Purpose: To review the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as a treatment for anxiety disorders of childhood and adolescence. Method: Studies were included if they treated young people (under 19 yrs) with diagnosed anxiety disorder (excluding trials solely treating phobia, PTSD or OCD), had a no‐treatment control group, and used diagnosis as an outcome variable. A search of the literature, incorporating electronic databases, hand search and expert consultation, yielded 10 randomized controlled trials that were appropriate for inclusion. Results: The outcome of interest was remission of anxiety disorder. Employing conservative criteria, the remission rate in the CBT groups (56.5%) was higher than that in the control groups (34.8%). The pooled odds ratio was 3.3 (CI = 1.9–5.6), suggesting that CBT has a significant effect. Conclusions: CBT is useful for the treatment of anxiety in children over the age of 6 years. However, we still know little about the treatment of younger children or about the comparative efficacy of alternative treatments. Most of the trials were efficacy trials, and have limited generalizability. Reporting of many aspects of the trials was weak.

Needs for young offenders were high but often unmet. This emphasises the importance of structured needs assessment within custody and community settings in conjunction with a care programme approach that improves continuity of care.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the biggest cause of death and disability in children and young people. TBI compromises important neurological functions for self-regulation and social behaviour and increases risk of behavioural disorder and psychiatric morbidity. Crime in young people is a major social issue. So-called early starters often continue for a lifetime. A substantial majority of young offenders are reconvicted soon after release. Multiple factors play a role in crime. We show how TBI is a risk factor for earlier, more violent, offending. TBI is linked to poor engagement in treatment, in-custody infractions, and reconviction. Schemes to assess and manage TBI are under development. These might improve engagement of offenders in forensic psychotherapeutic rehabilitation and reduce crime.

SummaryThe mental health of children and young people can be disproportionally affected and easily overlooked in the context of emergencies and disasters. Child and adolescent mental health services can contribute greatly to emergency preparedness, resilience and response and, ultimately, mitigate harmful effects on the most vulnerable members of society.