Parental incarceration and psychiatric disorders, suicidal behavior, risk-taking, and substance misuse events in offspring: A longitudinal within-individual study.
Authors: Järvinen A, Kuja-Halkola R, Brikell I, Chang Z, D'Onofrio BM, Fazel S, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Latvala A
Journal: Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines
mental health
psychology
open access
Abstract
Readers of the understand that child and adolescent health and well‐being is of critical importance. Concerns about child and adolescent mental health have been increasingly raised in recent decades, in conjunction with the growing prevalence worldwide of various psychiatric conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity, and autism; Polanczyk, Salum, Sugaya, Caye, & Rohde, ). is widely recognized as the leading international journal of child and adolescent mental health – and it is well‐positioned to support and promote child and adolescent mental health research representative of the global population and conducted by researchers from around the world. The need for globally representative research has long been recognized by . Almost 15 years ago, its editor at the time noted in the Journal's 9‐point mission statement the goal to ‘be truly international in orientation and values, content and the make‐up of contributors and readership’ (Sonuga‐Barke, , p. 916). At the same time, challenges to conducting and publishing global research were also noted, including limitations in research resources, technical expertise, and scientific ‘knowhow’ (Sonuga‐Barke, , p. 302). These and other challenges have resulted in a body of published research that lags behind laudable efforts to represent children and adolescents, and researchers, worldwide. To quantify the countries in which research reported in has been conducted, as well as the countries of its study authors, we reviewed empirical studies published in over the past three decades.
(See Figure for an illustration of the major findings of the review and Table for an overview of results.) Overall, in the 1,375 articles included in our review, reporting on 1,601 independent samples, research was conducted in 76 countries from around the world. However, and not surprisingly, though still sobering, almost all (95%) of the research was conducted in a much smaller subset of countries – the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, with almost half of the samples from the United Kingdom or the United States – and there was no research conducted at all in most of the countries in Africa, Asia, or South America. These rates have held steady over the past 3 decades: 95% of studies published in the 1990s, 96% published in the 2000s, and 93% published in the 2010s were conducted in the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Moreover, although study authors represented 70 countries around the world, very few were from Africa, Asia, or South America (<3% collectively across these continents), and studies were almost exclusively first‐ (94%) or last/senior‐ (94%) authored by researchers from the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Notably, more than half (57%) of the studies that were conducted in countries other than in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were still first‐ or last/senior‐authored by researchers from the United Kingdom and Western Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, rather than from the country of the study sample being examined. There was little change in these rates for studies published in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
(See Figure for an illustration of the major findings of the review and Table for an overview of results.) Overall, in the 1,375 articles included in our review, reporting on 1,601 independent samples, research was conducted in 76 countries from around the world. However, and not surprisingly, though still sobering, almost all (95%) of the research was conducted in a much smaller subset of countries – the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, with almost half of the samples from the United Kingdom or the United States – and there was no research conducted at all in most of the countries in Africa, Asia, or South America. These rates have held steady over the past 3 decades: 95% of studies published in the 1990s, 96% published in the 2000s, and 93% published in the 2010s were conducted in the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Moreover, although study authors represented 70 countries around the world, very few were from Africa, Asia, or South America (<3% collectively across these continents), and studies were almost exclusively first‐ (94%) or last/senior‐ (94%) authored by researchers from the United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Notably, more than half (57%) of the studies that were conducted in countries other than in the United Kingdom and Western Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were still first‐ or last/senior‐authored by researchers from the United Kingdom and Western Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, rather than from the country of the study sample being examined. There was little change in these rates for studies published in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.