The cultivation of character strengths like gratitude can enhance children’s well-being and prosocial behavior. While school-based interventions exist, there is a lack of rigorously evaluated, gamified tools that explicitly teach gratitude to preadolescent children. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Grati y la Isla de la Gratitud , an educational game to enhance children’s understanding and expression of gratitude. Using a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design, we worked with 304 children (aged 9–12) from public and private schools. Pre-post and post-only measures demonstrated that the intervention group displayed significantly more complex understandings of gratitude, incorporating more conceptual elements (benefactor, beneficiary, benefit, effort) in their definitions and reporting a greater variety of gratitude expressions (verbal, concrete, connective) compared to the control group. Qualitative analysis of interviews with a subset of 17 participants showed that children successfully identified gratitude elements and expressions within the game’s narratives and transferred them to personalized “gratitude plans” for everyday life. Participants also reported high levels of satisfaction and perceived educational value from the game, although some noted challenges with specific mini-games. The findings indicate that a gamified intervention can improve preadolescents’ conceptual and practical understanding of gratitude, offering a digital tool for character education in school settings.
Yvonne Gómez, Gordon Ingram, Sonia Carrillo et al.
Abstrak: Penggunaan media sosial yang tinggi pada remaja belum diimbangi dengan literasi kesehatan mental yang memadai, sementara kader kesehatan Posyandu Remaja masih memiliki keterbatasan pengetahuan dan media edukasi. Kegiatan pengabdian ini bertujuan meningkatkan kapasitas kader kesehatan dalam edukasi kesehatan mental remaja terkait dampak media sosial. Metode yang digunakan meliputi sosialisasi, penyuluhan, pelatihan komunikasi edukatif, pendampingan, serta penyediaan media edukasi berupa leaflet dan poster. Mitra kegiatan terdiri dari 24 kader kesehatan posyandu remaja di salah satu desa di Kabupaten Tegal. Evaluasi dilakukan menggunakan pretest dan posttest dengan instrumen 20 soal. Indikator keberhasilan kegiatan meliputi peningkatan pengetahuan dan kemampuan komunikasi edukatif kader setelah pelaksanaan program. Hasil menunjukkan rata-rata nilai pengetahuan meningkat dari 81,46 menjadi 93,54 (naik 12,08 poin), sedangkan kemampuan komunikasi edukatif meningkat dari 69,20 menjadi 95,00 (naik 25,80 poin). Selain itu, 70,8% peserta menilai program sangat baik. Luaran kegiatan meliputi leaflet ber-HKI, poster edukasi, dan pembentukan Gerakan “Sahabat Remaja Sehat” sebagai bentuk keberlanjutan program.Abstract: High social media usage among adolescents has not been matched by adequate mental health literacy, while health volunteers at Adolescent Integrated Health Posts (Posyandu Remaja) still face limitations regarding knowledge and educational materials. This community service initiative aimed to enhance the capacity of health volunteers to provide education on adolescent mental health in the context of social media’s impact. The methods employed included awareness-raising sessions, educational outreach, training in educational communication, mentoring, and the provision of educational materials such as leaflets and posters. The project patners consisted of 24 adolescent health volunteers from a village in Tegal Regency. Evaluation was conducted using pre-and post-tests compresing 20 questions. Success indicators included improvements in the average knowledge score rose from 81.46 to 93.54 (an increase of 12.08 points), while educational communication skills improved from 69.20 to 95.00 (an increase of 25.80 points). Additionally, 70.8% of participants rated the program as excellent. Projeck outputs included intellectual property-registered leaflets, educational posters, and the establishment of the “Healthy Adolescent Friends” (Sahabat Remaja Sehat) Movement to ensure program sustainability.
Mutiarawati Mutiarawati, Reny Eka Saputri, Istiqomah Dwi Andari et al.
With challenges related to interpersonal violence in sport as a backdrop, this paper examines how cultural institutions operate across societal contexts and what this means for Safe Sport implementation in six European Mediterranean countries: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain. In an earlier study, interviews with individuals educating and recruiting coaches (n = 60, 10 from each country) and thematic analysis identified three institutions that constrain Safe Sport implementation: patriarchy, a winning (at-all-costs) attitude and an orientation towards blindness and silence. In this paper, we conduct a theory-driven secondary analysis of the same data, understanding institutions as three pillars(regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive) to examine how these institutions are carried and reproduced across three carriers of interrelated contexts: the state, the family and sport. The analysis demonstrates that the states’ weak regulative role allows these institutions to function, families socialise their members into accepting them and in sport they operate largely unchallenged. For Safe Sport implementation to progress, several carriers of institutions must change relatively simultaneously. States must provide not only laws but protection systems for those who report harm; families must socialise children to recognise and speak about unacceptable behaviour; and sport organisations need structures that support rather than penalise disclosure.
