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The aim of this optional single module is for students to develop an advanced understanding of current evidence on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of mental health problems in children and young people.

The course will be taught over 8 half day sessions, accompanied by Moodle online materials.

Module content

The module will cover children and young people up to the age of 24 years, following recent evidence that development continues until this age. It also reflects the development of innovative youth mental health services that provide services for teenagers and young people up to the age of 24 years. Students will be taught how to evaluate current research methods used to study mental health problems in children and young people, and how prevalence, social determinants and interventions vary according to developmental stage. Students will learn about current evidence and ongoing research regarding the aetiology, assessment and management of common mental disorders, self-harm, eating disorders and more severe mental health problems in children and young people, and about comorbidity with developmental disorders, including links between autism and mental health. Students will also be introduced to the specific challenges of conducting research in this population (e.g. consent and assent issues) and appropriate research methods (e.g. school-based studies).

Learning outcomes

These are the intended learning outcomes for the module:

• To describe and evaluate current evidence on the epidemiology of mental health problems in children and young people: who is at risk?
• To describe and evaluate current evidence on the prevention and management of mental health problems in schools.
• To describe and evaluate current evidence on student mental health problems, with a focus on depression and anxiety, self-harm, and digital interventions in universities.
• To describe and evaluate evidence on interventions in the family, for example targeting parenting and other family-level factors.
• To describe and evaluate evidence on models of care and the delivery of treatments for children and young people.
• To describe and evaluate models of care for children and young people, with a focus on what works best for young people across developmental and service transitions.
• To describe the challenges of conducting research with children and young people focusing on ethics, models of involvement, and measurement.