011) Child Well-Being, Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services. Centre on the Developing of Child at Harvard University (2010) lifelong health are built in early childhood. Available at, . Council of Australian Governments (2009) National Partnership Agreement on Youth Attainment and Transitions. COAG, Canberra. Department of Health and Ageing (2010) Whole School Matters. Canberra, Australia . Available at, Durlak J A, Weissberg R P, Dymnicki A B, Taylo, R D and Schellinger K B (2011) The impact of enhancing students social and emotional learning: Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. Gill T P, Baur L A, Bauman A E, Steinbeck K S, Storlien L H, Fiatarone-Singh, Brand-Miller J C, Colagiuri S and Caterson I D (2009) Childhood obesity is a widespread health concern. Australia MJA, 190(3), 146-148. Graetz B, Littlefield L, Trinder M, Dobia B, Souter M, Champion C, Boucher S, Killick-Moran C and Cummins R (2008) Kids Matter: A population health model to support student mental health and wellbeing in primary schools. of Mental Health Promotion International Journal , 10(4), 13-20. Merikangas K R, Nakamura E F and Kessler R (2009) Epidemiology of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11(1), 7-20. Neil A L and Christensen H (2007) Australian school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety and depression: A systematic review, Medical Journal of Australia, 186(6), 305-308. Rees C A (2010) Supporting children to recover from neglect and abuse All they need is love. Diseases in Childhood Archives. 96, 969. 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