Eivind Asrum Skille, Per Øystein Hansen, Antonis Alexopoulos et al.
INTRODUCTION: The right to build a family is central to decision-making around reproductive health, social inclusion and citizenship. Yet, in societies that privilege cis-heteronormative ways of reproducing, individuals whose bodies, identities, and relationships exist outside of these norms may be susceptible to reproductive injustice during their fertility journeys. This is arguably the case for transgender and non-binary (trans) people involved in decision-making about their reproductive futures. METHODS: This article investigates barriers to the fertility preservation journeys of trans individuals making decisions about gamete freezing for gender transition-related reasons. The discussion draws primarily on data collected from an interview study with 13 trans people in Aotearoa New Zealand, aged between 19 and 30 years. Analyses of YouTube video blog and survey data support the discussion. FINDINGS: Study findings indicate a need for more information in a range of healthcare and educative settings about reproductive options for trans people; the presence of a generational shift in reproductive orientations for some participants toward the option of biogenetic parenthood as well as non-consanguineous forms of doing family; and relational decisionmaking about gamete freezing that is interactively negotiated with family and discussed with others, rather than purely agentic. CONCLUSION: To address the study findings, we call for healthcare professionals and social work practitioners to actively include the voices of trans and queer (LGBTQIA+) youth in education programming, policy, and decision-making as a step towards reimagining and securing equitable access to sexual and reproductive health, fertility care, and diverse reproductive paths for all people.
ABSTRACT This study explores how 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Alberta, Canada—the country's most Conservative province—mobilize queer joy as a form of resistance amid rising anti‐queer and anti‐trans policies under a settler colonial, cisheteropatriarchal regime. Drawing from youth‐produced collages, we demonstrate that this visual arts‐based participatory method revealed the complex temporalities, spatialities, and affective textures of queer life. Our findings articulate three interrelated strategies: (1) navigating pervasive shame and identity management within an “apocalyptic” political climate while fostering hope beyond oppressive governance; (2) grounding queer and trans identities in permanence through connections to land, queer ancestry, and Indigenous cultural frameworks, challenging dominant narratives that position queerness as new or unnatural; and (3) cultivating affirming community spaces—both literal and metaphorical—where queer joy becomes a generative practice of self‐actualization and political resistance. Drawing on critical queer theory and Indigenous scholarship, we contend that queer joy functions as a deliberate and powerful form of resistance—a refusal to accept linear narratives of progress or erasure. This work highlights the vital need for institutional support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth while emphasizing that resistance entails not only survival but also the sustained presence of joy as enduring defiance.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) face significant challenges shaped by forced migration, trauma, legal uncertainty, and systemic barriers in host countries. While education is widely recognised as important for integration, less is known about how educational experiences contribute to UASC wellbeing, safety, belonging, and future opportunities. Drawing on Kohli (2011), the Social Identity Approach to Health (Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, and Haslam 2009; Kёllezi, and Reicher 2012; Herman 1992) trauma recovery theory and human rights framework (UNCRC 1989), this multi-perspective qualitative study explores the role of education in supporting the wellbeing, integration, and success of UASC. The study analysed qualitative interviews with 13 UASC care leavers, 10 foster carers, and 16 education professionals. The analysis identifies four key themes: safety and trust, social connections and belonging, success and resilience and equitable access. The findings highlight that educational establishments can help young people reconstruct ordinary life, and develop psychological stability, social connection, and future opportunities. Simultaneously, exclusionary practices, legal ambiguity, and structural barriers can undermine these processes. The study advances understanding of education as social and institutional contributor to wellbeing, and argues for trauma-informed right-based and inclusive educational practices that support UASC wellbeing and long-term social inclusion.
BACKGROUND: The gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as a modulator of metabolic health in children, influencing nutrient absorption, immune tone, epithelial barrier function, and energy homeostasis. This review summarizes current evidence on microbial signatures and mechanistic pathways associated with pediatric obesity and evaluates microbiota-targeted strategies for prevention and intervention. DATA SOURCES: Relevant studies published between January 2000 and February 2026 were identified through searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science using keywords related to pediatric obesity, gut microbiota, microbial metabolites, and microbiota-based interventions. Human studies and mechanistic animal models examining host-microbe metabolic interactions were included. RESULTS: Pediatric obesity is associated with shifts in gut microbial composition, although taxonomic findings are heterogeneous across studies and should not be interpreted as universal biomarkers. Relatively consistent patterns include reduced Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia muciniphila, whereas associations involving Faecalibacterium, Blautia, and lactobacilli are context-, species-, and strain-dependent. Functional alterations include changes in short-chain fatty acid production, bile acid signaling, microbial branched-chain and aromatic amino acid metabolism, and endotoxin-related inflammatory pathways. The enrichment of Gram-negative taxa such as Enterobacteriaceae may contribute to impaired epithelial barrier integrity, lipopolysaccharide translocation, toll-like receptor 4 signaling, chronic low-grade inflammation, and insulin resistance. Early-life exposures, including cesarean delivery, formula feeding, and antibiotic use, are repeatedly associated with altered microbial succession and later obesity risk, although causality remains incompletely defined. Interventional studies indicate that dietary fiber enrichment and selected probiotic strains can improve microbial and metabolic outcomes in some settings, but efficacy remains strain-specific and clinically heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: Microbial and metabolic signatures are associated with pediatric obesity, converging on pathways of energy harvest, epithelial barrier dysfunction, inflammation, and disrupted host-microbe signaling. Integrative multi-omic and longitudinal studies are required to establish causality and guide the development of personalized, microbiota-based interventions for obesity prevention and treatment in children.
Abstract With the increased accessibility and use of digital media in the 21st century, screen exposure has become a common part of family life for young children, like shared book reading. As two important activities in children’s daily lives, screen exposure and shared book reading may both play important roles in early childhood, yet their longitudinal relationship remains unclear. This study included data from the Kids in Taiwan: National Longitudinal Study of Child Development and Care (KIT) on 2,164 children. Caregivers reported children’s daily screen exposure and weekly shared book reading at 36, 48, and 60 months. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) was used to examine the bidirectional longitudinal associations between screen exposure and shared book reading. Results showed that both screen exposure and shared book reading were stable across waves. Higher-than-usual shared reading predicted lower subsequent screen exposure, whereas higher-than-usual screen exposure predicted lower subsequent shared reading. These findings indicate that screen exposure and shared book reading are reciprocally related over time among Chinese children and suggest that family-based interventions may benefit from addressing both behaviors together.
Highly problematic post-divorce parental conflict represents a growing clinical challenge, with significant consequences for the child’s wellbeing. Conventional approaches, which includes individual child therapy, single-parent interventions, and legal proceedings, have shown limited efficacy, in part because they fail to address the systemic and neurobiological dimensions of the most problematic of conflicts. This paper presents the No Kids in the Middle (NKM) protocol - a structured, group-based interdisciplinary intervention developed in the Netherlands for families embedded in high-conflict post-divorce situations, from the complementary perspectives of a family lawyer and a child psychiatrist. The NKM protocol engages groups of six couples in parallel with a children's group, led by pairs of co-therapists, across a structured sequence of eight sessions. Key features include the simultaneous engagement of parents and children, dedicated sessions with each parent's wider social network, an explicitly experiential therapeutic approach, and a systemic reframing of parental conflict behaviour as a neurobiological response to chronic stress rather than a volitional character deficit. The NKM approach offers a coherent and clinically promising response to a population subgroup that consistently overwhelms conventional professional frameworks. Its interdisciplinary applicability spans psychiatry, social work, law, and education, and makes it particularly suited to the systemic nature of the problem it addresses.
BACKGROUND: Child neglect is a prevalent but complex and multifaceted form of maltreatment, with definitions that vary across legal and cultural contexts. Despite its well-documented harm, it remains underexamined in judicial decision-making. OBJECTIVE: This study examines how child neglect is conceptualized and adjudicated in Israeli courts, focusing on how cases are structured and how neglect is interpreted in judicial judgments. METHODS: A systematic analysis was conducted of all available Israeli court judgments involving child neglect. Cases were identified based on jurisdictional relevance and substantive discussion of neglect between 1975 and 2024 (N = 62). A structured coding scheme was applied to capture general case characteristics, types of neglect, child consequences, and features of the legal proceeding. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and distribution of the cases, as well as inferential tests. RESULTS: Judicial neglect cases were relatively rare and clustered around two main profiles: co-occurring abuse and high-conflict family disputes. Emotional and physical neglect were most prevalent, with physical neglect significantly associated with abuse, and emotional neglect more closely linked to family conflict dynamics. Most cases involved multiple risk factors, while economic hardship was less emphasized than expected. Common child outcomes included developmental delay and emotional distress. Judicial outcomes were primarily protective, with limited child participation. CONCLUSIONS: The main findings underscore the context-dependent and multifaceted nature of neglect in legal practice, where it rarely appears as a standalone category. Emotional neglect emerges as a particularly central dimension, while the overall pattern highlights persistent conceptual ambiguity and an unclear threshold for judicial intervention.
